Thankful Outdoors: Week of July 13

By Scott Hopperdietzel (OnFocus) – Scott Hopperdietzel is the creator of an outdoor blog named Thankful Outdoors. He shares his passion for the outdoors with readers. The focus of the blog is to “Celebrate the Experience” in his stories; you feel what the connection to the outdoors means to him. His goal is to inspire others to get into the outdoors and create their own experience. Each week he will be sharing his outdoor adventures with OnFocus!

Monday, July 13^th

I have not spent much time on the water this year throwing for musky. We have had a break now in the sweltering weather, so I feel more comfortable trying to pursue the fish of 10,000 casts. It has been a couple of weeks since I have been able to get the boys out in the boat with me. The weather and schedules just were not lined up for us.

The musky that we are chasing tonight will be river musky. Two years ago around this time is when I introduced the boys to musky fishing. That evening was an extraordinary one, Jared boated two musky, had a follow as well. Connor had a follow, Bryce and I didn’t see any action that night.

As we got onto the river and started throwing the heavy tackle, I was soon reminded that my body is not in musky fishing shape. It’s a big difference from throwing the ultralight gear used to pursue panfish compared to the heavy bucktails, jerkbaits, and crankbaits used to catch a toothy critter. I could feel my shoulder tire out after throwing for a couple of hours.

The other thing that I learned on this outing is that Boone gets excited about musky fishing. If you have ever thrown a musky lure, you know the amount of noise and water they move. Boone has been used to watching us land fish all year long, and the noise of musky lures made him keep thinking we were landing fish. He was all confused and kept giving us his Boone “huff of frustration” sound that he blows through his nose when he is disappointed.

The evening ended with no action for us, but it still was a beautiful evening on the water, and it was good to get the musky gear out so that I’m ready for the upcoming musky trip in September.

Wednesday, July 15^th

The fishing trip that Dad and brother Craig were supposed to go on got canceled due to heavy rainstorms that came into the area. Some spots had received up to 4 inches in around 30 minutes. We decided that the Prairie River was going to be high and fast for trying to catch trout.

So the evening turned into making some lead jigheads for future fishing outings. This hobby of making lead jigheads often takes me back to the memories of being in Grandma and Grandpa Hopperdietzel basement. Grandpa Hopperdietzel was a tinkerer and spent a lot of time making his crappie baits. He had this unique blue color from dyed bucktails that was tied to a white jighead. That setup made him deadly on bringing in the slabs.

Saturday, July 18^th

The workshop and studio for Thankful Outdoors have been under construction and refacing this year. Today was the day that brothers Craig and Corey were going to help out with putting a metal roof on the shop. Ironically, the beginning of the week gave us a break fo the sweltering heat only to return on this day. The temperature on this day was unbelievable as we worked to get the new sheets up on the roof. The project had to get shut down in mid-afternoon as the heat just got to be too much.

On this day, I’m sure that my brothers had wished that they didn’t live so close to me. It’s been a blessing over the years that I have a family so close to enjoy the outdoor adventures with them. It’s these workdays that I’m sure that they regret and they prefer those outdoor adventures instead of workdays!

This week was a light week of getting out into the outdoors, but I can guarantee you that my mind was dreaming about being out there. This slower week allowed me time to think about what all needs to get prepped for the upcoming hunting and trapping season. The list is being made, and planning will be taking place here in the forthcoming weeks.

The calendar and weather still indicate it’s summertime, but we all know how fast that time can fly, and before one knows it, the fall time will be upon us. September will be a very busy month here at Thankful Outdoors. Craig has a bear hunt that I will be filming, a musky trip to northern Wisconsin, and many hunting seasons start in September.

In closing, I hope you find a way to get into the outdoors, create your adventure and memories, but most importantly, find a way to “Celebrate the Experience.” Go check out www.thankfuloutdoors.com for more content and share your “Celebrate the Experience” moment with us!

We welcome your stories! Contact us at [email protected]!