I screwed up. A fella talked to me at Game Fair and said my recent column in Outdoor News about my great skills as a trapper of pocket gophers included a big error.
I examined my own gopher research and discovered that yes, I screwed up. I wrote that pocket gophers use their cheek pockets to help move dirt in their underground tunnels. Wrong!
Ron Schara: On pocket gophers and Minnesota fisheries management Read More »
A common creed of a fishing writer, such as myself, is to always tell the truth – the whole truth or enough of the truth to make a fishing story believable.
So, the following is my fishing story from recent times. This confession is absolutely the truth, although some of you will find it hard to believe. Or maybe not.
Ron Schara: I used to be a good walleye angler. Am I still? Read More »
Here’s another thing this nation needs: a National Pocket Gopher Trapping Awards Program.
I’m serious. I’ll volunteer as organizer. There was a day when I was the best pocket gopher trapper in Allamakee County, Iowa. It’s a title I bestowed on myself because gopher trapping is a solitary job so there were no witnesses to my trapping savvy. Just take my word for it.
Ron Schara: The best gopher trapper in Allamakee County, Iowa Read More »
“The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.”
Aristotle is credited with that bit of wisdom. I never met him. The Greek philosopher was born something like 300 years before Christ.
Yet, Aristotle’s quote comes to mind nowadays. In recent weeks, I’ve been listening to, reading about, and discussing the Minnesota DNR’s fish-management program at meetings with state fisheries leaders and MN-FISH officers.
For example, I didn’t know DNR’s Fisheries Section – those fisheries employees who manage the lakes, survey fish and anglers, stock lakes, operate hatcheries, and do this and that – is operating with fewer workers than it was 30 years ago.
Ron Schara: State spending on Minnesota fisheries is shameful Read More »
Feeling sorry for him, I handed him the fishing rod.
Oh my, yes. I can still remember that fateful moment frozen in a time warp of stupidity. What happened to my greatest angling fantasy at the moment? What was I thinking? Obviously, I wasn’t.
You need to understand: In the backwaters of a fisherman’s mind linger rare and improbable angling fantasies.
Ron Schara: A brown trout fantasy that almost came true, but still eludes me Read More »
Opening Day in Minnesota doesn’t mean baseball. Or the State Fair. Nope. Opening Day in Minnesota is the first day of a love story: Minnesotans and walleyes.
I wrote something similar a few years ago, but nothing has changed. Nor have our major Minnesota holidays: Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Opening Day of fishing.
Ron Schara: Anglers rejoice as another Minnesota fishing opener approaches Read More »
New Year’s resolutions seem to be going out of style. Just as well, probably. Typically they’re promises to ourselves that are not kept. I know. I’m good at breaking resolutions.
As proof, the day I quit cigarettes was not the first day of January. It was supposed to be. I lied to myself, my friends, my family about giving up the habit on the first day of a new year.
Ron Schara: In 2024, resolve to be involved in outdoor issues Read More »
There’s one deer season in Minnesota that doesn’t require a hunting license. It’s expensive, however.
It’s called the car-deer collision season. The collisions peak from October through December, keeping Minnesota among the Top 10 states in the nation for deer strikes. In reality, however, the season never really ends on the state’s highways and byways.
Deer and vehicle collisions remain a serious problem in Minnesota Read More »
I think this is a novel idea. Curious if you agree. Here’s the idea: The DNR should start charging dock space rent on public waters.
You might already be rolling your eyes. You might already be sending a nasty comment to me for being so dumb. Fine, we all are entitled to our opinions, you and I. Unless your mind is closed, hear me out. Almost every lake home or cabin has a dock occupying public water that’s owned by the public for the public’s use. There are thousands of docks on state lakes.
Dock dues on Minnesota public waters: Genius? Or the musings of a madman? Read More »
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