Open Season

Hunters dream about it. Theodore Roosevelt loved it so much that he wrote a book on it. Today, outdoors television shows can bring you there from the comfort of your...

Like so many outdoor-loving folks in the northland, I'm met with a dilemma once winter hits: How best do I spend my time? I consider early December a 'tween time,...

Most sports are inherently biased: usually, individuals in the peak of physical fitness will go much further than those of us with a bit less athletic prowess. But when it...

Emerging from the dense woods, I spotted the last known location of the downed Ruffed grouse. The bird was gone - vanished. I closed my eyes, while a dreamy internal...

When my wife works weeknights at Sanford, I have a routine: watch hunting shows, clean my guns (if needed) and play with the pooch. Last Tuesday was one of those...

"You know what we should do next year?" my uncle, Paul Drechsel, asked before biting off another hunk of deep-fried duck. "Bring a bottle of wine." There was a murmur...

For some reason, my head was foggy. It could have been over-caffeination from a gut-rotting combination of coffee and energy drink, or from being a couple pints low due to...

It's getting to be that time of year again. Time to dust off the scattergun and get ready for waterfowl hunting. If you're not prepared for summer to end, by...

The first time we saw the puppy, my wife, Erin, and I knew he was ours. It was late June, and we were at Top Shelf Kennels in Horace, N.D...

I still remember the first time I brought home a mess of ducks after a weekend trip to North Dakota. Beaming with pride, I plopped the Ziplocked bags of gutted...

Growing up in southeast North Dakota not 30 minutes from the Sheyenne National Grasslands, Scott Kudelka had ample opportunity to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible. "I loved to...

As my grandfather, Vern Drechsel, skillfully played his first walleye of Minnesota's fishing opener into the awaiting landing net, it donned on me that something wasn't quite right. I pondered...

Alaska has its fjords, Montana has the Rocky Mountains, and Minnesota has 10,000 lakes; but to experience pure, unabridged feelings of complete freedom, North Dakotans need look no further than...

Adorned in their Easter finest, families cruised down the road en route to small-town churches for Sunday service. In similar fashion, I had donned my best fishing clothes - ratty...