Arvid’s Fishing Report

We are taking a bit of a break from fishing activities and devoting some time to the garden and blueberry season. The blueberries this year are not what we were expecting nor as good as last year. This past week Diane and I went twice with Don and Sue into Canada to what is called the “Split Rock” area northeast of here. We each picked about a five quart pail and got plenty of exercise in the process. Maybe we are just getting old and don’t pick very fast any more.

Nice blueberries, but not that many

This coming Saturday, February 9th, Baudette will be part of Hockey Day Minnesota with two high school hockey games to be played on Baudette Bay and televised on FSN North. Game one at 10:00 a.m., central time will be between Lake of the Woods and Eveleth/Gilbert. Game two is at 1:30 p.m. between number one ranked Roseau and number nine, Blaine. There is a Old-timer game at 5:00 p.m. and fireworks at 7:45 p.m. There are many other activities and things to do throughout the day.

Preparing for Hockey Day Minnesota

It’s the season for fall colors and Wednesday Diane and I took a ride. MN hwy 38 north of Grand Rapids was especially colorful with lots of gold, yellow, bronze and red mixed in with the green. If you have the opportunity, check out northern Minnesota’s fall colors.

Fall colors in northern Minnesota

There are many different wild berries in northern Minnesota; probably the most common is the blueberry and chokecherry. There are also wild raspberries, strawberries, juneberries, pincherries and more. One that doesn’t get much attention is the low bush cranberry. It grows in the bog and it’s not real easy to pick because they grow individually. If there is any kind of a crop it’s worth picking a few, because they are nothing like you’d buy in the store. The cranberry sauce made to go with a turkey or wild bird is really special. There is a small bog close to Baudette that I checked the other day and there are not many berries; it may have been to dry this summer.

Low Bush Cranberries

About 1500 hockey fans were treated to a good hockey game with acceptable weather in the first Baudette Bay Hockey Classic. It was part of a Saturday proclaimed “Hockey Day Minnesota” by the Minnesota Wild and the Fox Sports Network. Lake of the Woods upset St. Paul Johnson 5-3. Just a week earlier St. Paul Johnson defeated LOW 8-1 in St. Paul.

The teams warming up for the Baudette Bay Hockey Classic

This coming January 20th will be a special day in Baudette. The Lake of the Woods high school hockey team will play St. Paul Johnson in a hockey game on the Baudette Bay. Go to http://www.bbhcmn.com for more about the Baudette Bay Hockey Classic.

A Senior Boating and Fishing Program is being organized in Baudette to provide boating and fishing opportunities to Lake of the Woods County seniors age 55 and over. The program will operate two or three days a week during the summer and fall boating season. The program will be offered at no charge to the seniors. Our goal is to purchase a ADA accessible pontoon boat, motor and trailer and be operational by June 1, 2007. We are very optimistic that we can reach our goal as we have already raised over $10,000. Until we can purchase our own boat we have been given the use of a private pontoon. On Tuesday evening, Mike Larson and I took a group of senior ladies for a three hour ride from Baudette to Wheeler’s Point and back to Baudette. From all indications they really enjoyed the ride.

Seniors enjoying an evening ride

Sunset on the Rainy River

Willard and I took a drive on Monday with expectations of finding a bag of Morels. It wasn’t to be and we are hoping that it was just to early. We found less than a dozen; about half black and half white ones.

It was a nice day and it wasn’t a complete waste of time. Always on the lookout for the perfect Diamond Willow stick; we cut a few and after getting them peeled it looks like some have the potential of making a good walking stick.

White Morel

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