It's been a crazy summer, in fact it's been unlike any I've had in years, or ever for that matter.
Now I can't say I haven't been spending time on the water. By all accounts less than most years but this has been a unique season to say the least. I had a great early trout guide season, a wonderful 5 day trip to the Brule and some, albeit limited personal fishing time. The big focus coming into June was Alaska.
The second week of June found me back in Cordova, Alaska. This time I was there with a different mission, no more house building I was going fishing! I was hired by longtime friend and commercial salmon fisherman Curt Herschleb. I was to be Curt's deckhand for the next 6 weeks or so, leaning the ropes of being a gill-netter and man was I stoked! People always seem to ask me if it was like the deadliest catch? Not hardly really, while we had some big seas for the most part the weather was shitty but manageable. There was one deadly side I can address, fatigue. The hardest work I've ever done was over those 6 weeks. Long hours with little or no sleep, adverse conditions and labor intensive work all added up to a couple worn out fisherman. It's pretty common for these guys to go 50-60 hours without sleep, remember it is only dark for maybe an hour a day that time of year, so your ability to stay up is falsely enhanced. We did that shit, 54 straight as I recall, fishing the heck out of the reds over in Main Bay, Prince William Sound. When your making money it's easier, we did OK in that department as well.
Despite the obvious fatigue, I had an extra boost due to the fact I'd never spent that much time on a boat, on the ocean mind you....All that which was eye candy to me, was old hat to most of the guys who fish. Whales are an obstacle to be avoided, killer whales especially. Sea lions are cool unless they are eating your fish, which is usually when you see them. Otters a-plenty, they are cool and don't eat your fish, good otters. We killed a lot of Salmon, not sure of the final poundage, but it was substantial. The primary target was Red's / Sockeye's, they fetch the best price at market and are fun to catch. The other salmon had their day, Chums in abundance at Esther Island and Pinks as the season wore down.
37 days on the boat is what I ended up with and it's true, pictures do not do Alaska justice. If you can, put Prince William Sound on your list of places to visit, it's just that cool. I have a lot of good friends there and Cordova has a place in my soul. I'll be going back next year but this time bringing my bride for a few weeks as well.
Oh ya, I almost forgot! I got to see the west this summer too! A few weeks ago I flew out to Sacramento to meet Jennifer, who was just finishing up school. We took the opportunity to put together a road trip from CA back to MN. I arrived a few days before the official end of school, which gave me an opportunity to learn a bit about striper fishing on the American River. This time of the year, the stripers start to show up in numbers, following the run of Shad. Numbers wise, it's not a huge fishery but gives the local anglers an opportunity at some pretty big fish. After about 3 days of wading and walking I did stick one, about a 20" fish or so. I had a couple other grabs and felt like I was fishing good water, despite my lack of knowledge on the area. A local shop helped out with some intel, albeit cryptic at best. Special thanks to Jimbo & Michelle, Jen's host's in Cali for the amazing gift of being able to stay, totally above and beyond the call of duty.
We waved goodbye to Sac town and headed north. Jennifer had never seen the Redwoods so we were off to Arcata and a drive up 101. Nor Cal is great, but there's so damn many people. We did our best to avoid the major crowds, got in an amazing 10 mile hike in Prairie Redwoods State Park and met a really great family camping there. Having decidied we were going to take the northern route, we headed out for Stevenson WA, on the Columbia, to visit Jen's brother Jeff and his family. Turned out it was his birthday, which provided an excuse to stay up till 2am and drink beer. A long drive up the Columbia, through Spokane and to Couer d'Alene Idaho for the night. From there we made our way to Montana, flanking the Clark Fork for quite some time. All I could do was look longingly at the river, it was drift boat water and we had neither the time or the money for a boat ride, so on the Glacier N.P. it was. Neither Jennifer or I had been to Glacier since we were kids and we both looked forward to the visit. We had no aspirations of going into the back country, but we packed bear spray anyway and stuck to the well used hikes for the most part. We were lucky enough to secure a good site for a couple days, I got to catch a couple Cutty's at Avalanche and Hidden lakes and the hiking was amazing. For those who've never been, go now. Glacier is pretty much out of actual glaciers, only 25 remain and most are only accessible from back country hikes. If you go, make sure to drive the going to the sun road, unless your like me and have vertigo, in that case have the wife drive! I made it 2/3 of the way up before succumbing to the panic. Jennifer on the other hand just cruised right up and kept trying to point out the bighorn sheep, panoramic views and the like. I kept my eyes glued to a map to occupy my brain. Funny thing is, it only bothers me in a vehicle. I could ride those rods on a bike or hike even, no issues. Put me behind the wheel and yikes! Vertigo aside, we loved Glacier and cant wait to visit again. Two long days on the road followed, with a night at Teddy Roosevelt N.P. in Medora, North Dakota and here we are, home again after 2 plus months away.
I missed my dog, I'm awful happy to have her back home. Elsie is 11, getting a little slow and had the great company of 3 young boys for a couple months. She was pretty worn out.
Record flooding in the area last week kept the trout streams in rough shape. I attempted to fish last night but the willow was still raging so I drove to the Rush for a look. The river looked terrible, scoured and lifeless even. I never bothered to wet a line, had a beer at streamside and cruised home. I just got a call from fellow wednesday nighter Rob George and he informed me the Willow River is back down and looking good, so I think I'll give it another shot this evening.
Hope Ya'll are having a good summer.
BigPikeMike
Showing posts with label guide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guide. Show all posts
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
angling
I do not mourn the end of winter and ice fishing, not at all.
For the most part, this winters fishing was pretty limited to a few trips to the park for pike and panfish and a handful of outings on Cedar lake in Mpls, trying in vain to ice a few walleyes. Winter leaves behind it some ugly stuff, especially in the city. A seasons worth of garbage and in my case, 2 five gallon pails of Elsie poop, which I had to clean up this morning, thank goodness it's 25 out and the little devils are frozen. It'll be nice in a few weeks when things start to green up and the memory of another winter (my 42nd) has faded.
Early season trout opened a couple weeks ago to low clear streams and a foot of snow on the ground. The warm temps of the last few weeks broke everything loose and all of the local streams got a good scouring. I had one nice evening on the willow prior to the deluge and landed 3, 2 browns and a rainbow. The previous years rainbow stockings have created a number of holdover fish that have escaped predators and hungry anglers alike and all of the sudden we have some fish in the 15-17" range. They don't fight for shit, but are fun to catch as they will take streamers alongside the browns.
This past wednesday saw the first installment of WNFC (Wednesday night fishing club). For those who don't know, I fish with pretty much the same fellas every wednesday and have for the past few years. It's a beautiful thing, all our gals now know that Wednesday's are off limits, boys night out. We meet at a secret location, OK not so secret but we have a private access parking area which is conducive to enjoying a few beers and even a bonfire now and then. Fishing this week was a little tough, the water was falling but still a little high and off color and very cold from the snow melt. We each landed a nice holdover rainbow, shared a stream beer and kicked off the season in style.
What's with all this bashing of my brother in arms Brad "the Afton Angler" Bohen? The poor fella's is being savaged and slandered by the fishing community at large, but mainly from a few folks, jealous of his success I suppose. He was axed from the MW fly show despite being a huge draw in his speaking engagements. The fly fishing community needs to grow up a little and accept the fact that there are NEW anglers out there, not the tired old lefty-holschlag-FFF-orvis hags who we all have seen and heard for years, do and say the same thing over and over and over again...the problem lies in that they cannot accept the fact that the industry as a whole is dying a slow death and needs to reinvent itself, new faces are and have to be part of the process, new products are now enough. So Brad is a shameless self promoter, big deal! Try being a guide, building a clientele and not ever doing a lick of marketing or promotion, does not work, in this business or any. I've known this dude for 30 years, fished with him in all reaches of this great land and to those who would dare to call Brad a poser, piss off. His angling skills (note angling, not just fly fishing) go beyond what most folks could ever hope to achieve. And really, don't you fools have anything better to do with your time than savage someone over the interweb....
Sunday morning and I'm off to make my wife some breakfast. till next time.
BigPikeMike
For the most part, this winters fishing was pretty limited to a few trips to the park for pike and panfish and a handful of outings on Cedar lake in Mpls, trying in vain to ice a few walleyes. Winter leaves behind it some ugly stuff, especially in the city. A seasons worth of garbage and in my case, 2 five gallon pails of Elsie poop, which I had to clean up this morning, thank goodness it's 25 out and the little devils are frozen. It'll be nice in a few weeks when things start to green up and the memory of another winter (my 42nd) has faded.
Early season trout opened a couple weeks ago to low clear streams and a foot of snow on the ground. The warm temps of the last few weeks broke everything loose and all of the local streams got a good scouring. I had one nice evening on the willow prior to the deluge and landed 3, 2 browns and a rainbow. The previous years rainbow stockings have created a number of holdover fish that have escaped predators and hungry anglers alike and all of the sudden we have some fish in the 15-17" range. They don't fight for shit, but are fun to catch as they will take streamers alongside the browns.
This past wednesday saw the first installment of WNFC (Wednesday night fishing club). For those who don't know, I fish with pretty much the same fellas every wednesday and have for the past few years. It's a beautiful thing, all our gals now know that Wednesday's are off limits, boys night out. We meet at a secret location, OK not so secret but we have a private access parking area which is conducive to enjoying a few beers and even a bonfire now and then. Fishing this week was a little tough, the water was falling but still a little high and off color and very cold from the snow melt. We each landed a nice holdover rainbow, shared a stream beer and kicked off the season in style.
What's with all this bashing of my brother in arms Brad "the Afton Angler" Bohen? The poor fella's is being savaged and slandered by the fishing community at large, but mainly from a few folks, jealous of his success I suppose. He was axed from the MW fly show despite being a huge draw in his speaking engagements. The fly fishing community needs to grow up a little and accept the fact that there are NEW anglers out there, not the tired old lefty-holschlag-FFF-orvis hags who we all have seen and heard for years, do and say the same thing over and over and over again...the problem lies in that they cannot accept the fact that the industry as a whole is dying a slow death and needs to reinvent itself, new faces are and have to be part of the process, new products are now enough. So Brad is a shameless self promoter, big deal! Try being a guide, building a clientele and not ever doing a lick of marketing or promotion, does not work, in this business or any. I've known this dude for 30 years, fished with him in all reaches of this great land and to those who would dare to call Brad a poser, piss off. His angling skills (note angling, not just fly fishing) go beyond what most folks could ever hope to achieve. And really, don't you fools have anything better to do with your time than savage someone over the interweb....
Sunday morning and I'm off to make my wife some breakfast. till next time.
BigPikeMike
Friday, July 24, 2009
River Muskie!!!!!
Good day all!
Here's a quick photo update of the weeks fishing.
Wednesday I had Dan Clayton and his nephew Lance Meister out for a full day of muskie fishing. We got started at 2 and by 2:30 we had a fish in the net! Dan hooked up and landed a super fat 44" muskie on a bulldog, over 40 f.o.w. This has been my strategy of late (deep water suspended fish) and it's paying off in spades. We contacted a couple other fish over the course of the day but none made it to the boat for a picture. Thanks so much Dan and Lance for a great outing, looking forward to sharing the boat with you come Sturgeon Season!
Thursday I had Rick Demarchis and his buddy/workmate Rod in the boat for a half day. Last year on the same trip Rick landed 2, so expectations were high, but we struggled and never managed to see a fish. The mid morning time period, which traditionally has been very good, has been slow. Prime time seems to be the mid afternoon then a lull leading into prime time at dark. They were good sports and understood that sometimes with muskies they bite and sometimes they are just not interested.
What a difference a day makes.....Today I had the pleasure of sharing the boat with Dan Patrick. Dan is a super avid angler, without the means of a boat. He does most of his fishing with a fly rod, from shore on local lakes, and does quite well at that. Today we were intent on catching him a muskie, make that two muskies! We got out at the crack o' dawn, raised a nice fish right off the bat, then the rains came. It poured buckets and hailed plenty as well, but we hunkered down in Afton State Park till it subsided, then the fun began. Our first stop after the thunder was a piece of structure I've been seeing alot of fish on and it didn't let us down. Dan hooked up on a scrappy 42" about 10am or so on a topraider at boatside. Not wanting to see this fish get off, I did the quick scoop and got him in the net in 10 seconds flat! After a couple pictures and high fives, we slid her back and said our thanks to the muskie gods. I said the pressure's off, lets go find another! We fished a couple other spots, made a trolling pass to take a lunch break and keeps baits wet and then headed off to another hot spot. About 2:30 or so his bulldog got inhaled by a fish, a BIG FISH, size LARGE! I knew right away he was into something special and sure as can be, this monster came barreling out of the water, did some crazy maneuvers but my net hands are too quick and she was ours! Both shaking, we got her untangled from the net/hooks etc and stared in awe. 49.5", lets call it 50 shall we? What a beast, great fighter for a big fish and oh so pretty! Another quick net scoop meant a safe and healthy fish on release, we admired her as she swam off, high fived once again and decided that's a good way to end an amazing day. Dan, you're a stud dude! That's big fish of the year and makes 20 river muskies in the boat for the season. Things are really starting to get hot and I aim to stay on this bite right up till the PMTT tourney rolls through in september. Wanna get a muskie, now's the time my friends.
Enough for now, I need a nap. Enjoy the images.
BigPikeMike!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
St. Croix mixed bag reports
Morning all....
The picture up above is Chris Boland with a pretty typical river pike we got Wednesday, trolling around the Kinni narrows. Chris and I bartered some kick ass graphics for my truck, for a full day with he and his bro' Jarrett. Both Chris and Jarrett were anglers of the mixed bag variety, perhaps more focused on the big nasties like sturgeon and cats. Muskies are as big and nasty as it gets and they were looking to add some skills in this realm, so I fished them hard, all day, in the wind and with a variety of conditions and techniques. The first half of the day yielded the pike and one good rip on the troll, but no muskies. We started looking forward to the prime time twilight hour and got ourselves in a spot I thought it could happen. Straight away we had a nice fish follow a topraider, take a couple swipes and vanish. Moments later Jarrett had a long range blowup, again, no hooks. We worked the area till we could see no more and called it a day. Thanks again guys, looking forward to sharing a boat for Cat's some night.
Thursday morning I worked with "the Turk", Charlie Geirke. Turk's a long time Croix guide and a damn fine angler. I help him out from time to time with group trips and it's always a pleasure. We had a group of fellas from the city, business/pleasure outing for a guy and his clients. These are great trips and involve fishing for anything that bites and better yet provides solid bragging rights. My boat was the muskie rig as usual, with 3 guys in the boat we were pretty much limited to trolling, but could have our 5 lines rolling so I was optimistic. We we trolled and trolled and trolled....boop diddly. After a bit I decided to pull the plug for an hour and follow the other rigs looking for smallies and walleyes. We were making ton's and catching little. Then the wind decided to dictate the rest of the day. Post lunch fishing was brutal. It was blowing 30 from the NW and getting around the big lake was tough and wet. We had a great time and my clients were patient but it was not a guides day to say the least. Looking forward to calmer days....
I'm off to work for a bit, then loading up the kayaks and heading over to El Paso for some fly angling and kayak scouting. more to come.
go fish!
BigPikeMike
MN & WI Fishing Guide
The picture up above is Chris Boland with a pretty typical river pike we got Wednesday, trolling around the Kinni narrows. Chris and I bartered some kick ass graphics for my truck, for a full day with he and his bro' Jarrett. Both Chris and Jarrett were anglers of the mixed bag variety, perhaps more focused on the big nasties like sturgeon and cats. Muskies are as big and nasty as it gets and they were looking to add some skills in this realm, so I fished them hard, all day, in the wind and with a variety of conditions and techniques. The first half of the day yielded the pike and one good rip on the troll, but no muskies. We started looking forward to the prime time twilight hour and got ourselves in a spot I thought it could happen. Straight away we had a nice fish follow a topraider, take a couple swipes and vanish. Moments later Jarrett had a long range blowup, again, no hooks. We worked the area till we could see no more and called it a day. Thanks again guys, looking forward to sharing a boat for Cat's some night.
Thursday morning I worked with "the Turk", Charlie Geirke. Turk's a long time Croix guide and a damn fine angler. I help him out from time to time with group trips and it's always a pleasure. We had a group of fellas from the city, business/pleasure outing for a guy and his clients. These are great trips and involve fishing for anything that bites and better yet provides solid bragging rights. My boat was the muskie rig as usual, with 3 guys in the boat we were pretty much limited to trolling, but could have our 5 lines rolling so I was optimistic. We we trolled and trolled and trolled....boop diddly. After a bit I decided to pull the plug for an hour and follow the other rigs looking for smallies and walleyes. We were making ton's and catching little. Then the wind decided to dictate the rest of the day. Post lunch fishing was brutal. It was blowing 30 from the NW and getting around the big lake was tough and wet. We had a great time and my clients were patient but it was not a guides day to say the least. Looking forward to calmer days....
I'm off to work for a bit, then loading up the kayaks and heading over to El Paso for some fly angling and kayak scouting. more to come.
go fish!
BigPikeMike
MN & WI Fishing Guide
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Mid july Angling & guiding news
As I may have mentioned, Jennifer is gone till the 1st of August. Suffice it to say I have been fishing at a frenetic pace, here's what's been happening.
I should be posting daily I know, but between trying to hold down the fort, do my chores and keep a line wet I'm usually pretty crushed at days end. So we'll wrap up the last 5 days and lead out the next week or so, there's some cool shit on the horizon.
Last Friday was a muskie day! A day where another rod in the boat could have made it something really special. I wrote recently how I'm not a huge fan of "camping out" on a spot, but I broke a rule Friday evening and did just that. I got on the water about 5 and started on Beanies point, just south of the bridge. it's a spot I don't often see fish, but I know they are there so I regularly make a pass. Status Quo, no one home. Next stop was another insignificant spot on the MN shore, same sort of place with similar results. Things however were feeling very fishy, there was some weather moving in from the west causing regular changes in wind direction and speed, always a good thing. I made a move for Afton, there's no secret that the bar is lousy with fish and if a guy wants to get one it's worth some time to cover every inch, twice. That's just what I did. Straight away I contacted a nice fish, a long follow that terminated in an angry swirl at boat side. OK, their here and ready to play, despite the boat traffic and pontoon boat full of onlookers parked right on the captains chair. I put the viper to work, purposely fishing the opposite direction of what most anglers fish, as inside out as possible. Over the next hour or so I had another 4-5 follows and blowups, one really nice fish in particular. After an hour of this, BAM, FISH ON! & a nice one at that! She ate the viper about 40' out, maybe 25' from the pontoon of onlookers, and put on a great show for the other boaters. Several long runs and 3 jumps later I rolled her into the big net to whoops and hollers from the gawkers, pretty nice feeling and I was amped to get her picture and get after another one. She measured up about 47, although the pic has the tail cut off thanks to self photography. That makes 11 for me and 15 for the boat this year. Of my 11, only 1 was shorter than 40, with 2 over 46 so the average is good. The rest of the evening was pretty action packed but I never got hooks into another and wrapped up about 10:30 or so.
the following morning found me on the same spot, 4:45 am. Right off the bat I raised a couple, but they were lazy follows and far more negative than the previous evening. feeling good about another spot, I headed downriver to fish some points. Just north of Afton State park I raised what might be the biggest fish I've seen in years, well over 50" and stout. She tried to eat the viper at boat side and slapped the boat with her tail in the process, soaking me as well. It was pretty cool but she's gonna get caught, in due time. Nothing landed for the morning shift, but it had it's moments.
Sunday night Whahoo and I did the evening shift on the willow. We were in search of Hex, but they have been a total bust this season. No fish rising, no fish landed. I'll be giving it a rest for a bit.
Monday night found Fred and I back on the Rush in El Paso. He was feeling the need to camp out so that's what we did. We found some brookies on the dry flies and fished streamers after dark till about 11. No grabs on the big flies, but in our defence, it was DARK and really tough without having scoped out our beat in good light. It was nice to sit around the bonfire with a couple beers, need to do more of that.
Believe it or not, I pretty much took yesterday off, save for a couple casts in the morning on the Rush. I've got some work going at Fred's house to help him make it ready for sale. nice work between guide trips.
Today I'm back after the Muskies with my graphics guy Chris Boland and his buddy Jared. They are both St. Croix regulars, but just learning the muskie thing. We are going to have to fish hard today to get some action as we had a nice cold front come through last night. Tomorrow I'll be out with one of Turk's groups, fishing walleyes and smallies.
I'll follow up with a report and pics.
later,
BigPikeMike
I should be posting daily I know, but between trying to hold down the fort, do my chores and keep a line wet I'm usually pretty crushed at days end. So we'll wrap up the last 5 days and lead out the next week or so, there's some cool shit on the horizon.
Last Friday was a muskie day! A day where another rod in the boat could have made it something really special. I wrote recently how I'm not a huge fan of "camping out" on a spot, but I broke a rule Friday evening and did just that. I got on the water about 5 and started on Beanies point, just south of the bridge. it's a spot I don't often see fish, but I know they are there so I regularly make a pass. Status Quo, no one home. Next stop was another insignificant spot on the MN shore, same sort of place with similar results. Things however were feeling very fishy, there was some weather moving in from the west causing regular changes in wind direction and speed, always a good thing. I made a move for Afton, there's no secret that the bar is lousy with fish and if a guy wants to get one it's worth some time to cover every inch, twice. That's just what I did. Straight away I contacted a nice fish, a long follow that terminated in an angry swirl at boat side. OK, their here and ready to play, despite the boat traffic and pontoon boat full of onlookers parked right on the captains chair. I put the viper to work, purposely fishing the opposite direction of what most anglers fish, as inside out as possible. Over the next hour or so I had another 4-5 follows and blowups, one really nice fish in particular. After an hour of this, BAM, FISH ON! & a nice one at that! She ate the viper about 40' out, maybe 25' from the pontoon of onlookers, and put on a great show for the other boaters. Several long runs and 3 jumps later I rolled her into the big net to whoops and hollers from the gawkers, pretty nice feeling and I was amped to get her picture and get after another one. She measured up about 47, although the pic has the tail cut off thanks to self photography. That makes 11 for me and 15 for the boat this year. Of my 11, only 1 was shorter than 40, with 2 over 46 so the average is good. The rest of the evening was pretty action packed but I never got hooks into another and wrapped up about 10:30 or so.
the following morning found me on the same spot, 4:45 am. Right off the bat I raised a couple, but they were lazy follows and far more negative than the previous evening. feeling good about another spot, I headed downriver to fish some points. Just north of Afton State park I raised what might be the biggest fish I've seen in years, well over 50" and stout. She tried to eat the viper at boat side and slapped the boat with her tail in the process, soaking me as well. It was pretty cool but she's gonna get caught, in due time. Nothing landed for the morning shift, but it had it's moments.
Sunday night Whahoo and I did the evening shift on the willow. We were in search of Hex, but they have been a total bust this season. No fish rising, no fish landed. I'll be giving it a rest for a bit.
Monday night found Fred and I back on the Rush in El Paso. He was feeling the need to camp out so that's what we did. We found some brookies on the dry flies and fished streamers after dark till about 11. No grabs on the big flies, but in our defence, it was DARK and really tough without having scoped out our beat in good light. It was nice to sit around the bonfire with a couple beers, need to do more of that.
Believe it or not, I pretty much took yesterday off, save for a couple casts in the morning on the Rush. I've got some work going at Fred's house to help him make it ready for sale. nice work between guide trips.
Today I'm back after the Muskies with my graphics guy Chris Boland and his buddy Jared. They are both St. Croix regulars, but just learning the muskie thing. We are going to have to fish hard today to get some action as we had a nice cold front come through last night. Tomorrow I'll be out with one of Turk's groups, fishing walleyes and smallies.
I'll follow up with a report and pics.
later,
BigPikeMike
Thursday, July 9, 2009
current reports
Howdy All!
Here's a quick and dirty recap of the last few days of action. The fishing has been all over the board, it's July so i guess it's to be expected.
The image above...KK with his first muskie of the season. We hooked up Sunday night about 7 or so, looking to get out and take advantage of the near full moon and end to the holiday festivities on the river. KK and I are partners in the PMTT muskie tourney this fall, so a little recon was necessary as well as early strategizing. Right out of the gate, first cast on first spot he hooked up on a sledge, but the muskie shoot him off. OK, good start to the evening. I'm guessing about 20 minutes later, he hooked up again near boat side, with a spunky 42" river muskie. This one stayed glued and we invited her in the boat for picture day. It was a good start to a near perfect night, despite the fact it was thee lone fish of the evening. Kraig's off to visit a buddy in AK this week, doing a little fishing and rafting, sounds like a good time.
Monday night I was off to the local stream to see about some late night fishing, and mostly have some piece and quiet. i got that all right, the fishing didn't happen and the bugs were a big no-show.
Tuesday proved to be another late night affair, this time with fellow guide and master angler Eddie Philpot. Jennifer asked me if he was "fast Eddie" and I informed her there's nothing fast about him....We ventured off to an east metro lake for some evening bass fishing with jitterbugs. I know I've bagged on bass before, but this is special, as Eddy would say. Something about a calm quiet night and top water is a draw. i could probably do pretty well on the fly rod, but I'm digging the old school casting setup and jitterbug. We fished from 10 till about 1:30 or so, landed 30 or more and a couple nice ones, including a solid 4.5-5lb'er that yours truly landed. good, good stuff. Thanks Eddy!
Last night was back to the stream, the Rush this time. We had notions of hanging out down around hwy 10 till late, looking for any hex that might straggle up the river from Lake Pepin. However, the lower river looked tough, at least from my perspective. I know it fishes well at times, but not last night. So we boogied up to El Paso and hung out up from the bridge. there were a hand full of trout working and Fred and I each got one, but it was slow. The late afternoon hatches seem to be a thing of June, and past us by. Trico's are just around the corner so there's hope for the dry fly crowd.
Whew.....You can tell Jennifer is gone eh. I'm still doing my best to keep up around the house and work when it's there, but I'll be on a continued angling tear over the next few weeks. stay tuned.
go!
BPM
Here's a quick and dirty recap of the last few days of action. The fishing has been all over the board, it's July so i guess it's to be expected.
The image above...KK with his first muskie of the season. We hooked up Sunday night about 7 or so, looking to get out and take advantage of the near full moon and end to the holiday festivities on the river. KK and I are partners in the PMTT muskie tourney this fall, so a little recon was necessary as well as early strategizing. Right out of the gate, first cast on first spot he hooked up on a sledge, but the muskie shoot him off. OK, good start to the evening. I'm guessing about 20 minutes later, he hooked up again near boat side, with a spunky 42" river muskie. This one stayed glued and we invited her in the boat for picture day. It was a good start to a near perfect night, despite the fact it was thee lone fish of the evening. Kraig's off to visit a buddy in AK this week, doing a little fishing and rafting, sounds like a good time.
Monday night I was off to the local stream to see about some late night fishing, and mostly have some piece and quiet. i got that all right, the fishing didn't happen and the bugs were a big no-show.
Tuesday proved to be another late night affair, this time with fellow guide and master angler Eddie Philpot. Jennifer asked me if he was "fast Eddie" and I informed her there's nothing fast about him....We ventured off to an east metro lake for some evening bass fishing with jitterbugs. I know I've bagged on bass before, but this is special, as Eddy would say. Something about a calm quiet night and top water is a draw. i could probably do pretty well on the fly rod, but I'm digging the old school casting setup and jitterbug. We fished from 10 till about 1:30 or so, landed 30 or more and a couple nice ones, including a solid 4.5-5lb'er that yours truly landed. good, good stuff. Thanks Eddy!
Last night was back to the stream, the Rush this time. We had notions of hanging out down around hwy 10 till late, looking for any hex that might straggle up the river from Lake Pepin. However, the lower river looked tough, at least from my perspective. I know it fishes well at times, but not last night. So we boogied up to El Paso and hung out up from the bridge. there were a hand full of trout working and Fred and I each got one, but it was slow. The late afternoon hatches seem to be a thing of June, and past us by. Trico's are just around the corner so there's hope for the dry fly crowd.
Whew.....You can tell Jennifer is gone eh. I'm still doing my best to keep up around the house and work when it's there, but I'll be on a continued angling tear over the next few weeks. stay tuned.
go!
BPM
Saturday, July 4, 2009
sometimes I wonder
Why is it that I am not just satisfied with chasing one fish or using one technique? Sometimes I think perhaps I'll give it a whirl, sell the big boat, get a drifter and dedicate myself to the fly. Or maybe, ditch the fly gear, become a dedicated psycho muskie angler and leave the buggy whips to the Amish...Hell no, here's why not! Variety!! I know full well the time and dedication it takes to fish at a high level, for one species and be consistent. So why not be a kick ass all around angler, proficient on multiple levels, for a variety of species? I like to compare it to my mountain bike riding days, I always wanted to be at least fast enough, particularly on the downhills to keep up where ever I may find myself riding, and I got to ride all over the country. Call it hanging with the locals or what have you, but I found it changes your experience if you have the ability. Angling is the same way for me. Should I find myself in Colorado or Kentucky, I want to at least be able to fish, enjoy the experience and feel like I'm in the game. That's why I do what I do. This week alone I fished 4 different bodies of water, flies, spinning and muskie tackle, caught all kinds of fish and never did the same thing twice.
Most recently, I went up to Bald Eagle last night to shake things up a little and quite frankly, get the stink back on. the River has been tough the last week or two, for me at least. I like to run up there when I need to put some fish in the boat and hone my lake skills for when I get an opportunity on another lake. From 4 till about 9 I pretty much camped out on a spot that I know is crawling with them. Aside from a troll around the island, I hunkered down and waited them out. Sure enough, I raised, missed or saw about a dozen fish. I landed 2 between 6 and 9, a low 40's and upper 30's. They were really liking the tip of the bar, but the bigger fish came in heavy cover near shore. I think I'm going to try to pull off a 3 legals in 3 lakes day here this week or next. Come up with a combo of 3 lakes (WB, BE and forest come to mind) and get as many as I can in a 24 hour period. sounds like it could make for some good footage as well.
Back to the hunkering down program last night. This is NOT something I would usually do, if ever on the river. That's one of the glaring differences between lakes and the river, if they are not on the spot, don't bother staying because they are off roaming, likely in the deep. I'll camp at Afton from time to time, but for the most part it's a run and gun situation. hunkering down sure paid off last night though. next time I'll hunker down with the fly rod and see what I can get moving.
It's the 4th of July. not planning on too much, maybe I'll sneak down the the old miss and try to catch a big cat.
be safe out there.
BigPikeMike
Monday, June 29, 2009
Weekend Fishing Report from Big Pike Mike
Since our last episode.....
Rumors of big river muskies, walleye report and a smallie outing on the apple.
First off, a big thanks to my clients from last week. I hosted a group of Vet's and vet tech's put on by Phizer Chemicals. This is the 3rd year I've been involved and they are a great group, always have a good old time. Thanks Lori and thanks to the other guides who helped me out.
I didn't get in a whole lot of angling after Tuesday last week. Jennifer took off yesterday for 5 weeks, so we spent the week getting her ready and hanging out. She's off to school to be a Waldorf Teacher, you'll have to google if you want more intel. Despite the fact I didn't fish much, there were some fish caught I am told...
Rumor has it Fritzy landed a 46" muskie on the river, confirmed by Dave Hale, who happened to be right near him fishing walleyes. nice work Fritz, but I still got ya beat by an inch...I'm sure someone will stick a giant this summer, hope it's me, about sept 12th...
Whahoo and I pulled another epic outing yesterday on the apple. We sort of retraced the steps Brad and I laid last week, but fished a little more and explored quite a bit. The area around Little Falls, near Amery is really cool water. Lots of falls, pocket water and elevation. We didn't have any luck there, but really didn't explore beyond the trail heads or obvious fishing water. Looks like it gets pounded though. It's stocked trout water, and we saw them alright, but the water had to be in the upper 70's and the odds were not good. It'll bear some more exploring and even a kayak shot, I'm sure there are some far off stretches with big smallies and muskies.
Oh ya, big news of the morning was the bear we saw up north of Star Prairie. It was a momma and cub, loping across an open field. Pretty cool stuff, closer & closer to the metro.
Back to the fishing. After busting out of bathwater creek, we headed up to the dam at Black Brook to take a few muskie casts, nothing to be had. Next Stop, the restricted water above the Rivers Edge in Somerset, below the dam at RiverDale. We used to fish this as younger fellas and get walleyes and muskies from shore, but since 9-11, no more access to the shore spot can be found. So we snuck in, sort of. There's an obvious pull out on "C" above the tubers, we slid in for a closer look. Whahoo landed one smallie but that was it. It was pretty warm and not a ton of water to wrok with. Enough of that, off to the Flowage below the tubers. We got on the water about 9 and by noon had landed 30 or so, biggest about 18", but all scrappy. Whahoo tied this kick ass new streamer and they nearly destroyed it! We were right up by the tubing water and happened to have a nice chat with a friendly security guy, who also was an avid angler and traded some valuable intel, including the ability to take a boat out at the park, YEA! So the logistics are all figured out on that, next up is a full float of the tubing water!
This week I'll be guiding a bit, today in fact on the Rush for an afternoon half day. The weather is great so I'm looking forward to a good outing. I'll bet there will be a late night visit to the willow as well. I'll tell ya how it goes.
later,
BPM
Rumors of big river muskies, walleye report and a smallie outing on the apple.
First off, a big thanks to my clients from last week. I hosted a group of Vet's and vet tech's put on by Phizer Chemicals. This is the 3rd year I've been involved and they are a great group, always have a good old time. Thanks Lori and thanks to the other guides who helped me out.
I didn't get in a whole lot of angling after Tuesday last week. Jennifer took off yesterday for 5 weeks, so we spent the week getting her ready and hanging out. She's off to school to be a Waldorf Teacher, you'll have to google if you want more intel. Despite the fact I didn't fish much, there were some fish caught I am told...
Rumor has it Fritzy landed a 46" muskie on the river, confirmed by Dave Hale, who happened to be right near him fishing walleyes. nice work Fritz, but I still got ya beat by an inch...I'm sure someone will stick a giant this summer, hope it's me, about sept 12th...
Whahoo and I pulled another epic outing yesterday on the apple. We sort of retraced the steps Brad and I laid last week, but fished a little more and explored quite a bit. The area around Little Falls, near Amery is really cool water. Lots of falls, pocket water and elevation. We didn't have any luck there, but really didn't explore beyond the trail heads or obvious fishing water. Looks like it gets pounded though. It's stocked trout water, and we saw them alright, but the water had to be in the upper 70's and the odds were not good. It'll bear some more exploring and even a kayak shot, I'm sure there are some far off stretches with big smallies and muskies.
Oh ya, big news of the morning was the bear we saw up north of Star Prairie. It was a momma and cub, loping across an open field. Pretty cool stuff, closer & closer to the metro.
Back to the fishing. After busting out of bathwater creek, we headed up to the dam at Black Brook to take a few muskie casts, nothing to be had. Next Stop, the restricted water above the Rivers Edge in Somerset, below the dam at RiverDale. We used to fish this as younger fellas and get walleyes and muskies from shore, but since 9-11, no more access to the shore spot can be found. So we snuck in, sort of. There's an obvious pull out on "C" above the tubers, we slid in for a closer look. Whahoo landed one smallie but that was it. It was pretty warm and not a ton of water to wrok with. Enough of that, off to the Flowage below the tubers. We got on the water about 9 and by noon had landed 30 or so, biggest about 18", but all scrappy. Whahoo tied this kick ass new streamer and they nearly destroyed it! We were right up by the tubing water and happened to have a nice chat with a friendly security guy, who also was an avid angler and traded some valuable intel, including the ability to take a boat out at the park, YEA! So the logistics are all figured out on that, next up is a full float of the tubing water!
This week I'll be guiding a bit, today in fact on the Rush for an afternoon half day. The weather is great so I'm looking forward to a good outing. I'll bet there will be a late night visit to the willow as well. I'll tell ya how it goes.
later,
BPM
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Who is that guy?
Someone tell the fella with the long hair and beard it's summer! Oh ya, that's me! Realizing the error of my ways, I did in fact clean up for summer and man did it feel good!
This last week was "Francis Week". I had my old friend and client Francis O'Neill here from VA. We fished wed-friday on the local streams, mainly the Rush and Kinni, but we did make a special trip to "Brookie Heaven", aka, Cady Creek. This was a special day for a couple of reasons. The Stream is not only loaded with Brookies, enthusiastic and lovely despite their stature, but it's also reminiscent of an english chalk stream of which Francis was familiar and very fond of. The banks were quite overgrown, providing much needed shade and cover for the little fella's. While this certainly made casting a bit more of a challenge, we were able to find some nice lanes for rolling hoppers, beetles and crickets over their heads and were rewarded for our efforts. I lost track after a while, but there were 20-25 that came to hand, all just stunning, and each seeminginly more beautiful than the last one. I really dont spend enough time on Cady, it's about 20 minutes past the Rush in Elmwood (UFO capital of WI), but worth the effort no doubt.
The Rush fished OK, there was a smattering of bugs from mid-morning to late afternoon, but we never hung till dark and waited for the Caddis to come out in full force. PMD's and emergers were working, as well as small slate caddis. Francis likes to switch things up on a regular basis, and that suits me just fine as I do to. What Francis lacks in mobility, he more than makes up for with casting prowess, he's got a serious cast and perfect presentation thanks to the sweetest light line cane rods I've seen or fished, what a joy to hold. I'm always sad to see him go, we've developed a terrific friendship over the last few years that I'm sure will last for many to come.
The rest of the weekend was light on angling, spent a bunch of time with my gal instead. Jennifer is off to Cali for 5 weeks, at school. Cool thing is she's living with Brad's folks in Sacramento, just a mile or two from her campus.
Speaking of B-rad, he made an appearance late monday afternoon, after dropping off a week long client from NYC at the airport. We moseyed over to the Willow for a late night attempt only to be denied. But considering it was 93, wet wading was the BEST place to be on earth that evening. Tuesday morning we got up at the crack of 8, and planned out another day of old school scouting and dead reckoning about western WI, warm water this time.
First up, The Apple River below the tubing crazed town of Somerset. We have a sweet little "in" on a chunk of basically private water, loaded with muskies and smallies, with the occasional walleye in the mix. A little boat ride, little wet wading and LOTS of smallies, up to 18" or so. All on big frog patterns normally tossed at Muskies, read BIG FLIES. Heavy current, big flies =10wt rods. The smallies were up to the task and bent the 10's like crazy! Looking for a change of venue, we packed up after 1pm or so and headed for Amery area, 30 miles upriver or so. After stopping to check out a couple bridges and available drift boat access, we headed up to the dam at Black Brook. There were a couple locals angling below the dam, and the vibe was weak so we dropped in up top and floated for a couple hours. No follows or fish, but amazing fly water so it's been added to the short list. Having run it's course, we stopped in Amery for gas and Beer and headed back to Somerset area, to have a look at the old landing on the croix, near the mouth of the apple. What an amazing place! Thousands and thousands of acres of water, woods, braids, bogs and who knows what other primordial creatures and features. However, no access for the boat but I'll be doing some scouting on the kayak that's for sure!
As if that was not enough! We decided to meet up with Eddy Philpot for some late night bassin' on Demontraville lake. We hit the water at 9:30 or so and had steady jitterbug action till we quit at 1:30. No real hogs, but some in the 4lb class.
All told, almost 20 hours on the job yesterday with some real excellent scouting accomplished. Look out tubers on the apple, I'm coming with big flies and bad intentions!
real good then!
BigPikeMike
This last week was "Francis Week". I had my old friend and client Francis O'Neill here from VA. We fished wed-friday on the local streams, mainly the Rush and Kinni, but we did make a special trip to "Brookie Heaven", aka, Cady Creek. This was a special day for a couple of reasons. The Stream is not only loaded with Brookies, enthusiastic and lovely despite their stature, but it's also reminiscent of an english chalk stream of which Francis was familiar and very fond of. The banks were quite overgrown, providing much needed shade and cover for the little fella's. While this certainly made casting a bit more of a challenge, we were able to find some nice lanes for rolling hoppers, beetles and crickets over their heads and were rewarded for our efforts. I lost track after a while, but there were 20-25 that came to hand, all just stunning, and each seeminginly more beautiful than the last one. I really dont spend enough time on Cady, it's about 20 minutes past the Rush in Elmwood (UFO capital of WI), but worth the effort no doubt.
The Rush fished OK, there was a smattering of bugs from mid-morning to late afternoon, but we never hung till dark and waited for the Caddis to come out in full force. PMD's and emergers were working, as well as small slate caddis. Francis likes to switch things up on a regular basis, and that suits me just fine as I do to. What Francis lacks in mobility, he more than makes up for with casting prowess, he's got a serious cast and perfect presentation thanks to the sweetest light line cane rods I've seen or fished, what a joy to hold. I'm always sad to see him go, we've developed a terrific friendship over the last few years that I'm sure will last for many to come.
The rest of the weekend was light on angling, spent a bunch of time with my gal instead. Jennifer is off to Cali for 5 weeks, at school. Cool thing is she's living with Brad's folks in Sacramento, just a mile or two from her campus.
Speaking of B-rad, he made an appearance late monday afternoon, after dropping off a week long client from NYC at the airport. We moseyed over to the Willow for a late night attempt only to be denied. But considering it was 93, wet wading was the BEST place to be on earth that evening. Tuesday morning we got up at the crack of 8, and planned out another day of old school scouting and dead reckoning about western WI, warm water this time.
First up, The Apple River below the tubing crazed town of Somerset. We have a sweet little "in" on a chunk of basically private water, loaded with muskies and smallies, with the occasional walleye in the mix. A little boat ride, little wet wading and LOTS of smallies, up to 18" or so. All on big frog patterns normally tossed at Muskies, read BIG FLIES. Heavy current, big flies =10wt rods. The smallies were up to the task and bent the 10's like crazy! Looking for a change of venue, we packed up after 1pm or so and headed for Amery area, 30 miles upriver or so. After stopping to check out a couple bridges and available drift boat access, we headed up to the dam at Black Brook. There were a couple locals angling below the dam, and the vibe was weak so we dropped in up top and floated for a couple hours. No follows or fish, but amazing fly water so it's been added to the short list. Having run it's course, we stopped in Amery for gas and Beer and headed back to Somerset area, to have a look at the old landing on the croix, near the mouth of the apple. What an amazing place! Thousands and thousands of acres of water, woods, braids, bogs and who knows what other primordial creatures and features. However, no access for the boat but I'll be doing some scouting on the kayak that's for sure!
As if that was not enough! We decided to meet up with Eddy Philpot for some late night bassin' on Demontraville lake. We hit the water at 9:30 or so and had steady jitterbug action till we quit at 1:30. No real hogs, but some in the 4lb class.
All told, almost 20 hours on the job yesterday with some real excellent scouting accomplished. Look out tubers on the apple, I'm coming with big flies and bad intentions!
real good then!
BigPikeMike
Monday, June 15, 2009
muskies, trout and guiding reports
A little about the weeks trips to get started.
Thursday I had the pleasure of hosting Joe Hackbarth, his son Tom and the senior member of the crew, Joe's father in-law Dan. We had a half day to try to figure out a program of muskies, maybe a walleye or bass and whatever we can find to tug. It was a glorious day out, light boat traffic and a nice reminder how great the Croix is on weekdays. Did I mention the glorious weather? The fishing was kinda slow, I know there were some walleyes to be had on a shoreline bite, but we conceded to try to catch another muskie for Tom. I love the mixed bag approach but it's a little challenging with only 1/2 day to work with. We did our best, had one good tug on a planer board & tail but that was it. I have a hard time pulling the plug on days like today, super great clients and nice weather make for enjoyable days, despite the slow angling.
Friday found me on the water again, this time with Jeff and Zach, couple more fellas in search of an enjoyable afternoon and couple of tugs. Jeff and Zach are business partners, Zach being in Chi-Town and Jeff here in Mpls. The goal of day is always fish, but we were on the post hangover 11-5 trip, so a couple more curve balls for finding muskies. Again, another perfect day and the cloud cover helped keep things a little cooler and even though I was wrong, I thought it would bring a good muskie. A couple minutes of practice with the gear and they were casting away. Jeff Raised a nice fish about 2pm or so but after not seeing much, we dragged a bit for eyes. The walleyes appear to either be in the summer holds or on the way. We marked alot of fish and got a couple off the break on the humps, maybe 25', the tops of the humps being 19' or so. I've seen fellas having action out there, either pulling cranks or dragging meat. We fished until 5 or so and pulled off some last minute heroics with a very nice 35" pike on the final trolling pass.
As always, I am humbled my the chance to show other folks the river and a good day of fishing, THANK YOU!!!!
Lets talk muskies for a while. The river muskies are starting to tick me off! I'm stuck at 3 for the season, 43 being the big fish so far. While we have been seeing fish, the hours have been adding up and I'm thinking more and more about a serious change in tactics. I've been reading up on open water muskies, and the St.Croix has plenty of open water, so that's going to be my focus, numbers be damned. I think that who ever is able to unlock the key of the open water bite is going to hold a special card in their deck. From all the data and articles I've been reading it seems that's where they are at most of the time, and with the increased pressure the river is seeing on the shallow weedy "community spots", this is becoming more and more evident. I don't believe for a second this is going to mean large numbers of fish, but I do think that it'll mean bigger fish, more frequently. So I'll take one for the team and keep on plugging away at this idea. more to come for sure.
Saturday was the metro muskie tourney, Googh and I had intentions of fishing, but the logistics of getting back to the weigh-in at the Maple Grove Gander Mtn were too much to bite off, so we fished it as spoilers for the rest of the muskie anglers out there. Right out of the gate we raised 2 fish, then proceeded to get spanked for the next 6 hours, nothing! About noon we wrapped it up and headed in. We picked up our respective families and made it picnic day instead. I was glad to get Jennifer in the boat, she does not spend enough time with me in that element and I like having her in the water with me, maybe she'll be better luck next time! I guess a 53" from Waconia won the event, I've been meaning to fish there but have yet to make it.
This week should be a hoot. Tomorrow I may do some exploring of the Apple River with Brad as he'll be down to pick up some clients on Wednesday. I've got Francis flying in tomorrow evening for 3-4 days of fishing. I intend to fish something different every outing, perhaps add Cady Creek to the mix for some brookie action. I'm hoping the weather cooperates with a little rain and cloud cover as well. I'll update midweek as I have a better idea where we'll be.
good luck, keep 'em wet.
BPM
Thursday I had the pleasure of hosting Joe Hackbarth, his son Tom and the senior member of the crew, Joe's father in-law Dan. We had a half day to try to figure out a program of muskies, maybe a walleye or bass and whatever we can find to tug. It was a glorious day out, light boat traffic and a nice reminder how great the Croix is on weekdays. Did I mention the glorious weather? The fishing was kinda slow, I know there were some walleyes to be had on a shoreline bite, but we conceded to try to catch another muskie for Tom. I love the mixed bag approach but it's a little challenging with only 1/2 day to work with. We did our best, had one good tug on a planer board & tail but that was it. I have a hard time pulling the plug on days like today, super great clients and nice weather make for enjoyable days, despite the slow angling.
Friday found me on the water again, this time with Jeff and Zach, couple more fellas in search of an enjoyable afternoon and couple of tugs. Jeff and Zach are business partners, Zach being in Chi-Town and Jeff here in Mpls. The goal of day is always fish, but we were on the post hangover 11-5 trip, so a couple more curve balls for finding muskies. Again, another perfect day and the cloud cover helped keep things a little cooler and even though I was wrong, I thought it would bring a good muskie. A couple minutes of practice with the gear and they were casting away. Jeff Raised a nice fish about 2pm or so but after not seeing much, we dragged a bit for eyes. The walleyes appear to either be in the summer holds or on the way. We marked alot of fish and got a couple off the break on the humps, maybe 25', the tops of the humps being 19' or so. I've seen fellas having action out there, either pulling cranks or dragging meat. We fished until 5 or so and pulled off some last minute heroics with a very nice 35" pike on the final trolling pass.
As always, I am humbled my the chance to show other folks the river and a good day of fishing, THANK YOU!!!!
Lets talk muskies for a while. The river muskies are starting to tick me off! I'm stuck at 3 for the season, 43 being the big fish so far. While we have been seeing fish, the hours have been adding up and I'm thinking more and more about a serious change in tactics. I've been reading up on open water muskies, and the St.Croix has plenty of open water, so that's going to be my focus, numbers be damned. I think that who ever is able to unlock the key of the open water bite is going to hold a special card in their deck. From all the data and articles I've been reading it seems that's where they are at most of the time, and with the increased pressure the river is seeing on the shallow weedy "community spots", this is becoming more and more evident. I don't believe for a second this is going to mean large numbers of fish, but I do think that it'll mean bigger fish, more frequently. So I'll take one for the team and keep on plugging away at this idea. more to come for sure.
Saturday was the metro muskie tourney, Googh and I had intentions of fishing, but the logistics of getting back to the weigh-in at the Maple Grove Gander Mtn were too much to bite off, so we fished it as spoilers for the rest of the muskie anglers out there. Right out of the gate we raised 2 fish, then proceeded to get spanked for the next 6 hours, nothing! About noon we wrapped it up and headed in. We picked up our respective families and made it picnic day instead. I was glad to get Jennifer in the boat, she does not spend enough time with me in that element and I like having her in the water with me, maybe she'll be better luck next time! I guess a 53" from Waconia won the event, I've been meaning to fish there but have yet to make it.
This week should be a hoot. Tomorrow I may do some exploring of the Apple River with Brad as he'll be down to pick up some clients on Wednesday. I've got Francis flying in tomorrow evening for 3-4 days of fishing. I intend to fish something different every outing, perhaps add Cady Creek to the mix for some brookie action. I'm hoping the weather cooperates with a little rain and cloud cover as well. I'll update midweek as I have a better idea where we'll be.
good luck, keep 'em wet.
BPM
Friday, May 29, 2009
As seen on TV!
It's been a busy couple weeks, muskie opened and the trout fishing has been slowly improving as well. More on that later this afternoon.
Most importantly, check out this clip from a show I did with KSTP Television on wednesday, on "Twin Cities Live". We shot some footage in River Falls at the Kinni Creek Lodge and highlighted fly fishing as a "get out of town" adventure. It went really well and makes me one step closer to my own show, maybe the "Big Pike Mike Angling Hour"? It was fun, hope you enjoy it!
http://twincitieslive.com/article/stories/S951723.shtml?cat=11449
BPM
Most importantly, check out this clip from a show I did with KSTP Television on wednesday, on "Twin Cities Live". We shot some footage in River Falls at the Kinni Creek Lodge and highlighted fly fishing as a "get out of town" adventure. It went really well and makes me one step closer to my own show, maybe the "Big Pike Mike Angling Hour"? It was fun, hope you enjoy it!
http://twincitieslive.com/article/stories/S951723.shtml?cat=11449
BPM
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
in no particular order
Here's what's been happening on my side of the rod....in no particular order.
The picture there is Greg Powell of Austin TX with a bonus 40" Sturgeon we got yesterday fishing for eyes'. Interesting day to say the least, what's with the 97 degrees anyway? The Texans loved it, no humidity! Good lord. Aside from the Sturgeon, we managed a couple small Walleyes and missed our share too. Wahoo jumped in the boat from 5-8, we had a couple beers and caught a nice 20" eye for his fryer. release to the grease.
Overall the fishing has been off and I really can't put a finger on it. Clearly we need precipitation but beyond that the systems just seem less fishy. Trout fishing for example, has been really slow for myself and my regular comrades. I can think of one good morning I had a week or so ago where I landed 5, one nice one and had steady action. Most outings have been a bit of a struggle. However, we did completely change our program last time out and Wahoo got a nice 17" on golden rocks, nymphing as opposed to the venerable streamer. Seems the trout decided to act like trout and not pike as previous years. fair enough, we can adapt.
Speaking of adapting. The 14th Annual Hamroom Walleye tournament took place this last Saturday. Dude Hale walked away with the event, 28+ pounds and maybe 8 over second place team of Farr and Johnson. Ingy and I donned the "Gitmo Fish" orange jumpsuits and proceeded to spend all day battling the 30+ mph winds and finished seventh or so. We only weighed 4 and had a 22" but no consistent good bite. Dude was fishing within sight of us for most of the day, we knew something had to be up but I'm not one to crowd a fella, wasn't anyway. I am now.
Guiding has been a little slow too, which I completely understand but still don't like. Aside from the ability to make a living, the client interaction really is what it's all about. I dig people and always look forward to making a new Friend. It'll pick up soon and already is a little as I've been booking some trips over the last few days.
Musky opens this weekend, I'm deep in the pits of a bathroom remodel and am struggling with time, fishing vs. work. arrgghhh. I guess either is "dropping by the jobsite" but I like completing projects and the benefits of doing so. I usually fish with Googh, er Todd Hess, a musky wizard in his own right. Last opener I think we each got a 40ish incher as I recall. it was cold however and the current heat wave could really start things off with a bang, no high water either...guess I'll go for a couple hours anyway.
I'll be out over the next few days and get some more intel rolling, bye for now.
The picture there is Greg Powell of Austin TX with a bonus 40" Sturgeon we got yesterday fishing for eyes'. Interesting day to say the least, what's with the 97 degrees anyway? The Texans loved it, no humidity! Good lord. Aside from the Sturgeon, we managed a couple small Walleyes and missed our share too. Wahoo jumped in the boat from 5-8, we had a couple beers and caught a nice 20" eye for his fryer. release to the grease.
Overall the fishing has been off and I really can't put a finger on it. Clearly we need precipitation but beyond that the systems just seem less fishy. Trout fishing for example, has been really slow for myself and my regular comrades. I can think of one good morning I had a week or so ago where I landed 5, one nice one and had steady action. Most outings have been a bit of a struggle. However, we did completely change our program last time out and Wahoo got a nice 17" on golden rocks, nymphing as opposed to the venerable streamer. Seems the trout decided to act like trout and not pike as previous years. fair enough, we can adapt.
Speaking of adapting. The 14th Annual Hamroom Walleye tournament took place this last Saturday. Dude Hale walked away with the event, 28+ pounds and maybe 8 over second place team of Farr and Johnson. Ingy and I donned the "Gitmo Fish" orange jumpsuits and proceeded to spend all day battling the 30+ mph winds and finished seventh or so. We only weighed 4 and had a 22" but no consistent good bite. Dude was fishing within sight of us for most of the day, we knew something had to be up but I'm not one to crowd a fella, wasn't anyway. I am now.
Guiding has been a little slow too, which I completely understand but still don't like. Aside from the ability to make a living, the client interaction really is what it's all about. I dig people and always look forward to making a new Friend. It'll pick up soon and already is a little as I've been booking some trips over the last few days.
Musky opens this weekend, I'm deep in the pits of a bathroom remodel and am struggling with time, fishing vs. work. arrgghhh. I guess either is "dropping by the jobsite" but I like completing projects and the benefits of doing so. I usually fish with Googh, er Todd Hess, a musky wizard in his own right. Last opener I think we each got a 40ish incher as I recall. it was cold however and the current heat wave could really start things off with a bang, no high water either...guess I'll go for a couple hours anyway.
I'll be out over the next few days and get some more intel rolling, bye for now.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
snakefarm
Hello Y'all! I've Been back in MN for a couple of weeks now, getting myself adjusted to the pace of big city life again. For 3 months, I did little or no driving, watched little or no TV and spent even less time on the PC. Folks ask about the great time I had, but it didn't really involve the beauty of Alaska as much as the company of the people I was with. So ya, I had a GREAT time with my buddy Curt, his wife Alyssa and the girls, Serena Rose and Maggie. We worked our ever loving asses off for about 85 of the 90 days I was in town. It's a great place, everyone should go.
More on AK later, lets talk some fishing eh?
LOUSY! Despite what looks like great conditions, water levels and such, the fishing has been off, at least on the waters I've been fishing. The St. Croix opened up saturday to the usual fanfare, 75 boats jockeying for position in the channel and lots of reports of 14.5" short eyes. We fished hard all day and only got one for the box. We being Fred (aka creek warrior) and I. Thinking I'd do better on monday with less traffic and anglers about, I went and put another full day in searching, same results, one for the box. The males were still spewing milt, so I'm guessing the spawn just got over and the big girls will be strapping on the feed bag just in time for the HAMROOM in 2 weeks or so.
The trout scene has also been a little slow. Wednesday night fishing club convened last night with Robbie and Whahoo on board. I was the only guy to manage a fish, scrappy little 13" brown and that was it. So far this year I've got 10 I think, with one at 20" or so. I've not been on the kinni or the Rush but intend to here this coming week, hopefully with some clients. The guiding is starting out a little slower than I like, but frankly I expected it a little with the economy the way it is right now. Hopefully when schools out, folks will feel more compelled to keep their fishing business local and fish the area, as opposed to hitting the road to Montana.
I've kept my 09' rates the same as 08' and added a "kids fish free" component in order to get some family involvement this summer, lets spread the word and lets get out fishing!
In the meanwhile, still doing bathrooms and kitchens and I'm off to look at a job right now. more later with some recent images and more info!
cheers,
BPM
More on AK later, lets talk some fishing eh?
LOUSY! Despite what looks like great conditions, water levels and such, the fishing has been off, at least on the waters I've been fishing. The St. Croix opened up saturday to the usual fanfare, 75 boats jockeying for position in the channel and lots of reports of 14.5" short eyes. We fished hard all day and only got one for the box. We being Fred (aka creek warrior) and I. Thinking I'd do better on monday with less traffic and anglers about, I went and put another full day in searching, same results, one for the box. The males were still spewing milt, so I'm guessing the spawn just got over and the big girls will be strapping on the feed bag just in time for the HAMROOM in 2 weeks or so.
The trout scene has also been a little slow. Wednesday night fishing club convened last night with Robbie and Whahoo on board. I was the only guy to manage a fish, scrappy little 13" brown and that was it. So far this year I've got 10 I think, with one at 20" or so. I've not been on the kinni or the Rush but intend to here this coming week, hopefully with some clients. The guiding is starting out a little slower than I like, but frankly I expected it a little with the economy the way it is right now. Hopefully when schools out, folks will feel more compelled to keep their fishing business local and fish the area, as opposed to hitting the road to Montana.
I've kept my 09' rates the same as 08' and added a "kids fish free" component in order to get some family involvement this summer, lets spread the word and lets get out fishing!
In the meanwhile, still doing bathrooms and kitchens and I'm off to look at a job right now. more later with some recent images and more info!
cheers,
BPM
Saturday, January 10, 2009
January 10th.....
The passing of 8am or so marks another year under my belt. Yep, 41 years old today I am. I can remember sitting back in my late teens early twenties wondering where or what I'd be doing when I was 40...From where I sit, things are going pretty swell and 41 feels good.
A few weeks ago, just before Christmas I asked for Jennifer's hand in marriage and lucky for me she said yes! We are stoked to create a sweet life together, we've got some plans and both believe with hard work and some luck we'll be taken care of.
To celebrate the aforementioned accomplishments we are having a good old fashioned throw down tonight. Fish Taco's, corn chowder, keg o' summit and about 30 of our close friends and family should be coming by. Not to mention the fact that in a weeks time I'll be in Cordova AK for the remainder of the winter. I'm starting to get really excited about this trip, it's going to be a long time away no doubt, but we'll have some adventures and I'm really looking forward to working aboard Curt's boat. We've been talking some and it may turn into an annual event depending on how I do as a crew member. I'm guessing I'll do just fine.
I'll be posting from Alaska over the next couple of months,, maybe even a report on winter King fishing or at the very least some amazing images from one of the truly beautiful places on earth.
A few weeks ago, just before Christmas I asked for Jennifer's hand in marriage and lucky for me she said yes! We are stoked to create a sweet life together, we've got some plans and both believe with hard work and some luck we'll be taken care of.
To celebrate the aforementioned accomplishments we are having a good old fashioned throw down tonight. Fish Taco's, corn chowder, keg o' summit and about 30 of our close friends and family should be coming by. Not to mention the fact that in a weeks time I'll be in Cordova AK for the remainder of the winter. I'm starting to get really excited about this trip, it's going to be a long time away no doubt, but we'll have some adventures and I'm really looking forward to working aboard Curt's boat. We've been talking some and it may turn into an annual event depending on how I do as a crew member. I'm guessing I'll do just fine.
I'll be posting from Alaska over the next couple of months,, maybe even a report on winter King fishing or at the very least some amazing images from one of the truly beautiful places on earth.
Monday, December 8, 2008
bloody icehole
Note to self, leave cell phone in truck when ice fishing. Yep, I dropped my phone down my ice hole yesterday, watched it most of the way to it's new home in 14' of willow river water. I was pissed of course, but I had to laugh after a while knowing it would give everyone else a good chuckle. I'll just add this to the list of items lost including keys, hats, many many sunglasses, fly boxes, tools and who knows what else. On the other hand, it was a pretty good year for catching who knows what. I seem to recall a tea-pot, muscle shirt (perforated 80's style), women's panties, numerous dock lines and a Ken doll, which I never actually got in the boat (he was tough!) but saw bobbing away, head up, steadfast...forgot my damn camera too, I laughed hysterically.
So I've finally got some pike on the brine. The pickling season has begun and the aroma of spices and vinegar will soon be permeating the house. The pike fishing was decent over the weekend, I think all told I got 8 flags, landed 3 and lost another at the hole. Saturday was brutal, 30mph winds and 10 degrees. My ice buster tip-ups were getting ice over and I missed a couple fish as a result, no flag action. The panfish bite is pretty good and the size seemed to be up a little as well. Fred joined me last night and iced some nice gills and a couple crappies, all of which are being pickled as well. I need a couple more nice pike to satisfy my obligations for Christmas gifts and such.
more to come.
So I've finally got some pike on the brine. The pickling season has begun and the aroma of spices and vinegar will soon be permeating the house. The pike fishing was decent over the weekend, I think all told I got 8 flags, landed 3 and lost another at the hole. Saturday was brutal, 30mph winds and 10 degrees. My ice buster tip-ups were getting ice over and I missed a couple fish as a result, no flag action. The panfish bite is pretty good and the size seemed to be up a little as well. Fred joined me last night and iced some nice gills and a couple crappies, all of which are being pickled as well. I need a couple more nice pike to satisfy my obligations for Christmas gifts and such.
more to come.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
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!
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!
Friday, July 4, 2008
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
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
Friday, June 20, 2008
the week that was....
Wow, it's been a helluva week of angling, this boy has been all over the board...Lets re-cap it shall we?
Thursday 6-12: Fished the mighty Kinni with Leo and Janet from Rockford Ill. We met them in Chicago at the Fly Show and they came up for a long weekend to explore our area. Sadly, the water was still high and in fact, rose about 4" in the 5 or so hours we fished. Needless to say the fishing was tough although Janet managed a nice little brown nymphing out of the current areas. Sometimes the timing is just tough and with all the rain we've had we're pretty lucky compared to some folks.
Friday 6-13: More high water, this time with a group on the Croix. My boat was the smallie rig and good thing because the smallies are biting well on the croix. We fished south of Afton mostly, pitching tubes and spinner baits into the trees and dock areas. We did find numbers but no slobs, save for Steve's 16" on a pepper tube. Thanks for a fun day guys, hope you had a nice outing!
Saturday & Sunday: DOS RIOS! Friday I left immediately for Dos Rios WI for the first salmon trip of the year. Got in late, slept a couple hours and was ready for the first light bite...which never came. Here was the deal, the twin rivers had dumped an enormous amount of mud and sediment in the lake, in the early a.m. we had no clue as to the depth of breadth of the mudline and this turned out to be the key for the weekend. Once the sun came up and we found the edge, we lit them up! The mud from the rivers, including the Manitowak was out to 125 to 175fow, maybe 4-6 miles off shore. We found a really solid edge of blue water vs. mud and worked the edge hard and started picking up fish almost immediately. Spoons on stealth leadcore rigs and clean lines were the keys as usual and saturdays box was the biggest at the cleaning station. So much so that the local charter guys cornered Ben for the details on what we were doing out there. Our trolling program is tough for them to match for a number of reasons, namely speed and style of gear. it's tough for the charters to run stealth gear, IE: put it down efficiently and keep it at the right speed. Our ability to change quick, check speed and move quietly is what keeps us on the top of the heap at the end of the day. Needless to say saturday we were off the water @ 10:30 with 8 in the box (5 four year old kings and some nice steelies inc a 32"). Overall we went 17 for 25, released a bunch of 2-5lb lakers and a couple smaller silver-fish too. Ben's got himself a new fillet knife, looks like some damn Ninja tool, he cuts, I pack....After a nap and re-grouping we gave the afternoon a shot, but storms in the area picked up the wind from the SE and that's bad in Dos Rios, we got blown off the water and had to settle for the sunday morning troll instead.
Sunday morning we found the same program, but the ever changing mudline challenged us just a bit more and we had to work till 1 or so to fill our box. Not as many big kings on sunday, but lots of nice fish and fewer lakers, although we did kill one for the smoker.
As fun as this is, the drive over and back, plus the bodily wear and tear means I am stunned for a couple days afterwards (sorry Jennifer!) It's tough fishing but soooo worth it!
Monday 6-16: Today was my favorite kind of trip on the Croix, the mixed bag day! Fished with Max and Taylor Kearns of the St Croix Valley. We started out focusing on smallies to get on the board, feel some tugs and get a feel for the high water, which had gone up 2' over the weekend! We found smallies in the usual places, tight to shore, rocks and sand etc. having had our fill of smallies and a sweet lunch break at Afton State Park, we decided to fill the remainder of the day with Muskies and Walleyes. Headed up to Afton to cast for a bit, neither fella had boated a musky so despite the mid-afternoon timing we donned bucktails and topraiders and gave it a go. From his "Bill Dance" seated position up front, Max almost instantly had a follow on the TR and the fish was hot, so we stayed in the area and hunted for a couple more. Mind you. 1:30 in the afternoon here....Well 15 minutes or so and 25 casts later Max hooked up at boat side on the same TR. The fish exploded out of nowhere and grabbed the bait, Max put the Almighty wood to him and it was game on. He was able to keep the beast close at hand and it was in the net in less than 15 seconds. Not the epic lengthy battle but rather the boat side meltdown and chaos of a musky on a short line. Good Work! High fives all around! Remember, this was from a seated position, I'll have to try that...stealth.. So we got our muskie, then decided to roll for some walleyes out in the main lake. Dealing with a 15mph north wind, we set up on the humps and did manage to get a couple but kept none for the box, just a nice way to round out the day. 5 species, mixed bag and a heckuva good day!
As if that's not enough!
In doing some recon for tonight's trip, I went to the Kinni last night with Ingy. It was his first time with a fly rod in a couple summers but he did just fine. We hiked a long way down, which is the norm for me, escape the hoards....Despite the sporadic bug activity which included Stoneflies of all things, fishing was pretty tough. I mostly fished a caddis just as a searching pattern, pitching to cover and small slots. got a number of grabs but I'll be damned if I didn't got skunked. Tough one for the Guide to admit but it happens. However I learned enough to be fully ready for tonight's action, busting out the big stimulator's to get their attention, especially as dark rolls around. I'll have a report later this evening, including pics from the previous weeks action!
Jennifer and I are going to kayak the kinni tomorrow and have a nice camp out in El Paso, very much looking forward to an evening away with my lady!
more to come, stay tuned!
Thursday 6-12: Fished the mighty Kinni with Leo and Janet from Rockford Ill. We met them in Chicago at the Fly Show and they came up for a long weekend to explore our area. Sadly, the water was still high and in fact, rose about 4" in the 5 or so hours we fished. Needless to say the fishing was tough although Janet managed a nice little brown nymphing out of the current areas. Sometimes the timing is just tough and with all the rain we've had we're pretty lucky compared to some folks.
Friday 6-13: More high water, this time with a group on the Croix. My boat was the smallie rig and good thing because the smallies are biting well on the croix. We fished south of Afton mostly, pitching tubes and spinner baits into the trees and dock areas. We did find numbers but no slobs, save for Steve's 16" on a pepper tube. Thanks for a fun day guys, hope you had a nice outing!
Saturday & Sunday: DOS RIOS! Friday I left immediately for Dos Rios WI for the first salmon trip of the year. Got in late, slept a couple hours and was ready for the first light bite...which never came. Here was the deal, the twin rivers had dumped an enormous amount of mud and sediment in the lake, in the early a.m. we had no clue as to the depth of breadth of the mudline and this turned out to be the key for the weekend. Once the sun came up and we found the edge, we lit them up! The mud from the rivers, including the Manitowak was out to 125 to 175fow, maybe 4-6 miles off shore. We found a really solid edge of blue water vs. mud and worked the edge hard and started picking up fish almost immediately. Spoons on stealth leadcore rigs and clean lines were the keys as usual and saturdays box was the biggest at the cleaning station. So much so that the local charter guys cornered Ben for the details on what we were doing out there. Our trolling program is tough for them to match for a number of reasons, namely speed and style of gear. it's tough for the charters to run stealth gear, IE: put it down efficiently and keep it at the right speed. Our ability to change quick, check speed and move quietly is what keeps us on the top of the heap at the end of the day. Needless to say saturday we were off the water @ 10:30 with 8 in the box (5 four year old kings and some nice steelies inc a 32"). Overall we went 17 for 25, released a bunch of 2-5lb lakers and a couple smaller silver-fish too. Ben's got himself a new fillet knife, looks like some damn Ninja tool, he cuts, I pack....After a nap and re-grouping we gave the afternoon a shot, but storms in the area picked up the wind from the SE and that's bad in Dos Rios, we got blown off the water and had to settle for the sunday morning troll instead.
Sunday morning we found the same program, but the ever changing mudline challenged us just a bit more and we had to work till 1 or so to fill our box. Not as many big kings on sunday, but lots of nice fish and fewer lakers, although we did kill one for the smoker.
As fun as this is, the drive over and back, plus the bodily wear and tear means I am stunned for a couple days afterwards (sorry Jennifer!) It's tough fishing but soooo worth it!
Monday 6-16: Today was my favorite kind of trip on the Croix, the mixed bag day! Fished with Max and Taylor Kearns of the St Croix Valley. We started out focusing on smallies to get on the board, feel some tugs and get a feel for the high water, which had gone up 2' over the weekend! We found smallies in the usual places, tight to shore, rocks and sand etc. having had our fill of smallies and a sweet lunch break at Afton State Park, we decided to fill the remainder of the day with Muskies and Walleyes. Headed up to Afton to cast for a bit, neither fella had boated a musky so despite the mid-afternoon timing we donned bucktails and topraiders and gave it a go. From his "Bill Dance" seated position up front, Max almost instantly had a follow on the TR and the fish was hot, so we stayed in the area and hunted for a couple more. Mind you. 1:30 in the afternoon here....Well 15 minutes or so and 25 casts later Max hooked up at boat side on the same TR. The fish exploded out of nowhere and grabbed the bait, Max put the Almighty wood to him and it was game on. He was able to keep the beast close at hand and it was in the net in less than 15 seconds. Not the epic lengthy battle but rather the boat side meltdown and chaos of a musky on a short line. Good Work! High fives all around! Remember, this was from a seated position, I'll have to try that...stealth.. So we got our muskie, then decided to roll for some walleyes out in the main lake. Dealing with a 15mph north wind, we set up on the humps and did manage to get a couple but kept none for the box, just a nice way to round out the day. 5 species, mixed bag and a heckuva good day!
As if that's not enough!
In doing some recon for tonight's trip, I went to the Kinni last night with Ingy. It was his first time with a fly rod in a couple summers but he did just fine. We hiked a long way down, which is the norm for me, escape the hoards....Despite the sporadic bug activity which included Stoneflies of all things, fishing was pretty tough. I mostly fished a caddis just as a searching pattern, pitching to cover and small slots. got a number of grabs but I'll be damned if I didn't got skunked. Tough one for the Guide to admit but it happens. However I learned enough to be fully ready for tonight's action, busting out the big stimulator's to get their attention, especially as dark rolls around. I'll have a report later this evening, including pics from the previous weeks action!
Jennifer and I are going to kayak the kinni tomorrow and have a nice camp out in El Paso, very much looking forward to an evening away with my lady!
more to come, stay tuned!
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