Spartan Angling

The Art and Science of Minnesota Angling

Spartan Angling Experience

Sturgeon Fishing

By

When Luke Adam asked his Spartan Angling class at Nashwauk High School the first day of class one fish they wanted to catch–that fish was the Lake Sturgeon. The chance to catch a four to five foot fish was enough to lure the kids to the infamous Rainy River.  These students unanimously voted to target this species as the “big” trip for the class. A date fishing date was set, and all the class had to do wait for the day!

Spartan Angling was founded at Nashwauk High School in January of 2019 from a DNR grant  aimed to recruit and retain anglers. Math teacher Luke Adam, an avid fisherman, wanted to bring angling knowledge, experiences, and provide opportunities for kids to become lifelong anglers.  The Spartan Angling experience exposes them to Minnesota fish species, locations and seasonal patterns, tactics, slot limits, over harvest, invasive species, shoreline management, and several other topics.  The class is way different than emerging fishing teams, because the kids learn a lot more about the art and science of angling.

Eleven students from the Spartan Angling class, Luke, and the principal Ranae Seykora made the trip May 9th to Baudette Minnesota.  11 inches of snow fell the night before in Duluth, but luckily the eager anglers were driving up in rain instead. As we went through Bigfork, the skies began to part and slivers of sunshine began streaking through the ski.  Miles of no cell phone service had kids working on homework and talking face to face! It was a welcomed change to the youth anglers. The instructor, Luke Adam had formed a fishing partnership with Border View Lodge and the kids were loaded into two charter boats and Luke’s Alumacraft Tournament Pro.  Border View Lodge values youth angling and gave Luke a deep discount on the trip with the students.  The students created a thank you poster in partnership with the NK Shop Class and hand wrote letters of appreciation to the resort.   

The boats anchored in the last few miles of the Rainy River near the the resort.  Several sturgeon were spotted surfacing in the morning by guides and students were dressed in ice fishing gear to battle the elements.  It didn’t take too long for Braden DePaulis to tie into a prehistoric beast that was making her journey to spawn in a portion of the river or tributary.  Screams and arms waving with excitement echoed from the charter boat as other boats kept hearing, “We’re hooked up!” DePaulis decided to share the fish of a lifetime with other anglers in boat.  Jon Olson, Rick Webster, and James Newman all got to tussle with the white bellied monster for several minutes, as principal Seykora captured smiles on camera. As the whiskers broke the surface the excitement peaked with sheer screams and sound carrying for miles.  The anglers had won–a nearly FIVE FOOT lake sturgeon was grunted and wrestled into the boat by the guide and adrenaline rushed anglers. It was like the red carpet was rolled out for the crew as camera flashes and “slime high fives” slapped the air with excitement. The David v.s. Goliath was won and the migrating mother of thousands of eggs was gently released into the murky waters of the river to restart her journey.

Other anglers did manage to catch a few smaller sturgeon, suckers, and eelpout.  The fish were all released and memories were made by all. Students now know the tactics, locations, and habitat to look for as their enter their driving stages of life and can trailer their 12-14 foot boats to the river.  They now are able to identify the scutes on the fish, baits used, and what to look for on the rod as they wait for a bite. They know why the sturgeon has large pectoral fins and a tail designed to travel long distances to forage and spawn.  They are successful graduates of Sturgeon University. They can now feel the excitement of not being able to sleep and create memories for themselves, friends, and future families. They are the future of fishing and experiences like this start the fishing traditions that are being lost in today’s society.  I am proud of my anglers and they were incredibly appreciative of their experience today. My grandfather, Dave Heritage, who passed the priceless gift of teaching me fishing, would be so proud today.

Spartan Angling is in need sustainable funds to continue this class.  We are looking for sponsors and business to help financially sustain trips like this for kids.  We are also looking for avid anglers to share knowledge and speak to kids. If you are interested in donating time, money or resources, please e-mail Luke:  ladam@isd319.org to help continue this opportunity to youth at Nashwauk-Keewatin High School and provide these memories for years to come.  

Luke Adam

Spartan Angling


Dan Burdick Bass Strategies

By

Dan Burdick from L and M Fleet Supply talked about bass fishing on Blue Lake and how to fish Texas and Carolina Rigs! He also donated some fishing tackle to the lending library! Thank you Dan!

Community Expert–John Weiher

By

Pastor John Weiher came into Spartan Angling today and gave his expertise on local waters such as Blue and Sucker Lake. He discussed top water strategies for bass and also gave the kids his personal fishing calendar to show is hot times to fish! Thanks for coming!

John demonstrating top water use with Spartan Angling

Minnesota Darkhouse Angling Association visit!

By

In early March, Rick Guertin from the Grand Rapids MDAA spearing chapter came to visit with students about darkhouse angling. He gave students a history lesson, showed them various decoys, discussed house placement, and talked about northern pike behavior! They also are donating $500 from the Grand Rapids chapter!

Rick showing an ice saw to cut the hole
Rick showing his old spear and various decoys

Species Posters

By

Students identified a species of their choice and created a poster on the biology, lures, prey, and seasonal migrations.

Blue Lake Ice Fishing

By

A trip was made to Blue Lake, a local favorite, last week. Not because of the great potential the flooded reservoir offers but it was an opportunity to visit with longtime fishing buddy Luke Adam. Luke, an avid angler and teacher at Nashwauk-Keewatin high school, for the past 17 years, was fishing during mid-week. Hey! What’s going on here? Wasn’t he supposed to be “working?” Well, fact-of-the-matter is, he was, as it was the inaugural outing of the Spartan Angling Class.

Adam has been teaching this class, every day, since January 17, and this was their first opportunity to get out doors and do it “for real”. He applied for and succeeded in obtaining a grant from the Minnesota DNR, an effort to bolster angler recruitment and retention. The course will run through the end of the school year and pick up again in September.

This year, there are only 13 students involved with the program, but Adam expects it to be a full class next fall. Most students, two of which are girls, are in 9th and 10th grade, with a lone senior. Their ice fishing experience ranges from seasoned anglers to “never have done it before” but all have a ton of enthusiasm.

image of keewatin ice fishing outing

So far, there are a couple other possible fishing trips on the schedule. Luke mentioned the famed spring sturgeon bite on the Rainy River (all the kids want to try this one), along with Upper Red Lake walleyes, once the season gets going. Mille Lacs Lake has crossed his mind, as well. They’ll also be making a spring visit to the Cut Foot Sioux walleye egg stripping operation.

The class has adopted a local brook trout stream, Pickerel Creek, near Pengilly. Working with the DNR, they’ll be cleaning and maintaining the fragile stream that runs into Swan Lake.

It takes more than a grant to make a program like this successful and Adam has a lot of additional support. He already has a lot of donated fishing equipment fishing equipment for both summer and winter.

I asked, “where do you keep all of that stuff?” “In my room” Luke replied and laughed saying “it looks like a fishing emporium.”

Out on the lake, the students had beat me to it, and were all set up. Shelters were scattered across the first main bay, always a good spot to fish. Blue Lake was perfect for this outing, as it’s a local favorite fishery and almost always has a plowed road. This made it easy for the group to drive out. The rest was not so easy.

Mother Nature was quite rude on this inaugural day, offering deep snow, slush, gusting winds and snow, but the kids loved it. 
Nathan Bird had room in his Eskimo hub fish house and offered me shelter from the storm. I had a good chance to visit with him and catch a few fish of my own, about two dozen of them.

image of teen baiting fish hook

Luke was busy showing the students how to go about setting up a dark house for spearing northern pike. Wading through deep and slushy snow, they found a suitable spot close to shore. This is a lot of fun. It’s the hole cutting that can wear a person out.

Halfway through the outing, principal Ranae Seykora rolled up to check things out. There was a good deal of activity taking place and I could tell from the smile on her face that she greatly approved. And if I’m not mistaken, I think “somebody” got stuck out there? Hmm. Can’t really remember.

Everyone was catching fish, as there are a lot of them out there. The big challenge is to find a few of the bigger ones. Fish kept were going back to the school, where Luke would put on a fish-cleaning clinic. These kids are going to learn each-and-every aspect of the sport of fishing.

The Spartan Angling Class, like any other high school class, is a place for students to learn. On this day, they learned how to set up for spearing, how to “go small” for catching panfish, how to set up a shelter properly and stay comfortable.

Some of the students even learned the importance of anchoring down a hub shelter when it’s windy out. I realized this, when I saw one go floating past me, tumbling and lifting in the air, all the way to the other shore. Hey, it’s all fun and I hope they learned a lesson here.

Filleting the Blue Lake Crappie Catches from the trip!

Special thanks to The Great Outdoors in Pengilly for the bait, the Minnesota Darkhouse and Angling Association, Minnesota DNR, Bio Bait, Northland Tackle, Grand Rapids L&M, and NK-G Transportation.

*Note – anyone wishing to donate to the Spartan Angling Class, please contact Luke Adam at Nashwauk-Keewatin high school or principal Ranae Seykora.

Hibbing Daily Tribune

By

N-K HIGH SCHOOL REELS IN NEW CLASS

NASHWAUK — Students at Nashwauk-Keewatin (N-K) High School will be spending the spring searching for the perfect fishing spot.

The school board unanimously approved adding an angling class to the high school’s offerings for next semester.

The motion for approval was made during a meeting last week by Director Blake Liend and seconded by Director Dave Bevacqua, and is contingent on the district’s cost for the class not exceeding $3,000.

Teacher Luke Adam requested the class be offered, noting he received a $20,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to offer it as a science elective. The grant won’t cover the entire cost of the class, but he estimated the difference will be about $2,000.

“I love to fish, and am excited to teach students the entire gamut of angling,” he said. “They’ll learn everything from conservation to methods, stocking, careers, invasive species … everything that’s available in the entire fishing industry.”

Adam will incorporate parts of the Minnesota Aqua curriculum, but said that’s geared more toward elementary students. The majority of the class will be his own curriculum, and fishing guides will come speak to students.

And, of course, the kids will get to go fishing. Some of the cost to offer the class will go toward purchasing rods and reels, tackle, bait and other fishing equipment.

“Some kids who will be taking this class don’t have tackle or ice augers, and some have never fished before,” Adam said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun for me to get out of my content area and teach something I’m really passionate about to some students at the high school.”

–Tony Potter: Hibbing Daily Tribune