Hook-n-Trigger Guide Service

Hook-n-Trigger Guide Service Fishing guide, bow fishing guide, upland game hunting guide, nuisance animal damage control (trapper), consultant, licensed marriage and family therapist.

I have a multi-faceted business including multi-species fish guiding, and upland game bird guiding in Minnesota with my two beautiful Gordon Setters - Sam, and Junie.

While I journal, My sweeties enjoy a snuggle and a good book of a cold winters’ night, in front of the fire.With Junie, ...
01/12/2026

While I journal, My sweeties enjoy a snuggle and a good book of a cold winters’ night, in front of the fire.

With Junie, and Debbie, and good ole Sammers curled up in the foreground.

It’s a “deer camp day” where we enjoyed many of the fruits of our fall harvests, cut out the technology, read, write and relax.

It’s hard to believe - but Junie will be coming into heat soon, and will be having her first litter.

She has the greatest temperament and personality , and is, in my opinion, the easiest dog. She has become quite the huntress, is very obedient, and just as good of a snuggler who is so soft, loving, and doesn’t wiggle!

My sweetie Debbie Petersen had her a day yesterday!She’s been cooped up a few weeks now - after having had back surgery....
01/11/2026

My sweetie Debbie Petersen had her a day yesterday!

She’s been cooped up a few weeks now - after having had back surgery. She deserved some fun.

Interesting because I sat the house on Thursday, and it was about as slow a day as you can ever imagine. But yesterday? They were moovin’!

Slight weather change, wind shift, barometer, and lightly falling snow. I have no idea how, but the fish know. It wasn’t lights out fast, but just real steady with a fish coming right to the decoy every 45 minutes.

Proud of my honey as she did not miss! Came out the gates swinging and never missed a chance. Hit all of them in the ears except one big white that kept turning and moving and would not stop; that one got it center mass.

I’ve been there and done that my entire life. It’s more fun for me to see her spear, while we talk about life and I tease them in. This is quality time at some of its finest - for how often do we just get to sit, relax, and talk all day?

We’ve got a fish fry in the works, more fish to pickle, whitefish to smoke, some to share with family- and even fish heads to dissect in biology class.

Grouse. I’ve been seeing their sign over and over as I hike the woods… mostly on my small backcountry trapline. I love f...
12/24/2025

Grouse. I’ve been seeing their sign over and over as I hike the woods… mostly on my small backcountry trapline. I love following their entrance, tracks and exit - to better understand what they are doing this time of year, in these conditions. I’ve flushed some, but overall, they zig when I zag. It’s good to know there is breeding stock in areas I hunt.

Last year - I set my sights on one particular big Tom (track) , and feel fairly certain that I caught that specific anim...
12/22/2025

Last year - I set my sights on one particular big Tom (track) , and feel fairly certain that I caught that specific animal.

This season, after witnessing a similar mature Tom while deer hunting - I decided to see if I could do a repeat.

Though I have done the truck trapline before, that is not possible in the remote country where this cat lives- and though I am considering a snowmobile for deep snow years like this, I don’t own one yet. So my primary option is boots.

I’m quite used to doing things the hard way, but this year,bobcat trapping just felt out of reach. I’d all but resigned myself to taking the year off, until we had a 75 degree temperature swing, and snow levels dropped 6-8 inches last Tuesday. I went on a couple of scouting missions, and decided that perhaps I could give it a whirl on a limited basis.

Getting a late start , and I won’t have many sets - but just maybe… I can catch the big Tom I witnessed chasing blue jays in an oak tree about a month ago.

Is he as big as this 36 # Tom from last season?

I sure hope to find out.

I was out spearing last week in the bitter cold. Got lazy and left my portable out there. 40 plus mph winds were forecas...
12/20/2025

I was out spearing last week in the bitter cold. Got lazy and left my portable out there. 40 plus mph winds were forecast - so I had to go get it. With just a couple hours of daylight left, I decided to drop the decoy for a bit. Glad I did. The fish were running! Wound up with 3 pike and two nice lake whitefish. Old Sammers had fun watching. Was batting 5/5 and would have been 6/6 if I didn’t accidentally stand on the rope! Seems I have to be reminded to be more careful of that at least once each season.

12/19/2025

10:30 am breakfast. Spied this ruffy budding in an Ironwood tree. It’s not a food source that many are aware of - but I’ve witnessed grouse exhibiting this behavior too many times in my 60 years to overlook it. Like oaks - Ironwood often hold their leaves into winter. Grouse love their buds and may linger in the tree long after feeding.

The pups and I contacted a few other birds yesterday before the huge winds hit. After a 50 degree day on Tuesday, snow levels shrunk dramatically - and made hiking in the backcountry much easier. No birds collected on my 6 plus mile trek - but it sure was nice to get out one more time!

As upland game, waterfowl, and deer season closes in Minnesota - we usually transition to our winter pursuit of spearing...
12/16/2025

As upland game, waterfowl, and deer season closes in Minnesota - we usually transition to our winter pursuit of spearing.

Nothing against those who angle; I’ve done plenty of it in my lifetime - but right now, we prefer the big screen TV - where we can watch, interact with fish, and do some selective harvest.

Pretty relaxing - listening to music, sitting side by side with a really good friend, just talking… or not.

Testing out a new portable this season, and decoys too.

Last Thursday I woke up contemplating : am I ready to be done?I wasn’t.So Juju and I went for a brisk hike along a Clear...
12/16/2025

Last Thursday I woke up contemplating : am I ready to be done?

I wasn’t.

So Juju and I went for a brisk hike along a Clearcut/ mature oak transition where there has been grouse all season. But not a trace. I wasn’t surprised.

Grouse were likely tucked into a snow burrow, or perhaps sticking their tongue out at us from above- perched amongst the thick needles of a conifer, or the leaves of an oak.

In recent years - I’ve been fortunate to pursue grouse and pheasant until the last day… but this year? With snow in the backcountry almost knee deep, with more coming - it might be time to throw in the towel.

Cold days like the ones we’ve been having make that easier… but then you get a 60 degree temperature swing, and you just gotta go!

Such is the case here in Minnesota the past few days. I still don’t know if I’m done - but I have a couple weeks to decide.

Meanwhile - I’ve got four Gordon’s that are all gamers. We might get one more point and flush yet…

Found myself with a free day yesterday. It wasn’t a day for the faint of heart. We started at -8, with wind blowing outt...
12/05/2025

Found myself with a free day yesterday.

It wasn’t a day for the faint of heart. We started at -8, with wind blowing outta the NW.

I grabbed my lightweight 20 ga, dressed for a long, hard hike, and invited Sammers - aka “meat dog”, to join me. Of our 4 Gordon’s, he is not the most polished - but he is the dog that I harvest the most birds over… hence the name.

I selected a remote piece of country without roads or trails. Since this country has had 6-10 inches of fresh, powdery snow - I wanted to see what the deer were doing, and the predators too (I do some trapping) - but I’m usually aware of what Sam is doing, and my gun is “at the ready.”

Not long in - Old Sammers pinned a single grouse between us, and it flushed behind me going hard left to right. It was the kind of flush we dream of… close, and in the open. It took me two shots to catch up - but I dropped the bird cleanly as it tried to escape a young Clearcut into a mature oak forest.

This was a special bird… an adult male red phase with copper / bronze in the tail and ruff. I admired it for a good long while.

I wish I could say that this quick strike was a good foreshadowing for the rest of my hunt - but it wasn’t. I hiked over six miles and didn’t collect another bird.

Winter grouse hunting in Minnesota can be an extreme challenge , but also very very rewarding.

I’ve been doing this - going on 50 years now. I find that grouse are not just out there wading around in the deep, fluffy snow. They are no longer able to forage on the ground, so they take to the trees - eating aspen, hazel, birch, and alder buds/catkins.

Horizontal movements become vertical movements. Up in a tree to eat. Back down to roost. Any horizontal movements are typically a grouse sailing from its feeding tree to a nearby thicket to roost. Often, it’s a bushy oak that still has its leaves - or a conifer of some type. The buggers sit up there and watch me walk by… I’m sure of it.

All this makes it hard for the dogs to find them! Sammers and I arrived home tired, but satisfied. My poor old boy had been poked in the eye, and his feet were all iced up. He was well deserving of some pampering.

I know - it sounds rough… but as I write this, I’m already plotting to do it again.

And just look at that gorgeous bird!

Now booking for fall of 2026.
218-232-6067

I love new adventures!This one started last year when on a western deer hunt, I witnessed flocks of late season prairie ...
12/03/2025

I love new adventures!

This one started last year when on a western deer hunt, I witnessed flocks of late season prairie chickens and sharptail grouse doing their thing. They were in big flocks, and they were spooky; I wondered if I could get within shotgun range? Seemed like a great challenge, and at the worst - some hiking in very cool country.

I dreamed about it for a year, and together with my sweetie, made it happen over the Thanksgiving holiday.

It was so cool to harvest my first prairie chicken! Such a beautiful bird. And, it had been a long time since I hunted sharptail - so it was very enjoyable to do that again.

I did some close examining when I cleaned them - to note the differences in the feathers, wings, feet, meat, and of course - to see what they had been eating.

My goal is to plainly recognize them in flight - even in a mixed flock, like I’ve learned to identify ducks throughout my life.

Just returned from a new adventure out on the western prairie.We have never pursued prairie chicken, nor have we hunted ...
12/01/2025

Just returned from a new adventure out on the western prairie.

We have never pursued prairie chicken, nor have we hunted sharptail so late. Until now.

Conditions were good the first day - with hoar frost on everything. Watching our Gordon’s glide across the rolling hills was pure pleasure; the contrast was mesmerizing. The second and third days were brutal - with blizzard conditions, drifting snow, and below zero windchills.

But you gotta go when you can go! So we made due. So glad to have a tough and capable hunting partner in Debbie Petersen!

If you’ve hunted late season prairie grouse, you know they are extremely unlikely to hold for point or even let you get remotely close. They bust out two hundred yards ahead and sail a half mile or so, until you lose perspective on exactly where they landed amongst the rolling hills. You pursue them over and over, but usually only to fail.

Oh- and they laugh at you as they go. You might hear them but probably not in the wind.

We enjoyed the challenge, the country, the wildlife, the full sensory experience, the big picture. And a lotta bird watching!

My highlight was when both of us were able to harvest our first prairie chicken out of the same flock. We also bagged sharptail and pheasant.

Hard work… yes! But I’d do it again.

Already thinking about a trip in 2026… perhaps earlier when birds are less spooky and more likely to hold tighter for the dogs.

11/29/2025

My majestic Bogie running the grasslands hunting sharp-tails and prairie chickens.

He can stop on a dime, too!

(Watch to the end.)

🤣🤣🤣

Address

23795 Cuyler Lane
Deerwood, MN
56444

Telephone

+12182326067

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