ZSW [C M Y K] XA1 Friday, Aug. 8, 2014

S T A R T R I B U N E . C O M / O U T D O O R S • S E C T I O N O W • F R I D A Y, A U G U S T 8 , 2 0 1 4outdoors weekend

sightings OW4A birder’s tribute to pileated woodpeckers.

cabin country OW3A daughter gives thanks for her parents’ cabin.

dispatch OW3Attend an intro to deer hunting workshop.

do this now OW2Watch the Perseid meteor shower.

By TORI J. McCORMICK • Special to the Star Tribune

W hen Jeff Kechely unholsters his tongue and

waxes nostalgically about his childhood

fishing the silt-laden backwaters of the Min-

nesota River near Chaska, you know you’re listening to

an angler who sees the piscatorial world from a differ-

ent vantage point.

“We fished for carp, common carp to be specific,”

declares Kechely, his voice tinged with pride.

When other 10-year-olds were on the prowl for wall-

eyes, bass and sunfish, Kechely and a buddy had other

plans. Rods, tackle boxes and bait bucket in tow, they’d

walk “a solid mile as the crow flies” from their trailer

court, scale the riverbank and begin their hunt for the fish

that, historically, has been reviled in the United States

and revered across the globe, particularly in Europe and

Asia among hard-core anglers and gourmands alike.

“To me, there’s really nothing better than fishing for

carp — I’ve been doing it my entire life and it’s a big part

of who I am as a fisherman. It’s in my blood, you could

say,” said Kechely, 50, of Henderson, Minn. “Pound for

pound, they’re the toughest fish around, and who doesn’t

like to catch a big fish that occasionally makes your reel

squeal? I know carp get a bad rap as a trash fish, but

they’re good to eat. Smoked carp is delicious.”

Now Kechely’s lifelong reverence for carp — both

as a game species and wild food — is gaining traction

with a growing subculture of “rough fish” anglers who

are bucking traditional fishing norms and, as one angler

put it, “seeking a new adventure beyond hammer-han-

dle pike and the ho-hum sameness of catching 15-inch

walleyes.” That’s particularly true of fly fishers, who say

carp are the bonefish of freshwater — a reference to the

popular, challenging-to-catch saltwater torpedo found

throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere.

THE HUNT FOR BIG CARP

For a growing subculture of anglers, one of America’s most reviled fish is revered as fun to catch and tasty to eat.

See CARP on OW2 Ø

With warm lake waters and a bright nighttime sky, this weekend is the perfect time for a late-night dip.

By BILL McAULIFFE Special to the Star Tribune

Sundown in summer — and the city is transformed. Bird chatter gives way to cricket chirps. The wind slackens. Traffic and lawn mowers get tucked in. The suddenly gentle outdoors beckon, because the house is still stifling. It’s cool out there.

Cooler still? The moon-light swim.

Pick a spot in the City of Lakes — or off any dock in the Land of 10,000 Lakes — on an evening in July or early August, and that ‘s the place and time for a moon-light swim. It’s where you can plunge into the dark embrace of summer — the water feeling warmest on a cool night — and about the only time of year you could do such a fool thing in Min-nesota without having to call for help.

Of course wading or div-ing into a Minnesota lake is a thrill on any summer day. But a moonlight swim is another species entirely. The very darkness adds intensity, enhancing sounds and the suspicion of what’s in the water with you, and where. What did I just brush against? There’s a sense of privacy. No one can see me! And if you forget the sun-screen, so what? I’m beyond the tan line!

There are a few things to keep in mind for any noc-turnal dip. Public parks and beaches have closing times, after which swim-ming is illegal. The public beach in Excelsior, on Lake Minnetonka, is open until 11 p.m., but beaches in Min-neapolis parks close at 10. Swim after that and it could cost you $105. Beaches in Three Rivers Parks have varying hours. Many pub-lic beaches remain open in the evening but with-out lifeguards. Most urban jurisdictions, Minneapo-lis included, also require swimmers to stay within marked areas.

Also, it’s probably wise to swim with someone or tell someone you’re going for a nighttime swim. If you need help, there won’t be as many people around as there are in the daytime. (And the few who are might think you’re just some big old carp splashing around out there.) And even if you’re good at celestial navigation, don’t forget where you left your clothes.

This week, in the run-up to the supermoon, the moon will be high and bright in the few hours between sunset and beach-closing time. These are the nights when you can paddle out into Lake Harriet — the moonlight swim lake of choice for me and a few friends — with the moon riding just above the trees along the south shore and the downtown skyline providing a sparkling coun-terpoint to the north. Roll over on your back and you might see Vega overhead, beginning to assert itself against the darkening sum-mer sky. These nights you might also catch the Perseid meteor shower. As you float out there, looking up, the idea of traveling through

Swim by the super moon

See MOONLIGHT on OW2 Ø

Illustration by EDDIE THOMAS • Star Tribune