Happy Wednesday!  

As of last Saturday, the 2015 Sturgeon Spearing season has come to an end.  YBO did not have the success that we were looking for but we did have some great experiences!  Congratulations to Catfish for spearing a 64.5" and 76.5 lbs dinosaur! 

Don't forget to upload your photos and videos of your spearing adventures whether you scored big or not! 

When the door to one season closes another always opens.  Good luck to those that are continuing to venture out in the cold for some ice fishing and snowmobiling.  I will be staying warm building up my stock of hand painted lures while I wait for the Turkey Season to start! 

If you happen to come across a color/design that you would like to see in our lure store, let us know.  We love new ideas! 

Stay warm and God Bless! 

Cowboy

Howdy everyone,

It seems like forever since I have written one of these things. Well depending on some people's perception of that term, it may actually have been forever! (That last statement was directed to my father, Strawhead! HAHA) Firstly, I just want to take some time to thank Kester's Nursery, Block Targets, Rage Broadheads, Elk River Custom Rods, and Motion Camera Arms for all their support and help in making last year a success! I would also like to thank my wife and kids for giving me the freedom to hunt and fish as much as I want and for putting up with my shenanigans with running this website. I also want to send a heartfelt thank you to my father, Strawhead for all the under appreciated work that he does whether it be planting food plots, scouting for whitetails, scouting for sturgeon. Pretty much everything. That man would give you the shirt off of his back without hesitation if he knew it could help you in any way. I would also like to thank my brother Bonehead for all the hard work and sacrifice he puts into everything we do! He is one of the most knowledgable outdoorsmen that I have had the pleasure to be around. Also thank you to Michelle and Bryce for allowing your husband/father to do all these things to make our hunting and fishing more enjoyable. And lastly, I would like to thank everyone of you who have taken your own personal time to view and interact with our site. Without the involvement of all of you, we wouldn't have this, and for that I will always be grateful. I may not know you, but I will always be thankful for what you have done.

With all of that out of the way, I am very excited in the growth of the site and look forward to the direction we are headed! I hope everyone is having a fun and safe start to the New Year and keep checking back to the site as more sturgeon scouting video, tips, and tactics are added.  

Again, thank you all and we'll be "chatting" again shortly.

Good Morning Everyone!

It has been almost half a year since I l ast blogged, wow, that is pretty pathetic. In my defense, I'm really grasping at straws here, I have just started a new job and have been traveling some, but now that I am settling into the position, I can finally be a bit more active on the site. Bear baiting went really well this year with alot of activity all day long on most of our baits. When hunting rolled around the daytime activity lessened but that didn't stop BJ and Carp from harvesting their first bears ever! I want to take a moment to CONGRATULATE both of them on a very successful hunt again! It is always a pleasure having those two around. Bonehead's wife “Mitch” is still trying to attach her tag to her first bear however. She has been seeing bear pretty regular at every bait she has hunted, but none have been the one she is looking for. Good Luck again this weekend "Mitch." I am pretty excited that the bow hunting opener is only a day away! It has been quite hard to concentrate at work when all you can think about is being in a lofty perch waiting for that big swamp donkey to come walking past you. I want to wish all the bear hunters out there who haven’t filled their tags good luck, and also to all those who are taking to the woods this week in search of their trophy whitetail! And remember, a huge rack isn’t always what makes the trophy, to me it’s the camaraderie of the camp, the enjoyment of nature and the skills you learn on every hunt that makes every time sitting a “trophy” to put on my memory wall. Good Luck!

God Bless,

Cowboy

Good day mates,

Turkey hunting has been upon us for quite some time now. I had my season last week up in zone 6 and after 13 looong years of never getting one, I was finally able to attach my tag on a jake. It may not have been a huge tom or anything, but it is still a trophy to me and that's all that matters! Unfortunately we had very cold and wet weather conditions up north so videoing was not always an option, and did not get the hunt on tape. Pictures will soon be added so everyone get see. I wish all other hunters out there the best of luck in their season, and hope to see some more videos added to the video contest!

God Bless,

Cowboy

Howdy everyone,

I'm not sure how to really begin what I want to type, so I'm just gonna let my heart tell my fingers where to land. Today we laid to rest one of the greatest people I know. My grandpa Leslie Edward Loker was always a kind hearted, give the shirt of your back type of a guy. One that would be your best supporter and one that would lay down the law if you stepped out of line. He helped mold me into the person I am today. I see some semblance of this almost daily. One of the main things is telling my son or other people I'm close to "Come on try it," or "just do it," or "how do you know you can't if you don't try." When I was growing up, I always disliked being pushed into things that I didn't want to do. Now that I am older, and see myself doing the same thing he did to me, I realize, he wasn't trying to push me to do it. He had such pride in all of us that he didn't want us to fail, or not go after something because of lack of hard work or effort. I hope one day my son sees it the same way I see it now! There are a few things that I wish I would have spoken more about with my grandpa before his memory started to fail. I always enjoyed listening to his WWII stories and his time in the Navy. I may have heard some of them more than I could count, but I would never tell him so. He took such pride, and rightfully so. I also remember the times he and my grandma taught me how to do a little line dancing. I could never really get the whole, kick boot, turn, stomp stomp done right, but it was a blast trying and sharing in what they loved to do. And now that I come to think of it, he taught me the basics of trolling for fish. He would cast out his minnow tipped hook behind his row boat and paddle around Pearl Lake until he caught a crappie, and he honed that craft to a T. I could go on and on about all the memories and love that this great man created and gave everyone he came in contact with, but it still wouldn't seem to add up to how great he actually was. I just want to say thank you to the man who raised my father how he thought a man should be, and showed my dad how to be a loving, important father and also a best friend. I am going to include a poem my wife wrote the day we found out about his passing:

Leslie E. Loker

August 13th, 1926 – April 14th, 2012

He served our country

with honor and pride.

He lived his life

with his head held high.

He watched you grow

and shared love and stories.

He shared in your memories

and he shared in your glories.

You sat with him

as he slowly slipped away.

You held his hand

until his very last day.

You may not have seen,

but he knew you were there.

You told him it was ok.

You told him you cared.

He now sits aside

the Lord in his place.

He holds your hand now

and dries the tear on your face.

Life will go on,

you will continue to live.

You will honor his memory,

in the love that you give.

~ Heather Loker

4/14/2012

Rest In Peace Grandpa. You were not only an American Hero, but also a tremendous grandparent and a true Hero to me. I will always love you. I hope someday  my grandchildren will be as proud of me as I am of you.

Always your "Stick in the mud,"

Jason

Good afternoon Ladies and gentlemen,

I hope this lovely spring weather is pleasing the penchant of everyone. I know I'm not going to complain!! It does make it hard to believe that sturgeon spearing was only a mere month ago though. I want to congratulate site member TwoBuckJoe on winning the first ever sturgeon spearing video contest, and to also apologize for all the dilemmas we had getting the vote counter smoothly operational. Walleye fishing has been pretty good some days and horrible others. I have heard numerous reports that fish are being caught all over the river system still. It's a wonder what next weeks cooler temperatures will do to the run, if it affects it at all. Hopefully everyone is getting out there to enjoy some nature and catch some walleye! Also, turkey season is right around the corner and I am in the process of editing a little clip of some turkeys gobbling and flying down from the roost that Strawhead was able to get. So I will get that on the video's page in the near future. That is all I have at the moment so stay safe, have fun and

God Bless,

Cowboy

Howdy Ya'll,

I know it's been forever and at least one day since I have written a blog and I know there are quite a few following it, so I am sorry to disappoint. First off, I would like to congratulate Catfish and Stilts on their sturgeons this year. Secondly, I would like to show my appreciation to those who have uploaded their videos and to those who are still working on theirs. The rest of us in the YBO sturgeon family have yet to see a sturgeon, and I shouldn't have led you on with the yet, as far as I know, all our shacks are safe and sound in our yards, off the ice. This, is due to the sight of how badly the access points are being deteriorated. But don't fret my pet, just because we haven't seen anymore sturgeon, don't believe for one minute that this year was a wash. Some of the greatest memories I have are from the comaradarie. I can tell you that now that spearing for us is over, I will be hitting the hard water again to do a little ice fishing. In my own opinion, after Sunday (when spearing is over) all the ice can magically disappear so that we can get the boats out again. I want to wish all the spearers who are sticking it out the best of luck, and to everyone fishing Batlle on Bago, good luck as well. This is all I have for ya'll at the moment so good luck, stay safe and

God Bless,

Cowboy

Good evening ladies and gents,

The ice fishing has been hit or miss as of late. There have been a few days where we have been catching quite a few larger perch, but many days where one or two was the norm. I have uploaded a video of some underwater camera action, including landing a lawyer. Strawhead, BJ, and I went to the south end today (Wayside to be exact) and walked out with a spud bar checking ice depth. We walked a little more than a quarter mile out from the landing checking conditions periodically. Ice depths ranged anywhere from 4"-6". I just want to reiterate everything I'm sure you have already heard. If you decide to go out spearing this year, please use caution and be very safe! I wish everyone safe travels on and off the hard water, and also want to wish everyone that goes out GOOD LUCK!

God Bless,

Cowboy

Good day everyone!

I am currently going through footage as I type this and working on a new little sturgeon clip for ya'lls enjoyment. After 16 1/2 hours of travel yesterday, I am quite enjoying the comforts of a lazy boy, laptop in my hands, and footage scrolling across the tv. I hope everyone is managing to stay warm in these colder days, but on the bright side of weather like this, we are getting some ice made for us! I don't have much more of an update on any reports but check back as more stuff is added to the site. Have a great day!

God Bless,

Cowboy

G'day Mates,

Unfortunately one of our partners, Seemz Technology, had to close it's doors after four years in the scent elimination industry. After working with them, I realize that the hunting community has lost one of it's greatest assest. Seemz created, in my opinion, the best scent elimination system on the market! It is with sadness that I will be removing their banner from the side bar and our official partner page, as there is no company to purchase items from anymore. I want to thank them for giving us the opportunity to partner with them and with them the very best in the future. Thank you very much Seemz! God Bless!

Cowboy