Courses

This course takes students through the step-by-step process of crafting a wooden longbow, wooden-shafted arrow, and bow string. To facilitate learning about constructing a traditional bow, students start with a rough-cut stave of hickory. Bows are backed with flax-fiber linen.Each arrow includes a field point and feathers. String is made…

There’s that old saying about teaching a man to fish, but this course lets students go a step beyond fishing to building their own fishing rods. We’re not talking sapling, string, and safety pin; under the guidance of professional rod builder Kris Kristufek, students will build a technically perfect spin…

A chainsaw is a powerful and efficient tool that requires a specific set of skills and experience to safely operate and maintain, even if those skills are used only on an occasional weekend at the cabin. This course will teach students to recognize and to avoid the hazards that surround…

There are few things as beautiful and satisfying as watching the flight and arc of an arrow as it leaves the string of your bow. Arrows are part of who we are. We know that crafting arrows was a part of the earliest peoples who relied on bows and arrows…

Landing a fly gracefully on a quiet inland lake or gently on a rushing river is an experience everyone should have. In this workshop taught by Erik Swenson and Aaron Gerlovich you'll be introduced to the basic techniques of dropping a fly 50-60 feet out, as well as the fundamentals…

Imagine casting a fly to a feeding fish more than 50 feet away, allowing the fly to drift naturally through clear slow-moving water, and then watching the fish surface and take it in. That successful moment in fly fishing doesn’t happen by accident. This course is designed as an intensive…

Early July marks the peak of northern Minnesota’s famous hexagenia mayfly hatch, a time when brook and rainbow trout readily rise to a dry fly on Minnesota’s designated streams and trout lakes. This course is scheduled to take full advantage of this fly-fishing opportunity. Beginners, as well as experienced fly…

The North Shore area of Lake Superior provides some highly prized fly fishing opportunities. Many inland lakes are stocked with rainbow, brown and brook trout, and are accessible by float tube. Tributaries to Lake Superior contain trout and salmon species and are accessible by foot. This course is for the…

Scandinavians know how to move on snow. Follow in their tracks, and take advantage of snow-covered roads, sidewalks and trails by crafting a kick sled this winter. Learn both basic and advanced woodworking  skills; from laminating wood to make runners to shaping a customized handlebar used for steering, you’ll walk…