Frightfully Lifelike....

July 30, 2010

Believe it or not, the big guy and the big blue cow in the photo here are NOT real. Amazing detail and biological correctitudinousness, huh!

Whoever crafted these totally lifelike replicas of Paul Bunyan (of Brawny Towels fame) and Babe the Blue Ox ("Ox" is Ojibwe for "Big Cow") was a true master of the sculptorial arts. Mike D'Angelo, Ro-Dan and Leonardo Da Caprio--considered by many to be the greatest stone chiselers of all time--got nothing on this guy!

Who is he?....

We don't know. But we think he's a true unshaven, malodorous Northwoods talk-to-himself hermit, so his name is probably Zeke. One thing is for certain: Nobody does papier mache like Zeke.

Paul and Babe, the totally real ones, not Zeke's frightfullly realistic paper and paste ones, are the mascots for the pleasant college town of Bemidji, which is an Objibwe word meaning "pleasant place where big blue cows roam," and for the multisport races which will be staged there on Saturday. The event is aptly named "The Paul Bunyan Triathlon." Hence the logo to the right. (Try not to notice that it has the 2009 race date. We don't have the upgraded logo. Sorry.)

The first thing visiting triathletes want to know before they travel to Bemidji for the race is: What's the fishing report?

According to local fishing guy Paul Nelson, "Bass action has been good...jumbo perch are showing up in shallower water...and bottom bouncers and a spinner usually work better for walleyes..."

Good stuff, huh?

Here's Paul's "O-FISH-ial" report:

July 22, 2010

"Walleye fishing continues to be good, despite the unstable weather. Anglers (photo) are finding walleyes on top of mid-lake bars and humps in 6-12 feet in lakes that have stained water from a summer algae bloom. Anglers (photo) are using spinner rigs tipped with leeches, night crawlers or minnows that are trolled between 1 and 1.5 mph in most situations.

"Anglers (photo) should look at the spinner blades at different speeds off the side of the boat, to be sure the spinner blades are turning and not spinning out of control. Color usually matters in spinner blades, so experiment with different colors to find the one that is working best.

"If anglers (photo) find walleyes in shallow water, safety pin spinners or a “Lake Bemidji Rig” (single hook spinner with a white twister tail) works well, while a bottom bouncer and a spinner usually works better for walleyes off the sides of structure in deeper water. Live bait rigs with leeches or night crawlers will also work if anglers (photo) find clean bottom areas with a good concentration of active walleyes.

"Muskie action continues to be good, with anglers (photo) catching some larger fish in the past week. Most anglers have been using bucktail or other types of spinners and surface baits fished over the weeds, but when the water gets stained from the algae blooms, slower presentations like plastics or jerk baits may produce more fish.

"Jumbo perch are showing up in shallower water on most of the larger lakes like Winnibigoshish, Bemidji, Cass, Pike’s Bay and Plantagenet. Anglers (photo) can catch perch on a jig and minnow or a jig and piece of night crawler in 5-8 feet of water in most lakes.

"Bass action has been good on many of the smaller lakes on the edges of two different types of weeds. Usually the deepest patches of reeds or a mixture of rocks and weeds will be the key areas for bass.

"Bluegills have been biting on the deep edges of the cabbage and coontail weed beds. Crappies have been biting early and late in the day on points or weed edges that drop directly into deep water."

- Paul A. Nelson

Bemidji Area Lakes Guide Service

Do you agree that the stuff about "leech tips" is kinda gross and scary? (Insert baleful moan and full body shiver here.)

If you're interested in PBT predictions, we think Tara Makinen will win the short course and guys from outside Minnesota--Manitoba or North Dakota--will take the top men's spots in both the long and sprint course races.

Who'll win the women's long course race? Don't have a clue. Anne Garlock (photo) isn't registered. If she was, we'd pick her because we totally like her. We'd also like to pick "Gaydonna Baker" of Emo, Ontario (population 1173, including Mooses), but she's 62-years old and racing in the short course event. We really like her name and hope that she dominates her AG. So, our pick is Kamrin Macki, 36, of Grand Forks, ND. Why? We like the way her name is spelled and she comes from a totally cool town.

We have a cousin who lives there.