What a weird start to the 2013 fishing opener. Plenty of ice still roaming around our larger lakes as our smaller lakes begin to open up.

The winter of 2012-2013, will be the determining factor and focal point of many discussions that sportsmen and women will have when coming up with strategies of how to approach late season turkey hunting, and opening walleye season strategies this year.

Recently I have been spending some time reviewing ice out dates for the entire state of Minnesota and I must say we could set a new record here for one of the latest recorded ice out dates in history.

As we enter into the month of March everyone turns their attention to their boats and thoughts of buying or trading the one they have.

With the walleye season winding down it’s time for panfish to pick up the slack and big bluegills can definitely get it done. They really are fun to catch and second to none when it comes to fine dining. For the most part the finding is the most important piece of the puzzle to place with the catc...

The 31-year old Minnesota Deer Classic enters a new era as the venerable Minnesota sport hunting show moves to a new venue, the National Sports Center (NSC) in Blaine, Minn., under new ownership and with new attractions made feasible by the unique venue offered at the NSC.

The last trip to a local crappie hole held no surprises; the fish were where they usually are this time of the year and they were biting.

It was really great the other day to actually hold a long, real fishing rod in my hands after the last few months of ice fishing with the short sticks. I always keep an eye on the weather during February to make note of those balmy, 30- to 40-degree days where I can grab my waders and hit the rivers...

Some of the best perch lakes in the entire country are right here in Minnesota and includes Mille Lacs, Leech, and Winnie to be sure. They have the right makeup to produce numbers of big perch and do it year after year.

There may be no better place right now to catch big walleyes, giant northern pike and behemoth perch than Devils Lake in North Dakota.

The state’s first ever wolf hunting and trapping season is history. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced Jan. 2 that the wolf season would close in the last open zone at the end of shooting and trapping hours Jan. 3.

A late fall trip to the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods left me wishing for ice. It was the 20 mph northwest winds, the intermittent snow squalls and slower than normal walleye fishing that did it.

This is quite a departure for this writer to expound on Fall fishing as I am normally busy bowhunting, upland and waterfowl hunting but because my success in those areas has been above par, I have devoted much more time to Fall fishing this season.

Scott Birklid aims to start something new at Anoka High School.

I just love the period of late October into early November as these few weeks are the best time to be in the woods to waylay a whitetail buck.

When the walleye action slowed down late in the summer many anglers thought the fish had lost their teeth. It made sense; some of the walleyes that were caught had red looking gums and there had to be a reason for the lack of success.

Now that we’re settling in with some good ol’ summer heat, it’s a great time for getting after some largemouth bass. Patterns are setting up that can hold for several months and one of the most consistent includes working deep weed lines with plastic baits.

Thankfully the weather has stabilized here in central Minnesota and it looks like things are back to normal as we enter the beginning of the largemouth and smallmouth bass season.

Things are looking good for the walleye opener with the early ice-out and warm-up we’ve had. Typically fish are still involved in the spawn (especially in northern Minnesota) and the fishing can be a little tough, but not this year.

Without question, chasing spring turkeys in Minnesota, or any place else, is addicting, exhilarating, challenging and also very humbling.