Hello All

It's been a while since my last post. Sorry about that. We are in a cold snap right now. I guess everyone is. I see you folks in Wisconsin and Michigan are getting some real cold weather. We shouldn't complain up here because this is the first real cold spell since November. Winter is moving along quickly.
It is shaping up to be a busy summer for me this year. I've got a fair number of booking already. I can't wait to get back out on Rainy Lake.
Ice out is hard to predict but it usually is out the first week in May. It's been out earlier but I usually don't rely on that. Pike fishing right at ice out can be fantastic, as many of you know, as long as we get some sunshine. I have a number of new locations for you to try out. I found a few obscure weedlines the last two springs and we'll be spending much more time on them. Many of my usual haunts are getting more and more traffic in them so we've got to move on to find fresh fish.
I will be posting more blogs in the next while, keeping you informed of the ice conditions and ice out. If you wish to book a trip, just drop me an e-mail and we can set it up.
Oh, almost forgot, I hate to be accused of being out to lunch or anything. Some book suggestions for you to enjoy during the cold snap:

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail of Succeed- By Jared Diamond
A fantastic facinating read. Are we choosing the right path? Diamond give some good arguments that we are choosing an unwise direction.

Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy: By Christopher Lasch
This book is a collection of essays written by Lasch. Some of them are over my head but I know some of you smart folks will get it. What I did comprehend, I found facinating. Basically Lasch blames the decline of true democracy on greed, moral decline, lack of faith (in all faiths) , the need of instant gratification and the our need to accumulate crap to appease useless or need to prove ourselves. Here is an important quote that I took away from this book: When word are used merely as instruments of publicity or popaganda, they lose their power to persuade. Soon they cease to mean anything at all.

Black Elk Speaks: By John G. Neihardt
A beautiful book which Neihardt relates the teaching of Black Elk, an Ogalalas Sioux holy man. Black Elk lived through the Indian wars. He was at Little Big horn and other battles. Here in Black Elks words are the four greatest virtues we should all strive for. "Bravery, fortitude, generousity and wisdom." Not a bad suggestion.