Twin Cities, it's cloudy and 49. That's a look at news from Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Kathleen hallinan, and this is midday coming to you on this news and information station of Minnesota Public Radio. Good morning. I'm Mike Edgerly my guest in the MP our Studios today can answer all your questions about fishing techniques and equipment and he might even let us in on some of his face favorite fishing spots. Chet Myers is an outdoor writer and a professor of humanities at Metropolitan State University every year at about this time. We invite Chet back in to do a program about fishing glad to have you back again Chet good to be here. We invite your calls about fishing in the Twin Cities. The number to call is two two seven six thousand and anywhere you can hear this program. The number is 1-800-218-4243 to call and talk with Chad Myers. The number in the Twin Cities is 2276 thousand and anywhere you can hear this program.To 2828 will chat. It's April 10th. And that means for many of us. The fishing season is just about to begin but in Minnesota, we have sort of a it's an unusual system of opening days is there I mean there are a series of days tip. Could you tell us a little bit about how that works? Well fishing is getting more and more complicated every year Mike were beginning to realize that we need to have different regulations for different fish and different in lakes and rivers. Actually, Minnesota has always had a number of openers, but we only think of one opener and that's the wall eye opener, which is coming up on May 15th. But the first opener this year will be April 17th, which is for stream trout. That's mostly in the Southeast section of the state where there's lots of nice brown trout some brook trout rainbow trout and then we have the regular opener, which is the walleye and Northern Pike opener on May 15th. And then on May 29th is the bass opener and then on June 5th, we are the musky opener. So we've got four openers. So what's the idea behind this staggered series of openers? I meanA conservation primarily basically, yes, it's to give a fish a chance to spawn. Hopefully the dates are scheduled so that the fish will be done spawning that will probably not be true this year up north because we're I believe we're going to have a very late ice out. Usually the Isis out on the city Lakes by now and it's still pretty thick and with the projected weather forecast for the next few days. I doubt that it's going to go out so that what they'll probably do the DNR will post certain streams in certain areas where walleye traditionally spawn in the northern part of the state and most Anglers know where those are they're listed in the regulation books, but you'll read about that in the paper and those places will be off limits on the opener because the walleyes will be in there and when and the walleyes are in their spawning, they're very very vulnerable to being caught and they're just in there really really thick so that's that's the reason for the regulations. Now some fish are Open Season, basically all year round now, I think some fish are right bluegills. Crappie bullheads. Those fish are open all year round. It's generally theYour game Fish the Predator fish that we have the seasons for and of course, those are generally the more delicate species as well more susceptible to disturbance during spawning and so forth well and they don't produce as many I mean you it's hard to out fish or fish out a lake with with bluegills and crappies and Bullhead because they're just a lot of them in there. So you've got to the production levels much higher for those fish. Well, we have a caller on the line. What's your question for Chet Myers? And where are you calling from? I'm calling from Otter Tail County, which is good fishing territory to yeah, but I'm not a person who fishes I just wondering how he responds to people like me who think of the whole process is sort of terrorizing brutalizing slaughtering animals that don't need to be slaughtered. Well, what do you say to that shit? Well, I respect the person's view. I'm a carnivore I was evolved as a carnivore and so I eat fish and I eat meat and I think with proper management we can maintain good fishing in the state and have a lot of fishing for years to come but I can't disagree with a person whoLeaves that you should be a vegetarian and not kill things. I kid. Some of my friends who are vegetarians and I say you just can't hear the carrots cream as you tear it up by its roots if life is if all Life Is Life is sentient then there's probably feelings for for vegetables and things of that nature to so I just I just don't draw the line with regards to just eating vegetables. I do let most of my fish go I encourage most of the students in my fishing seminars to release a lot of their fish so that we can keep having good Fisheries, but if a person believes differently that's that's their belief system and that is part of the at least the the modern ethic of fishing especially as it applies to Trout that is catch-and-release trout bass much more so than used to be muskies. Most your Muskie Anglers are Catch and Release Anglers. So most I think it's caught on a lot of different species. Now, what would happen do you think if we just didn't fish the Lakes saying a state like Minnesota, I mean with the with with the fish just propagate and become healthy orWould in fact the the opposite case no, I well that that was the case thousands of years ago really before white people came here. And I think what would happen is that a lake and has a carrying capacity of a certain amount of fish that it can produce that's a part of its ecological balance. And once it reaches that balance, it's what we would probably have would be more big fish in a lot of the Lakes but a lake can only produce so many fish you can only produce so many pounds per acre and there are limits their natural limits. So you wouldn't have lakes just teaming teaming teaming with fish, but you probably have a nicer selection of big fish which get caught often either put in the skillet or hang on people's walls. We're talking to Chet Myers. He's an outdoor writer and a professor of humanities at Metropolitan State University. We're talking angling the first in a series of fishing openers looming on April 17th. We invite your calls about fishing in the Twin Cities. The number is two two seven six thousand and anywhere you can hear this program The number isOne eight hundred two four two two eight two eight. Once again in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The number is two two seven six thousand or anywhere. You can hear this program. The number is 1-800-218-4243. Now is there a connection between angling and philosophy or maybe you could explain to us what they might see Norm. If you've seen the the river runs through it the adaptation of Norman Maclean's book, you know that there's a fine line between fishing and religion and philosophy. It's just something that I do in my spare time and is just something that I get a lot of joy out of and I particularly enjoy fishing Twin City likes I live in the cities myself and I do most of my fishing in the city likes find the fishing very good there every time I go up north. I always wonder why I've left my city likes so it's just it's just something that I enjoy doing. It's really good part of my life Chet. We have another caller. Hello. You're on Minnesota Public Radio. Hi. I'm a novice Fisher person and I'm planning to spend.A week in The Boundary Waters in early July in the Southeastern area of the Boundary Waters and I'm wondering what kind of fish I might look for there and what kind of techniques or whatever advice you have that part of the country that time. Well, you're fortunate The Boundary Waters is a wonderful place to fish interestingly enough The Body Waters Lakes are what we call a leg atrophic. They're they're relatively infertile. They don't produce anywhere near the pounds per acre of fish that are like like Minnetonka would but people drift up there and I think the reason is that the scenery so beautiful the fish that you're most likely to catch our to probably walleye and smallmouth bass. And if you're a novice angler, I guess I'd encourage you to go for the small mouth because they're a little easier to catch their little more aggressive and all you need is a spinning rod I'd get an open-faced spinning rod, maybe a six foot rod with spooled with eight pound test. That would be adequate maybe some 6-pound test and then by some small spinnersJigs and some what we call floating diving lawyers like a Rapala which is a mineral like lure and if you can find big boulders area where they're big boulders where you can look down in the water and see them and you can see pretty clearly in most of those Boundary Water Lakes you ought to do well on small mouth bass. There. Are there a fun fish to catch they're good to eat and they put up an awful good battle on on light tackle. So you should you should do. Well. Gee Eliza is a good time to be there now check where are where might she find the smallmouth bass now early in the year, you would assume perhaps they'll be up in the the shallower water where it's a little warmer and perhaps they've remain after spawning, but do they not begin to move away into the deeper portions at where would she look at pens on the lake Mike if the lake has a big population of smallmouth bass, they'll be just about all over the place generally in the in the summer. They drift out to the to some of the deeper reefs reefs the top out of 10 to 15 feet. Most people don't take a depth finder into the body wall.So it's hard to find those. I mean you can spend a lot of time dragging a sinker too long trying to find a refund the middle of a lake. So what I suggest people do in the Boundary Waters if they're if they're primarily on a canoeing trip is just to look for points that come out of the land. They probably project out paddle out from there until you can't see bottom anymore and fish there because there's bound to be some small mouth are just look for points lip areas what we call a lip area drop-offs your fishing mostly in 5 to 15 feet of water, maybe 20 feet of water the best places maybe out in the middle of the lake on some of the recent efforts. You just won't find them. I prospected those lakes and you can spend half an hour looking for a reef the size of this table which might have some some nice pass on any particular colors of lures. She should be thinking about for July. Oh Annie, I guess I would go with eighth quarter ounce jigs black/white chartreuse interestingly enough. There's nothing in the world that I know that looks like a green chartreuse grub that swims in The Boundary Waters put the small must seem to like the green color. So so that's that'sAnd you should think about taking something for the bugs as well in July, probably. Yes. Definitely we have another caller on the line. You're on Minnesota Public Radio. Yes, good morning. Thank you very much. Enjoy the program because it's sort of a Rite of Spring if not write of Summer. It's for my son and my family to go fishing. We don't care if we catch anything, but it's just fun to be out there one interesting question you had commented about the ice and about the fact that you feel it's going to be a little late out up in the Northern Lakes and I was wondering you know, next weekend is the holiday crappie classic out on Lake Minnetonka. I wonder what your guests would predict in terms of whether or not the ice is going to be out on Lake, Minnetonka next weekend. So what do they do check the water is hard. How do you catch a nice fish? And you better not be walking on that ice because it's not safe. I don't know I would imagine in some of the Back Bay area's like maybe Tanager Bay or some of the smaller base shallow base the black bottom base that the ice may be out there, but I don't know it really depends on the weather if we getSunny weather that has to be sunny. It can't just be warned because the the ice is sort of pitted now and it absorbs the solar solar rays if we don't get any sun. I wouldn't be surprised if there's still ice on a good part of the lake but I would I would imagine that Lake of the Isles is one of the first lakes in the cities to go out because it's a very shallow like and the ice is broken away from all the shores and there's some open patches now and if we get some sun that will probably be out in a few more days, but but Minnetonka is a little deeper and so you have to look for those shallow bay area's. So I don't know I would not be surprised if there if the crappy opener was restricted probably to shore fisherman if they if they even have it people sitting on the shore fishing where there's open water. And again the ice really isn't safe as oh, no, not at all right now no, very dangerous right now. You want to stay off at completely Our Guest on. Midday this Saturday is Chad Myers. He's an outdoor writer and a professor of humanities at Metropolitan State University. You can call chat now at 2276 thousand in the Twin Cities or anywhere.Can hear this program one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight four your questions on angling conservation anything related to fishing or and the upcoming fishing openers. We have another caller on the line. Where you calling from Minneapolis. And what's your question for Chad Myers. I was wondering if there's any laws on fishing at night good question there. It used to be as Mike and I were talking about earlier. It used to be that there the restrictions on fishing were pretty. Well there weren't many your lad that you're allowed to fish for most species most of the time. There is now a restriction on with regards to my Lacs Lake. I don't have the exact data right here, but I know that it used to be that you could night fish Mille Lacs now, you cannot night fish Mille Lacs the first part of the season, I can't tell you all the different regulations on on where and when you can night fish. I know that there is a regulation on for stream trout that you can't fish at night, but there is very good night fishing for largemouth bass.In Clear Lake's. In fact, I do some largemouth bass fishing at night. Not many Minnesota Anglers. Do I come from the East back in Pennsylvania? And we do a lot of night fishing back there, but when I came out here, I discovered the mosquito and but interesting any left at people know that mosquitoes usually go in within an hour after Sunset, so it's not that bad the key to night fishing is to find Clear Lake's because in murky Lakes generally the fish will not hit at night. They need the clarity of the water because there is some light that's available through the moon even through the stars and they can silhouette their their prey against the available light, but you will not catch fish in in murky Lakes. I did an experiment a couple years ago and I picked the peak night time to fish night fishing bass in July and I walked around Lake of the Isles, which is to .86 miles. I started eleven o'clock and I quit about 4:00 in the morning. I didn't get one strike might that lake is full of bass.Now I go over to Cedar Lake and do that and I catch bass why Lake of the Isles is a much much mercury early. So if you are going to fish at night, you're probably going to be fishing for bass generally northern pike. Do not hit it night walleyes if you can find I mean in any wall, I like you can fish walleyes at night. There is that restriction on the lakhs as I mentioned before walleyes come in 2 to 3 feet of water at night. We used to go out with the man by the name of art murasky who was called The Night Stalker on our fishing clinics and we take people out at 2 o'clock in the morning in a bass boat with an electric motor and drift over the shallows of Gull Lake with was called a cubing which is just a big Spotlight and you would be amazed to see these eight nine ten pain walleyes cruising along in a foot of water in the weeds. So you can catch well enough to give you heart failure. Yeah, it really is so I think you're probably your best species deficient night would be largemouth bass and walleye Northerns just don't seem to go and I know some musky fishermen have caught muskies at night, but you probably want to stay with bass and walleyes.Okay, we have more more callers on the line. You're on Minnesota Public Radio. What's your question? Well, hello. Yes. You're on the air. I was wondering if you'd ever fished in South Dakota. Not much. I do some duck hunting out there. I fished in iwaki Reservoir just a little bit but I'd like to get out and do more that I'm really not very knowledgeable about about the reservoirs because the reservoir system is very very different than natural lakes. Most of our well most of the waters in Minnesota besides the rivers and streams. Obviously our natural lakes there lakes that result from the glaciation period of about twenty thousand ten thousand years ago. I think the last Glacier was around 10,000 years ago. So there's their Contour with shaped by the glaciers. They have weeds in it vegetation a lot of Anglers who fish in this part of the state know that you have to find the edge of the weed line to catch fish you go out into the reservoirs and what reservoirs really are just flooded river valleys and the water can be incredibly deep. There's very little vegetation. The structure is very very different and the fishing is just it's a different ballgame. Also the water is huge. I mean, I remember Crossing owe me one day and I on a duck hunting trip and I didn't think I was going to live because the waves came up so big I wanted to be on my little Twin City Lakes. So I'm just not really knowledgeable about fishing. I know that the fishings a little different they use a little different techniques, but but some of the principles apply if you can find brake lines structure, they do a lot of fishing with bottom bumpers and Outriggers for walleyes and seem to do very very well there so the techniques are a little bit different but again, that's I'm just not an expert in that area. So I don't have much to say about it. I know there's good fishing out there, you know that and there are lots of opportunities in places. We might normally suspect as offering good fishing in the in the Twin Cities metro area and throughout the state of Minnesota. I mean, even the herb the Metro like wonderful. Yes, I spend 80 90 percent of my time fishing city likes people wonder you know, why but why go anywhere else when you catch them in your own backyard. I also enjoy fishing out of a canoe. I enjoy it. Ring with small craft and and I enjoy fishing alone a lot are just with one other person. It's a little quieter, but I caught some of the biggest fish. In fact the biggest bass I ever caught in my life was I caught in Lake Calhoun last year now was that the photo that was we saw on the Star Tribune two weeks ago? Yes. Andy Warhol says everybody gets 15 minutes of fame. Yeah. It was the largest released bass in the state of Minnesota last year and I can't tell you what it is Wade might because it actually pulled off the scale. I what to what would you guess? Well, I know it was over 6 pounds 10 ounces. So I'm saying it's seven seven and a half. It was just a huge fish just a gigantic fish. Now the nature of Minnesota Lakes is such that these the the lakes here don't produce baths as large as you might find in warmer climates is that is that true true for two reasons one the growing Seasons much shorter, we've really bass are not very active in the winter. Anybody who's icefish know that you're there aren't too many Minnesota Anglers at that ice fish for largemouth bass or small mouth. So the growing Seasons a lot. Order and you've you've got a much longer growing season in the South. The other thing is that you get you've got a sub specie or different species of large mouth bass subspecies and Florida, which is the Florida Largemouth, which just gets gigantic gets up to. Well the world record I think is close to 22 pounds. So you have a different subspecies that subspecies has been transplanted out to California and some of the reservoirs out there. In fact, there's a new record out there. I think out of one of the California links isn't there. Yeah, there have been a number of bass over 20 pounds caught and I wouldn't be surprised if the world record gets gets broken. That's a big bass gigantic. Yeah, we did. What do you do with a 20 pound bass? I mean what I don't know their honoree creatures at three and four pounds. Yeah. I really don't know. I mean I can't imagine when this when this 7 Ponder came up alongside of the boat would barely got it in the net. I looked at it and my eyes just about popped out I could not imagine what a 20 pound bass would look like. I just I can't Our Guest today on. Midday this Saturday in April is Chet Myers. He's an outdoor writer and a professor at met. Alton State University we're talking will talk philosophy, but I think mostly it's angling today 2276 thousand in the Twin Cities anywhere. You can hear this program. You can give chat a call at 1-800-222-6950 or on Minnesota Public Radio. Yes. Hello. Yes. You're on the air sir. Okay, I'm Pennsylvania transplant as well. And I'd like to have mr. Meyers address two things if he will number one stripers if he's done any offshore fishing on the East Coast. He's a familiar with those and I think they are most frequently tagged as silver Mass here in Minnesota and also would like to have them address the subject of what of the local lakes he likes in the species that he harvests there. Okay, I want to start with the striped bass with my kind of set me up. He said call him with any question. You have any person who would claim to be able to answer any question? Everybody has a fool. I don't know that much about stripers. I know that there are there are different species what we what we have in Minnesota native to the river systems of the st. Croix and the Mississippi is the white bass. The white bass doesn't get real big. I think it gets up to four or five pounds. There is a striped bass the stripe best The Saltwater striped bass, which gets huge which used to be caught. Well used to be caught a lot more than it is. It's in fact, I think it's close to being an endangered species that used to be really good at in San Francisco up in Cape Cod that area the people surf cast with large surf casting rods for stripers. Then there's the there's a cross. It's a cross between a striper in the white bass. And those are some of the Bassett have been stocked in reservoirs. There are freshwater fish, but they get big they get a lot bigger than the white the term is and a dramatist. What's the term for those fish? What is it? That's a hybrid an enteritis refers to wear a fish spawns and 56 ponds in one body of water and spends the rest of its life in the high steel heads is that I see but so I don't know. I mean again that's a that's the fish the larger striped bass the freshwater species. The hybrid is one that did a stock mostly in the southern states. They did try to stock some of them up here and we're not too successful. They try to stock some in the st. Croix River but the white bass is a fun fish to catch you can catch a lot of them Lake. Pepin is a great place to go for white bass. Just a wonderful white bass fishery down there and what the Anglers do is you get out in your boat and you follow the sea gulls because in the spring when the seagulls are diving into schools and Minnows, there's usually stripers right below or white bass right below there. See I use the term to people use the terms interchangeably hard. It's hard to keep them straight, but they really are white. Bear white bass. Yeah with regards to local lakes. Gee, there's just such a wonderful assortment of species in all of the the Lakes you can get you But everything but the trout species in the Twin Cities Lakes tell you some of my favorites because I live near them Lake Calhoun I think is a great lake very difficult Lake to fish because you can't fish it from sure you need to get out in the boat and fish it most City Lakes. It's going to be you'll do some good from the shore in the spring and the fall but in the summer you got to get out and I'm in a boat and on the Minnesota Minneapolis and st. Paul City lakes that is within the city boundaries. You cannot use gas motor so you have to go with either canoe or electric motor, but that's a great Lake Phalen. Like the one that that you live near is a good Lakes got good walleyes got good bass in it Jarvis Keller. There's a lot of nice bass lakes in North st. Paul White Bear Lake White Bear Lake probably the best lake in this part of the state is Minnetonka, which is really just a bunch of I mean, if you drained a few more feet of water out of it you two are 12 different lakes over there more. It's We go conglomeration of small lakes, but I would say for right within the cities in the early spring lake of the owls is a good Lake to fish you can catch bass in it. You can catch bass from Shore once the season opens in Lake of the Isles. After that, it goes starts to get pretty weeding and we've got this milfoil problem in City lakes. And that's why after about the middle of June you're going to have to get out in the boat because you won't be able to cast beyond the milfoil so you can rent canoes. I think they can rent them at fail and I know you can rent them at Calhoun and you can get it in the chain like Cedar Lakes a good Lake wonderful Lake and if you don't mind not eating the fish one of the best place to fish in the Mississippi River. Hmm, right below Hidden Falls. Now they've just opened up the Mississippi to year around fishing from I believe from below the for damn on down but it's all catch and release. That's no great loss because you wouldn't want to eat those fish any other pretty lethal. Well, what about the eating fish out of metrolinx there? They've only sampled one Lake and there's some limitations on that. There is a Minneapolis health department has you can call them give them a call. I don't have the number right here, but they have a fish advisory. And some Lakes you're only supposed to eat one meal per week during the season. The particular concern is that women that are pregnant should avoid eating fish from sea likes probably because there are there's a lot of Airborne things. There's some stuff from runoff. We know that the Mercury now is Airborne. There's infect the fish in The Boundary Waters. Somebody waters are more polluted with Mercury than in the Twin Cities by turning up in loons and studies. So but those are like I would recommend one book. I don't get any Kickback from this but there's a great book Sybil Smith's book New Edition called Twin Cities fishing guide lists about 50 lakes in the Twin Cities She interviewed over a hundred Anglers to put that book together and has redrawn the maps because DNR maps are not always right on the button. So that would be your best bet would be to get Sybil Smith's book and looking in that for some good tips on fishing. You're listening to Minnesota Public Radio. It's about 11:30 one and you're listening to midday. Chet Myers is your guest this morning? I'm Mike Edgerly we're taking Your calls about fishing in Minnesota. The number in the Twin Cities metropolitan area is 2276 thousand anywhere, you can hear this program. You can give us a call at 1-800-222-6950 Allah, you're on Minnesota Public Radio. Hello. Well, we've got some other colors. Yep, but you do suggest yet again, if anyone's thinking of eating fish that they may catch in the metro area to check with the health department either in Ramsey or Hennepin, right we're doing so right. Well, it's the Minnesota Health Department action. I suppose I'll be thumbing through this thing can see if I can fly think we have our caller back on the line. You're on Minnesota Public Radio after seeing a river runs through it. I kind of got an interest in the fly fishing partly because it seems a little bit more boarding a little bit more interesting. Maybe there's some romance to it to wondering how you'd go about getting started then just learning learning fly fishing. Just started learning fly-fishing about five years ago. And it you're right. It's a very different kind of fishing different in what way well, I think when we're fishing with regular fishing tackle that is spinning tackle or baitcasting tackle. The focus is on catching fish and catching a lot of fish and you don't see the Fisher not visually citing fish in in trout fishing in salmon fishing often. You can see Fish and you might work over one fish for an hour. I mean just might work over that one for sure that would be unheard of in regular freshwater fishing. So there's it's a more contemplatively sport. I don't mean to romanticize it but it is a quieter have sport. You don't find to a lot of life, right? Well, you don't find trout in places where it's noisy or polluted or right? So it's the environment tends to be conducive towards a more contemplative approach to the sport. There's a group in and I think in the Twin Cities, it's either the Minneapolis or Minnesota fly Fishers, and I just got a flyer from them. They're doing a series of to work. Apps May 1st and 2nd the donít Loring Park, they've got borrowing equipment. So if you could find out about them either is it do you know Mike is that the Minneapolis or Minnesota fly fish? I'm not sure but that's certainly a good way to learn you need to get the rod in your hand before you and then some money there is one specialty shop in Northern many, it's not in many. I think it's in Freely. Thorn Brothers is a specialty shop for fly fishing but I would suggest that you take some lessons. I mean fly fishing can be there's a Mystique to it. We were up in the Body Waters last year and I had a friend out and we taught him to fly fishing about 15 minutes and he was catching bass. So it's not that big a deal with anything there's different levels of expertise, but with a couple of lessons you ought to be able to lay down line enough to catch bass and trout without any problem at all. So well, seeing the having seen the movie A River Runs Through It and fly fishing myself. There's a vast difference between what the the actors who were coached by the experts in Montana and there's a And the way many of us fish it's right. There really is a difference between art and and plane fly fish. Yes. It is. Let's go to another call your on Minnesota Public Radio. Yeah, I'm sorry to really to put the fly in the ointment. But I just am wondering, you know, why people can't just enjoy nature without having to you know, take things from it that especially if you can't even eat the fish and if you have food in your freezer and on your shelf why you have to go and take it out of where it's living happily. So you talked about having a lot of fun fishing, but it's I wonder how fun it is for the fish. You know, I'll hang up and listen. Well Chet. What do you say again? That's the philosophical argument against phishing generally. Well again, I release a lot of my fish I and my wife says that I'm teasing them. I tell them that I'm giving them a rubric exercise if you use barbless hooks, if you land fish quickly and release them, we've lots of Studies have been done by Bass Anglers Association by the DNR there's lots of studies that show that you can do Catch and Release very successfully without killing a lot of fish particularly in the spring in the fall when the weather when the water is cool when the water gets warm, you can Tire fish out and turn it back and it may look good but it may not survive. I don't know. I mean the answer when people ask me why do I fish it's just I think of Joseph Campbell who is a philosopher and Joseph Campbell said that the advice that he gave the women students that he taught as undergraduates was to find your bliss. Whatever your bliss is that is whatever connects you with something bigger life and really get you excited and just to follow it and I guess I'd have to say that fishing is my Bliss and I guess I'll just leave it I could I could go on as a philosopher and argue that we do take from nature and that's inevitable. I mean we take from the land we take from a lot of different things. So I don't think that fishing is any worse with regard to that than many other things, but I respect the caller's And and I just happen to love fishing and I find that it connects me with nature and it makes me a better Steward because I care I want I mean people who fish want to preserve. I mean if you look at the work that's been done in terms of preserving duck habitat in this in this country, which we plow just about everything under to make more agricultural fields for corn and grain the people who have preserved that cutting have been duck Hunters Ducks Unlimited has done an incredible thing to preserve duck hunting and the Izaak Walton League people like that or the people that are preserving your lakes and streams. I don't see a lot of other people doing that. So I would say that the people who love the sport want to preserve it for others and that's what I hope when I teach people to fish. I hope that they will love the sport enough to want to preserve it so that their children can do it and we need to do that. We need to take better care of the lakes and streams. So I'll just let it go at that and respect the viewers her decision not to fish. Let's go to another call you're on. Minnesota Public Radio. Yes. I'm calling from White Bear Lake area and where we do a lot of fishing up north and with our grandkids, but I may have lost their word not not heard which places in the city we can do but we live near Birch Lake and can you tell us anything about shore fishing when the grandkids can come here and we can put them set them along the shore of Birch Lake and they anything on that please. Well, you know anything about I don't know Birch Lake and and every year we get calls for specific legs. There are some general General guidelines for sure fishing and that's to try to find areas where there's a hard bottom because that's usually where crappies and bluegills spawn and if you get out when the water temperature gets in the high 50s to low 60s around 60 degrees you can get out and walk the shore with a pair of Polaroid glasses and you can see where bluegills and crappie spawn and that's what I do. I would look for Beds it's a dish shape its shaped area they get in there and they fan the area out with her tail. They clean out the bottom with her tail these fan the silt away from it and then they deposit their eggs. And again, don't worry about catching too many of those fish because there's there's plenty of those to go around but that's what I'd do. I'd get out with a pair of Polaroids and spot walk around before the kids come and see if you can find some areas where the fish spawn and then set your shore fishing up there. If you want to fish for other fish for some of the bigger Predators, what I would do is look for areas along the shore where you have weeds shallow water and then all of a sudden you can see that there's a drop-off because those transition zones between shallow water and deep water can be real key to fish fishing bass or walleyes. That's what I do when I short fish the city likes I'm walking around casting and watching my Lord drop down through the through the water and I'm looking for those drop-off areas. So that's a that's a classic another place. This is the least aesthetic place but one of the best in the city lakes in the in the late spring and early summer, We're a storm sewer comes in. Mmm. I is that exactly well storm sewers wash things into the into the lake insects. It sets up a food chain. So you get minnows small minnows moving in to feed on that and then crappies come in and feed on that and then Northerns any other fish commit. So if you've got a rain where the storms are is running for a couple of days you set up a food chain and I've caught some eight nine ten pound northern pike and City Lakes by babur fishing right where the storms were is come in with sucker minnows. So now the chat it I think this is an interesting point. It sounds like you really know. I mean you obviously know fishing but as part of if it's a lifelong Pursuit you really never stop learning. Oh you never know. No, I mean there's every year every season every time you walk out or take the canoe out. It's it's a different there's something else that comes to you from it. And particularly when you think you know fishing that's when you really start over it's humbling is oh gosh. Yes, I mean, that's when it gets I remember going out with a with a dear friend a couple of years ago on Lake Calhoun late in the season and He was new to fishing and I was I was probably showing off a little bit and you really should not do that with Mother Nature because she has a way of just knocking you to your knees, but I took the water temperature and I said, well I can tell you two things about the day one. It's too cold for bass the water temperatures drop below the point where bass are really going to be active and we're probably going to catch walleyes and we'll probably catch him mostly on minnow. So these crawlers we brought along her kind of useless. So we went out and what happened we fished for walleyes for a couple of hours and didn't catch anything. And finally we went over to a little sunken island that I know of and I put on a worm out of desperation and caught a bass and for the next two hours we cut bass now flew in the face of all of my, you know, 40 prior years of fishing for bass in that particular situation, but sometimes things like that happen, so you're right. You never know. Let's go back to the phones. Hello. You're on Minnesota Public Radio. Yeah. Hi chat. Hi. Hi. See. I've got a question concerning a more Northwest metro area. Wake up in Maple Grove called Eagle Lake. I know it's I have a decade old copy of ranchers Twin City fishing guide the list that as a at that point in time as one of the top 30 Metro lakes and I was wondering if you have any information or maybe through your other fishing buddy contacts how that leak is doing these days, you know, I haven't fished Eagle, but I'm going to this year. I'm writing an article that's going to be coming out on the volunteer in the next issue the volunteer on City lakes and when I don't know likes I call her on and I talked to a couple of people at the DNR and they mentioned Eagle Lake is a good a good Lake good like for Bass and I think it's got some walleyes in it. So it's still a good Lake. It has a good it has a good population of bass. And I think it also might have Northerns and we used to have a lot better Northern fishing in the Twin Cities, but they stopped stocking winter rescued Northerns and a lot of the lakes and started stalking hybrid muskies. So a lot of the Lakeside Have good pike fishing now have good Muskie fishing in them. But I I would just say stick with eagle. It's a good Lake and get a good map of it and work it over because according to the DNR contact that I had just a couple of weeks ago. It's still a good producer. Hmm. Let's go back to the phone's your on Minnesota Public Radio. Hello. Hi. I was wondering if there's a general good book. I can pick up the read about fish and what lures they like and so on so forth boy, there's so many books. I mean, they're just hundreds and hundreds of books that I could recommend. I think let me tell you just one because it's a it's a book that has a lot of pictures in it and you need pictures and fishing when you're beginning to see a lot of the different lures the art of freshwater fishing. It's a dick Sternberg is the is the author it's produced by side a cost incorporate out in Minnetonka and there's a series of books. So the art of freshwater fishing covers the basics. And then they go into bass must you can you can pick up a whole so you can get up to 15 of the books, but they're available in most most bookstores. And I think that'll be a good starting point would be that book right there and the videos there lots of video lots of videos. Yeah. I mean when I think of where fishing was 20 years ago in terms of books and Wilt there were hardly any videos at all back then it's incredible the amount of information. Now, we've got so much information that you can spend all your time and never Fish Reading and never fish and their nothing replaces time on the water. As you know, you got to be out there. You just have to put in your you got to pay your dues as they say we have another caller. You're on Minnesota Public Radio. Yeah. I I recently moved to Duluth and last spring I went out the friend and we fished for salmon on the rivers come into the lake up here. It seemed like kind of a an odd sport that I mean mostly it seemed like people were just snagging the things do they really bite on the whatever it is you're using for bait or Mostly snagging that's a good question. I just got I was in Alaska friend of mine. Just moved to Alaska and I've been reading a lot about I don't don't do a lot of salmon fishing normally, but I'm getting into it and most of the the Pacific salmon and those are some of the salmon that have been stalked into into Lake Superior and the Pacific salmon are like the Chinook King Salmon that the red salmon the pink salmon the coho salmon most of those fish actually once they return to spawn die and do not strike and you're actually snagging them and what's happened. If you're fishing and rivers in that is you're actually drawing a line across the river in the line just gets lodged in the fish's mouth and then as a lure approaches, it looks like you're catching them, but apparently The Coho is one of the few salmon that you actually catch and we fished for those with eggs with salmon eggs. So most of the time you you may be snagging there some of those salmon species do strike out of anger now, they're not feeding but they just Strike out of your rotation. So that's why they use what they call Exciter. It's not even a lure. Sometimes. It's just a piece of yarn piece of red yarn. You can get the fish excited and snapping at it. But most of those species do not once they decide to spawn they do not they're not feeding. So I think the co has about the only one that you can say is actually striking at the lore. Now your steelhead your trout Rainbow Trout strikes. So that is with my limited knowledge of the Pacific salmon species. That's that's what I would say most of the time you are snagging but you're all a lot of the time also the fish maybe just striking out of anger. Let's go to another caller. You're on Minnesota Public Radio. Yes. I'm calling from Hastings. And I know you talked a little bit about shore fishing, but I'm highly interested in that because I have a six year old and I like to go fishing with him and I don't like to take him out in a canoe. If you could talk some more about shore fishing and some of the best lakes in the metro area to do some sheriffing. And is there any books or articles of our inshore fishing and I'll hang up and listen? Okay, what I would recommend to you that the DNR has a flyer. I think they put out. In fact, it's a map on all the shore fishing areas within the Twin Cities and and you're certainly living in Hastings. You're within driving distance distance of that. There are also within if you're willing to come up to the city's there's a number of small ponds that are called children's fishing ponds that are stocked by the DNR they often they're shallow lakes that freeze out during the regular winter, but they stock them with crappies and bluegills Powderhorn Park is one of those in fact, somebody got a two-pound cropping there last year. So there are a number of places that are specifically set up for kids and shore fishing. There's the the courthouse pain and Chaska which is stocked with trout. So what I would do is call the DNR get that map. I'm sorry. I can't think of the name of but they would know what it is. It's a brand new map of all the shore fishing areas within the Twin Cities. And then also again Sybil Smith's book mentions, the the kids fishing ponds in the back of her book. There's an index of all the It's fishing pond, but I would go to that because shore fishing rivers with children is can be a little dangerous to women kids like to play in there like to muck around and you can take a slip into a river and if the water is cooled, it can be dangerous. So I would I think you're wise to stay out of the canoe and to stick with the ponds and just just to do some shore fishing in it, but find out where the DNR kids fishing ponds are because they're stocked with fish and that's what they're there for. Enjoy him. We have another caller. Hello. You're on Minnesota Public Radio. Hi. I've got some information for you about the Minnesota Department of Health phone number to get them into thank you consumption Advisory Board and and the issue those yearly each spring. Hmm. The number is six to seven 5046. Thank you so much. I usually bring that that brochure long and I just left it in the back of the car. So I really appreciate you calling in for and giving us the information question. Yes, cherries you sort of touched on this both in the mention of mercury contamination and Stewardship by fishing organizations and I have really not seen either in the media or in talking to some Fisher people any kinds of efforts by fishing organizations to look at Mercury emissions and efforts to cut them down by addressing the major sources, which are power plants and center aiders and incineration of things like batteries and mercury-containing light bulbs would like to know what our fishing organizations doing not to deny this problem, but you're really look at addressing the sources and attempting to reduce the Mercury emissions. Yeah. You're right. I don't think many of the smaller fishing organizations are I'm pretty sure that the Izaak Walton League has nationally and I know that's it. That's a national fishing organization. But I think most of the smaller fishing organizations focus on things like stream Rehabilitation or building fish structure within streams and rivers and things of that nature. So I think An issue that we all need to pay attention to we've lived a pretty profligate life with our consumption and have messed up the environment incredibly and we need to put pressure on those those organizations and and institutions. I know that up in Canada. There's a huge. In fact, that's why I think we're a lot of arm record comes from so I think that Citizens need to band together. I'm member of a Lakes advisory committee, which has just been formed to work with a Minnesota part Minneapolis Park Board, and that's what we're running into. We're looking at all the things that we can do in the cities to just to alert people to what they simple things they can do with regards to their consumption patterns with regards to the kinds of lightbulbs. They buy with regards to just simple things like cutting their grass and letting it wash into the to the street which seems like a silly thing but that's how you get phosphorus loading and local lakes. So I agree with you. I don't I'm not I can't wouldn't Alibi for them. I think all all Citadel fishing group should be putting pressure on that on the Corporations to to do those kinds of things well and individual citizens to right right. We got to start. I mean that's where it starts is with one person because a lot of people a lot of Fisher people are denying the problem is yeah, I can eat fishbein. Yeah. We're burying your head in the sand not a lake. Yeah. Thanks very much for your call. And for your information really appreciate that. You're welcome. Let's go to another caller. Hello. You're on Minnesota Public Radio. I checked. I was wondering if you'd say something about favorite spots in Minnetonka and specifically if there's a bomb up chat. Where do you fish go ahead and specifically if there's any way that I could go after walleye and have any Assurance whatsoever that I might catch one. You know, I fish Minnetonka for bass because when I fish a like I go with the odds and Minnetonka is just one of the best bass lakes in the state and there are so many places out there. I fish around the Big Island area which is which is a famous place Browns Bay Area is well known as a smallmouth place. There aren't a lot of small amount places in the lake, but most people know that if you want to fish Smallmouth you fishing grounds Bay. I've tried all eyes on that Lake and cut and not been very successful. I've caught them inadvertently while fishing for bass off of off of some Sandy points and bars. So I can't really put you onto any any wall eye spots. But again, I can't think of the names that I mean I I tell you where they were but if you get a map of Minnetonka starting around Spring Park is a nice area. There's a big Bay in there and there's some points there that have bass on them. I do some ice fishing. There's also good Northern place. There's so many places on Minnetonka that have fish. I mean, it's a question. Getting out getting using a depth finder getting beyond the weed line and going at it, but it's just an incredible fishery, but there are no assurances dead certain assurances. You're going to catch walleye no matter what no information. Well and again anybody who's fish know that there are no assurances and fishing you just can't give them. It's it's a tough. It can be a tough Lake to fish walleyes on you might do better to try a lake like Calhoun. What's the other one? I'm blanking on its west of the city's there's a big area it perhaps Harry it's got one of the biggest walleye populations in the state and that they're tough to catch but it's got almost a two point average and that's a huge average for for a fish. There's they've netted 1011 Pounders out of here yet. So if you want to try catch them all eyes, I would work Harry and I work at at night because you get get away from the sale boaters and the windsurfers and people like that. But yeah, that's a that's a good walleye like but it's a tough. Like to fish at least they're there though. Oh there there. So what fish do you prefer to go? After Chad? What's your favorite game Fish? I'm I am indiscriminate Mike. I love them all. I mean, I fish carpi fish white bass. I fished sturgeon on occasion, I guess if I mean if you push me, I would say smallmouth bass is my favorite. I just there's something about the Smallmouth that I just love and I think they put up a wonderful fight and even though I've gotten been privileged to fish in Alaska the last couple of years because of friends move there and I'll be doing more fishing there. I still still prefer small one. I like to get on my sneakers and weighed the Upper, Mississippi and kids moment bass and it's just it's just a great fish. We have another caller you're on the air. I'm calling from the Elk River area. I had a question concerning we do a lot of fishing in the river up here in the Mississippi near the Monticello nuclear power plant one. Are you seems like where the water comes out from the power plant there and it's warm you can always catch a lot of small mouth walleyes. It's a very good fishing area. But my question is is what kind of chances are we taking if we would keep these fish the eating them. Yeah, I guess I'd advise some caution there. I used to fish that area with the and gape and who's a want to probably one of the best River fishermen in the state and it's a particularly warm water Outlets both their the Alan S King plan up by Stillwater are super particularly in the spring in the fall because the water temperature in the river is so cool that the fish are more active when they get in there. You actually get a little food chain set up. But I remember one day sitting there with Dan and catching 200 bass releasing all of them. I'd be careful about that. I really would be careful about about eating fish in that area again. Look at the woman who Then with the Minnesota Health advisory in the number, there is six to seven 5046 and I would get a copy of that and look at it. But I guess I guess I'd say if you want to catch some fish to eat. I'd move Upstream a little further. I mean, I think once you get up, oh actually once you get up around clear water, I think you're in much better shape with regards to eating eating the fish and there's some good smallmouth bass fishing up. There isn't all cheese you wonderful and they have new regulations new size regulations on that that area of the river and it's just a super fishery. I was at a couple times last year just had a ball now, you need a canoe or a boat or something there, right? Yeah, you need a johnboat. The river won't do well with most bass boats or with v halls with big motors on it because they're just so many rocks in it's so shallow. So you really need to get a flat bottom jon boat and what some of the old River Rats and that's an affectionate nickname for River Angler do is they used to weld a pitchfork to the back of their neck on a motor so that the Pitchfork took all the The beating me just just the bottom into the Pitchfork. Obviously the fork end of it. But yeah, I jon boat or canoe is good. I would say a Jon Boat with a motor if you got it because with a canoe you're drifting past stuff and you often want to go back up River and fish that spot again and it's you can wear yourself out with the canoe trying to do that. We have just a couple of minutes left on this. Midday program Chad. I wonder what the what the future holds for angling. Is it is it possible that that the the corner has been turned on conservation preserving the various species that Everyone likes to fish for Do you think that's possible? I mean I have we gotten to the point now where we are returning enough fish preserving the habitat sufficiently to keep these species alive. Now, I think the angling public has become increasingly educated about catch-and-release. I'm not concerned about that. That's that's never been a concern of mine. Mine concern is the environment and I think the woman who called in and it was right on the button when she talked about the the power plants the our consumption had habits the pcbs all of these pollutants that that have just become a natural part of our lifestyle and I think we really need to do a lot of work in that regard and I'm I wish I could be more optimistic about that. I see signs that that's happening but we need to do a lot of Education with children in particular and parents educating their kids and kids do what they see and that's where they pick up their their patterns of consumption that are that are lifestyle patterns, and I think we need to do some serious work with regard to that because I'm with regard to catch. Release, I think that's not a big concern with regards to the environment. We're the ones that take care of the environment and if we don't take care of it, it won't be there and it really can start with one person. It can can a difference it certainly can I mean some of the most important social movements in this in the world have started with one person and of course, we should also point out that when you are fishing those conservation tactics include not leaving your old line along the bank hooks that sort of thing right definitely clean up after yourself because that line birds get their feet snagged in it. I mean fish swim into beer cans and can't I mean Clean up your mess. It really does make a difference. You've been listening and talking with Chet Myers. He's a outdoor writer and professor of humanities at Metropolitan State University chat. Thanks for being with us. Thank you. Mike really enjoyed it on midday and it's coming to you on Minnesota Public Radio. Midday on Saturday is supported by the oriental rug company specializing in sales and service of handmade oriental rugs and located in Minneapolis at 50th and Bryant's good morning. I'm Kathleen hallinan with a look at headlines of the day the federal trial of for Los Angeles police officers charged in the beating of Rodney King has resumed lawyers are finishing their summations before the case goes to the jury for deliberations. The FBI says it's received a letter from Texas cult leader David koresh agent bobrick says the letter has a threatening tone and refers to koresh as a servant of a powerful Angry God the standoff in Texas enters its second or seventh week tomorrow the state forecast. Today calls for Cloudy Skies region-wide with showers likely in Southwestern Minnesota. Hi should range from the 40s in the arrowhead region to the 50s in southern Minnesota. The Twin Cities can look for cloudy skies and a possible shower with a high in the lower 50s. I'm Jeff Bevier. Join me for Prime Time pop culture in a bold New Perspective Saturday nights at 8 p.m. On the news and information service of Minnesota Public Radio. This is knnow 91.1 FM and knnow 1330 AM Minneapolis-Saint Paul the Twin Cities news and information station. It's 12 o'clock in time for Karthik. Karthik is made possible by the 140 locally-owned bumper-to-bumper auto parts stores and their Affiliated dealers throughout the Upper Midwest. Hello and welcome to Car Talk on national public radio with us Click and Clack the tappet brothers. We're broadcasting this week from the center for miscellaneous business deductions here at Car Talk place, you know, it's interesting to see some of the things that you spent your money on in the last year is looking at the you know, our tax consultant loophole has been a guiding us on this video, but I was looking at some of these things like Huey Louie Dewie has all these receipts for sneakers. Are you guys out about a pair of money chasing after those ambulance? That's why is murky murky research our prestigious research 4107. Yeah. Bought a hundred and forty cases of whiteout listed here on the return as data correction expensive. I love it. I love it. Loophole must have told him about his Mike. He's right on top of things if I sleep all the time in my office, which you do does it count as a home office deduction. I mean will they recognize that as being my home on my office? I have no idea just do it do it. Why not? They'll catch you right sure if it's wrong and that's the way it works. You take every deduction you can think of and if they don't like it, they will certainly let you know. That's right. There's any interesting males. I don't have any mail, but I was reading through my what is This Time Magazine old that my Discover magazine. I'm always interested for your side government at the dentist this week. I know I have a I have a prescription to this and I saw this great ad for a GMC Safari and they show this picture of a safari and it's obviously parked at a Marina and the big headline is in quotes. Now I can get a bigger boat. Aha and what they didn't mention is it's the mechanic who saying that I thought that was good of them it is like that all right appreciate how would you want to do I want to take a call go ahead 103:3 29287. Hello. You're on Car Talk. How's it going guys? Great. Who's this? This is Tom. I'm calling from Portland, Oregon. Hey, Tom. What did the Zen master? Say to the hot dog vendor? I don't know. You tell me make me one with everything. Where are you from? I'm from Portland, Oregon Portland. There's a girl in didn't mean to you know, yeah, but in the Portland in Maine is quite a bit further south than the Portland in Oregon the right. Well, most people don't know that and I also understand we're quite a bit farther west as well. It depends on where you're standing we start from so what's up, Tom? So anyway, I've got this 76 Lift back, I bought it last week from a retired schoolteacher. Uh-huh. She was the classic case. I only drove it to the grocery store and a church and that sort of thing. Yeah, but it only had 60,000 miles and she was selling it for 500. So I went for it and everything seemed fine until my first trip got out on the highway and suddenly this little red light came on and said exhaust temperature. So I pulled over and I consulted my owners manual and it gave me some mumbo jumbo about the catalytic converter. Yeah, and they said you got to let it cool down so on. Well, anyway, I'm thinking great. I turn the car off. I turn it back on I get back on the highway. The light doesn't come back on no more problems got back into town now every once in a while when I drive it. It doesn't seem to be dependent on anything. The light will come on hmm. Wonder if you guys have any guess as to what the deal is here. Well, I think it's the shock to the system that the car had to deal with sure. I mean always being driven just on these little short trips to the grocery store and to church Suddenly you take it out on the highway or freeway or whatever you call it. They must have freaked out. It didn't know what to make. What is this? Look at all these people speeding down the road? No. I said I wouldn't be too worried about it. Although it would be nice to find out if in fact this there is something wrong with the exhaust temperature and it's house the thing for power or you wouldn't know you've been walking up until now so probably seems grow now we ride bikes out here. Of course, what does it seem like it has plenty of power when you step on the gas as well just deploy I gots but once it gets going it's fine. Yeah, you want to swarm and and also it seems as if I warm it up, it doesn't generally happen. Well, you could be the high exhaust temperature could come from a couple of things one of which is retarded timing or a mixture. That's too rich