muskies En Fuego!

So ya.....it's been a week or so since the last update, maybe a bit more in fact....There's been a bunch of fishing going down, but my computer came down with a virus and I'm having to add this report from my lovely Gal Jennifers, until I get de-bugged.  What is their point anyway, worms, spam, virus etc....get a damn life hackers.

Lets see...I'll start with yesterdays action and work backwards.

I was on the River yesterday with Joe and Tom Hackbarth, father and son team from River Falls WI.  It was to be the Croix mixed bag day, but we got a little sidetracked with MUSKIES! The muskie bite has been terrific in mid summer form so that was to be the focus till noontime lunch break.  We started out with a couple trolling passes to see what and where, the first 2 passes nothing, and I could sense the need for a little action so I convinced them the 3rd pass was a charm and my gut told me to stick with it. It's a damn good thing because straightaway on pass 3 we stuck a fully airborne 44" stud of a muskie, Tom was on reel duty and within minutes and some struggle we got this very hot fish onboard.  OK, enthusiasm levels sufficiently redlining now, high fives and pictures all around then came the real work.  As happens, the fish just engulfed the bucktail and I had to do some minor surgery and get in the water with her to get this fabulous creature revived and swimming strong.  Both Tom and Joe understood the importance of a clean and safe release so we took our time. after a nice ride along the boat, mouth agape, she was finally ready to go.  We all felt great having not only netted her, but more importantly released her to fight again.  Good job men!  NO sooner had we gotten lines back in and just settled down from the excitement that was the first fish, WHAM!  There's another!  controlled chaos that is a muskie on a planer board.  Same bait as last fish, Tom on the reel once again.  Another great fish and great fight, but this one spared us the revival issues and came off just as I slid the net under her. 2 fish in 45 minutes, needless to say we were stoked!  This one taped out at 42", not quite as heavy as #1, but really spunky as these 40ish fish seem to always be.  So cool, Tom @ 15 gets his first two Muskies and I got to be a part of it....Love my job!  Off we went to afton State Park for lunch and while the afternoon provided none of the excitement of the morning, we finished off the day in fine style; full and happy with memories of big green fish with teeth!

While were on the muskie talk....The Image on the top of the blog is of Rick Demarchis from the twin city area with one of his 2 muskies landed last wednesday morning.  Rick was with a group from 3M and Excel Energy and the one guy in the bunch who had the desire to chase muskies that morning and it's a good thing!  We started out doing a little trolling to get the feel and were seeing fish free swimming around as the sun started to heat up the water surface a little, so we dropped the trolling and picked up the top raiders.  not 5 minutes into casting and Rick had a nice blowup only to be followed moments later my a nice 42" fish that gobbled a black TR.  Nice start Rick, lets find more I said!  We ended up going 2 for 6, with a nice spunky 37" fish trolling and as the time bell rang we lost a much bigger fish that we never saw.  Rick was hooked and we're going to try to get out this week yet, perhaps tomorrow or thursday.  

I have done a bit of trout fishing and did have one good night with Fred last saturday.  We fished Hex but they were not responding to the dries so we switched back up to streamers and it's a good thing we did.  I popped a nice 17" brown at about 10pm, Fred got a number of grabs and a couple nice big stream smallies to boot.  About 10:30 or so he got broken off on 8lb and said "get in there, there's a big one about" so I did and Wham! the big whahoo muddler was clobbered by a 22" male, gorgeous fish, big kyper of a jaw and all colored up nicely. My big trout of the year to date.  Brad is coming down for a funeral today so I think we'll be out this evening, barring any crazy storm action.

This weekend I'll be fishing with my good friend and Client Francis O'Neill from VA.  He's flying in from the Oshkosh Airshow on saturday and we have 3 days of Muskie fishing in the Hayward area over the long weekend.  I'm very much looking forward to seeing Francis again and getting him on the freshwater Tarpon...

More to come, here's some images from the week that was.

cheers,

BPM                           

Brule Update & Images

Howdy All!

Here's what's been happening for the last week or so. I'm a little behind on the updates but I'll do my best to fill ya in.

On the Local Front: Still getting reports from the River about muskies, and lots of em. With the heat finally settling in and regular storm activity I would expect a terrific bite. Not sure why, but I'm just not super motivated to get in the boat right now, perhaps it's because my connection to the trout streams is so good right now, I'm hoping to maintain that groove. Cost of operation is a factor as well, it cost's about 50 bucks just to drop the boat in the water these days with gas and all....That said, I do have to get out there this week at some point, I have a couple day trips on the river next week to prepare for.

Wednesday of last week we finally got the shoot in with Dave Carlson from Eau Claire. We paddled the Kinni and fished a bit, but it was more a piece on Paige and the lodge etc etc. All in all it went well and despite dumping the canoe once, they managed to keep the camera dry thank goodness. It'll be on next Sunday as I recall and Dave wants to get another shoot or two in before the years end, for sure a Sturgeon show on the river come October.

Thursday afternoon found me at Brad's doorstep in Brule WI. The Hex have been starting to come off late and so a mission was in order. I cant believe I'm saying this, but I might be fished out for a day or two! Over the course of the 4 days, I fished an average of 15 hours per day, half of that in a canoe either on Big Lake or paddling the various stretches of river chasing resident browns. Thursday nights hex fishing was the most productive of the weekend, the hatch was moderate which I think helps because there were not as many naturals on the water to distract them. I got two about 18-19 or so and the other boats did about the same. What a trip Hex fishing is.....late nights, moonlight, skeets and big slurps all around you, it's hard where to figure out to cast first and easy to get lost in the moment. Hooking up once you get grabbed is another story, I think I went 0 for 17 before i finally figured out the no slack-sidearm hook set routine and was able to stick one good. I could see it being frustrating for some but the setting is just so perfect and fish in hand or not, still an amazing experience. One night out of the way, 3 more to go....

Friday was a bit of a leisure day at the club, we drank some beer and played bocce mostly until it was time to get ready for the evening festivities.. Fred arrived about 7 and sadly, brought a whopper of a thunderstorm along with him, rained us out good about the time we planned on hitting it. Worse yet the storm brought lingering high winds which would plague us for the next couple days. I went to bed early and the boys went to the Kro bar and hassled the cute bartender till 2am..

Saturday Fred and I got up early and did the Stones Bridge to Winni float. This has to be the nicest canoe float in WI, easy enough to fish most of the way from the boat and plenty of good water to stop and wade for a break. Fred got the trifecta, one of each resident species and I paddled most of the trip. A nice 30mph tailwind down big lake and we finished with enough time for a nap and retooling for the evening. Damn wind, the stuff usually lays down after a nice hot day but that was not the case, kept blowing s/sw all night and made the fishing a bit tough...understatement. There were a couple bugs coming off, but it was slim pickens and we packed it up earlier than usual, there's always tomorrow eh?

Having left the boats at the landing the night before, Fred and I mounted an early morning mission to Big Lake, looking for browns scrounging up wind blown hex from the night before. Not long after getting out, we had a nice little wind free window and cruised the lower end of the lake stalking risers. Having seen a nice rise 80 yards off, we stalked over there and got Fred into position for a cast and he made it count! Nice 18" brown, daylight hours on a BIG hex spinner pattern, it was perfect! That was the only fish we were able to get to go, so we headed downriver and made for the club, casting big dries along the way. We did get a couple more grabs but nothing in hand. After a short break and lunch, we rounded up Brian and Weston and made the float to the Ranger Station. This is an amazing stretch of streamer water so we changed gears and loaded up with big streamers. Brian and Weston were having luck picking fish off in the faster riffle sections where Fred and I focused on the deep slots and pools. The best action was lower, down towards the station in the deeper water. I hardly touched a fish all day but was super stoked to get a 19" out of a big deep sweeper log. It was probably the most beautiful Brown I have ever caught, buttery gold and red's with a million spots, the pic's hardly do it justice. He ate a medium sized whahoo streamer in natural and with a conehead. couple minutes later and we finished up, had some grub and rallied for the evening Hex battle. Sunday night hex hatch was enormous, so much so it made it really tough to get the fish to go with all the real things cluttering the water. Brian had some success and I hooked one good one but it was tough. Brad did get a terrific 13" brookie however, kinda saved the night.

if the Brule is not the best Brown Trout fishery in the country, I don't know what is. The sheer variety of fishing options and styles is amazing and I feel blessed to have it so close, and to have Brad on the river keeping a pulse for us all.

More to come, here's a few images from the weekend.

TV shoots, HEX and canoe ass.

Hey Folks,

I just have a couple minutes to update and will add images from the weekend later. Was up on the Brule from Thursday to Monday, fished an average of about 15 hours per day and had an amazing time. I'll submit a full report and new images this afternoon so sit tight!

BigPikeMike

TV shoots, HEX and canoe ass.

Quick Update

On the local front....

The muskie bite is ON down at the river. I have been getting almost daily reports of fish up to 49" being caught and good numbers as well from the local muskie bros. I sadly, have nothing to add...been trout guiding so much that I've been reluctant to dig the boat out and I'd be lying if I said gas prices haven't effected that as well. However thursday night I'm going to make an effort with Fritzy and Fred and am hoping to contact some fish...

The Fly Fishing has been decent despite the mid summer warmth. Most of my trips have been in the morning so taking advantage of the first couple hours is pretty key. Today I had a wonderful crew, The Robeson Family from the Des Moines area. Well that is Dad and sons Wade and Justus. All have fished a little but this was their first fly fishing experience and all went well, the fish could have cooperated a bit more but everyone had some action and more importantly learned a bunch about the workings of the trout's world. Justus was 9 and did great on nymph fishing and missed a couple on the Dry Fly. I reassured him that a trout on a fly, any fly is a BIG DEAL and we had a great time trying. Kids can be hit or miss with interest and attention span, but he hung in there and was working till the last minute. I very much enjoyed my day, thanks guys!

Enough for now, believe it or not I'm heading back over to the valley tonight and again in the morning. Tomorrow is my show with Dave Carlson on the life of a guide....I better get one...

ciao,

BIGPIKEMIKE!

July 4th already?

Good lord, where did the spring go? Seems like just a few weeks ago it was still shitty and snowing, then bang! summer time. I missed my spring steelhead trip to the Brule this year but I do know for sure that I'll be heading up sometime in the next couple weeks to fish Hex with Brad. Ben Fuego and his lovely wife MJ have been up at the Brule all week, I have yet to get a report from him but I'm guessing in true Ben fashion he creamed them on wolley buggars between Big Lake and Stones Bridge. Brad said the fishing has been off the charts, lots of bugs and the hex lingering around the corner.

It's been a busy work week for me, not so much guiding but I do have a couple items to touch on.

Last saturday I had a trip with Mark and Charlie from Burnsville. It was a 16th B-day gift from father to son, the kids got smarts, choosing fishing over the myriad of other options. We did a full day on the Kinni and ended up with a decent day overall. Strange weather made the fishing a bit odd. Neither fella had every fly fished so the morning was spent getting them up to speed, roll casting and mending mostly and with a little practice and lunch, we were ready to get serious for the afternoon shift. The Skies opened up and rudely dumped about 15 minutes of rain and hail on us, followed by a temp drop of about 20 degrees. All the hail stirred up the water a ton, but cleared briefly and we finally got Charlie into a birthday trout, a nice 14" on a sparkle caddis pupa, my standard go-to fly when times get tough. I was very encouraged by the Charlies enthusiasm, lets keep the youngsters on the water! Thanks Guys and lets fish again soon!

I made tracks to El Paso post haste for a nap and my all nighter expedition of the Rush with big flies. I made it till about 1am or so, with a little break and a chat/beers with some fellas from the Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls area. They were out for the late evening dry fly fiesta and had some success. I focused on the long deep frogwater sections that one would normally walk by during the daylight hours. I did get a 17" and a number of other mystery grabs but by 1am I was ready for a little bonfire and scotch. Fishing alone at night is creepy, fun but creepy. There was basically no moon and it's dark as hades in El Paso at night. The stars were amazing however and it felt good to get out of the city, albeit only an hour away, what a difference 50 miles makes.
Sunday night I headed over to the Willow for some late night action as well. Got on the water about 8 and tied up a #8 red humpy, "mr. do-it-all". I have to confess to ignoring the willow after about June 1st, and I could not recall the last time I caught a trout on a dry there. Didnt take long though, there was plenty happening bug wise and the humpy got creamed straight away. here's the kicker, I was sooooo off on my timing I think I went like 1 for 10, but I did hook and land a 17" smallie and about a 16" brown. Lost a nice one, maybe 19 or so. there were Caddis by the zillions, Golden stones the size of Chinook Transport helicopters and the odd hex, oh ya skeets and more skeets....

Wednesday night fishing club! Well sort of, this week it was Whahoo and I as Robbie and his lady had themselves a baby on monday (Congrats Rob!) We hung around and drank a couple summits and came up with a game plan, which consisted of hex or as I called Wha's white flies "moth patterns", what an exciting Way to fish! BUT, the fishing was pretty slow overall, there was a pretty stiff breeze and high pressure so for some reason they were just not snapping. We had intentions to fish till 12 or so, but cut it short at 11. Whahoo did the most AMAZING thing I have seen with a flyrod in years. He picked off a 18" fish that we had seen chasing bugs, in less than a foot of water, completely slack and gin clear. He fooled this critter with the moth and a twitched retrieve on a short line. I only know a couple fella's who coulda pulled that off, really really tricky move. wow! As for me, I got a couple grabs on a hex and sadly had one break me off on 4x, looked like a good fish for sure...next time.

lastly, had an amazing day yesterday with Jurgen and Katarina from Hammond WI. They had been in the area (from Germany) for about 8 years now and had decided this was the week they get out and explore the area. Both were complete rookies and ya coulda fooled me, nary an hour of instruction and they were both into fish. We had success on caddis and beatis emergers mostly, in the faster riffles. What a fun couple and I think they are hooked on the whole fishing, woods, water thing. Thanks so much and I'm looking forward to late July's outing with you again!

Gotta run, Jennifer's heading out for a month to Sacramento Ca for school and we have a bunch to do in getting her ready. I'll miss her something fierce but I'll get my 28 days in a row of fishing in to fill the time....

Hasta Luego.

BPM