- Come here, buddy, just a little guy, But this one was aggressive.

- Used to be considered a trash fish, and that is the Eelpout or the Burt or the Ling or the Lawyer, the Cod, whatever you want to call this fish.

- If, it looks like junk to you, it probably looks good to me.

I want to paint on something different.

All the time.

(Dramatic Music Plays) - Funding for this program was provided by the Minnesota environment and natural resources, trust fund, Safe Basements of Minnesota, your basement, waterproofing and founding specialist Since 1990. peace of mind is a safe basement.

Live Wide Open.

The more people know about west central Minnesota, the more reasons they have to live here.

More at livewideopen.com Western Minnesota Prairie Waters, where peace, relaxation, and opportunities await.

- [Host] In the land of 10,000 lakes, fishing is king while anglers still like to keep a few for the frying pan.

The catch and release mentality is growing.

The tug on the interview line is becoming more important than catching the best tasting fish.

And that means that at targeting non-game fish has become more common, so much so, that the DNR is starting to look at new regulations on certain species of fish to protect them.

(instrumental music) All right, so there's one, one fish in Northern Minnesota, that's gotten more and more popular here in recent years, used to be considered a trash fish.

People would catch them and they'd just leave 'em on the ice and, get rid of 'em.

And then they got to be more popular as the 'poor man's lobster', they were called, and that is the Ealpout, or the burbot, or the Ling or the Lawyer, the Cod, whatever you want to call this fish.

It's a popular fish nowadays.

It's actually been listed as a game fish now in Minnesota, they're talking about setting limits on it.

And they're fun fish to catch, and they are delicious, they're becoming more and more popular as a catch and release catch and release fish.

So you can catch Burbot on Walleye gear, I've never actually targeted Ealpout before.

Anytime I've ever, Common's always been a bycatch when I've been walleye fishing.

So, I've got walleye gear, but now it's become so popular that you can actually get specialized tackle for Burbot, and that's what we're gonna do today here at Northwood Bait and Tackle.

We're gonna see what they got for catching some meal pot tonight.

Hey, Hey, how's it going?

- [Tyler] Good.

- I'm Brett Advinson .

- Tyler.

- Tyler, Nice to meet you.

We wanna catch some Burbot tonight.

What do we need?

- [Tyler] So we got this stuff here.

These ones got some rattles in em, and we also, these they've been hitting on jigs pretty recently, too.

Anything with a lot of glow to it.

- Glow is key, and then you tip these with some minnow heads?

- Yeah.

Minnow heads.

- I kind of like the idea of this rattle though.

Yeah it draws them out - Being able to make, draw the down there little more, right.

Well, I'm gonna take a couple of the glow jigs and couple the glow rattles.

So ,have you seen an increase in popularity for Burbot?

A lot of people coming in here asking about what to use and - Yeah for sure - how to target 'em ?

- There's a lot of people coming in asking what to use.

Most people are getting fat heads too.

They're getting the big nasty lures.

- You're guaranteeing us one of those tonight, Right?

- Oh yeah.

Maybe, not that big.

- The standard record for 2012.

- You'll catch some sure.

- All right - We learned that big nasty tackle was made just down the road from Bemidji in Cass Lake, So we made our way there to see how these jigs were made.

Matt, where are we right now?

- [Matt] We're in Cass Lake Minnesota, Home of big nasty tackle.

- Right?

And we're also inside tackle shop and a pawn shop.

- Yep.

MD Pawn and Bait, part owner here at the bait shop, and we bought fortunate to buy tackle company a couple years ago.

And we're just trying to make it work.

- [Bret] How long ago did this tackle start?

- Adam for, I started about 10 or 11 years ago, I believe.

And we were fortunate enough to buy this our third season, I believe with, big nasty tackle, (upbeat music) He did a good job, handed it over to us.

He's helped us out tremendously, and we just keep trying to expand the line, add new colors, add new product.

- [Bret] You know, it's not easy starting new tackle or a new tackle company.

Everything is so crowded in the fishing world these days, and everybody's making tackle.

It seems like, but when you have the popularity growing of a fish that hasn't been targeted, what a great opportunity to make tackle specifically for those fish.

So you make these right here?

- That's Correct.

Right in the store.

- Can you show me how to do?

- I sure can.

(gritty upbeat music) - We're talking about pouring alternatives to lead, which is also a really important thing these days.

- That's correct.

We're using a 9 2, 8, 10, and it comes in pucks like this.

When we buy it, we melt it in leave hot.

We've got a couple different sizes.

- How easy is it to acquire this?

- It's expensive.

They would, these come in three bars, they're $146 for a bar.

- Oh, these smokes.

- Yeah.

So it's quite expensive, but it is the future.

We know that all the European union, you can't use lead.

So we're trying to break into that market a little bit, expand it.

So we've decided to do some alternative with that.

And then we use our jigs, our, our molds here, and basically we put all the components we have to put in and it comes out, the mold looks like this.

And then we have to finish the process by breaking this tip off and sand 'em smooth so we can paint 'em.

- [Bret] I've seen this glow paint inaction on these.

I wanna know where you keep the radioactive material because I've never seen anything glow like this.

- [Matt] It's it's under locking key in the city.

(Men laughter) - You ship these a lot of places?

- I ship.

'em a lot of 'em to Canada.

Many of the states out west Michigan, Maine, I ship 'em to Norway and Sweden also.

I've got shipments going too.

- Well.

Thanks a lot, man.

Good luck with everything.

- Thank you.

I appreciate it.

- [Bret] Now that we had our gear, it was time to go fishing.

We got to the lake here tonight.

We heard this was a spot to go, and when we got here, there was these two guys selling girl scout cookies.

Let's go see who it is here.

Oh, it's Jason Rylander and Jason germ.

Ladies and gentlemen.

How odd that we see you guys here?

- Oh, weird - Selling girls scout cookies.

(Jason laughs) What are you guys doing?

We're going Ealpout fishing.

- Oh, really?

Did you guys bringing a gear?

- Hell, we got some gear.

- Oh, okay.

Bring any snow boots ride out on your snowmobiles with you.

Yeah.

- Oh, we river.

Yeah.

- We got girl scout cookies.

Is there some Ealpout out here?

- There's some Ealpout out here.

- Let's go get 'em.

(ice-jet roar) The Jasons are both fishing guides and have spent a lot of hours chasing this unique fit fish with daylight fading, I wanted to get a good look at the bottom structure with an underwater camera before it got too dark, and it didn't take long to see what we were after.

- I told you, I think we're on the spot.

- I was having more fun with the camera than I should have And I probably should've grabbed a rod, but I was enjoying seeing the fish and listening to Jason Rylander give Jason Durham a hard time about his whole drilling skills.

- I like this hole Jace.

How did you do this?

- What?

- I've never seen a oval auger before.

- [Jason R] It's like round and then an extra.

- [Bret] And Jason Rylander has gotten to be known for his Burbot obsession and like many people, his first encounter was wild wildlife fishing.

- Catching an eight pounder on Lake Bemidji by accident, and it was incredible.

Like it was an eight pound fish fought like crazy.

Why would I not want to go chase these on purpose and experience that fight over and over again?

That's what that's really what got me hooked.

Was that, that first one.

- [Bret] Since he was one of the first people to bring burbot into the spotlight, it only made sense that he got the first one tonight.

- I was one of the few back in the day.

I mean, that's how I met Matt Brewer was Ealpout fishing.

It was March, and we were the only two people on all of lake Bemidji.

Of course we gravitated towards each other fishing, the same piece of structure.

So, I got to know him.

I got a job working for him as a guide.

- [Bret] Well, Jason's ability to catch these unique fish made 'em popular, a Burbot hot tub photo that went viral, sent 'em over the top.

- It wasn't quite the picture I had in my head.

I kind of imagined me in, in the water more and some Ealpout over my legs a little bit more, but man, that water was cold and that ice well, just wasn't quite big enough.

- Fishing is supposed to be about fun.

Catching limits is always nice.

But at the end of the day, your measure of success, shouldn't be based on what you're taking home.

And when it comes to Minnesota lakes, there may be no one having more fun on them than Jason Durham who got a into burbot fishing in recent years.

- Oh, got off right under the hole.

I would've got that.

If somebody was over here helping me.

- Classic Durham.

- (laughs) To tell you honestly, the first time I really didn't want to go, and it was this guy, Mr. Rylander that convinced me to go out Ealpout fishing, and we had actually met on so social media hadn't (chuckles) - [Bret] again, say it again.

- We had originally met on social media through some mutual friends and he invited me to go Ealpout fishing, and honestly, I really didn't want to go.

I wasn't interested.

And then when we went the first time, we just, we hit it off So well in terms of our personalities, and in addition, we caught a whole bunch of yield pout, and I was hooked from that point on.

And now, man, I just I've dove in head first in terms of the world of Ealpout, researching, how they act and why they act the way that they do different techniques, different baits, different bodies of water.

And yeah, I absolutely love them.

- [Bret] The two friends, both guide for different guide companies, but have been working together enough to get referred to as the Jasons and after spending some time in the ice with them, it's easy to see why.

- I'm looking for sharp breaks.

I'm looking for hard bottom, wherever the crayfish is.

That's where the Ealpout are gonna be.

(Jason laughs) - That was, to a tea.

That was, gorgeous.

- That's my line.

- Though, they will eat minnows and other things too crayfish are our primary food source, and so we're just fishing right along that transition.

We're in 17 feet of water and it varies from lake to lake in terms of the depth that you're going to target some lakes, you might be shallow than 17 feet.

Some lakes are gonna be much, much deeper.

- Nice fish.

- I, did absolutely nothing.

I tell you what we've had some fish come through and just really negative.

So, I put the rod in the holder about three feet, had the bait, about three feet off the bottom.

I watched it come up to it and it denied it.

And then I started shaking it, moving up faster.

It hit probably six feet off the bottom.

That is a healthy, healthy Ealpout - beauty.

(calm instrumental music) - Well, it kind of surprised me.

I was just pounding the bottom.

I hadn't seen any fish for a little while.

and all of a sudden I got a bite.

Checked the hook.

Nice little male.

Lots of cool little colors on 'em.

It's one thing I really love about the Ealpout, each one's like a snowflake there all everyone's different.

They got different color patterns.

Pretty cool to see these cool black markings that they get.

- That's the straightest it's been.

(chuckles) That's a great shot.

- It's still bugging me a little bit.

- When you ask people about Ealpout, they usually talk about their and their squirmy reaction to getting caught.

- They're wiggly and it's hard to get 'em straight for photos and things like that, but they don't actually wrap around your arm.

That one definitely couldn't because it wasn't big enough.

- The best Burbot fishing is in a short window from late February through early March.

- Yes, you could catch 'em December, January here and there, but they're very, very spread out kind of different parts of the Walleye or the water column, and you can catch 'em here there.

mostly just stay out after you're done Walleye fishing a little bit longer and you might catch the mealpod out as they group up now pre spawn, you've got a four to six week window to learn.

You know, when I first started doing it, I would pick a lake and that's the lake I fished.

I'd maybe pick one or two lakes and just fish that lake just to try to learn some spots, figure stuff out.

And then the next year, move to something else, do some more exploring.

And that's really how I learned populations in different, our different lakes around Bemidji, a lot of trial and error a whole heck, a lot of gas and a lot of fruitless nights really?

- Oh.

- Ha ha.

- Come here buddy.

Just a little guy, But this one was aggressive.

This one didn't hold back at all.

And you know, there's good numbers, whoops, of this size of fish out here.

And that's great for the future.

Ealpout are somewhat slow and it, it really varies from lake to lake.

Just like you see with other species too, that you gotta give 'em some time, But this is great for the future, of Ealpout fishing out on this lake.

You can see, they just have really, really tiny eyes.

And so having glow and scent and pounding that on the bottom is really critical for getting these fish to come in and bite.

Ealpout actually have really high and stringent clean water requirements.

And people think of them as these swamp creatures and that they're in these back bays.

A lot of times people equate 'em, to Dogfish and they're very, very different.

They need clean water, and if you ever had a decline in water quality, it would be one of the first species that are affected.

- The DNRs move to classify the burbot as a game fish, as a result of increased angling pressure and research.

- You know, we, we got to assist with a study that took place, where there was some telemetry done on the fish tracking in terms of us helping out, we got to catch the fish and there were a number of anglers that assisted with that, but so cool to see how they went about that process.

There are inserting tracking devices into the fish and tracking the fish for about 14 months.

But as for like feedback that we've given the DNR, we've gotten some surveys and stuff in terms of limits because now Ealpout being designated as a game fish.

The DNR can actually put limits on the fish, which I think is a, a great move forward.

- I think for the most part, people really respect the species.

They're not prolific spawner and in my personal opinion.

So I think conservation is, is very, very important with them.

And I it's just cool seeing the respect they're getting.

- [Bret] While they are known as the poor man's lobster, when it comes to table fair.

Most of the new anglers aren't keeping them, and tonight we made the decision to put 'em all back.

- You know, for, for a number of reasons.

Not that they're not great eat because they are, but part of it is time of day.

you're getting home late.

Part of it is that I just wanna catch 'em again.

That fight is what's most addictive to me, The pursuit.

- Now, just as we are packing up to go, Jason Durham set the hook one more time.

- Here, a hit - oh, - nice.

- There we go.

- Get that for you, Jace.

- Ah, oh.

- A little weight, little weight to that one.

- No, this that's not in here.

(group Laughs) - A Pike.

Well, that's not an Ealpout.

(group laughter) - Good release.

- Catch and release.

- I think it actually got stuck in the hole here.

- Come on, bud.

- Pike aren't supposed to bite, at night.

- No.

- Well, I appreciate you having us out here is a good time.

Jason.

- Jason, thank you very much.

- Thank you, Brett.

Thank you.

- Moving on, When are we hot tubing?

(man laughs) (tense instrumental music) - Well, I retired last year here.

I ran, worked for the county and ran road grader, and the same day I retired, there was a road grader sitting in under the house when I got home.

So, I'm still doing the same thing, but not for the county.

- So much for retirement.

- Yeah.

- What do you do in your spare time?

- As if it's cold?

I like to paint and stuff.

I started with the horses, painting horses and stuff, and then wildlife stuff like that.

Nothing on canvas.

If it looks like junk to you, it probably looks good to me.

I want a paint on something different all the time.

(instrumental music) We went out to the black Hills and between Keystone and Hill City, we was riding horns out there, went in one of the gift shops and stuff.

And I looked in there, somebody had painted some Buffalo skulls and geez, they had flowers on 'em and stuff.

I think I can do better than that.

And then the bells started ringing and I knew where there was some skulls from when we'd been riding.

So come home, found the skulls and painted one, and then the grandkids, they was in the fair and stuff.

And they said, grams, why don't you bring something to the fair?

I ain't got nothing to bring to the fair.

those things, you painted, them skulls.

Well, I took three skulls there in the very first year I got first and two seconds.

Then after that, then I kinda I wanted one of those purple ribbons.

So I painted on skulls, saw blades, hand saws, little everything.

And then I got not the purple ribbons, I got two of the, of the psychedelic ones the first year at the County Fair and I didn't know nothing about those ribbons.

So I says to this lady, I see, I got two of those big psychedelic ribbons, but I said, are they as good as the purple ones?

She said, oh yes.

She says that's grand champion Supreme.

So I got two of them that year, and I went to all the fares around here.

I've Madison was probably the hardest one.

That's the last fair, and everybody brings the best, the best there, and it took me a few years to get there.

I got some reserve grand champions and one year I painted, a grainy door and put a mural on it, and I got grand champion out of that one, and I haven't taken that since a fair since, but I figured I'll quit one I'm on the top.

(upbeat music) - See.

There's saws.

There's saws hanging back there.

Here's a Since I got 15, these big saws to do, but they're, just so much, there's more work to it, taking it, getting 'em all ready, stuff like that.

it's not cream cans, old dented up cream cans and stuff.

I've painted them before you hand a tail out on your gross and everything Guy gave me some of them.

So I painted, he gave me a whole pile of, I like old barns, the old barns, but then I gotta, put some wildlife or something in front of it.

I might see an old building and take a picture Of that, and then add my own thing to it.

I might have three, four pictures that I look at to make one, and stuff, but the old barns, pheasants, deer horses, a lot of horse pictures I painted.

Been doing a lot of stuff on wood now, just because it, I don't know, it just seems simpler, and you can, you can kind of do your own thing.

Last winter or winter before I took the wife down to the doctor down to Marshall, had some time to kill.

So, I wanted a hobby lobby and I bought a wood burner.

So, I wood burned a few the last winter here just to do something different.

I don't know.

It takes about the same amount of time, but it, you learn a little with that thing too.

It just kind of breaks it up a little.

(calm instrumental music) It was 2007 when I painted the first one.

Otherwise I don't.

Yeah.

I'd never, never even tried to paint anything.

I doodled around with a pencil drew some pictures when you was in school, when you were supposed to be studying everybody drew in the back of their notebooks, didn't they?

So.

- [Bret] So no classes or anything?

- No - [Bret] Something you'd been doing for fun.

- Yeah.

Yeah, And then I went to, to a guy, a couple guys that knew how to paint really good and ask 'em some questions.

But I don't know.

I do mine completely different than what they do anyway.

I usually kind of sketch it out or do it a lot of what I do just with the brush, but I'll make a silhouette, and then I start from the back and work forward, put the sky in and of trees and keep coming forward.

No lessons.

You just kind of teach yourself.

- Hi, welcome back.

Certainly glad you could join me again today.

Got your pallet set up?

- I've watched, oh, Bob Ross a few times.

And you know, his is different 'cause his, is in oil and they look good all the time till you get right up next to him, but kinda gives you some ideas though, but what he does in a half hour and probably take me a week.

- [Bret] You have some happy trees once in a while?

- Maybe there lives some happy little evergreens.

- Oh I got some happy treats on you gotta cover up a mistake or something.

So yeah, that works.

- Some of the, the wood tells the story.

This here all through here that this is box elder and here's the black and you see, it looks like it made it sky itself.

I didn't have to no paint and the restless I would burn, but you'll see the dark spots through here and stuff that look like part of the landscape.

Well, that's all, that's all right in the wood.

So, they said sometimes it does work for you.

It's coming out and you kind of, Ooh, look at that.

Something you wouldn't have put in yourself, but it it's just natural and it, and it looks like it's supposed to be there.

(instrumental music) - You get a lot of compliments.

I tell you, they, I don't want to tell you what they, a lot of 'em said, they, you know, you wouldn't know it for a guy that can't don't look like you'd be able to tie your shoes and you paint like that.

So yeah.

(instrumental music) - [Announcer] True or false?

Most Minnesota lakes have invasive species?

false only about 8% of Minnesota's more than 11,000 lakes are on the infested waters list.

Less than 3% are infested with Zebra Muscles, preventing infestations is worth our time and effort.

We can stop aquatic hitchhikers from investing more lakes and streams by cleaning up up everything we pull out of the water.

It's a simple drill, clean in, clean out.

Before leaving a water access, clean your boat and water equipment, remove and dispose of all plants and aquatic species in the trash drain water from your boat, ballast tanks, motor, live well, and bait container.

Remove drain plugs and keep drain plugs while transporting equipment.

Dispose off unwanted bait in the trash.

To keep live bait, drain the water and refill the bait container with bottled or tap water, and if you have been in infested waters, also spray your boat with high pressure water rinse with very hot water dry for at least five days.

Stop the spread of AIS!

Funding for this segment was provided by the Aquatic Invasive Species Task Forces of Wright, Meeker, Yellow Medicine, La Qui Parle, and Big Stone counties.

(upbeat music) Funding for this program was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.

Safe Basements of Minnesota.

Your basement, waterproofing and foundation repair specialist Since 1990. peace of mind is a safe basement Live Wide Open.

The more people know about west central Minnesota, the more reasons they have to live here.

More at livewideopen.com.

Western Minnesota Prairie Waters, where peace, relaxation, and opportunities await.