Ice Report Jan 11 2014

We fished a popular Dodge County lake Saturday. It was crowded to say the least. Weather was mild compared to the recent cold snap but the winds made it feel a lot colder. I would guess there was 13-15" of ice.

3 out of 5 in our group managed to limit out on crappie in about an hour. All 5 of us eventually got our limits. We capped the morning with a quick lunch of brats on the grill and a beer or two. We were on our way home by 1pm.

Spoons or jigs tipped with spikes worked. Crappie minnows also produced. My biggest crappies of the day came on a dead stick rigged with a crappie minnow on a plain gold hook but jigs and spoons called in the fish for fast paced action.

Ice Report

Left work a little early today with my good friend to get a head start on the weekend fishing crowds.

We fished a Fond Du Lac county lake. Ice depth was 12".

Flurries blew in and out while we fished making for a beautiful afternoon. We had the ice all to ourselves. It was quiet, peaceful and relaxing. I love these kinds of outings.

We had about six flags in 3 hours time. This little guy got his photo taken before being released. Look at all that line! The little ones always run so much.

Some Crappies taken today. (The cutting board measures 11 inches). 

I will be out again tomorrow morning, not sure where yet. Reports to follow.

Wild Weather

I was able to get a few hours out on the river last weekend and boy the weather turned less than desirable.  The temps had been warm, then there was the snowstorm, then the sun came out, then it got dark, then there was another snowstorm and there was no fish and even better no other people.

We had the river to ourselves yet again and with a high flow the river was looking different and was a nice change.

 The run that will test anyones nerve who dares to fish it.

This is probably my favorite walk on the local river.  The anticipation heading in can sometimes be uncontrollable and the feelings of defeat heading out can be heartbreaking.  Regardless, in an urban fishery like ours this trail helps us forget where we are.

When the stars align

A late start to the day and little aspirations of actually catching any fish.  As of late it has been the season of the browns.  Each hookup having the characteristic "sit and shake" and the "aw' shit,  it's just another brown" feeling.

Hopefully it will soon be steel and the reels will sing.

Regardless,  I couldn't be more thankful that these fish chose my fly and that on such a beautiful day I had the river entirely to myself.

A very tired fly.

As Promised....

As promised, here is some eye candy from Dec 17th. My buddy and I worked slowly through this run, he cashed in about 20 yards ahead of me with this fiesty hen brown. She absolutely crushed his pink intruder. Congrats dude!

Merry Christmas Steelhead

My good friend Chris was fortunate enough to wet a line Christmas day. I was glad to see he got out and landed this bright winter Steelhead.

I will be taking advantage of this non typical weather we are having until the bitter end. Keep swinging, low and slow. The fish are there and the water is still flowing.
Happy Holidays, and New Year everyone, more stories and pics to come for 2012.

What month is it again?

With temps reaching the 40's, rain, snow, sleet, and fog, you would think we lived in the PNW or something. If it keeps up like this in Wisconsin, we might not have much of an ice fishing season.

This weekend was a great one. With such rare weather for December, quality fishing has continued in the Tribs. When I got to the bank of the river, flows were looking perfect. The water color/clarity was stunning, not too clear, good stain, and a beautiful green hue. I began swinging my first run with high hopes. One solid tug right off the bat lead me to believe this day was going to be phenomenal. Apparently not so. Not for me anyways, I worked through the rest of the run with nothing to show but these photos, and a shoe floating in a back flow. ( I hope the shoe's rightful owner isn't in the river somewhere...yikes!) 

But that is not all I found along the river that day. Turns out my river finds aren't limited to garbage, and odd rarities of the world. This day, I was fortunate enough to strike a conversation with none other than Author and Abu Garcia reel builder, Mr. Ambassadeur himself, Simon Shimomura.  Now, I don't have the time or energy to go into depth on the iconic Ambassadeur reel from Abu Garcia. If you don't know, look it up. But I do want to say that it was an honor to meet Mr. Shimumura. Simon was an extremely pleasant man, humble, polite and enthusiastic about sharing his hand made, one of a kind, 24karat gold plated Ambassadeur reel. What a beaut! I have never seen one in person. I have only read about these things. This reel was an amazing piece of true workmanship and quality. Mr. Shimomura was also so kind as to show me his hand wrapped Sage fly rod, hand wrapped river rod, and this sweet little gem I managed to snap a photo of.

This reel is a "Record Standard" made by Abu Garcia. This classic has no drag system, just a click and pawl. Simon told me these were not made available in the United States. They made a ported version later in the products life, but this reel is in mint condition. Stamped "Made in Sweden" with the factory hammered sea-foam green finish shining beautifully I found myself lusting over this classic reel.
Like I said, it was an absolute honor to meet Mr. Shimomura. Check out his books, fishing tackle and photos at his website here.

Back to fishing. I worked my way to another favorite run of mine. A run which is usually a great producer. Well, another guy swinging flies politely jumped in behind me and picked my pocket. Fun to see, but a little frustrating.
After working through the run once, I met up with my good friend Adam, who's determination to hook a fish led me to stepping in at the top of the run again. This time luck was on his side. Adam was maybe 30 yards ahead of me, when mid swing his fly was crushed. I quickly reeled in my rig and made my way down for the assist and some photos. We thought for sure it was a Steelhead as she tore line off his Farlow click pawl and thrashed the surface. After a long battle, with a huge bend in his rod, Adam successfully landed a bright, fat, Brown trout hen. (pics to come)
Even though I went without a fish that day, it is almost just as fun when your buddy reels one in and you are there to lend a hand and take some photos. On top of meeting great people, it makes the whole day that much better, and totally worth it.

Opportunity knocks...

So I made the decision to leave work early yesterday to do some fishing. It turned out to be a good decision. It was around 2pm when I finally got in the water. Air temps were in the low 20's and the water temp was, well, freezing. 

Getting bumped by ice flows while I side step down the river, I see another fisherman starting a small campfire. Did I mention it was cold out? As I move my way down the run, I get my first good bump...hmmm, there's fish in here. I repeat the cast, savor the dangle, nothing. I take two steps, cast my fly down and across, swing the fly across the current. I wait and wait some more. Nothing. This process repeats itself as I grow weary of my chances at catching a fish today. I can feel my legs and feet going numb. I forgot my gloves in the truck. Damn, why did I do this?

Towards the bottom of the run, I finally hook up. An explosive strike to my fly is followed by violent thrashing on the surface of the water. My rod comes alive and the fight is on. As I reel her in, my heart races and I forget the cold for those few  moments. That is of course, until my fly line stops and I cannot reel any further. My guides were iced so heavily that I could not bring the fish to hand! As I struggle to break off whatever ice I can, I feel the line go limp while I struggle to free it. My heart sinks, I ready myself for disappointment. As I begin to reel in the now freed slack line I feel tension, she's still there! The fight is back on. As I pull her towards the bank, I reach into the frigid water and wrap my hand around the base of her tail. I remove her from the water momentarily to snap a photo and say thanks, before releasing her back into the river. She wasn't very photogenic, I was rushing to get a shot and release her in a timely manner, but she was a beauty of a brown trout. Her skin glowed with a purple, and green iridescence over a silver speckled body. She had already dropped all of her eggs, and was on the prowl, looking for a meal. Bright with color and full of life, I watched her as she swam away. I remembered why I had endured these freezing temperatures and ridiculous conditions in the first place.

But, there is a greater lesson within this story. 

Rule number 1: You wont catch fish sitting on your couch. 

Rule number 2: Respect the dangle.

Part of building confidence is success, with more success we gain confidence. Now I know darn well there are fish in the run I am swinging my fly across. (Not only because I have fished it a thousand times or so, but just ahead of me I see a gear chucker, huck a glob of spawn into this runs vicinity, hook, land and release a Steelhead within 3 casts.) So what do I do? KEEP FISHING. I work my fly through the run, allowing each swing to finish, settling directly below me. I let it dangle. Then, I let it dangle some more. With my success on the river, I have learned a few things. (See rule number 2) So many of my fish have come when my fly is directly below me and I am just about to strip my line in, lift my fly out of the water and start the whole process over. 

When the temps are as cold as they are now, and were yesterday, you have to control your fly, fish it deep and move it slowly across the current. Two handed rods are an extremely effective tool for this.

Remember, you can swing flies in the cold and you can catch fish doing so. Persistence pays off. Don't let the cold numb you so badly you forget your fundamentals and go home with a zero. Trust me, I was preparing myself for it, scolding myself for leaving work early to get skunked, but then I referred to rule number 1.