Ice Report 12-21-2013

Hit the ice early with Mom yesterday. A midst the frozen fog we ventured onto a lake in Dane county. Temps were in the low 20's, winds were from the NE, the barometer was dropping and Ice was 8". 

Gills were slow but steady all day long. Moving the bait would bring in schools of fish but figuring out when they actually would strike the bait was a challenge. Some fish struck on the drop, others on the lift. Some liked a pause, and others wanted the bait to be dead still. The whole day was a game of cat and mouse. Hole hopping was necessary, finding the schools, getting them interested, and figuring out how they liked to eat was the drill. Electronics helped with the curve. We did manage to catch a one man limit keeping a bakers dozen for Mom and Dad. All the fish were quality gills. 

For once, we didn't really have to weed out any small fish. All the fish kept were over 7" and under 10". Mom did manage to catch one toad of a gill yesterday. Probably the biggest bluegill I have seen since I lived in upstate NY. He is still swimming. Hopefully he will live to spawn again and spread his humongo genes on to the next generation of gills. I don't think most anglers would let a fish like that swim. Now, I don't want to get on my soapbox, but I love fishing for bluegills and would like to see some reform in the Wisconsin panfishing regulations. Finding lakes like this in lower Wisconsin isn't easy. Sadly, it is only a matter of time before the population of good size gills is depleted and the anglers move on to fish out the next spot. It seems like it is a story all too common with panfishing this area. However, I do not blame anglers for acting within their rights. Until there is a change in regulations (hah) I cannot be angry with other anglers for legally harvesting their limits. 

Having said that, I can't tell you how many anglers I have spoken to and witnessed taking more than their limit. Adding them to the freezer at home, which is also legally questionable. It is frustrating to say the least. Everyone has to share these wonderful resources. We all get so much joy out of being there. If we make a collective effort to improve and maintain the resource, it will always be there for our enjoyment. 

November 10th Report: Lake Michigan

We got out this morning about an hour before sunrise with a WNW wind. Action was fair until the sun came up. We managed a handful of browns. Some are bound for the grill and others for the smoker.

Another day, another bag of bluegills

4th of July, etc....

 

Opening weekend

My good friend Eric and I got out for the opener both Saturday and Sunday. While the water temps are still low, and winds sometimes a bit frustrating, we did manage to tie into a few nice fish. 

10 minutes in this spot netted us over 8 pounds of smallmouth bewtween these two fish. 

I managed a couple bluegills as well, on a pheasant tail nymph under a Chernobyl ant. No photos though, sorry folks.

March Steelhead

The weather this past week has been unusual to say the least. We usually don't associate cloudless sunny days in the mid 70's with Steelheading. But it is March and the fish are in, busy making reds and spawning. Sunday morning Adam, Anthony and I hit the river ( I was running late as usual) and fished until the evening. Swinging flies all day long, only stopping for lunch, we only managed to hook into one. Sadly, we ended the day with no fish to hand. We all fished different styles, colors, and depths of the water column. In the photo of our rigs you see Airflo Scandi, Delta, and Skagit lines. Classic flies, bunny leeches, tubes, and other bright colored creatures failed to produce.

We bumped into David from ChicagoTroutBum and friend Niall, who also turned up skunked.

Water conditions were just about prime. The stain was good, but turbid, with the water still a little high and dirty. Runoff is more prevalent to the north, where standing water is still found along the riverbanks. 

Adam and I both commented to each other about the fact that last week it was fishing in snow storms and freezing temps, and now this week water temps are already climbing into the upper 40's. 

Rain is in the forecast, as well as some cooler temps. (still unseasonably warm) The rain should bring in more fish, and the run should be working into it's prime. Dropback fish will be hungry, looking to pack in calories as they work their way back to the big pond. High water and warm conditions in spring are a great time to try out larger presentations to entice competitive males and those  hungry dropback hens. I know you will surly find me on the water, trying to beat the skunks out of my waders. Getting Skunked sucks.

Catch em if you can!

Some recent ties...

So far only one of these flies has kicked some serious ass for me giving 3 grabs in 1 hour.  What's great is that the season has not really even begun.

Green Butt Silver Hilton

 Lady Caroline Variation

 The Akroyd

 Goose Wing (The Wildcat)

 Another Caroline variation

And another Caroline variation 

Blue Charm

This just in..

HOTD Trailer from RT on Vimeo.

Robert Thompson, known for other films such as  Zero to Hero, released this trailer for the soon to be released DVD Heart of the Driftless, A film about fishing the many spring fed streams of western Wisconsin and Eastern Iowa.