A month and change

Are you hungry now?  I can tell because I'm pretty sure sure it's been a little while since you last feasted on my literary delights.  I've been pretty busy finishing up spring semester, starting up with summer session, sleeping and I have even been able to make it out fishing a few times here and there.


April 8th 2016: The Deal

Phil had been wanting me to take him out trout fishing for a while.  I finally told him that I would take him to one of my favorite streams if he would teach me how to talk to girls.

Phil has a lot of experience catching Brook and Rainbow Trout in the lakes of Northern Minnesota and has even had some success with the trout of the Driftless Region.  I felt as though I could teach him a few things that would help him have even more success with the trout of the Driftless.

Besides looking at my own blog for hours every day one of the other sites I go to for up to date information on Western Wisconsin trout streams is ontheriseoutdoors.com.  Aaron and Aric Avestruz consistently have the trout of Western Wisconsin dialed in.  I noticed that they had been having a lot of success with certain patterns recently so I placed an order for some of their custom flies.

The Euro Pheasant Tail has been our most productive fly this spring. The tungsten bead quickly gets it down to the fish. Tied in size 16. $2.00 each.

 The Zebra Midge is our favorite dropper behind a bigger nymph. This black and silver version is our favorite, but olive and gold is very productive as well. Tied in size 16, 18, and 20. $1.75 each

I ordered ten of each.  Armed with these I was well prepared to give Phil a first class lesson in the dark art of nymphing.

Upon arrival to the stream I gave Phil grief about wearing a red hat while fishing for trout and was impressed with the resourcefulness he showed using his life jacket as a fly fishing vest.  Phil gave me grief for taking too many photos.  I think he called me a reporter or something.

 After trying to nymph a few runs without success I could see Phil was losing interest in the nymph game so I set him up with a Woolly Bugger.

 And success was had.

 What a decent looking trout.

 Off like a flash!

 I even caught a few.

 But Phil was putting on a clinic.

 What a fighter.

 Phil sure showed that trout who was boss.

April 24st 2016: Exploring New Water

As much as I enjoy returning to the honey holes of the past to make my withdrawals there is just something awesome about exploring new stretches of rivers.  I like to think of it as going for a walk with a chance of catching fish.

This place was really cool.

 There was a family of elves at the end of this path.

 As surprise Rainbow on the Yellow Dungeon.

 The canyon.

 The rushing water.

 Flowing over the rocks.

 A beautiful pool.

 Spring flowers.

 These kids reminded me of myself when I was young except they had friends.

I catch a lot of fish on the Olive Rubber Legged Woolly Buggers that I tie.

April 24th 2016: The Double Bunny Experience

It seemed like some of my friends were having some success with streamers that used bunny strips so one night I sat down and tied a bunch of Double Bunnies.  It got to the point where I had to decide between sleeping or filling my streamer wallet up with even more Double Bunnies.  I decided that I should get some sleep before heading out for a day of fishing.

 New water is a mystery.  It fills up my senses like a night in the forest.

 Thank you John Denver.

The battle this trout fighted

I was delighted

The bunny

was money

 I found some old minnow trap that was filled with huge crayfish.  I released them and threw the trap up on the bank.

 I must have stumbled upon about ten goose nests this spring.  I figured out that I can fit four goose eggs in my creel.  They taste a lot like chicken eggs.

 I love little islands.

 Islands in the stream.  That is what you are.

Somebody even went and made a song about them.

Yellow and white worked too.

April 26th 2016: New Water-New Methods

My thirst to explore would continue and wouldn't be limited to new water alone.  I'm always looking to add new methods to my repertoire.

It seemed like my friend Rick had been having pretty good luck catching fish using weighted fly line and Galloup's Heifer Groomer pattern.  I decided that I was going to have to try that myself sometime.

I decided to start out with the bugger and floating line.  Sometimes it's just nice to catch a few doing it the way you are good at.  This Rainbow had a messed up eyeball.

 I came to a spot where the current slams strait on into this mess of logs.  Casting towards the top of the run I drifted and then swung my bugger in front of the logs.  I saw a fish swipe at it then miss.  I don't think he saw me though.  Three cast later and he was on.

Boom shaka laka.

 You liked the Bugger didn't you?

 What a dandy.

This forest is haunted so I stayed in the water even though there was this temptress ghost that kept singing to me and trying to get me to step into the trees.

On the second stretch of the even I switched over to the weighted line and Heifer Groomer pattern.  It was pretty quiet for the first 30 minutes until I pulled this guy out some some pretty fast water.

 What a pretty boy.

 I was so happy.

 Cool logs.

 Another Brown down.

This was a pretty place.

 By the end of summer I should have a set of these chairs.

May 2nd:  Stretches of Imagination

I just love fly fishing so much.  It's great exercise in beautiful surroundings.

This log had it's own ecosystem going on.

 Purple flowers.

 Another river scene.

 The tree of wisdom and power.

 So many branches.

 More trees.  It's a different view before the leaves are out in full force.  I am really starting to appreciate the views of springtime.

 The Woolly Bugger saves the day.  This was my only fish of the day.

 Later on I met up with Toby.  The things this guy can do with a four weight.

Beat those banks Toby

Catch those tanks Toby

May 4th:  Catching up with Aaron

Aaron from On The Rise Outdoors was nice to let me tag along with him on the evening of May 4th.  He's only been fly fishing for a few years but this guy is quickly becoming one of the masters of the sport.  He started off the night with a chunky Brown.

What a popinjay.

Casting loops like a champ.  I watched Aaron nymph out fish after fish,

 I managed one on the Conehead Muddler.  I just love catching trout on streamers.  In retrospect I probably would have done a lot better this night had I nymphed.

 A nice sucker to round things out.

Lost Canyon: 

Brevitz gave me directions to a spot but I didn't really understand him so I ended up in Lost Canyon.  One way in and one way out.

The sun was going down.  I was running out of time.

 Magnificent cliffs.

 Rushing water.

 Vines hanging down.

 A pretty flowering tree.  A sign of hope.

 Looking back as the water careens into the canyon.

 A gentler place.  I did have a fish chase my streamer here.  I will be back to investigate further.

Little Trophy: 

I spent an hour fishing a little place one day that is often overlooked.  I managed a 17 incher on the 4 weight.  Not bad for a whim.

It actually gets to be almost 4 feet deep at this cut.  A good place to hide if you are a trout.  A good place to cast if you are a fly fishing renegade.

Catch enough trout and eventually you learn to get a net shot before you attempt anything fancy.

He was full of energy and a selfy wasn't in the cards.  I settled for a handy.

Sunrise Sessions:

If there is one dude that knows the value of getting out at the break of dawn it's Toby.  We met up a few times to see if we could raise some giants.

I love being on the water as the sun rises.  What a way to start the day.

 Toby dissects the water.

 There was something hatching.

 I throw in blue once in a while and it seems like a good color.

 But I always go back to the Olive Bugger.

 I was so happy.

Pike on the Butt Monkey.

 Toby was chipper on this morning.

 Rainbow on the Butt Monkey.

Conclusion:
It was a pretty good month.