SW WI Fishing Report

I had to get one last trip to SW Wisconsin before the season closed.  The last weekend of the season is not ideal  because everyone has the same idea, but crowded water is better than no water.  Frankly, it wasn't that crowded and there is a lot of water to share.  I had a beginner-buddy of mine with me and we hit the timber coulee system.  

Saturday was tough. We ended up getting only a half-dozen or so after a full day of fishing.  All came within a 50 yard stretch and mostly on foam with rubber legs.  It was fun to get some top water action and we ended the day with a nice, fat 13 incher wearing his fall colors.  I thought they were going to be on fire but I ended the day humbled - that's fishing.

Sunday was short but much better.  A low pressure system moved in overnight and turned the fish on.  My buddy got a few on small nymphs (18s) and I, still feeling yesterdays desperation, put on a wooly bugger.  Man do fall brownies like wooly buggers.  I hadn't fished a bugger up there in a while, opting for dries and nymphs, but it was fun to watch those little brownies go head-over-heels for that wooly.  Per the norm, I lost a VERY nice fish, which I let take me under an under-cut bank.  I could feel him thrashing as I tried to guide him out then he was gone (probably upper teens).  

Good way to end the trip.  If you can get up there before closing time, they were taking small thin-bodied nymphs and we got a few on scuds, I used a black foam fly with rubber legs with success, and of course streamers.

Tight lines.

Quick Fishing Report

Unfortunately my report is based solely on observation. I've had to work going on 16 days straight, so I haven't had a chance to do much else. However, I decided to on a walk down by Chicago's lake front this morning with my better half before heading into work once again. I observed the following:

1. A man holding a spinning rod in one hand and a clear plastic bag containing a steelhead in the other (probably a stocker but I don't love it);

2. a gentlemen who claims (I believe him) to have a caught a large king last week; and

3. a young boy with his dad holding a 5-6 pound Coho (or small king I didn't get the best look at it).

Seems to me like the fish are close.

Tight Lines.

Not For the Faint of Heart - Duckling vs. Pike Guess Who Wins.....

And I Thought Brownies Were Mean

Bull Trout Eats Cutthroat Trout Underwater: Fly Nation TV from Fly Max Films on Vimeo.

23 Inch Brown Trout My PM Personal Best!!!!

Jeff Hubbard and Me

Saturday was a great day.  I spent the afternoon and evening hours floating the Pere Marquette river with my Dad and friend-guide Jeff Hubbard of Outfitters North (www.outfittersnorth.com).  We were throwing big ugly bugs at the bank, raising a great number of fish as well as catching a handful of solid, healthy and wild 12-17 inch browns.  That alone made Saturday a great day.  However, as the day light dwindled the river decided to turn it up a notch.  As we turned a corner my Dad's bug gets blasted - a deep, low pop.  The sound of a big brown is unmistakable.  Unfortunately, the hook didn't catch but that sound put us all on full alert.    A couple bends later, Jeff tells me to hit a dark corner adjacent to a log jam. Wham! 23 inches of brown trout wallops my bug and proceeds to go nuts.  After a tough, white-knuckle battle, which pushed my 4 weight to the limit, we had the beast in the net.  My personal best on the PM and our Michigan family record on the dry.

Oh we caught more than just the one...

The Life

Steelhead Dreams Part 2 - by Todd Moen from Todd Moen Creative on Vimeo.

Last Video for a while. I'm just getting lazy.

Southwest Florida Report

I was down in southwest Florida a week ago and the fishing was slow.  The snook population does not seem to be back to where it once was.  Further evidence that the intense freeze was devastating.  Good news is that the FWC are requiring catch-and-release until 2012 for snook on Florida's west coast, which is a step in the right direction. We caught a couple, including a nice one well over 30 inches but that is all.  We did get a handful of big ladyfish, which are a blast on the fly (still not even close to a snook).  Also, I had an interesting encounter with a BIG bull shark on the flats.  Pictures and stories to come.