Old Man River | Minnesota Bound

[00:00:01][music] On today's show, a tale all about the Mississippi River. A story [music] that starts with the headwaters of Old Man River.

[00:00:12]Laura Sherah [music] gets wild in the kitchen as walleye fillets take a dive into sizzling tequila lime sauce. And this angller [music] hunts Minnesota's other trophy fish.

[00:00:26][music] Minnesota Biology presented by [music] Kinetical Water Treatment Systems.

[00:00:51]Hey everybody, Laura Millie and I welcome you to today's summer episode.

[00:00:56]>> Up first is a story that is long overdue.

[00:00:59]>> We all know the Mississippi River. We fish it, we drift it, we stare at its inception up at Itasa State Park, >> but what else is there to discover? Ron Sher shares the answer.

[00:01:12][music] Behold the mighty Mississippi, father of waters.

[00:01:24]If Minnesota is famed for any one thing, well, it ain't Super Bowls or low taxes.

[00:01:32][music] It's a river. The most famous river in America.

[00:01:38]It begins as an 18 ft trickle out of Lake Itasca, located in what is now Itasa State Park.

[00:01:47]Rare is the Minnesota kid who hasn't, shall we say, bragged about walking across the mighty Mississippi.

[00:01:57]Today, thousands of folks have visited Itasa to simply gawk and wonder at the river's beginning.

[00:02:06]However, finding the source of the Mississippi wasn't so easy some 200 years ago.

[00:02:12]Several famed explorers tried and failed to find the river's headarters until finally in 1832, a fellow by the name of Henry Schoolcraft confirmed the river's start.

[00:02:27]The river's name comes from Elangquin words, Missy and Sippy. That meant big water.

[00:02:36]Old man river. That old man river. He must know something. He don't say nothing. He just keeps rolling. He keeps on rolling along.

[00:02:55]Rolling for 2,340 miles, of which [music] 694 miles flow through Minnesota.

[00:03:04]Surprisingly, the Missouri River is longer by 100 miles. Dang.

[00:03:11]Here's a bit of Mississippi trivia. How long does it take for a drop of water to flow the river's entire length? The answer is 90 days. Don't know who figured that out.

[00:03:25]The old man also played a huge role in why Minneapolis grew along its banks.

[00:03:33]St. Anthony Falls is the river's only waterfall.

[00:03:37]Consequently, the fall's water power was harnessed to operate flower and lumber mills.

[00:03:43]This explains why Minneapolis is where it is.

[00:03:49]Oddly, the river's widest spot, 11 miles, is where it flows through Lake Winnabagos and continues on to another historical site, Lake Pepin, where in 1922, Ralph Samson invented water skiing.

[00:04:06]The Mississippi's influence on our Minnesota lifestyle goes far beyond water skiing. Of course, the river teams with game fish, >> nice fish, >> walley, sar, smallmouth [music] bass, the list goes on.

[00:04:23]Included is an invasive carp species [music] that river authorities are trying to halt from moving upstream beyond Winona.

[00:04:33]Bird life thrives along the river as well. [music] Bald eagles gather in large numbers along the river's migratory route.

[00:04:42]That phenomenon led to the creation of a national eagle center in Wabashaw, which claims to be the eagle capital of America. The river town also was the setting for the movie Grumpy Old Men.

[00:04:55]Never a dull moment along the Mississippi, but of course, the old man keeps moving along, draining 31 states and two Canadian provinces and passing 29 locks and dams.

[00:05:10]Lastly, at the river's mouth, roughly 100 miles south of New Orleans, a wide variety of gamefish, red fish, beckled trout, flounder, and others roam the Louisiana bays, creating an English paradise where salt and freshwater meet.

[00:05:26]Then finally, 2,340 mi later, the old man is no more, [music] emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.

[00:05:38]I will never forget my first visit to the river's last miles to see huge oceangoing ships cruising up the Mississippi to see the old man reaching this destination tired, abused, but still rolling along.

[00:05:54]My last view of the river at its mouth made me sad and glad. Glad that as a kid I sat often on the banks of the Mississippi at Marquette, Iowa, [music] where I cast for bluegills and waited for my bobber to go down. Sad those innocent days on the Mississippi are forever gone. The Old Man River, however, he don't say nothing.

[00:06:24]Minnesota Bound is brought to you by Connecticut Water Treatment Systems, Star Bank, Onyx Hunt, and by Crush City.

[00:06:41]Now, Travis, you're just housesitting.

[00:06:43]You can use my kinetical water for the plants, but that's all. And behave yourself.

[00:06:48]>> Have a great trip and catch some fish for me.

[00:06:53]It's so crystal clear. Oh, >> come on. Buy a bottle.

[00:06:57]>> Don't worry, girl. We'll get you all cleaned up. TRAVIS, RUN. Home so soon.

[00:07:02]>> Forgot my lucky lure. You simply can't leave my Kinetico alone, can you?

[00:07:07]>> Kinetico. Even houses sitters can't resist worry-free water.

[00:07:31][music] >> [music] >> Ron Sherah here. I've mentioned before that Starbank [music] is our bank at Ron Sherura Productions.

[00:07:47]Now, it's fair to ask why Star Bank.

[00:07:49]Let's count the ways. First, Starbank is owned by a Minnesota family [music] with Minnesota employees. They know us, we know them. When you call Star Bank, [music] an employee answers, not a recording. Located in 11 Minnesota communities, [music] Star Bank provides all the services a bank should provide.

[00:08:05]So now you know why we chose Star Bank.

[00:08:08]We like [music] a bank that cares.

[00:08:09]>> Member FDIC equal housing lender.

[00:08:20]>> Top water bass fishing is is just an addiction. It's just what got me hooked on bass fishing. giant.

[00:08:29]I have never been so excited to release a bait. This bait right here is so unique and it has such a unique action.

[00:08:36]True sound and it catches freaking big.

[00:08:47]Many anglers want to catch big fish, but Travis Frank caught up with one local angller who chases a trophy of a different size.

[00:09:01]This is like the summer get up for the car. I got all the I got the net in there, the photo tanks, the fishing gear. I'm ready to do just about anything.

[00:09:11]>> Tony Long has a bit of a fishy reputation.

[00:09:15]>> Most people that know me associate me with fish, but they're not exactly the kind of fish most people probably expect.

[00:09:25]What are you seeing?

[00:09:27]>> Seeing a lot of common shiners. There's some blacknosed dace. Pretty good.

[00:09:32]There's some stone rollers. I see some southern red belly d.

[00:09:37]Maybe some bluntnose minnows. Oh, yeah.

[00:09:39]You can see them all now coming upstream.

[00:09:44]Yeah. Why don't you >> Yep. There it is.

[00:09:50]So, just take a little snip.

[00:09:56]That's all you need.

[00:10:00]Glad it's [music] not windy today.

[00:10:02]>> Like a surge.

[00:10:05]>> That's like a good starting [music] point for a lot of just general fish, like anything we see swimming in front of us.

[00:10:10]>> Yeah.

[00:10:11]>> Tony is a micro fisherman and a darn good one at that. and you see a grown man with a beard with a tiny hook and a long 10-ft rod. And it's a little strange, but you get used to it, I guess.

[00:10:28]Come on.

[00:10:30]Oh, hooked up.

[00:10:33]So, there. Wet my hand quick. So, here's a southern red [music] belly d micro fishing is kind of an interesting thing. Um, it's fairly new, but it's really gaining a lot of popularity.

[00:10:47]>> He wants it. Oh, you got him. That thing is so small.

[00:10:52]>> Oh, there we go. Right in the net. Oh, that's a creek chub. That's a young creek chub.

[00:10:57]>> Looks [music] like a crappie minnow.

[00:10:58][snorts] >> Pretty much.

[00:11:00]>> Really?

[00:11:01]>> The gear is super accessible. [music] I mean, I could just go take a stick, tie that micro fishing line and hook on and I can be catching fish. What pound test line?

[00:11:12]>> I I don't even know if it's a one pound test. It's like >> you can barely see.

[00:11:17]>> Like I think my beard hairs are thicker than what that is. [laughter] >> Minnesota's drifless region is home to dozens of our state's more than 140 native fish species, most of which people have never heard of.

[00:11:33]We [music] got Johnny darters, we got Fanhill darters, and then we got some of our shiners like Southern Redbelly Dace, we got creek chubs, a blacknose dace, there's longnosed [music] dace in here, plus a whole lot more.

[00:11:46]>> Photo tanks are are fantastic way to really look at your fish when you catch it. [music] So, you can kind of see some of the red on the belly there, and then the fins are starting to get some of that chartreuse. You can look at the [music] colors, the patterns. You can count fin rays if you need to even on some of these fish.

[00:12:02]>> Tony not only catches these fish for fun, he also monitors them as part of his role with the Minnesota DNR fisheries program.

[00:12:10]>> We do a lot of fish [music] work. So like on the river, um we're just sampling fish, just looking to see what's out there.

[00:12:16]>> It's part of the reason people associate Tony Long with fish. The other part can be found in his basement.

[00:12:23]>> The good old fish room.

[00:12:25]>> Look at this place.

[00:12:27]a lifelong dream since I was a kid to have my own fish room.

[00:12:34]Those uh red guys are red lip shiners. I grew up having fish tanks. My dad was kind of the same way. Um we had fish tanks. He had fish tanks growing up. Uh my [music] grandpa had fish tanks. Not quite to this level. It kind of became like a collectoritis.

[00:12:52]Tony's collection has more than 60 species of native North American fish and counting.

[00:12:59]>> This tank alone has what? One, two, [music] three, four, five, six, seven different species just in this tank.

[00:13:06]That's the fan tail jer. They kind of look grumpy. Their face is kind of if you look at them straight on, they look like they're frowning. It's kind of goofy.

[00:13:13]>> And that's a pygmy sunfish.

[00:13:17]>> That's so cool.

[00:13:21]It just turns almost fluorescent.

[00:13:23]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:13:26]>> Can I feed him?

[00:13:27]>> Absolutely.

[00:13:30]>> Dinner Ted. Wa.

[00:13:34]Oh my goodness. Look at him.

[00:13:36]That is so cool.

[00:13:38]>> A huge trophy collection for a micro fisherman.

[00:13:42]>> I fish. I keep fish. I like to watch fish. It's really I mean it's all-encompassing. [laughter] I Everything is fish.

[00:13:51]>> Everything is fish.

[00:13:55]It's an obsession that continues to grow with every teeny tiny catch. Tony Long proves that the size of a trophy really does lie in the eyes of the beholder.

[00:14:11]Still ahead, Minnesota's pickiest northern pike guide. That is a good thing.

[00:14:17]>> Look at this.

[00:14:18]>> But first, Laura's whipping up a summer recipe for your next catch.

[00:14:24]>> Minnesota Bound is brought to you by Neutrasource, Bushite, Gamefare, and by Totem Resorts, the premier destination for worldclass fishing.

[00:14:42]>> The Bush Guide, cold and smooth survival skills. My watch is broken.

[00:14:46]>> You could tell time by measuring the sun's distance from the horizon.

[00:14:52]>> Looks like happy hour.

[00:14:55]Head for the mountains.

[00:14:57]>> Hey everybody, Bill Sher, the man about the woods on behalf of Radco Truck Accessories. [music] You know, Radco and I have been partners for more than a decade. Radco is my one-stop shop for everything trucks.

[00:15:09]Every accessory from all the top brands and Radco's truck accessory pros are the best in the business. 13 convenient locations throughout the Midwest and shopping online 24 hours a day. Gear up your ride for work and play.

[00:15:25]>> Truck accessories.

[00:15:28]>> This is Game Fair. Lots to see, try and buy. Events for the whole family and dogs. Plus skills to discover. High five. A trick shooter performs daily magic with his shotgun.

[00:15:45]Go to gamefair.com for more details.

[00:15:48]Gamefare, two big weekends, August 7 to 9 and August 14 to 16 at Armstrong Ranch Kennels in Ramsey, Minnesota. See you there.

[00:15:58]>> Hi, I'm Millie. Yep, that Millie. Star of the screen, queen of the field, and a state fair icon. Most days my schedule's packed. Chasing birds in the morning, fan appearances in the afternoon, and did I mention I host my very own TV show? People love me. A schedule this glam takes some serious fuel. That's why I eat Neutrasaur. Their commitment [music] to quality keeps me healthy, energized, and my coat softer and shinier than when I was a puppy. What's inside matters, and Neutras keeps me feeling like the star I am.

[00:16:28]>> The Bush Guide. Cold and smooth survival skills.

[00:16:31]>> My watch is broken.

[00:16:32]>> You could tell time by measuring the sun's distance from the horizon.

[00:16:38]Looks like happy hour.

[00:16:41]Head for the mountains.

[00:16:51][music] [music] It's a wonderful day to get wild in the kitchen. I'm here with Chef Jim Kinberg from Stillwater [music] Country Club.

[00:17:03]Chef Jim, I see a summer staple sitting right here, which is walleye. What are we making today?

[00:17:09]>> We're going to have a little fiesta with a walleye today. We're going to do a a margarita walleye.

[00:17:14]>> Ooh, that sounds delicious. Using a little bit of tequila.

[00:17:16]>> Little bit of tequila, some fresh limes, a little bit of butter. It's going to be delicious.

[00:17:20]>> Let's get started.

[00:17:21]>> All right, let's go.

[00:17:24]>> So, we are ready to season the walleye.

[00:17:26]I've got a little [music] spice blend there. There's some chili in there, some smoked paprika, a little garlic, salt, >> little cumin, coriander, but it's uh just that classic [music] Mexican kind of seasoning.

[00:17:38]>> Delicious.

[00:17:40]>> Flesh side down.

[00:17:41]>> Flesh side down. And [music] what's the rule? Drop it away from you. There you go.

[00:17:46]>> Perfect.

[00:17:48]>> I would guess about 2 minutes each side.

[00:17:51]>> Two minutes each.

[00:17:52]>> Yeah, approximately. [music] So, let's take a quick little [music] peek under there. See, we get some color. Yeah, it's starting to brown up nice. I think we're going to go ahead and flip it.

[00:18:08]>> You'll notice we've had [music] it cooking on the the skin side for about a minute. It's starting to curl up just a little bit. That's the indicator to me that that meat is starting to cook through. So, now I want to start by just squeezing a little fresh lime right over both of those fillets. And right behind it, Laura, I'm gonna turn off the heat.

[00:18:25]And you're gonna add the tequila.

[00:18:27]>> Little little bit tequila.

[00:18:30]>> A lot of tequila.

[00:18:30]>> Oo. Tequila.

[00:18:32]>> Yeah. It'll burn off. There is flavor in [music] there. That's what we're going after. Look at >> that.

[00:18:38]>> That looks good. Maybe just a touch [music] more.

[00:18:42]Perfect.

[00:18:44]All right. Look at that. Excellent.

[00:18:46]>> Now, we're going to introduce some gentle heat again.

[00:18:52]>> And we turn [music] off the the flame when we're adding the tequila because we're working with an open.

[00:18:57]>> We don't want it to flambe. If it happens, it happens. But you don't want to flambe your hands.

[00:19:01]>> Step back. It'll burn off quick.

[00:19:04]>> We're going to add just a little bit of garlic to this pan. Some fresh minced garlic.

[00:19:09]A little cilantro.

[00:19:11]>> One of my favorite ingredients.

[00:19:13]>> Yeah. So, if you really like cilantro, put a generous teaspoon in there. If you're not a big fan, you can even sub parsley. [music] Anything green will work.

[00:19:21]>> You love cilantro.

[00:19:22]>> I love too.

[00:19:23]>> And then we're going to just mount it with a little bit of butter.

[00:19:28]>> And we can And a little bit of cream.

[00:19:29]>> Cream. Yeah. Bring it in.

[00:19:31]>> Said a touch. So, >> that looks great.

[00:19:34]>> Perfect.

[00:19:38]>> Look at this. All right.

[00:19:42]Margarita walleye.

[00:19:48][music] >> All right, chef. I love a good margarita, so I'm really [music] excited to taste margarita wall.

[00:20:02]>> I'm excited for this one, too.

[00:20:04]>> All right, dig in here. Take a little bite.

[00:20:09]See how we did.

[00:20:11]>> Boom. That is delicious.

[00:20:15]>> Mui bueno, chef. Mui bueno.

[00:20:16]>> Bueno. See.

[00:20:18]>> So good. Who the hell is really good?

[00:20:21]>> A great idea.

[00:20:26]>> Close captioning provided by Radco Truck Accessories.

[00:20:37]Okay, it's time to go fishing at Voyagers National Park on Lake Kabatoga.

[00:20:43]>> It's a fun spot that's home to one of Minnesota's most dedicated anglers.

[00:20:47]>> He's also one of the pickiest when it comes to big fish.

[00:20:53]The lake nicknamed Cap. A place where fishy dreams come true.

[00:21:00]Even for anglers not even old enough to drive.

[00:21:06]>> This is my first job. I mean, I'm only 14, so this is my first ever job. And I've always wanted to be a dock boy, and this is just it's great.

[00:21:15]>> Sam Becker normally works the docks at Arrowhead Lodge. Today, he's going to play. Same for Bennett Sherk.

[00:21:23]>> Off we go. They both hope to meet the guy in the boat over there, a fishing guide who gives customers chills.

[00:21:33]>> It's goosebumps, man. Get out there and um you can feel it. You know it's about to happen.

[00:21:39]>> Lane Bacon loves Lake Kabatoga fishing.

[00:21:43]He always has. Strange for a guy who lives in Georgia, right?

[00:21:48]>> I come up here every summer. Now I'm just fortunate enough to uh be able to spend the entire summers up here.

[00:22:01]Lane guides curious anglers to very specific Lake Kabatogama haunts.

[00:22:10]a guide for guys that I think would like to learn how to catch trophy fish and be good conservationists for the fishery.

[00:22:22]>> That's Lane's way of saying he handpicks his guests for good reason, too. See, Lane chases the lake's biggest northern pike. I mean, the big ones.

[00:22:36]Fish he covetss.

[00:22:39]Instead of fishing, I look at it as we're out hunting. We're looking for one trophy a day.

[00:22:46]One fish over 40 ines a day.

[00:22:50]>> You know it's good when it's got a uh tooth stuck in it.

[00:22:53]>> Today, doc boy Sam tags along with his boss.

[00:22:57]>> You know, I've caught a few fish before.

[00:22:58]I've caught a bunch off my dock.

[00:23:00]>> Arrowhead Lodge owner Mike Dario.

[00:23:03]>> This is my first time out fishing um away from the resort. Ben is sure gets stuck fishing with his dad.

[00:23:09]>> I kind of wanted to sleep in, but since it's fishing, I'm going out.

[00:23:17]>> What do they say? A day fishing is always better than a day working.

[00:23:21]>> Especially when this happens.

[00:23:25]>> You know, being the [music] first time, it's kind of kind of neat to have the first fish in the boat, no matter how small.

[00:23:32]Lane always [music] loved fishing Lake Kabat Toga. He did so as a kid with grandpa.

[00:23:39]>> I somehow stumbled onto the secret recipe for catching big pike up here, but that was a, you know, 40 plus years of work on my part.

[00:23:48]>> Now he shares it with those he allows in his boat.

[00:23:52]>> There we go.

[00:23:53]>> It's a conservation thing.

[00:23:55]>> I am extremely [music] selective. Want to make sure people have the same uh values and respect for the fish and this water system as uh I do that makes for a good day.

[00:24:07]>> A great day. Keep >> it in the water.

[00:24:10]>> Looks like this.

[00:24:12]>> Yeah.

[00:24:13]>> It's just an explosion of energy.

[00:24:17]>> That was a big fish. That was a big fish.

[00:24:20]>> A picture worthy moment on water that means so much to so many people. Hitting a monster [music] like that is pretty sweet. What was that? 39.

[00:24:30]>> 39.

[00:24:31]>> 39.

[00:24:33]>> See you later, buddy.

[00:24:35]>> That's a nice fish. That's my personal best right there.

[00:24:39]>> Lane Bacon, a pike guide with the serious sense of humor.

[00:24:44]>> What's the saying about a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then? Uh, he sure nailed it today. He outfished all of us. It was great. You know, >> he seems like he wants to teach and he wants people to learn, so that's the best way to do it.

[00:24:58]Rumor is Lane is still spending a little bit of time up on Lake Cabatum. [music] >> That is the life indeed >> for sure. Well Millie, we've run out of time. We hope you'll join us back here again [music] next week.

[00:25:10]>> In the meantime, remember, introduce a kid to the great outdoors.

[00:25:15]>> Transportation provided by Premier Transportation. Call 18008997433.

[00:25:20][music]