Welcome to the MNOutdoors.org staff blog!
I am very excited to begin using this blog as part of our MNOutdoors.org community. Our intention is to use this forum for informal communications regarding the “goings-on” within our club as well as around the world of sport fishing and hunting. One aspect that makes this tool so powerful and exciting is that our staff has the technology to keep this blog updated while in the field, on the water, or tucked cozily into an ice shanty. For those of you that are “in to” technology as well, you can recieve RSS feeds for notification of when we update or post new content here.
Please feel free to comment on any post. We hope you read this often!
Brent Kastner
Staff Writer/Editor at Large
While I can understand the excitement that this time of year brings to an avid ice-fisherpersons life, the incident out on Prior Lake last week has me completely baffled. I am a web junkie of the first degree. I’ve cruised many different discussion forums, and it seems completely clear to me that our metro area lakes have only a half a dozen inches of clear ice at best. Why would you want to drive on it?
It does get a little embarassing for people like me who do ice fish responsibly when non-enlightened (non ice fishers) scoff at us like we’re all crazy. People, don’t drive your cars on 6 inches of ice. The MN DNR recommends at least 12 inches for light to medium vehicles!
This warm streak also has me slightly concerned that we are going to see more of these types of issues due to the weakening (maybe) of the ice.
Be safe-
BK
I have some exciting news to share. Staff writer Denny has agreed to a series of articles regarding his new black Labrador puppy. This series will deal with training, theory, and overall progress as Denny takes a new black lab pup from adoption to first hunt sometime in October. We are expecting a bi-weekly report from him which will be available here. We expect his first article shortly!
Brent Kastner
Fun fun fun… I’ve been up to some things lately to make this site a bit more interesting. First, I’ve posted a game of wits at MNOutdoors.org . This should be a fun use of time in that the puzzles start fairly easy and gradually work into some really hard and creative thinking puzzles. I’ve had an absolute blast putting this together, and most importantly, the prize is something worth the effort. If you win, a solid gold 1/10 ounce American Eagle will be your prize. I will begin posting clues for the puzzles on my website, inside Geocaches, in the discussion forums, here, basically anywhere I have access too. While no puzzle requires a clue to complete, a few of the puzzles would be very, VERY, hard without them. Good luck, I hope you try your hand!
Brent
I’ve just found that the TCGCPC (thats Twin Cities GeoCaching Pod Cast) has reviewed our Treasure hunt. Go download and listen to the podcast at their website TCGCPC Podcast 7. I was impressed by the forum, and think that you will be too.
Brent
Things are getting interesting. I’ve just learned that the first puzzle for the treasure hunt has been solved. The second has been issued, good luck to that person!
Brent
My wife Lauren and I have been completely sucked into the treasure hunt for the Volvo car inspired by the Pirates of the Carribean movie coming out this summer. Here is a link to the website, feel free to discuss this hunt here if needed 
... www.volvocars.us/thehunt
Brent
Yesterday I was out hunting a ditch with my chocolate lab “Choxie”. We flushed three roosters and a couple of hens. I shot, and missed . Choxie ran into the field adjacent (where the birds flew). I whistled her back, and she came right away. Walking back along the road to the car I was shaking my head in disbelief at the 2 easy shots that I missed (and I do mean missed, not even a feather ruffled) when this man drove up and stopped next to my car. He pointed his finger at me and said, “I don’t want to see that dog in my field again”. I told him that was not a problem, and that we weren’t hunting his field. He then continued to belligerently shake his finger at me saying he didn’t appreciate “no pheasant hunters scaring away all the deer”. Clearly English is probably not his first language. Regardless, I was within my right. We did pack up and move along, but it is getting harder to enjoy this sport with so many rude and inconsiderate people.
Fed up
Brent Kastner
Last night, I attended my very first Pheasants Forever (PF) meeting at the Buffalo American Legion. In total there were 6 or 7 friendly individuals that took part in the meeting. I learned that the Wright county chapter (95) earns a considerable amount of yearly contributions that tend to be distributed towards one of their 2 chapters goals: Introducing Kids to PF, and purchasing land in rural (sw) minnesota for PF or RIM land. In addition, I learned that our PF chapter is actively looking to put food plots into the wright county WMA’s despite first year disappointments.
Overall, I was impressed with the group and will try to attend future meetings. It is good to know that others feel the same way that I do about the preservation of this activity. See you at the corn give-away.
Brent Kastner