First Solo Trip

Many of you pass over this on your way North.

The wayside at the junction of Hwy 33 and Hwy 53 offers not only a well needed break but provides excellent fishing opportunities.

A well groomed trail allows you to walk down and fish.

The beginning of a modest hunting camp.

The ornamental lamp shades were hand made along with the antler chandelier ( Not Pictured)

The guys were adding a back porch when I stopped by to visit.

Also located on a River with a bountiful supply of fish and makes for a wonderful day trip in a canoe or kayak.

Lets build a camp with some sleeping rooms.

That is what I recall the original conversation being.



Storm Moving in over the hunting grounds.
With deer stands named
Montana
Texas
Costa Rica
It is a big area but very productive.




The drives usually start way down there.
A beautiful area with the Little Fork River to the right and a bunch of public land to the left.

Little Fork

Sturgeon River

Another road to travel

Summer or Not?

This was my first solo trip since early May.

stop every 60-70 miles to stretch and walk.

Four hours to get home.

The driving took it's toll making my body sore and very tired.

I was able to tour a bit resulting in the above pictures and to visit Mom and Dad.

Caught up on my sleep and went for some long walks.

Am I sounding like my brother Bill?

The ride home was good but equally as long.

Very tired and slept well and late into Monday.

Thanks Fredo

Thanks to Urban Brother Bill (aka;Fredo)

For making the pilgrimage North to Mow my lawn today.

Much appreciated.

Excel in your experience

The flag says it all.

Lamiglas bit the bullet to build these species specific rods.

Starting at $99.95

Featuring Split Grips

Aero Comfort Touch reel seats

Fuji exposed blank reel seats on the Casting Models

IM Graphite construction

3 spinning

7 casting

Having trouble deciding what technique the rod s can be used for.

No problem

Each rod has suggested techniques in which it can be used.

Tackle Tour .Com has a good review on the product.

TTC is a good site to use if your either looking for information regarding whatever you may be looking for Fishing.

New Product Update

Bug Band is all Natural

Geranioil Based

Wrist Bands available provide up to 120 hours of coverage.

Pet safe.

( Available in drums for those Horse Lovers and Zoo Keepers)

Very effective and nice smelling also.

Available at Target.
Girl Scout approved,( Michelle's Troop)

Retail will be $5.99 for six.

I have not tried it personally but Tom Martin said it is proven.

This is fresh of the press.

Musky Madness

When one thinks of Musky the Image of some behemoth creature with long sharp pointy teeth comes to mind.

The men who dedicate their lives and in pursuit of these monsters conjure up images of long hair, long bearded wooden legged adventures whom long ago checked out on life

in pursuit of that 50 plus inch swimming in many of our Minnesota lakes.

Every once in awhile these rag tag warriors congregate in groups to swap fish tales and lies and compete to see who is KING of the Lake.

Mike's Bait on 8 in Forest Lake sponsored such a Sawyere yesterday.

50 boats.

3 Judge Boats
Beer

Brats Burgers

Bellies

Local Ace Jason Summer proved to be King of the lake and amassed 127 inches of Musky to run away with the title

Fish needed to be a minimum of 40" and their count was 4 landed and 2 follows.

an exceptional day of Musky fishing by any means.

Especially when one reads of how tough it is to catch.

Jason used his own lure design to amass most of the bag.

The Medusa!!

I will give the Musky crowd two things.

The best bait names in the business.

No Frill weigh in.( there isn't one)

Pictures and Judge Boat verification.

Sorry for the lack of pictures as I was there to promote Lamiglas Musky Rods and StowMaster Nets.

This was my first promotion since surgery and it was quite relaxing.

It was the family trip to Cub foods that knocked me on my butt.

Vitali Family Picinic at the Choidi's

Lauri concentrating on the bags.
Aunty "Jo" The Hit Man

Deep discussion of rules.

The Boss!

Throw the bag,Hit the hole, No problem.

A clarification is needed here!!

The eventual Champ.

Guess who?

Deep into a story.

Verry Deep.

The crowd for the championship.

The score keepers.

Sorry for the picture quality.

It was a good day and great to get out of the house and visit.

The day got better as Rudy left the hospital for home .

Thanks Frank and Patty.

Vinnie Helps Dad

An Old Italian lived alone in Chisholm.
He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden,but it was very difficult work,as the ground was hard.
His only son, Vincent who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I am just getting to old to be digging up a garden plot.I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like the old days.

A few days later he received a letter from his son.
Dear Pop,
Don't dig up that garden!
That's where the bodies are buried...
Love,
Vinnie

At 4 A.M. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies.
They apologized to the old Man and left.

That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Pop,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now.
That's the best I could do under the circumstances.

Love,
Vinnie

Thanks to Terri Larson of StowMaster Nets for sending this one to me.

Congrats

The fourth and final FLW qualifying event was held last week in Oshkosh WI.

Good friend and neighbor Chis Gilman came from 12Th place to make the top ten cut and finished fifth on the final day.

This was enough to earn him
The Land O Lakes Angler of the Year Crown, awarded to the most consistent angler using a point system based on the anglers finish.

Chris and Ted Takasaki work and room together and are coming of of two exceptional years of fishing.

The Top fifty anglers advance to the championship to be held at the end of September in Mandan South Dakota.

Good Luck Chris from the Spaghetti Man

ICAST 2009

Best Soft Bait, Sebile, Soft tungsten weights used to balance and control depth.

My choice but not the majority





Best Hard Bait, Sebile , Just looks cool.


Well, I could not personally attend the ICAST show this year so I did the next best thing.
Followed it on the web.
BassMasters did a good job with updates.
ICAST is a show not only about the latest and greatest fishing equipment ,but trends as to what categories will be hot for the upcoming year.
Here is my assessment;
Trend;
Manufactures are shying away from hard baits and producing soft baits that look like hard baits.
Sebile, Magic Swimmer, soft stick bait with incredible action which got my vote for best in the soft bait category.

My second choice would have been from PRADCO.
The Money Hound
A soft floating version of the Zara Spook
Top Water Slop guys will love this.
Available in 6 colors

Frogs continued to evolve into a monstrous category.
My Pick was the Tru -Tungsten Mad Maxx.

The company that I was very impressed with but got panned was Jackall.
Some nice looking baits Hard and Soft.

Creme surprised me.
As the pioneer of soft plastics they introduced there lip less flexible swim bait.
Mad Dog Minnow if I recall.

Other products which caught my eye;
Fetha Styx Fishing Rods, designed with themes of Law Enforcement and Fire Fighters
A sharp Looking light weight rod.

Cajun Red 3 pack of line. Three different pound test weights to try.
Laser Lure introduced a Hard Swim Bait and a New Color which helped IKE place second at the classic.

Strike King offered the Sexy Swimmer , jointed Hard Swim Bait.
It will be a good seller.

Sebile Spin Shad, Best of Show!!
(picture above)
Sebile Also introduced a jig, cannot remember the name.

Tru -Tungsten 5" True Life Swim Bait.

The Solution Storage Box, Just different, (picture above )

In the rod category we are seeing rods getting lighter and more cosmetic
Lots of color .

I was also impressed with some of the new hooks especially the Bad Mother Flipping Hook from Reaction Innovation

Best of Show

Hobie Cat Kayak ( Mirage pro Angler)
Sebile took the Best Hard Bait and Soft Bait.
Pure Fishing, Shimano and Plano won their share of awards

I wish I could be in Orlando but I am already making plans for Vegas in 2010.

Family Tree

"Four Generations"
Anna Gallinatti

Gina and her friend Yuka traveled to Italy in June.
The had the wonderful opportunity to visit with extended family.
This is my Grandmas side of the family.
My father has large extended family also.
Moms side of the tree is quite large also with an extensive root system
in France and Germany.
Ask My cousin Lauri to draw you the Vitali family tree.
In March of this year she was explaining to my friends whom I persuaded to travel to Chisholm for the Hooper Memorial , the family tree.
Upon completion most of us thought it looked like a potato plant.

The Bumble Bee is Gone

Being sick or whatever you want to call recovery has it's advantage.
Old news is New , If you were not around to hear it.
Now I am not the type of angler who is a groupie of any particular pro.
Fishing has changed along with the anglers and showmanship is part of the deal.
Whether It is IKE screaming with each fish caught.
The fist pump for the camera.
The drama of the weigh in.
In real life it is fun but not Hollywood exciting.
Skeet won the classic and as a Rep it was good because he was using Lamiglas.
The oldest domestic Rod manufacturer in the country.
Exciting times awaited.
Decorated the Lamiglas booths real nice like at the winter consumer shows.
In the back of our mind though we wondered what would become of Skeet when all the offers come across the desk.
That being said is Lamiglas never offered the big pay check to Skeet to use the rods.
He more or less endorsed them and received a portion of the proceeds with the sale of his signature series rods.
We were blessed to have a high ranking angler using the product and helping the marketing efforts overall of the products.
Very nice by the way.
The 705 and 765 Crank Bait rods are my favorites.
Well I was catching up on my reading and the latest issue of Fishing Tackle Retailer (FTR)
cover to cover and saw the news and my immediate response was I looking at a obituary.
Skeet signs deal with Wright and McGill.
I mean we had signs made for the dude.
What will we do with the Skeet Inventory?
Will we have to change the name?
Do we have to put someone Else's name on the rod?
The Spaghetti Man Series!!
Then i thought better and came to the realization that this is good foe Skeet.
It does not have to be good to me or Lamiglas or Gardner sales.
It was good for Skeet and his family.
So I wish the best to the man who helped the Lamiglas name shine a little brighter for
a short period of time.
Thanks Skeet and Good Luck.
Skeet will be at ICAST this week to promote his new line of Rods and I am sure he will
have nice words for the Posey Family and all they did to help open doors.

Passing June by

OK, lets put a wrap on June.

Pretty simple from my point of view.

Get better and do not give the Doc or the bride from pulling away privileges.

My walks got longer.

I got my training wheels back, within 30 miles of the house.

Twice a week visits to the hospital.

Which causes me to ponder.

Why is it a man goes to the bar for a drink and spends five or 10 bucks on beer and he is hung out to dry by the bride.

But a guy can go to the hospital twice a week for follow ups which cost a few hundred and not get

one complaint.

My theory although weak is she needs me.

For a brief period of time my neighbor "Big Bob" would pick me up and bring me to geezer hour at the Road House, Not so unusual you say.

Well Bob is 66 years young picking up his 47 year old neighbor and bring him to the saloon for beverages, His Scotch and mine Water with a lemon wedge unless I am there to party and then we add a lime wedge to.

Pete, Skip,Darrel, Bill comprise the balance of the Geezers ages vary from 66-80.

The Geezers ribbed me for needing a ride from a Geezer but lifted my spirits twice a week .

I see them a little more since I can drive again which is good therapy since watching dust accumulate is only so much fun.

I did start reading a Novel that my sister got me while I stayed in the hospital,

The Last Juror .

This is good since other than fishing or hunting related periodicals I have not seen a novel since The Sicilian!

My dad also ended up with intestinal blockage during this time and still today awaits a remedy up North.

It is hard to sit knowing I cannot do much for mom and dad but there is a calming force surrounding me saying it is o.k., he is doing fine.

I tried to go visit over the fourth of July but it did not end up well for me.

I ended up sick from the ride and when I got home on the fourth slept the whole day.

Listen to the doctors!!!

So my new deal is no more surprises for the doctors because the look i get is not a good look.

and she will be operating on me again in October.

In the mean time nothing like a stress test order to let you know you messed up.

From this point I believe I am all but caught up.

Hopefully some more cutting edge posts regarding the outdoors.

If not I will write of gossip collected from Geezer hour.

Turn The Page

One could only assume things would go better.
Six weeks of travel.
Two huge fishing weekends.
And as described in the last post, vehicle issues.
Now lets turn the page to the body.
One should listen to his body as they listen to their car engine.
I can say this now but was not humming this tune in May.
My High School and College Cross Country Coaches would always preach about listening to your body to avoid injury and monitor how a workout will affect ones being.
After extensive talks with the doctors I had the engine knocking for quite awhile but did not heed the warnings.
Simply put ,I allowed life's constant little day to day pressures to be placed ahead of anything else and when they were satisfied I switched gears to enjoy myself whether drinking beer, cooking and fishing.
NASCAR drivers are excellent at communicating with their pit crew chief but we muddle through and put those little aches and pains off as getting older.
So, enough said.
Black would give me a ride home and spend the night and he would be off the next day.
If I remember correctly school was in session and I need to drop the kids or kid off.
Everything was fine until I got back home and that little pain I had experienced 10 days earlier which burnt across the stomach came back in a huge way knocking me to the driveway.
Trying to laugh it off I dragged ass into the house and crawled up the stairs where Black saw me and said. " Are You O.K."
Me; "Nooooooooooo", I think I need to go to the hospital.
Now growing up with Black he was known to be quite the driver, eluding cops in his youth and running the occasional car at Hibbing Raceway.
It was not the smoothest drive and I let him know that his ambulance driving skills sucked.
Then it dawned that he may his drivings skills were honed to be elusive not smooth.
That would explain why his car ended up in the living room of someones house in his rabble rousing days.
I could see the emergency personnel jumping for their lives as he drove my dads van through the large windows skidding side ways so my window would butt next to the admissions desk.
O.K., not quite that dramatic.
We would be settled in and wait until they could take X-Rays.
The pain continued and the pictures taken and a Doctor walks in and says the diagnosis is Diverticulitis.
Gives a bottle of anti-biotic and pain pills with orders saying if symptoms persist longer than 3 days let family physician know.
O.K. Here is what I remember because I was unaware that this would occur just prior to a Holiday weekend.My three days turned out to be Gilligan's Island.The kids were busy the bride was working and like most good women not worried about my condition greatly because after all I am a guy and we complain all the time.
Somewhere into day 3 I had manged to get out of bed and walk towards the hall where I collapsed. The girls had left the deck door open and my Short Hair, Coco had let herself outside.
The pain was like I had been gut shot with a 30.06. when I awoke from my stupor Mandy, Coco and the neighbors dogs were lying near me.
Part of me thought that this was truly a mans best friend concerned for my well being.
The Oxy Codeine said they were waiting for me to pass so they could start the buffet.
Three days passed as I remember and the pain was still there but I had managed to soil my shorts twice so life was o.k.
This is mans futile attempt to wish himself well. Call it what you want , Male ego, Thick Headed, stubborn,all the doctors were out the clinics closed and the doctor on duty said sometimes it takes 3-5 days for the anti biotic to work.
Remember the engine story.
I would awake with absolutely no pain and or discomfort and an Oxy hangover .
My thoughts immediately went to the conversation with Black on how you know when an engine will blow.
Talk about motivation, I was into the doctors office and on my way back to the hospital in no time.Pretty much like guys do when they really want to do something outside the house whether it is Golf , Fish, Hunt or hang with buds at the local watering hole.
I had to drink 2 bottles of chalk and wait.
They ran the tests and I waited more.
Enter Dr. Laura Stoiber.
and this is where it gets fuzzy .
I remember her saying you are a very sick man and you will not be going home.
We talked some more about how I felt and how I got to where I am at.and I remember her saying.
" You think your pretty tough"
me: Not really, but.....
I realized here she is a tough cookie and when she says you are a sick man, your sick
She is an internal something specialist who loves wielding a knife.
But in the end the type of surgeon and Doctor I needed to explain how my life just changed.
I put my X on a paper agreeing to let her dissect me.
She said explained the procedures and said it went septic in two areas, one obviously there for awhile because it had healed or scabbed or something. and the other was major.
Enter Sandman. "Now I will sleep through this ri.........ght" Out like a light.
The bride would have to fill you in on the rest.
I still cannot remember.
I remember the ICU nurses being very helpful.
I remember the button for the pain self manged pain injection.
I remember nurses talking how one patient in the next room got grounded from his pain button because he tried to hit it 3000 times in a shift, 375 times an hour or 6.25 times per minute.
I remember Ice.
I remember the Food Network 24/7, No one could figure it out. I couldn't eat but I insisted on watching my new girl Friend Giada.
I remember Dr. S coming in and referring to her as the 3 headed dragon.
I remember three attractive doctors and nurses surrounding me and commenting how beautiful i was until I realized they were commenting on my scars and open stomach wound.
And I remember the day count since my last meal. ( in all 21 days with no food)
I remember Gina's friend Yuka describing my colon as special.
I could share more stories and maybe as time goes I can share some of my Stoiber moments as I call them.
In the end I was released on June 10 in the evening.
I felt good but was told I looked like shit.
I have to thank all the nurses in ICU,the Regular wing and Post Op including my wound nurses and Doctor S who continue to tell me how beautiful I am.
Now into a month at home I feel good enough to Blog.
I will try to keep things interesting but when all you can do is Watch the grass grow or in our case burn up.
I cannot;
Lift more than 10 pounds,
Cut grass
Fish
Hunt
Drive
Eat Pizza
Eat Italian
Drink beer
Pop
Chew Gum
Run Walk the dogs on their leashes.
I am walking and preparing for the Bean Bag Battle of Turtle Lake next Saturday at cousin Frank's lakeside retreat.
For my friends who insist our family is connected.
The elders of the family meet once a year at a cabin in East Central Wisconsin in which Big Al Capone insisted we have.
Vitali families from the East Coast, West Coast and South East gather to share information and get the state of the family address from Tampa Godfather Josephine, West Coast Godfather Crazy "Z" Zelinda, Godfather Rudolfo is ill and will not be able to leave his secluded compound, but the family will be well represented.
See everyone there.

La Vita Bella
Life is Beautiful

Then Came the Last Days of May

Fitting title.

Excellent Blue Oyster Cult song if your into that.

When you travel by vehicle enough you get very in tune to your vehicle.

You wrap yourself around it.

Believe me or not but you know when you put sub standard fuel in and you feel every vibration

and know every nuance.

So to say I did not know my vehicle was ailing would be a lie.

My local mechanic and I agreed that that considering the miles on the vehicle she was just getting loose.

So whats another 6000 miles over five weeks when there are clients to meet and lakes to fish.

My summer was was getting off to an early and well deserved start.

Fish the Kent Hrbeck Charity event along with the Regions Hospital Burn Center benefit and travel North for the Blue Lake Classic, Cruise into the Holiday with a few trips around Chisago and boom!, ICAST is here.

_______________

The boat towed well up North and the plans and travel were well mapped.

The engine was knocking a little.

On the way up to Echo Lake though my lady friend gave me bad mojo as we traversed the divide to get into Orr.

No problem,

Drive slow and take your time,after all I am pulling a load.

Upon arriving at the lodge I discuss the matter with Black and he gives a pretty grim diagnosis.

"She sounds pretty bad"

Me; Yup

Black; "Lets have a beer"

Me; O.K.

In a guys world there is nothing and I mean nothing that cannot be solved,resolved and fixed over an Ice Cold BEER!

We put the boat in the water and waited until Monday.

Checked the oil.

Checked the anti freeze.

Tire looked low need air when I get to Chisholm.

Key in the ignition and fire here up.

Neil Pert ( Rush Drummer) would have been proud because the engine was knocking like a drum solo for everyone to hear.

Load the boat and tell Blacky I would take my time.

But honestly thought when she will make it to Chisholm.

It quickly became evident that this would be a trip of damage control.

We limped into Orr and struggled over the divide and stopped at 73.

Black dumped some STP Treatment in and she settled some and again thinking we can do this.

I asked Black when you know an engine was going to blow.

The reply was quick and to the point.

He said the engine will stop making noise and Boom!

precisely 18 miles North of Chisholm the noise stopped and I glanced at my buddy Andy knew it was over.

"How do you feel about being stranded?"

The trail of oil was clearly visible along with the cloud of smoke as we rolled to a stop on the dirt shoulder.

Black pulled up ahead and my BIL( Brother in Law) Don't F@#k with me Johnny behind me with a cheesy grin upon his face.

A game plan was quickly made.

Group one would haul boats into Chisholm.

BIL would get Andy going because he needed to be in Hudson by 4.00.

Black would find a place for my boat and find a tow.

The plan was flawless and went according to plan, we offloaded my gear and towed the vehicle to the Wegner North Forty via a tow from my nephew Jimmy.

Reloaded Rudy's van and Black was to drive me back to Chisago and we would start a hunt for a new engine.

O.K.

Just remember what Black said about blowing an engine.

I will need to continue this in my next post.

Bitter Cold at Trails End

Have not found my camera as of yet.

We traveled to Echo with great anticipation.

The week before we had a great opener.

Temps stayed steady.

For sure the Crappie Bite would be on and Walleye would be snapping.

Enter Mother Nature!!

My relationship with Ms. Nature on this trip is storied and brutal.

You know that cute couple that always seems to get along when talked about in social circles.

But once removed from the public eye, look out.

Furniture breaking, Clothing being tossed out windows,Pictures burning.

I will take the blame for it all.

For too many years I have tried passing this curse off on my brother Bill "Fredo" as we so affectionately call him.

Stories abounded of his ability to bring bad weather with him on this annual pilgrimage causing Storm Chasers to follow and wait for the perfect storm to occur. And it usually did.

We would tell people that Gordon Lightfoot always rented the small cabin next to ours in anticipation of the next epic catastrophe song. Long over due as it may seem we always survived the weekend.

The trails End Resort even presented "Fredo" with a free room.

Not for his ability to weave a good hook on our inner city youth or a fishing tale but for his ability to pack the bar.

You see the weather changes so dramatically when he arrives the bar was usually packed from Friday night until Monday morning.

A Brinks truck would pull in to secure the money which poured in from the weekend.

Upon Monday's arrival we would always check to make sure everyone was in for next year for the same weekend.

In the back of our mind we would hope "Fredo" would back out but that was fruitless.

As we hung our heads and wondered what new 3M product would be introduced to keep us dry and warm next year

The resort owner would crack a smile and talk of adding on and bringing in another truck of beer!

Oh I could share more stories but the truth is that Bill has been the scape goat long enough.

He has missed the last two seasons and the results are the same.Persistent crappy weather.

So now I an I alone as organizer of this trip will assume full responsibility for everything including the weather.

Now, Next year we will travel North again on the same weekend with renewed hope.

Governor Pawlenty thought we should spend more time with our brides on Mothers day and so moved the opening weekend later to coincide with our trip.

Now if this is not curse breaker.

My bride is not happy about this as know the long tradition of an all girls Mother Day has come to a crashing end.

I feel sorry for the letter that the Governor will receive about this.

Wisconsin Opener

Dave Wineburner, Nice River Eye

unknown angler with a nice smallie

Danny Boy Lazzeroni with a Keeper

Wisconsin opens a week prior to Minnesota.

The opener in Wisconsin is not filled

with the electricity and anticipation that we see in Minnesota.

For starters,one can fish year round when it comes to the Rivers and some of the lakes,meaning by the time the opener is upon people they have been there and done that.

The exception to the rule is NW Wisconsin where a number of Minnesotans and others travel and traditions run deep.

Whether you travel to Barron, Rice Lake, Spooner or Hayward you will still find excitement.

Danny and Dave pictured above are Lamiglas Rods Staffers and great ambassadors of StowMaster Nets

They Fish all of North Central and North Eastern Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Great guys to hook up with when traveling.

They enjoyed their opener fishing the Fox River in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Back in the Saddle

Resting After a Hard pitched battle.
Too Many Cooks in the kitchen.

Black, Need we say more.

Frank "Buck" Weeda
First opener with the gang.

Merle,drove across North Dakota to be with us.

Thanks for waiting, it has been awhile and there is quite a bit of catching up to do.

May was good and bad.

May found me traveling my newly acquired territory and fishing.

Just what all reps should be doing.

The fishing was great and the company even better.

May found the old Surbuban blowing an engine with only 270,000 miles on it.

What gives GM?

May also founf the Spaghetti Man ending up in the Hospital.

Thanks Black for getting me there.

Thanks to Mr. Kerr for storiing the boat.

Shame on Black for not selling the boat when he had a chance.

Thanks to the Wegner Forty Gang for allowing me to park my dead vehicle on the property.

Thanks to Black for emptying the contents,

Thanks to dad and Black for getting the boat back.
Many more thanks to come in the blogs to be posted.

The Surprise

A Busy week culminated in a a surprise for my sister Jackie who turn 60 on April 19th.
The party was held at Tom and Jerry's ( Of Course) and not without drama.
Gina our youngest sister was on a mission trip with Smile Network during the height of the Swine Flu or H1 something.
Her fate was sealed in Mexico and could not attend.
My sister Jackie of course decides to visit Tom and Jerry's the day before with he r good friend Jackie Jenko and who is there.
Black, No Surprise!
Jeff, No big surprise!!
Bill, What the Hell!!!!!!!
After explaining that the road restrictions were off and he was coming home to ride his bike we were good.
Jackie Jenko came back down to acknowledge that she did not have a clue but she was pissed at here brothers for not inviting her out for a beer.
This practice will obviously change in the future.
As usual we ran into good friends.
The party went off great and everyone had a great time as my big sis closed the bar down,
It was good to see everyone and it starts a long series of on the Road stories.

In the next installment we will discuss opening weekend of walleye at Winnie.
for now take care.

La Cauchina

Recipe's

One finds life pretty interesting from time to time.
While recovering from a 1000 mile 2 day road trip to SE Wisconsin, I was enjoying a Friday afternoon on the deck waiting for Friday Geezer Hour to commence at the local watering hole.
The day would be special because the Fire Department was putting on the annual all you can eat
Smelt Fry.
Or Minnow fry as I refer to it.
The once historic runs of Smelt are just stories of days gone by.
Rumors swell every so often about a stream that is producing good numbers and size but these rarely show up for events such as this.
Well, back to the main story here.
I received a phone call from a women named Jean in Virginia Minnesota who was surfing blogs and stumbled across the Chronicles of said fisherman.Now she went through a great deal of political red tape to track me down and with the help of State Representative David Tommasoni she accomplished this task.
Needless to say I was very impressed with how big government can work when needed.
Seriously though I am not that hard to find. Try Googling your Name once, It is an eye opener.
She told me the story of reading and trying a recipe which i posted and said it was delightfully good. Not being part of the Food Network or having my own show this was a welcomed compliment. She used the recipe to cook for her Boy Friend whom is another politician form Virginia and will remain nameless to help create a weave or something here.
Hopefully this will all help smooth over the incident in which i was asked to fish with Dennis Hasteardt(spelling?) whom at the time was 3rd in command under G.W. administration.
I do not claim to be a chef but enjoy cooking and by now you know the House Blend.
Well, Jean wanted permission to use my recipe for a community publication after talking some more asked me to submit a few other recipes in which to delve upon.
Well here are the recipes submitted.
Maybe the next time I am contacted it will be too take these guys fishing.

Easter Weekend

At ta Boy Danny!

Nice Fox River Walleye caught over the Easter Holiday.

You would not know that Danny here is a Musky Nut.

He is on my Lamiglas Pro-Staff and a heck of a ambassador for StowMaster Nets.

Since I was not smart enough or patient enough to down load pictures off my phone,Danny becomes a star.

Easter proved to be a quietly busy weekend where things got done but I did not feel like I got anything accomplished.

Went to the final Wild home hockey game with my buddy Merle.

His gal pal Vicki was ill so I got to take her spot.( Thank you again Vicki!!)

Fourth row near the Wild bench.

Need I say more.

The game was great, beer was expensive but the Wild dog was worth it.

Jacques then of course resigned, not good in my book.

I had the chance to fish with him and Mario up in Brainerd a few years back along with Neil Broten and Glen Sonomor. (Neil of course was voted the Best Minnesota Hockey player of all time and the International Falls 1966 High School Team was voted the best Minnesota Team Ever.) Hockey guys are very down to earth people and it is one of those times I will never forget.

I still see them from time to time at other events.

I will miss him.

Easter came and went very quietly as we celebrated it on our own with some homemade Ravioli,Sauce, salad and bread.Ravs are gone for the season now but i will make more in June.

I should also mention the lovely bride celebrated a birthday earlier in the week which found us whopping it up at Denny's after a Track meet.

Take Care.

Lambeau Feild Show

( Tried to take several pictures but in my usual I am in a hurry,I for got to hit the save button.)
The Lambeau Feild event was quite the experience.
This was the first time Mills has invited one of my factories to participate.
StowMaster accepted the invitation and we offered some good deals to the Mills Customers.
The History with this venue is awesome and the people of Green Bay ans Wisconsin should feel a sense of pride.
I have said this before, but Minnesota fans, suck!.
We pay no homage to our sport hero's unless they end up arrested.
We will have to explain to our kids who Bud Grant is and Packer fans pretty much are taught Packer History throughout their school life.
O.K., Back to the show.
This was the most people I have seen come through a two day event.
I swore that on Friday everyone in the Bay took the day off.
People drove as far as 200 miles for the event which filled the Atrium and overflowed outside to the parking area.
Many of the vendors sold out of product which is priced as low as I have seen.
You would not even see those prices at a consumer show.
The folks at the Stadium View were once again great.
Anduzzi's, The Smoke House and several other spots were busy.
We tried Brett Favre's Steak House which was excellent but pricey.
The weather held and as usual we got to drive home in a storm on Sunday.

Last Monday of March

Trying to motivated myself to get some work done today.
After a busy week in the office last week ending with a day trip to Iowa.
The weekend found me doing absolutely nothing over the weekend.
O.K. checked some e-mails,did the bills, sent out some mailings, laundry, vacuum and got stuff ready for my Green Bay trip this Wednesday and caught up with my soon to be seventeen year old daughters busy social schedule.
Jacqueline participated in the Regional History Day competition in St. Cloud and advanced to State.
From there Jaci and the bride went to see Seven Brides for Seven Sons with G-MA and PA., Uncle John and his Bride.
Saturday afternoon I spent at The Road House catching up on what has been going on in my absence, along with watching some NCAA Hockey, Basketball and Tiger.
Sunday was breakfast with Dani before she and her friends went prom dress shopping in my vehicle leaving me stranded to watch NASCAR, College Hoops and Planet Earth on Discovery.
I thought about walking the dogs but chose to hop on the Nordi Trac.
Sunday nite was family movie nite and we watched Jurassic Park and ate Pizza.
Looking back it looks like I can be normal if I try.
NOT!!!!
Tending a Pork Roast today.
Shredding it and adding Porketa Seasoning to make my own version of Loose Meat Samwiches.

Hooper Mememorial

The Frozen tundra of Northern Minnesota always creates pictures in ones mind of parkas and warm clothing,fireplaces, chopping wood and icicles hanging from houses.
Well, You are right in your thoughts and that is what it looks like for the most part.
How about Bocce Ball indoors on the carpet?
Yes!
16 teams came together for the annual Tommy Hopper Memorial tournament.
( The tournament is named for my cousin Tommy who passed away way to young)
The Vitali family had good representation sponsoring several of the teams,none of which would make it through to the final round.
I do believe if you do not have a team member over 70 you do not stand a chance.
A few of my friends from the Chisago area traveled North to take part in this melee at the Moose.
As is normal I introduced them to the official welcome wagon of the family, Lori and Mary Lou and of course no trip would be complete without meeting Black and his Bocce partner Ruthy.
Friday found us staying up way too late at the Slovinski Dome listening to the stripped down version of the Bo-Hunks.
Saturday was a busy day starting at noon with the opening ceremonies and games following.
The competition was spirited with many of the top players from Hibbing and Chisholm coming together.VIP guests abounded in the crowd and on the court.
David Tommasoni
Gusty Samsa
Ronny Alexander
One could only look on in awe with such dignitaries all in one place with no additional security needed.
The games went late into the evening and those whom were eliminated were quickly dispatched to the Slovinski Dome for Karaoke with Yaro. With enough Vitali's in the audience the early sets were the Vitali version of the Lawrence Welk Show.
As the Dome filled( and it filled) some of the areas most talented singers took the stage but the best was Yaro and Kevin doing Seven Bridges Road.
All in all it was a weekend I had been looking forward to for quite some time.
I got to spend time with my folks,take care of some business and show some friends and family.
It should be noted that a good friend John Pouchak lost his mother last week and my condolences to his sister and brother.

NW Sport Show Recap

Well,
It has been awhile.
The North West Sport Show is in the books and by all reports it was good.
Retailers were very happy,
StowMaster Nets sold well.
Rod sales were flat.
Pink was in!!!!
Pink rods and reels.
Saturday saw the largest crowd since 2002.
And I had enough energy left to have dinner with Steve Ladany( Northland Tackle),Darren Engvall (NMMA,Show Director) and Matt Larson (President, StowMaster).
Darren and I will fish a tournament later this summer in the Chisago Area.
If this show did not get you in the mood for spring it may just be to late.
Back to Wisconsin for the Mills Fleet Farm Show in April.

North West Sport Show

Well ,day one is in the books.
This is the last of the big shows in the area for 2009.
The show in my opinion is scaled back this year with a number of empty booths,especially in the resort areas.
There are also some notable Manufactures absent that were standards but for the most part everyone is back.
Skeet Reese won the BMC and we are featuring his rods (4) at the show along with the Lamiglas Musky rods.
Marine General is our Main dealer at the show and Mike's Bait on 8, ( Not at the Show)Forest Lake ,MN is where we send our customers.
Bob Mehsikomer is with us as we rep his A-Team Tackle.
Bob is talking to the customers as he build his custom baits and answering their questions.
This is also our first year with Mr. Walleye,(Gary Roach) and his line of rods which are available through several outlets at the show. Gary will be in the booth for the weekend.
The "Griz" has already stopped by a few times and the Lake Maid beer booth is nicely located at the end of our aisle. Free Samples from 5-9.
For you guys who liked the original Grain Belt Golden this is it. Schells makes the beer and as you know only put Premium into production.
Growing up on the Grain you will tell it's distinctive taste.
Pink is the big thing as I walked around briefly before the show.
and Mrs Walleye (Bev) was once again very popular Pink attractions with her own series of rods.
Attendance seemed o.k. and people were buying.

Green Bay

Spent Last week in Green Bay Wisconsin.
102,000 people located on the Fox River which empties into The Bay of Green Bay.
A favorite fishing spot for many chasing walleye, small mouth,white bass and of course musky!
They say the next world record will come from the bay,but many worry that it will get over fished and ruin the once pristine waters.
I have often debated with myself the role of catch and release.
We(anglers) have embraced this idea of preserving the resource and allowing those trophies to to be returned to fight someone Else's line another day.
Ray Scott is given credit of introducing the idea of returning fish to the waters while starting up the fledgling Bass Masters Tournament Trail.
In fisherman continued to spread this theory to walleyes and we saw it first hand in some of the original PWT events held some 20 years ago.
For that matter Bob Mehsikomer can be given credit of introducing Catch and Release to the musky community some 20 or so years ago.
But what about the guy who buys a license to fish and wants to harvest a limit( which is allowed)
for himself or his family. On more than one occasion I have heard the "CNR " guys lambaste the harvesters and the harvesters have snickered as "CNR" guys left the building wondering why they did not catch fish at the honey hole when the harvesters had pillaged it the day before.
In a industry full of secretes it is amazing how much information is out there if you just ask the right questions.
After visiting several dealers in and around the Bay I set up the factory booths yet again to support those dealers that have supported me over the year.
Tews Too
Algoma Hardware
Marine General
Mills
Sportsman's Warehouse
The show is small by all standards but draws a good audience and diverse background of fishing interest.
Steelhead
Salmon
Bass
Walleye
Musky
Small streams
Rivers
Great Lakes
Pier Fishermen
Most talked of preparing for the up coming season and were in a good buying mood which goes against everything I have heard on the television.
Like most shows there were a number of good speakers who drew good audiences
The girls were there from the Tilted Kilt
which is a Scottish themed Hooters.
(Locations in Stevens Point and Green Bay)
The food is o.k.
Then there was The Stadium View where you can get 3 pitchers of beer served in a chilled test tube for a mere $12.
Pizza is great.
and Krissy and here husband always have a smile for me when I arrive.
You must try Marty's if you like sea food and of course there is Lambeau.
I have grown to like the Lambeau area and it's rich history.
In fact I will attend my first ever show at Lambeau in April for Mills.
Hope to get into town early and fish.
Tour Lambeau again.
Eat at Curly's.
Sunday found most of us out staters trapped in the bay due to a March Blizzard .
Good thing about having your hotel across from a bar.
No driving involved.
This week the Grand Finale of upper Mid West Shows.
The North West Sport , Boat and Camping Show.
Hope to post a few pictures and now that I am home post a recipe.
Take care.

Rose Marie Cappo

Another long week on the road.
Living The Dream we say.
Songs Like Born to Wander, Turn The Page, Wanted Dead or Alive are not just anthems.
They are the truth.
This time of year is always one of reflection for me.
This marks 12 years since my sister Rose passed on.
As usual it was marked by stopping at the local tavern and enjoying a Ice Cold Tap and a shot of E and J Brandy.
Rose would be happy and proud of here family, Jim, Lonny and Jeff have grown into Adults and manage their families affairs with some of the flare that their mother showed in raising them.
I miss going home and visiting Rose.
The girls were younger then.
I would wait until they went to bed and go the few block to her house where we would sit and have a few drinks and talk about everything.
I wasn't necessarily close to Rose as the age difference would show but she did her best to fill me in on growing up Vitali.I baby sat the boys and her and Jim would take me on fishing trips to Jeanette Lake.
I also fondly remember traveling to Mound MN to visit my sister Jackie at the time and I kind of knew the way.Some where along the line we found the Tonka Factory and instead of a left turn I sent Rose and Jim to the right making another long loop before we would arrive there.
Even today when I am near Mound for tournaments and such a smile comes across the face when I look at those streets and wonder how we could have ever gotten so turned around.
Rose is responsible for a good deal of the Moral and character fiber instilled in me allowing me to become the person I am today and for that I say Thank you.
God Bless.

Copper Wire

Good Joke from Mike in Orlando:

Tunneling under New York ,construction workers discovered traces of copper wire 10 feet below the sea bed.
The wire traced back 100 years!.
Scientist concluded that this was proof positive that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 100 years ago.

On the other side of the country in California archaeologist digging 20 feet below the Golden Gate Bridge found traces of copper cable that was 200 years old and concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced High- Tech communication network a hundred years earlier than the New Yorkers had.

The Chisholm Free Press reported that contractor EJ Goroni was digging a new out house hole for the Wegner Forty boys and had dug down 30 feet and found nothing.
KJ having worked in the oil business before and a self taught archaeologist drank several beers and concluded that 300 years ago Northern Minnesota had already gone wireless.

Who said that Minnesotans are Hicks?

Madison Fishing Expo

Another week in the books.

Madison is hands down Wisconsin's best little fishing show period.

twenty four hours of show packed into 21/2 days.

The trip to Madison was a test of patience.

Heading out ahead of a major winter storm is one thing when traveling.

Trying to make dealer calls while staying ahead of a storm is quite another story.

Most of the early hours was driving to the first appointment and finding out they were closing schools ahead of the storm.

At this point the phone calls saying I am in the neighborhood go out the window and it was a race to finish the day,find lodging, beer and pizza.

When the dust settled or in my case the torrential rains,thunder and lightening hit I was nestled into my King size bed watching free cable and waiting for the rain to freeze.

The following morning found many travelers wondering how they were going to open their doors while Iron Range ingenuity said Hot water was the ticket.

Several pats on the back and thank yous found me setting up for the show.

two manufacturers booths would not make the trip to Madison and were stranded in Iowa and Minneapolis leaving me with one complete booth and wondering what to do with the other 20 feet.

A visit to several of my dealers who were also setting up for the show provided me with enough samples ,racks and signs to pull off what I thought was a sharp looking display area.

Sorry no piks cause no batteries.

The economy maybe tanked but people are spending money and it was quite nice to see.

Lamiglas had an excellent show while the StowMaster Nets Sold out by Sunday morning.

Mrs. Walleye( Bev Roach) would be happy that her pink rods which are not on the market yet were a hit.Sure am glad Gary wasn't there.

The other positive was the 21.95 anything you wanted to eat off the menu and bottomless cocktails was a well deserved break on Saturday evening.

Randy my pro-staff guy gets the Gold Star award for scoring a luxury suite for Motel 6 prices.

The ride home was long and today was full of meetings.

More meetings tomorrow and off to Green Bay for the 5th leg of my tour.

Talk to you soon.