Friday, March 30, 2012

The first week away ...

The last time I spent a week, not involved with a newspaper publication, I was living in Oshkosh, Wisc., working at Menards and studying inside the UW system. Today, I woke up an employee of a dock installation and sales company in Minocqua, Wisc. Life takes a few turns, ey? I am blessed. Blessed to have had the opportunities afforded to me that have allowed me to not just broaden my horizons, but see that there is something in this world everyone is meant for. I know I am not made to run Floe dock systems in and out of the lakes every spring and fall. I know I am not meant to stock Nibco fittings inside the plumbing department at Menards. I know I am not meant to chase cows around a barn yard and run heavy equipment up and down a dirt road from sun-up to sun-down. I was put on this Earth to write. And along the way lend a helping hand to those who need it while keeping my checking account in the black. It's been a crazy, sort of whirlwind week for me here in the Northwoods. Everything I've been for the last seven years has been put on hold, it seems, for a stint of manual labor that's seemingly connected me back to my teenage roots, growing up on the farm. My hands hurt. Muscles I haven't used in a long time are aching. The grime under my fingernails will need an Oral B scrubbing before my falanges return to what they once were and it feels strange to be walking around in my thong sandles as opposed to my chest waders. A Friday morning with my coffe cup, My Morning Jacket radio entering my ears via Pandora Radio and nothing on the agenda for the forseeable future (by that I mean 24 hours). Life is good.

Monday, March 5, 2012




Hard to pass on Green Bay

http://wackywalleye.com/

By Douglas Etten
of The Lakeland Times
STURGEON BAY – It’s spring time for most in Wisconsin.
The biggest snow fall of the season is in our rearview, the reosrts, bars and restaurants had one last harrah for the season and we’ve managed to make it through February, into March which means the focus becomes warm weather.
It was Sunday night when I was sitting alongside my phone. It lit up with a text message from my cousin, and outfitter, Kurt Walbeck.
“Need a camera man in Green Bay for walleye and whitefish, Monday afternoon and Tuesday,”it said. “Leaving tomorrow, pick you up in Medford at 10:30.”
As much as I had anticipated the coming of spring and the busy season, after a rather lack-luster year on the hard water it didn’t take much convincing to get my butt into work, get my stuff done early for the week and be able to hit Green Bay for some huge walleye and nice whitey’s.
Getting back together with Kurt is always a pleasure.
After he afforded me the opportunity a year ago to accompany him and his staff on an adventure through the Canadian Rockies, I had to not let this other golden goose pass by.
Up and at them and on the road Monday, we reached our destination in time to settle into our hotel room at Sand Bay Beach Resort, just before the night walleye run.
Rolling as much b-roll film as possible before heading out, it was fun getting back behind the camera and experiencing the artistic side the goes into telling a story in a half-hour made for TV skit.
Sitting in the hotel right now, looking out at the 25-foot high ice heaves with the barges passing in the background, no doubt the anticipation is building.
The resort itself is set on the eastern shore of Green Bay. As we poke our head out our window lakeside, we stare across Lake Michigan at the Upper Penninsula – specifically Menomonie.
The temperatures this week are going to be warming into the 40’s, and word is that the female walleyes are moving into the shallow bays on the big water, looking for spawning areas and feeding like crazy.
The guide we are with Monday and Tuesday is one of the areas best and most reknown, so when Kurt’s phone rang and he said “you gotta come now,” there was little doubt in anyone’s mind that the warm temps and hog walleyes would equal one heck of a trip.
Looking forward to the second half of the trip, with plenty of good walleye photos to come.
Douglas Etten may be reached by email at detten@lakelandtimes.com.