Editor Violet Foster

THE PARTNER

Editor Violet Foster

Fall of 2008

Issue 23

Executive Board

President

Mike Hanson 952-384-0025

Vice President

Nate Sjolin 763-497-4979

Secretary

Janie Yoder 612-781-4103

Treasurer

Violet Foster 763-444-4427

Board Members

Dave Heidtke 763-535-2817

Terry Hanson 763-535-9603

Allen Buss 763-323-8337

Tim Vraa 612-590-0685

Greg Waite 763-786-3999

Jim Hamlin 952-232-2045

President’s Corner

Mike Hanson

Once again, I would like to thank the members of Capable Partners for giving me a chance to serve as president of this fine organization and for your feedback on what I am doing and have done. Again, this is your organization. If you have ideas for improving it, please let me know.

Successes.

I am pleased with five things we have accomplished this year. First, we have had no serious accidents or injuries. We have kept our unbroken record through another fishing and hunting season. Keep up the good work! See articles about particular hunts and outings for how successful these outings were.

Second, we have standardized rules for participation of minors, choosing and approving coordinators, and hunting at the Minnesota River Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Lack of standardized policies was a concern to our insurance company, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and other agencies we work with regularly. Lack of policies also confused coordinators. Some policies we developed involved considerable debate but we worked through it.

Third, we have a trial waterfowl hunt at Sand Prairie. If all goes well, we could have another waterfowl opportunity next year.

Fourth, thanks to Steve Scheunemann, we have our website updated to reflect the current calendar, board members, and events. We intend to make our website as general as possible.

This means that information about events, schedules, and similar matters will be included in news letters. This will decrease the need to update our website. Please keep copies of all news letters you receive for your reference.

Fifth, Rodger Hawke, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and several other organizations similar to Capable Partners are working to improve access to the outdoors for persons with disabilities, including making it easier to get permits and licenses and faster access to private land. Stay tuned for updates on how these changes are implemented through the coming legislative season.

Challenges.

We face one major challenge. It is the economy. There are two particular challenges we will need to deal with as a result.

First, we are not getting the amount of donations we did in better economic times. This means we will need to tighten our belts as an organization and increase our fundraising efforts. We are, of course, interested in suggestions from members on how to do that. We are looking at asking participants to contribute to the cost of events in which they participate and eliminating unpopular events.

The second challenge is Game Fair. We did not do as well as we wanted at Game Fair. We are looking at raffling off different items and reducing ticket prices to one dollar ($1.00) per ticket. We willalso print tickets off in time for the banquet and sell them starting at the banquet if possible. If you have any suggestions about items to raffle off or improve fundraising in general, please let me know.

Election.

It will soon be time to elect new directors and officers. If you are interested in running, please let Violet Foster know by January 15, 2009.

Conclusion.

We have had a good year, given the economy and its affect on non-profit organizations. We had a safe and successful hunting and fishing season. We are working to improve access to hunting and fishing for persons with disabilities. There are some issues we can improve. As we look forward to 2009 let’s keep it safe and successful and improve where we can.

Happy Holidays,

Mike Hanson, Esq.

Volunteer President

Capable Partners, Inc.

TURKEY HERE TURKEY

Rice Creek

Violet Foster

What a fine day to sit in the woods and look for a turkey, the feathered variety. No rain and just a mild breeze made the day a perfect spring hunt day.Tom had us signed in and in the field just after nine after a safety meeting. It did not take us long until shots were fired and the birds had met their match. Some hunters were lucky and shot three birds, some got their birds while others had no luck in seeing or shooting.

Those that were lucky shared the wealth with those not lucky enough to do see any turkeys. They were there but just being shy about coming out of the woods.

Twenty seven hunters retrieved thirty birds. All went home with a taste of the wild. They were served at the Annual Picnic. We owe a big thanks to Tom for a good hunt, the “homemade rolls” and the first class lunch of brats, chili and chips. Thanks to Terry Hauegto for the deer brats he served.

The helpers from Rice Creek and the able body’s who helped did a great job of cleaning and bagging our birds. No feathers and no unwanted innards. Just rinse and cook.

Thanks’ everyone for a great day.

Rough Waters Ahead

Mille Lac Lake

Violet Foster

What a beautiful morning. Cool but no rain. A little breeze, but you need one if you are fishing walleye.

On the launch and off we go. The sun made its way out of the clouds and warmed our bones. There were dark clouds drifting off to the North but they were traveling South, no problem. After trying several places we were given a light rain just to prove us wrong about the weather. It was decided to fix lunch. After all that fresh air you get hungry. Lunch was brats, hamburgers, potato salad and chips all around.

Then the fun began. The wind decided it did not want us on the lake. After nearly taking the awning off the launch it was decided to head in to the port. Waves four feet high, and winds nearly high enough to blow us away.

We need to thank the Captain for a safe trip. I am sure there were a few nervous people on the boat. He did a great job of getting us in with no problems. The folks at the Anglers Paradise helped get us off the launch.

Of yes someone did catch a fish 14 ½ inches. Jenny was the one and only one to catch a fish. Good Job Jenny.

We look forward to next year’s trip. Dave thanks for all your work and effort into putting this fishing trip together.

Kids Fishing on Lake Minnetonka

By Terry Hanson

Perfect weather greeted us, Wednesday morning June 25th, on Lake Minnetonka for our second kids fishing outing. Ian Grinde, Rose Hollerman, Ryan Kane, Betsy Keil, Christopher Strommen, Alec Wellman along with Mom and Dad were ready to try their hands at that angling life.

Rose, keeping a very careful count, brought in thirty sunnies and Ian landed a very nice large mouth bass. Ryan’shas greatly improved his technique, since last year to help fill their bucket.Alec and Betsy seemed to have a fish on every time I looked towards their pontoons. Christopher held a rod and reel for the first time. A pretty nice deer was spotted walking across the yard of a house up on shore.

We need to thank Dick Anderson, Dave Guzzi, Jeff Fredrick and Joel Bauer for captaining, deck handling, picture taking and providing fishing tips.

The crew at Rockvam Boat Yards, again were on task in helping with boarding safely. They have custom ramps making it very accessible to walkers and wheelchairs.

Returning to shore we had pizzas under the trees with a view of the lake, great

Boat’s and ducks.

We have used the Courage Center for kid’s contacts so far. If you know any disabled kids let us know for next year.

Prior Lake Fishing

By Terry Hanson

There was some concern for our fishing outing, on Prior Lake, with a weather report of “thunderheads in the West” from Karl Anderson, but when we were loaded on our Pontoons and with a few rain drops we were off to a record setting day of Crappies and Sunnies filling our buckets.

Twenty one partners, including first timers Lloyd and Leslie Zeise and Joe Soderlund, were met at the Wagon Bridge marina by the Prior Lake Sportsman’s Club and a fleet of Pontoons Saturday morning June 7th.Another picnic feast was served by the Sportswomen upon our arrival at Memorial Park.The task of cleaning the estimated 500 plus fish began after lunch and about two hours later each partner had at least one bag of ready to cook filets to take home.

We again thank the Sportsman’s Club for their continued participation and the Sentyrs’s for the use of their Marina facilities.

Save the first Saturday of June next year.

THE ULTIMATE ‘LIGHTED NOCK”

By: Doug Bermel

The Burt Coyote Company, the makers of the “Lumenock” have come up with a lighted nock for crossbow arrows.

This is adaptable to either a arrow shaft with or without a current nock. Just make sure you clean and remove any nock debris and glue before inserting. Insert the Lumenock , adjust it to line up with the feathers and push it in until it is almost seated and does not make contact with the points of the nock. Load the arrow onto the bow and press it tight to the string. When the bow is fired, it seats the nock and contact points which touches the arrow and the nock is automatically lit. Once lit, the battery life will last up to 40 hours.Lumenock is available in red only and will work with flat or crescent nocks. There are fourteen sizes to choose from to accommodate all size of arrows.

The concept behind the Lumenock allows you to follow the travel of the arrow so you are able to tell if it was a hit or miss. As an added bonus the Lumenock allows you to recover that arrow whether it was a hit or miss just by waiting until dark when the illuminated arrow will be lit and easy to find. I found the extra weight of the battery did not affect the flight of the arrow as long as it was properly lined up with the feathers on the arrow.Once the nock is “seated”, you will need pliers to pull the nock back so it is not touching the points.

Look for the Lumenock at most sporting goods stores and archery shops or ask your retailer. You can also go to the web site at

The Lumenock will not necessarily make you a better hunter but it may help you become a better archer !

WILDERNESS ATHLETE

By: Doug Bermel

After two and a half days of pushing my wheelchair thru the carpeted aisles of the 2008 Archery Trade Show, things were taking their toll. My shoulders and arms were sore and I was just plain fatigued.

I rolled past the Wilderness Athlete booth and someone called for me to come over and visit their products. He said to me “Have I got something for you !” He mixed two scoops of powder in a bottle of water and gave me an energy gel pack and energy bar. I went to the break room and tried the products and took a half hour rest. Once back on the floor I felt immediately recharged and ready to finish the day. What an uplift ! I just had to go back and revisit the products and see what gave me that extra boost of energy. The powders in the water bottle were “Energy Focus” and “Hydrate-Recover”. The gel is designed to give to give you a quick energy boost and the energy bar had an immediate and lasting effect. I found the Wilderness Athlete products tasted great and were convenient to implement. I have also found the Wilderness Athlete products to be a great asset when playing a wheelchair softball game and they gave me the instant energy, stamina and focus to play a better game. Their products come in different flavors and are formulated for U.S. Olympic athletes and for hunters in the field to help cope with the rigors and demands of their sport. Wilderness Athlete products have always been a national authority on outdoor nutrition.

List of Wilderness Athlete Products

1.)Performance Bars: Fortified with vitamins, minerals and oxygen enhancers.

2.)Energy Gels : Provides an immediate shot of energy with oxygen enhancers and key amino acids.

3.)Energy-Focus: Provides a mental and physical boost. Packed with B6-B12 and amino acids.

4.)Hydrate-Recover: Quickly hydrates and optimizes oxygen intake. Fortified with Electrolytes, vitamin C, CoQ10 and oxygen enhancers.

5.)Multi Vitamins: Organic, pharmaceutical grade vitamins and minerals.

6.)Altitude Advantage: Prevents altitude sickness and jet lag.

7.)Buck Fever Reliever: Keeps you alert, focused, ready and steady for up to 4 hours.

WA PRODUCTS ARE SOLD SEPARATELY OR IN 1-3-5-10 DAY

PACKS – ALSO AVAILABLE IN CASE LOTS

For more information you can call 1-800-752-0133 or

go to the website:

Early Goose

Greg Waite

We got 3 geese on opening day of the Goose Season. Lots of shooting but no one could hit anything. We must have seen about 500 Geese. We had 6 CP members and only 1 guy Tom got the 3. Each hunter must have shot 2 box's of shells but the guys must have been rusty from the winter. Bill Vice one of our able body Members called a couple of days ago and asked if I would go with him and George Bruhn, Craig Simpson, Gunner The Wonder Dog today and we harvested 7 geese. We must have seen about 700 today and they were lower and presented a better target. We shifted from the blinds that were set up and hunted along the tree's further south and they came in right over our heads. It was a great day for the guys. It always makes me feel good when our guys have good shooting. The blinds are up so if anybody wants to hunt, let me know and we will try to arrange an outing next season.

Mille Lac

Joe Psyk

Our trip to Mille Lac Lake on June 21st was pretty good. It was very windy so the anchors didn’t hold very well. About fifteen Walleye were caught, most were too big to keep.

Joe Soderlund caught his first walleye in his life and it was also the biggest fish in the contest at 27”. Dan Psyk gave Joe a ride to the lake and also caught a 25 ¼” fish to take 2nd place. Next year you might want to fish next to these guys. Allen Buss came in 3rd with a 25” fish.

I would say we did pretty well.

Lanesboro

Scott Smith

Over a hundred trout were caught on this trip. Those who came to fish went home with their limits.

It was a beautiful day with plenty of sun. After fishing the morning away lunch was served and prizes were awarded.

We would like to thank the Minnesota Trout Association for the prizes and the great lunch. Hope to see you next year.

From Rages to Riches

Violet Foster

When the chips are down you really know who your friends and supporters are. In August a 100 mph wind went through the island at Lac Qui Parle. Most of the blinds were laying in heaps of rubble. Deer hunting was questionable. Would we sit on the ground, try to round up enough ground blinds or call the whole thing off.

Thanks to the following who donated materials, equipment and or funding we were able to rebuild and hunt.

Halloway Rod & Gun Club

Appleton Sportmans Club

Montivideo Sportmans Club

Montevidoe Custom Ag Service

Montevideo Vangort Development

Along with these generous individuals who donated their time and effort to get the grunt work done. They spent endless hours to rebuild and place all the blinds. With out their support we would not of had the experience of deer hunting at LQP in 2008

Bob Hagen,Chad Albrecht, Warren Albrecht, Craig Johnson, Matt Norby, Bob Eggers, Dan Zimmerman, Rich Massey, Paul Lines, Lance Tebben, Mike Glammeier and Dave Traube, LQPMNDNR Wildlife Manager.

Thanks to all who participated in this huge undertaking of the LQP stands rebuild.

Lake Minnetonka 2008

By Dave Heidtke

On August 9, Twenty Five anglers enjoyed our seventh annual Lake Minnetonka outing. The weather was perfect, and the fish were hungry. We spent most of our time fishing in a bay called Forest Lake . This bay has been very productive, and has very few water skiers.

Lunch was provided by Sandy Korlath and Judy Hildman; they have helped us the past seven years. I would also like to thank Bill Weeks who volunteered to be a Captain on my pontoon.

I would also like to thank Rockvam Marina for their help and the use of their facilities. We are looking forward to seeing all of you next August.