the outdoors
By Scot Rall, Outdoor ColumnistApril 10, 2024It is sure starting to feel good outside. Temperatures in my neck of the woods this weekend are going to be in the high 60s. It makes me want to go fishing. The Minnesota opener is scheduled for May 10. Time to double-check to make sure the boat registration is up to date and that the motor starts without issue. I find it perplexing how you can put your stuff away for the winter, and without one…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistMarch 20, 2024I recently did a podcast with Ron Shara Productions host Travis Frank about volunteering. If you would like to listen to it, search “The Flush Podcast.” We spoke for about an hour about what motivates a person to volunteer for 40 years to the same organization. This is the length of time I have been working on behalf of Pheasants Forever. I recently was named as the first-ever Pheasants Forever…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistMarch 13, 2024I spent part of the day today rounding up a few pheasants from some friends to add to mine. I am preparing my donation to the Mulligan Stew Feed hosted by the Round Lake Sportsman’s Club this weekend at Round Lake Vineyards. I just smile when I hear people tell me that they won’t eat any wild game. Each person has their own description of what “too gamey” tastes like. I eat all kinds of wild…
By Scot Rall, Outdoor ColumnistFebruary 28, 2024Minnesota’s Legislature is now in session, and as always there are bound to be some issues that surface when it comes to natural resources funding. When it comes to funding sources, Minnesota has done a pretty good job of protecting many of these funds from diversion to other non-related spending. The Land and Legacy amendment that was passed in 2009 was passed by a constitutional amendment to…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJanuary 31, 2024Sitting in my day job office this morning, my mind did wander a little bit anticipating the first 70-degree day of 2024. Working outside on habitat projects is about as much fun as I can have. Others like to golf or chase round ball sports. I just don’t share the same interests as many others and that is very OK. Working on habitat that is owned by the public was for a long time very difficult…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistJanuary 17, 2024We just had our first snow of the season, and it did not take very long to wish we had missed the snow for the entire winter. The cold temperatures expected later in the week would have gone a long way to creating safe ice for all of those ice anglers waiting on the shore. With eight inches of snow on what little ice was there, it will now delay the formation of safe ice, as the snow will act…
By Scot Rall, Outdoor ColumnistJanuary 10, 2024An interesting winter we’ve been having until this week. Don’t get me wrong, but I can say I totally loved it. There was no snow to shovel and holiday travel and other events had no road conditions to worry about. What this also means is that if you are a die-hard ice angler or pike spearer, there has been very little to no opportunity in the southern half of Minnesota. There is still some cool…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistJanuary 03, 2024By the time you read this, the 22-23 pheasant hunting season will have come to a close. My dad always used to tell me that if you want to see how fast time flies, take out a 90-day note at the bank. I will add to that with how time flies; just see how fast a 10-week pheasant season vanishes. I had a very good season, with more birds harvested this year over last. Like every year, the later into…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistDecember 27, 2023So, when does an afternoon pheasant hunt turn into a nature walk? Every hunt is a nature walk, but normally at least a few of those nature walks will result in a pheasant or two in the game vest. Late season is far harder than hunting the young and dumb ones that had never been busted by a dog. There is a certain challenge in hunting last season roosters and it is a challenge I enjoy, but this…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistDecember 20, 2023When is the last time someone did something really impressive and you had more fun watching than if you had done that impressive thing yourself? It happens to me all the time in the outdoors. Watching someone harvest or catch their personal best in just about any category is pretty easy to get excited about. My son Brandon moved home from the Denver, Colorado, area about a year ago, and now I…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistNovember 21, 2023Deer hunting in Minnesota is a very big deal. License sales to date for Minnesota this year total $395,000. That is a lot of guys and gals in orange spread across our great state. One great fact to remember is just how safe hunting actually is. There were a very small number of injuries this season, and most if not all of them were associated with an adult hunting with a youth during their…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistNovember 15, 2023I totally live in the land of dogs. I had more than a few Heinz 57 pets growing up but did not land my first bonafide retriever until 1996 when I was 35. I was sitting at an AKC hunt test with many of the judges and participants when I asked the question, “Why would anyone need more than one dog?” I figured you could only hunt one at a time, and if the dog was good at its job, there was no need…
By Scot Rall, Outdoor ColumnistNovember 08, 2023Pheasant season is underway at full steam and the reports are all looking pretty good. I had a group in my county over the weekend, and they were only a few birds short of their limits for their efforts over four days. I hunt a lot, many times by myself and other times with smaller groups, but I am not a big group kind of guy. The bigger the group, the harder it is to keep everyone in step. I…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistOctober 25, 2023Back in 2021 the local chapter of Pheasants Forever in Nobles County adopted all of the Wildlife Management areas in their county. It was during the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener that a parcel of land was dedicated to acknowledge these acres were now open to all compatible uses. It was part of the Ranson Ridge WMA. At that time the chapter partnered with the local Future Farmers of America…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistOctober 18, 2023As is part of my normal pheasant hunting opening weekend activities, I made the drive to the 2023 Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener event in Owatonna. This area is not necessarily known as the hotbed of pheasant hunting opportunities in our great state, but there were about the same number of birds harvested by attendees as any other events of its kind since 2012. So I guess you might need to…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistOctober 11, 2023Hunting wild stuff, be that antlered animals or fowl of any sort, is usually a result of an introduction made by one special person who took the time to expose a youth to the outdoor lifestyle. The number of people who hunt today only make up about 11 percent of the United States population and that number is falling. I have been hunting since I was 14, almost 50 years now, and I can say there…
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