Lake of the Woods

I went fishing with my friend Todd at the Lake of the Woods over the weekend.  This was my first fishing experience at the Lake of the Woods.  I had so much fun.  We went in at Adrians resort, and drove 11 miles past the island.  We really didn't know where to fish, we just picked a spot 30 or so yards off of the plowed road.


The first thing we did was drill a hole to check the water depth, 34 feet.  We decided to try the spot, so I put a tip up in the hole I just drilled.  We popped a couple more in, and got the two man fish house out.  We fished for about 1/2 hour, and I saw that the flag was up on the tip up.  I ran out to find the top of the tip up spinning like mad.  I set the hook, and boy did I have a fight.  I pulled up a 24.5" Walleye.  What a great way to start the fishing trip. 

We caught a couple of more 11-15" Walleye/Saugers on the first night (Friday).  Todd and I decided to have Walleye for dinner.  Todd fileted the Larger walleye he caught.  We used flower, salt, pepper and Lays potato chips as batter, fried the Walleye up on a skillet with cooking oil.  It was the best tasting Walleye ever.  Yum!  Friday night was wicked cold, -20 degrees to be exact.  We slept in a suitcase style fish house.  The fish house was heated well, however I could not sleep because my feet were so cold.


Saturday morning started off well.  We made some scrambled eggs using a conventional cooking method.  We cut up tomatoes, onions, sausages; placed them into a plastic bag along with three eggs.  We boiled the bags for 10-15 minutes.  What a great way to eat eggs without making a big mess.  It was delicious.

The fishing was excellent on Saturday.  The Saugers and walleyes bit steadily.  We had our limit by 4pm.  We also caught two White Fish.  We decided to pack up the truck, drive back to Brainerd and sleep at Todd's cabin.  What a great decision.  I slept like a baby, and it was warm.


On Sunday we fished on Nissiwa Lake near Brainerd.  Todd caught a lot of bluegills and I caught one northern.  It was a good way to end our trip, and we stayed some place warm to boot.  All and all, the fishing trip was a success.  I have four bags of Walleye in my freezer and I will be ready to go back next year.

Ah, the taste of some good venison for dinner.

I was informed today by my domestic assistant (DA) that I was "in charge" of dinner.  What a great opportunity to have venison for dinner.  I pulled out a package of chops and steaks and let them thaw.  I took a stick of soft butter, lemon juice, and Cilantro and mixed them together and set it aside.  To prepare the rub for the meat: I took 3 tablespoons of A1 Steak Sauce, added a tablespoon of Ground Cayenne Red Pepper and half of tablespoon of Garlic Powder (I recommend more, and salt).  I rubbed this mixture into the steaks and chops and fried them on a skillet for about 3.5 - 4 minutes per side.  I served this dish to my family with Red Potato.  The butter mixture was for the warm, soft, tender venison.  It was delicious.  Both of my boys enjoyed the venison.  My wife scored it 8 of 10.  Success!   The only change I would make is to grill them, vs. frying them.

If I keep serving meals like this, the DA may authorize extended hunting trips.  All part of the master plan.  You see folks, It pays to have venison in the freezer, even if it means shooting the small ones.  Ha!