Young Guns

On Saturday morning I met up with a couple of fellas that I met on the internet through the website DriftlessTroutAnglers.com.  They go by the names NBrevitz and RippinLips87 but in real life I just call them Nick and Drew.  The beauty of the internet is that you don't always have to use the name your parents gave you and you can call yourself anything you want.  While these guys aren't the first fellow anglers I have met in real life from DTA they are definitely a couple of the coolest.

I instructed the guys to meet me at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Hudson at 8am.  From there we would travel eastward to explore the unknown and expand out repertoire of streams.

Much of our day was spent driving around checking out new spots.  Sometimes we fished and other times we just looked.  Recent rains have sent many Western Wisconsin rivers over their banks while others were in great shape for extracting Brook Trout.

 NBrevitz's copy of "Trout Streams of Wisconsin and Minnesota:  An Angler's Guide to More Than 120 Rivers and Streams" sits on the dash board.  It is well worn as he claims to have read it numerous times.

 If you are going to go exploring it is good to have a "DELORME Wisconsin Atlas and Gazetteer".  Cell phone coverage can be spotty in certain parts of Wisconsin and you will not always be able to rely on your smart phone for navigation.

 At one bridge crossing that we came to Nick and Drew fished downstream and I walked upstream.  The stream bottom was mucky and travel was tough.  I saw a small waterfall in the distance and it inspired me to trudge onward.

 While this spot looked very fishy the water in this section of river was still quite stained and I failed to catch a fish in this spot.  I have made a mental note of this location and will come back here soon to exact my revenge.

 Many trout fisherman complain about beaver dams because they cause the rivers water to warm during the summer months and can inhibit fish migration.  This beaver dam created a beautiful pool that was chock full with hungry brook trout.  I say, "Nice Beaver".

 RippinLips87(Drew) examines the water before attempting to fish it.  A relative newcomer to trout fishing this guy has a passion for learning the sport.  I fully expect that he will be teaching me things about trout fishing before the summer is over.

 This is the pool that the beaver dam helped create.

 Here is my first fish of the day.  What a beauty.

 We were getting ready to go to another spot.  I forgot to tell the guys to smile.

 Those who have fished this stretch will easily recognize the location.  Others could spend years exploring the streams, creeks and rivers of Western Wisconsin and never find this spot.

 This was a nice place.

 Drew was practicing fishing the Streamer.

 Fish new spots but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.  This rule also applies to friends.