Here Comes The Rain Again!! To the Stream!!

Date: May 13th 2011     Temp: 60's Sprinkles/Cloudy     Time: 3:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Pose for my new header pic and say nymph.

After dealing with two straight days of 80-90 degree weather, let's just say when I saw raindrops on the window pane, I boogied off to the stream.  Camelbak check, pole/flies check, camera and keys check.  Throw on my wind jacket/rain coat,waders and I'm out.  I decided to go somewhere close by just in case a wicked storm rolled in.  Ever since I was forced to leave a stream earlier this week due to the reek of skunk and manure, I have had this spot on my mind.  So I decided that was the place I would go fish.  I arrived to sweet smell of the rain hitting the hot black top road.  The clouds were in the sky and the sprinkles were on and off.  My favorite kind of day to fish for some trout.  The water was nice and clear with just a hint of cloudiness to it.  I was forced to use the flies in my box that I usually go to when I am low on my favorites.   Whatever, I was just glad the air smelt so damn good.  Off into the woods where the limestone bluffs create beautiful holding spots for the finicky trout. 

Can you guess where they are??????

The grass is getting greener and the birds are out in full affect.  Some of them I came across were so colorful that I was actually having a hard time keeping my eye on the fly.  I missed a ton of fish because of these beautiful little creatures.

I believe this is an American Redstart (Warbler)

Another warbler.  Yellow Warbler.  Saw a little trout jump out right behind it.

I decided to fish downstream since it was darker and used different trees and shrubs to hide behind.  I missed quite a few fish due to my slow reaction time and the fishes method of feeding.   Flash after flash of gold and silver and here are a few that I was able to get hooked on.

 

I was just amazed at how beautiful it was outside.  Everything just seemed so alive.  As if the stream was speaking to me all day.  " Keep fishing, enjoy the sights and sound of the entrancing water flow."  So I obliged and continued hiking.   Stopped and just closed my eyes.  The rain was hitting my face and it felt great on my sunburn from the fishing trip before.  Nature at its finest.  Here are a few pics of some of the things I saw that caught my attention.  Hope you enjoy.

I ended up with some fish caught, some great relaxation and some beautiful sights.  Not to bad for a  FRIDAY the 13th.  Usually I stay home on Friday the 13th days but I am glad I decided to get off my duff and enjoy this wonderful rainy weather.  Maybe my bad luck part of the day was the fact that I used up almost every last fly in my box.  I better get to tying for the next adventures in The Catching Chronicles...by Trout MaGee.  Thanks to all my followers and I appreciate all your comments.

Until Next Time....Tight Lines to all...!!  

" The MOREL of the Story" - Watch Out for Ticks!

Date: May 11th     Temp:  90 degrees    Time:  3:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

This is a quick post about my morel hunting/fishing trip I took with my younger brother on Wednesday.  We decided to head south a little in search of the delicious mushroom the MOREL.  The forecast today was calling for high 80's with chance of some showers.  Once we got to the area we were going to hunt for the morels we realized the ground was quite dry.  We hiked through the woods for a good 2 hours finding only under a pound of the mushroom.  By this time we were boiling hot and both looked at each other and had the same thing in mind.  Thank god we brought all our fishing gear!  So off we went with our mushroom hunting tails between our legs.  Off to a place where we could get in to some nice ice cold stream water. 

Younger Brother Jonah w/ Iowa rainbow.

  

When we got there  not  a soul in sight.  Probably because it was boiling hot out and mid day afternoon.  Didn't see much activity but we were going to try and change that.  I decided to leave my camera in the car because of the heat and I didn't feel like having the neck strap rub my neck raw.  Luckily my little bro had a nice camera phone and was able to capture a few shots of the many fish caught on this fine scorcher of a day. 

Caught this "Drifter" fishing down and across the rapids. A little bigger than my usual "Drifters"

One of the nice browns caught by Jonah.

We fished for about 4 hours total and had to end it a little earlier than we wanted.  As we were leaving you could see fish feeding at every hole.  We left happy knowing that we caught about 40 fish together during the hottest part of the day.  I can't imagine how many more would have been caught had we fished for 2-3 more hours.  Oh well I guess we will have to save them for another day.  We headed back to pick up our awesome kids and he headed back to Madison and I headed back to my home.  When I got home I cooked up a surprise for my wifee and we enjoyed every last one of them.  

Slice em, then soak them in salt water.

Get some butter going in a skillet.

While butter heats bread Morels in some flour mix.

Throw them in the butter and let them brown on both sides.

Sorry but I was unable to get a picture of the finished product.  As soon as they were done cooking they were gone just as quick as they came.  They were delicious and worth boiling to death for.  After we were done and lounging around I felt something on my upper leg.  OOh no its a deer tick imbedded in my skin.  Crap.  We pulled it out and hoped that it was only in me for  a little while.  These are the type of ticks that can lead to Lyme's Disease.  That my friends is the last thing I need right now.  I will be keeping an eye on the spot where I was bit and cross my fingers that no rash appears and that I got it out in time.  

Well that's my day of hunting the elusive Morel mushroom and hanging out with my bro and some trout.  The Morel of the story is always look out for ticks and never leave home without your fly rod!!!

Tight Lines to all.........!

Southwest Wisconsin Driftless Opening Weekend - Getting Skunky!

Date: May 7th     Temp: 60-70     Time:  5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Well this weekend was opening day for fishing in Wisconsin.  This is great news for me because this means it will be a while before trout streams shut down.  Of course to some people this means all out open season on keeping and eating trout.  I am not against keeping fish to eat but I don't like seeing coolers full of trout leaving the stream.  I prefer to eat a small one here and there during the summer, but release about 99% of the fish I catch.  So when the sun came up on Saturday let's just say I didn't run out to the trout stream.  I waited until I figured most people had called it for the day or before most of them came out for the evening bite.  On my way out I checked my favorite spot.  Apparently not just my favorite spot because there were two vehicles at the bridge.  No surprise so off I went to a spot up the road.  NO CARS.

  That was a good sign.  So I decided to get out and check upstream of the bridge.  I pulled out all my gear and set up and preceded to tie on my flies. 

Fly of the Day.  Caught every single fish on this fly.  My Castle Rock Killer.

Than with a gust of warm air booom right up my nose the super strong scent of a skunk.  Uh oh not a good sign.  I looked around a little to discover the source of the smell but no luck.  Well whatever the smell would be gone once I got on the water.  Then the wind changed direction and let's just say it didn't smell like skunk anymore.  Now it was a super strong smell of freshly spread cow manure.  Now growing up in Wisconsin you tend to become used to this smell.  But this wasn't the usual fresh batch that you smell, this was dank potent reek.  It was enough to gag a maggot.  Oh man all I could hope is that once I got back into the trees the smell would subside.  So I set off.  The smells still there.  I had to keep going because I love the scenery of this spot and wanted to at least get some good pics.  I walked back a ways and came across these flowers.

I kept heading upstream and seemed to be more interested in taking pics then I did in getting my fly into the water.  As I was walking I came across this set of prints which made me want to focus on the picture taking even more.  

A little to fresh for my taste.

The smell of both the skunk and manure was still wafting around in the air.  It was actually making it hard to breath.  Thanks to my god given big nose I am able to smell a little to well sometimes.  I was starting to question whether or not I would even be able to concentrate on setting hooks while I fought off tossing my cookies.  I decided to take a few more pics and see how things went.

My goal was to at least fish this one hole at the top of this pic.

 

 

This tree was at the top of the limestone bluff.

     

After a couple more minutes I decided that enough was enough and I was going to enjoy the rest of my day somewhere on a part of the stream where I could breathe through my nose if I wanted to.  I made a B- line for Subaru along the corn field and was not surprised when I stumbled upon our mysterious foul smelling friend.  

PPPPEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!

I quickly got into my ride and took off a part of the stream which is quite small and people tend to pass it up due to the fact it spooks easily.  I arrived and there wasn't a car in sight.  Maybe they were already here and gone but I decided it was way to nice and I would try my luck. 

The grass was looking greener on this side of the fence:)

I set out and fished the first hole.  Caught a brown but lost it before bringing it to hand.  Tossed back in and seen a flash and my line headed the other way.  This time I was able to get it to pose for a pic.  A nice little brookie from this part of the stream where I have only caught browns before.  Made me happy.

Looked like a feisty little fella!

The ever infamous creek chub.  "TWEETER"  Some people hate them, I  see a healthy stream.

Different trip, just had to add this pig chub for all to see.

 Here were some more browns caught today.

Caught this one drifting in and around a bend.

This creek always amazes me all the nice healthy browns it has and their willingness to pose for pics with my hand.

As usual it was starting to get late.

This guy stole the fly from the next fish below.  The fish below leaped straight out of the water but this fish took it before he could.  Confusing enough?

Couldn't get it to go for the fly again casting normally and stripping line, so I went above the hole and drifted down for it.  Bickity Bang, it fell for it.  And it didn't look to happy about it.

Well there you have it opening day and I managed to avoid the traffic and still fish some untouched water.  I hope everyone else had a great opening day.  I also hope that a lot of the big ones were released to see another day.  I am sure a lot of fish were kept today and people are frying them up right now.  To each there own.  All I hope is that people take a second to think about which fish they keep and practice selective harvesting.  Just because you can keep so many fish legally this doesn't mean you have to keep everyone you catch. 

Until Next Time Tight Lines to all.....!            ______________________
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Who Got You Hooked On Fishing?

This is my National Fishing and Boating Week contest entry sponsored by Take Me Fishing and the Outdoor Blogger Network.  


When I first saw this contest I couldn't believe my eyes.  Write a post about something I love so much and win a chance at some kick butt stuff to go along with some great Blog exposure.  Can't beat that with a stick!

For this NATIONAL FISHING & BOATING WEEK I plan on doing two things.  Camping and Fishing.  Most importantly fishing with my family.  I will be making sure that I get the kids out on the water as much as possible.  To me there is nothing more important than getting the family out in nature and enjoying all the beautiful resources of water right at our doorstep.  Whether that be hiking along a trout stream or drifting along in a canoe while we search for Bass and Blue Gill.  Any which way it sounds like a great time to me.  

Casting Like a Pro and loving every minute of it!!

Nothing funner for a kid than catching some nice Blue Gills from a canoe.  Cheap too.

 It is of utmost importance to me to pass on my knowledge and love for fishing to my children.  I remember the first person to ever take me fishing was my Great Uncle Larry.  I will never forget it.  Riding down in the back of his pickup to the local backwaters.  Hooking on a worm and catching some pan fish.  Two other people that stand out in my memory as far as getting me "HOOKED" on fishing are my Uncle Gary and my Grandpa Dew.  I remember waking up at 5:00 a.m. in the morning and wondering why in Gods name are we getting up so early.....All was forgotten as soon as we stopped for doughnuts and chocolate milk... Then onward to the Lake where the only thing I cared about was how many worms I had left.  Kids may complain about getting up in the dark, but I guarantee they will never forget it.  Down the road, each day that passes, the memory becomes more appreciated and longed for.  The sound of the Birds and the water and the splashes of fish are stuck inside their minds forever.  Although my dad loved nature as much as the next guy, I'm not sure if I remember him fishing too much, well I just remembered the time he pulled out a monster Pike up in some far off make believe like place on a lake in Minnesota.  I'm serious it was huge.    I am super grateful that these fine gentlemen took the time to take me out and show me what life is really about.  Enjoying nature at its finest and bonding with some one over something that can be enjoyed by pretty much any one.  Being able to forget about everything going on in this crazy world and to be able to just slow time down by drifting a fly or sinking a worm.  One of the most important values of fishing is the fact that it allows our youth to have something positive in their lives, no drugs,alcohol,violence, gangs all of these evil things lurking behind every corner.  Filling up their free time with important things.  Things that only help and do not harm anyone.  I am proud to be a fisherman and hope that my children, and my children's children continue to keep this tradition alive.  There is nothing better for a kid then some quality time spent on the river, stream, pond or lake with someone they love and admire.  Get them kids out there fishing and get anyone out there fishing that may need the push in the right direction.

This to me is what you call a perfect day of fishing!!

This is my beautiful wife Bird.  One of my favorite companions out on the water!! Skills to pay the Bills!

To me making memories that will last for a lifetime, PRICELESS!!

 Another great thing about fishing is the fact that it helps your children build confidence and gives you an easy way to give them some positive encouragement.  Helping them also understand that they can help preserver these wonderful resources by properly practicing catch n release and also proper harvesting.  Picking up trash and making sure these precious places stay the way they are for generations to come.  All of these are valuable lessons simply learned by putting a pole in a persons hand.

One of the most important lessons, how to get a snag out.  Pull tight, pull really tight, let er snap and pop goes the weasel!  Works every time!

I love how interested they are in the fish and getting it released properly.

Don't forget to have fun along the way!

Here is some one I got hooked on fishing.  Swallowed it hook line and sinker!

OK I will admit it,  I also don't mind catching and releasing a few fish myself.

 So I guess all I can say is go out and get someone hooked today.  They will thank you for the rest of their lives and will never forget it.  It is cheap to do and can change someones life forever.  That is what I plan on doing now and until the day I die.  

Until Next time       Tight Lines to all......     ______________________
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http://www.takemefishing.org/community/events-and-attractions/national-celebrations/national-fishing-and-boating-week