pigsticker

My name is Matt and I live in Minot, North Dakota. I grew up in the Parshall area and spent my free time either hunting, fishing or finding some sort of hobby to keep myself occupied. I moved to Minot my first year after high school to attend MSU and have been here ever since. I worked a few jobs since then, one of which allowed me to spend lots of time affiliated with the hobbies that I enjoy most. I worked at Scheels for almost a full seven years and met lots of great people and new friends that I still fish and hunt with today. Currently I am an apprentice real estate appraiser and am getting very close to meeting the requirements for my license. I can hardly wait to achieve this goal.

I have a wonderful family now. I met my wife back in highschool and had a crush on her since the day I met her. She was crazy enough to take a chance on me and we have been together since our first date. (Yes we are the proverbial highschool sweethearts!) We have two amazing little children, a boy and a girl who share the same birthday. Having twins is super cool! I really enjoy watching them and teaching them all sorts of new things. Last summer they went on their first official fishing expedition where both of them landed catch and release smallies at the age of 3 1/2. That is a day that a proud dad will never forget. I'm really looking foward to the time we will get to spend in the future learning all sorts of new things together.

I started fishing at an early age and would have to say that fishing is one of my greatest passions. I enjoy searching out new waters for hidden treasures. I have started to stray from my home waters of the Van Hook arm in search of other lakes less fished. I enjoy lakes such as Darling, New Johns and the canal system, Nelson, Buffalo lodge and Audubon in the spring. The tailrace can be a fun fishery as well but it takes patience, however I don't mind waiting. I also like to travel in search of pig walleyes and my new favorite destination is Lake Winnipeg for the pre-spawn run. Man, what a blast those giant greenbacks are! Devils lake is another fun place during the spring run.

When I was nine my dad took me with on a deer hunt. We took a trip to the Badlands since my dad had drawn a tag over in that unit. We had a wonderful hunt and didn't see many deer. Finally dad spotted a buck and that was all that was needed for dad's tag to be filled. I had never been through such an emotional roller coaster as that one since it was very bittersweet. I have a great love for animals and it was hard for a nine year old to understand the concept of managment for the health of the herd and the circle of life. I had hunted gophers and other fauna but never something so majestic as a deer. However, time with my father meant a lot to me and I too learned that hunting is an important aspect of life. Through my love for animals I learned to appreciate these creatures and hunt them in a respectful manner. To me the hunt is much about the experience and the enjoyment of watching wildlife more so than the moment of the kill. Often, most of my hunts I consider succesful without even having bagged an animal. Just enjoying a wild moment in close proximity with the animal I am hunting without a kill is an amazing thrill. I enjoy and am intrigued by all things around me, especially in new or less seldom visited places as well.

The Badlands still remains one of my most favorite places to hunt. I enjoy the challenge of the terrain as much as I enjoy the sight of a big muley buck making his escape along a barren clay butte. The Badlands is so intriguing to me since you never know what you might find throughout it's landscape. I have also been fortunate to hunt other places and enjoy being a non-resident hunter chasing animals not readily available to hunt in North Dakota. Canada has been a wonderful place for me where I have enjoyed hunting moose, bear and elk. Maybe one day i'll get to partake in a mountain goat hunt in the Rockies. Last year I accompanied a friend on a mountain goat hunt as a grunt and an extra set of eyes. It was one of the most physically demanding hunts I had ever been on and even though it was successful in a short amount of time I found it to be very challenging and fun and look foward to my turn as the tag holder.

Africa is probably my most favorite destination of all. I enjoy every aspect of it. The hunting is so exciting and the game is so exotic. Last year I went on my first cape buffalo hunt and unfortunately a poorly placed frontal brain shot on the 11th day did not earn me a buff. I was however fortunate to stumble upon a wonderful sable and a nice bushbuck. I'll tell you what, those bushbuck are good eating but you pay for it the next day, and so do the people behind you! This year I will be heading back for leopard and cape buffalo as I have a score to settle with a dugga boy. (I will make sure to shoot strictly for the boiler room this time!)

Happy fishing and hunting!

Matt (aka Pigsticker)