Out in It: Red-eye trip to Red Lake pays off

Bouncing along the backroads of Mahtowa, I leaned hard into the glow of my headlights, seeing the fine line between dirt and marsh. My eyes strained and blurred searching for my turn. Cottontail rabbits and woodcock scattered upon my approach. Gravel crunched under my tires as I worked my way up my cousin Ben Nynas' driveway, a billion stars enveloping me from above. As I broke free from my Suburban, a chorus of frogs echoed through the darkness. It was late ... or was it early? Either way, we were bound for Red Lake.

The pull of the massive schools of post-spawn walleyes proved too much for t...