Back in in 1984 my friend, Bob, showed me a picture of a guy with a stringer of bass slung over his shoulder, much like this one taken of me earlier this week. (The biggest one was 6 lb 2 oz.) Anyway... Bob told me that he was planning to go to the same resort as the guy in the original picture in hopes of a similar outcome. I immediately asked if it was ok for us to go along. This began a yearly tradition for both families that lasted for many, many years. Just about all of the kids from both families have been back to the area as adults. Although Bob and his family no longer visit the area, our family still does. This year, over the span of three weeks, Whippoorwill Resort in Park Rapids, Minnesota, has hosted Kathy and myself, our son Rob and three of his kids--Nevaeh, Eydon, and Aysha, our daughter Kathy and her husband Jeff, their son Josh and his wife Katrina, plus Katrina's family. AND we're all looking forward to coming again next year.
Hosted by Jim and Jill Dillon, Whippoorwill Resort offers accommodations from tent and RV camping to housekeeping cabins along with boat docks, pontoon and boat rentals, water toys, a playground, laundry facilities, and a beautiful sandy beach. Not that I pay much attention to that stuff. My routine consists of walking from the cabin, to the boat, and the fish cleaning house. Other activities for me include eating, sleeping, and the occasional family campfire.
In Minnesota, walleye is king. Some folks fish for crappie, but almost everyone else is looking for walleye. The bass population here is under-fished--and that is why we are here. We love bass fishing! The lake has a lot of sand, and an endless supply of crayfish in the shallow waters around the many reed beds that line the shore. The bass feast on the crayfish, but they are equal opportunity predators. When they see our lures go by, they just can't seem to resist. We have been using spinner baits for bass fishing, and most years white has been the color. But this year it's fire tiger. I've included a picture of the lure that is doing all of the damage this year.
For those interested in more touristy things, Park Rapids has a great downtown area with angle parking on both sides of the road plus two lanes of parallel parking in the center. A must stop is the Minne Soda Fountain for ice cream sundaes and root beer floats. There is also another much smaller town nearby that is a little over a block long called Dorset. It's full of restaurants. Our favorite is Campaneros. We never really expected to find a Mexican restaurant in the middle of the north woods, but we are glad we did. In fact we'll be leaving in about 30 minutes. Gotta get there early or wait in line.
The Behnkes and the Goukers
View from our cabin
Three generations of Blanchette bass hunters
Jeff Behnke--his biggest of the week
Josh and Trina--Nice day at the lake Eydon--first walleye
Nevaeh, Kathy and me at Companeros
