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for My Day with The Griz
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| My Day with The Griz - - -
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Msg 1 Posted: 08:42 AM 07/30/08 (CST)
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My wife and her family bought me a day with The Griz for my birthday, which was yesterday.
We fished Pool 2, launching from South Saint Paul. Fishing was steady, but not hyperactive. As always, The Griz fishes with jig and minnow, pretty much exclusively. Altogether, we caught and released 52 fish, fishing in water from 5' to 12' deep, and in several spots on the river.
The highlights were the 28" walleye and the 20" sauger I caught. We didn't weigh them, but Griz put the walleye at about 10 lb. and the sauger at 5-6 lb. Fun times!
A trip with The Griz means a long day. We fished from 9 AM to about 5:30 PM, going through I don't know how many minnows. In between catches, we passed fishing stories back and forth, with mine being by far the least interesting.
Altogether, I hooked up with 8 different species, a new high for me for a single fishing day:
Walleye (Several, up to 28")
Sauger (Several, up to 20")
Silver Bass (14")
Sheephead (several)
Smallmouth Bass (smallish)
Channel Catfish (small)
Flathead Catfish (small)
Mooneye (14")
I'll have a longer, more colorful report on my fishing blog, with some photos, probably by tomorrow morning. Stop by.
MineralMan
O So Minnesota Blog -- Fishing Page
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Msg 2 Posted: 09:52 AM 07/30/08 (CST)
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Excellent! 
Sounds like you had a blast!
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Msg 3 Posted: 10:03 AM 07/30/08 (CST)
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I would have to say that it sounds like you had a worthwhile outing with the Griz. I know this may be totally out of line, but how much did the day cost? Did you have others fishing with you?
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Msg 4 Posted: 10:23 AM 07/30/08 (CST)
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A day with The Griz costs $350. It's a lot, but not only do you catch fish, you get to learn jig fishing with a master. You also get to hear stories you won't hear anywhere else, since he's been in the business for so many years and has fished with so many folks.
It's a different trip than with other guides I've been with. He fishes from a large Tracker jon boat, albeit a big one.
I was the only person on the boat, which can only accomodate two anglers, plus Griz.
For me, it was a great day, even though I generally use other fishing techniques in my own fishing, and rarely fish the river.
MineralMan
O So Minnesota Blog -- Fishing Page
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Msg 5 Posted: 10:49 AM 07/30/08 (CST)
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$350 isn't all that bad for that long of a day. Most guides charge somewhere in that range for a full day of fishing.
That breaks down to...
$41.17 per hour on the water
or
$6.73 per fish
It sounds like it was worth every penny regardless.
How was he as far as customer service? I know you went in thinking he might be a little rough around the edges. I would be interested to get your take on him after your trip.
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Msg 6 Posted: 11:57 AM 07/30/08 (CST)
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Yup, that's about the going rate for guided trips. When I say it's expensive, I mean from my perspective. I paid less for my boat and trailer.
He's a little gruff, but he has great stories. He was patient with me when I'd snag a jig. Not many amenities. This is bare bones fishing. Lunch (bring your own) was gobbled while running up the river at full speed.
It's serious fishing for serious anglers. It's non-stop. We burned through maybe a dozen spots, then moved on. At one spot we caught a few silver bass in about 5 minutes and that was the end of that bite. We moved on the minute the bite stopped. It's jig fishing, and that's it. Lift and drop, ad infinitum.
I'd think twice about it if I were a beginning angler. He shows you something once, then gets back to fishing. Both he and the client(s) fish nonstop. He'll net your fish if they're large enough, but won't let you net his fish. "Keep fishing!" he says. I tied my own knots, unhooked my own fish, etc. Tackle is minimal. There were just two spinning rods on the boat, both medium weight with 6 lb. Trilene, a plastic box of jigs, and minnows. With those you'd be taking on whatever bit. Other clients have taken large cats with that tackle. He sets drags fairly light so you can strip line when needed for jigging when the depth changes. That works for me, since I use medium to light spinning tackle for almost everything myself. For the hardware buff, it might be disconcerting. I did tighten my drag up a bit while he wasn't looking. 
He has strong opinions about everything from fishing to politics, and speaks frankly. His sense of humor can be a little difficult to find, but it's there. I'd think that a client with a big ego would have some problems.
I guess the bottom line is that it's about fishing. No babying, no extra comforts...just fishing. And catching!
MineralMan
O So Minnesota Blog -- Fishing Page
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Msg 7 Posted: 01:38 PM 07/30/08 (CST)
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Here are a couple of photos from the day:
This is the 28" walleye.
This 20" sauger had a couple of wounds, probably from a fight with a pike.
The whole story is now up at my fishing blog, at the link in my signature.
MineralMan
O So Minnesota Blog -- Fishing Page
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Msg 8 Posted: 02:15 PM 07/30/08 (CST)
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Hey MineralMan,
May I add these to the pics section?
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Msg 9 Posted: 02:22 PM 07/30/08 (CST)
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Very cool... thanks for sharing, MineralMan!
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| My Day with The Griz - - -
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