Lost and Found, Fishing the Midwest

The Internet Angler

2012-02-17T21:52:00.002-06:00

I always wanted to be the fishing bums that spent their rainy afternoons in the tackle shop arguing about that days topic. I remember going in to spend my allowance and would have to be dragged out since I would just hang out, "browse" and listen to what they were saying. They seemed knowledgeable and seemed to have nothing else to do all day but to drink coffee and enjoy the company of other anglers.
Being an angler now is nothing like I imagined it when I would go into the tackle shops at a young age. Today the conversations and arguing are all done in forums on the internet. Even purchasing gear is done on the internet. It is kind of sad to see the local tackle shops empty on rainy days, but with everyone on the go what else can we expect?
Now as much as I would love to spend my rainy days in the local tackle shop, drinking coffee, and bsing with other anglers. A place to go that everyone gets along, knows each other, and can either head out to some water to fish or just argue back and forth and no one taking it seriously.
I have been lucky enough to meet great anglers the past few years that can just bs or fish without taking it seriously. The internet tough guys or the guys that have been kicked off every other site so they have to create their own to feel important would not be here without the realm of the internet.
The internet has allowed the fishing information to spread like wildfire. Anglers are able to share information on current reports with a touch of the button social media. We can share information with each other so quickly that keeps anglers at bay when approaching others on the water.
The internet is here and will only continue to improve, we just need to find a way to treat it like our local tackle shop.

The Midwest Fly Fisher Part 1

2012-01-16T10:03:00.001-06:00

I was 11 years old when my parents bought me my first fly rod. It was a White River 5wt. and I was grateful of the generous purchase, especially since my father kept telling me how expensive it was.
I fished all the time back then with my friends, but bringing a fly rod to the lake one day was like listening to a foreign language. My buddies watched and chuckled as I tangled myself up in the thick orange line. It was not long until I was back to throwing my squirm and squirt jig under a small panfish bobber, catching crappie. I brought that fly rod with me all over the place trying to get the line out far enough to entice something to hit my offering. The rod was stepped on about 7 months after I got it. It was never the same after that and I forgot about it.
Fishing was a big part of my life until high school. Girls, sports, and everything else that a high school student goes through got in the way. We would still get out a few times a year, but nothing like when we were in our early teens and did not have a responsibility in the world. It was not until after we all graduated that fishing picked back up again.
NT moved to Ohio for school and claimed the fishing out there was incredible. He told me what to pick up for a fishing trip for walleye and steelhead. An item on the list was a fly rod. I picked up the only brand name I knew, an 8wt. White River fly rod and some ESL and egg patterns his buddy suggested. I was ready to fly fish, or so I thought.
We got to the river later then expected for our only time on the water chasing steel. NT's buddy who has fished this river since he was little was there to guide us around. He showed us a few casting tips in the parking lot. It was here that I realized I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
Stepping into the water casting a fly rod that day was like doing it for the first time. The casting pointers helped out and I was drifting woolly buggers with a strike indicator through pools. I was working a pool along some downed trees when the indicator danced on the surface. With a quick hook-set, the battle was on. The fish went airborne a few times which got the attention of the guys I was with. Everyone came running over to see the smallmouth bass break the surface again. I fought the fish for a few minutes before the line snapped. I had no idea what I was doing and it was perfect!

The World Without Fish

2012-01-11T10:04:00.001-06:00

About three months ago my girlfriend and I were shopping for books for the little man when we stumbled upon a book called "World Without Fish" by Mark Kurlanksy. Of course we had to buy it since it deals with one of my favorite subjects, fish.
I noticed that it is recommended for children nine and up after sitting down to read it the first night. I realized that this book wouldn't be able to keep the attention of a six month old but it did keep the attention of this 26 year old. Flipping through this 181 page book really made me think about the impact of everyday fisherman have on the population.
Seeing other anglers on the water can be encouraging and disheartening all at the same time. It is nice to see a few faces here and there while working a stretch of water that may be new and unfamiliar. I usually will stop and talk to anyone that is fishing, striking up the the typical, "any luck?" question that sparks a conversation between all fisherman. These are the anglers I enjoy seeing on the water. The people that "do it right" if there is such a thing.
As a fly fisherman I pay attention to the conservation of the waters I fish. The ecosystem is what fuels and allows flies of different types to work. Some fly fisherman frown upon any other type of angling but I do not. If the method used is responsible and keeps the area no different then how it was before the angler was even there then I am okay with it.
It is the anglers that leave their garbage behind, snag fish and keep them, do not follow creel limits, and avoid all fishing regulations that I have a problem with. Bodies of water have important creel and regulations based on studies and fish surveys. This explains the size limits varying from one stretch of river to another based on the location and blockages such as a dam.
These anglers pollute and destroy the environment each time they are out and usually promote these antics to other anglers, or worse, their kids. Whether its cigarette butts, soda cans, worm containers, or a bunch of fishing line, whenever I come across these items, all I an do is shake my head. I know a few anaglers (myself included) that will actually try and pick up some of this garbage to keep the natural beauty of the water. A river can have such mystique to it when walking the shore or wading the banks. It is a nice thought wondering if anyone has ever saw the beauty that I am looking at right now. All of that wonder and enjoyment can disappear quickly after coming across a garbage pile left from the previous user.
It is up to us, the users who do not take the outdoors for granted, to make a difference. Make a comment when you see someone snagging fish or polluting the waters. Call the local DNR and file a report on the person. And teach kids how to not only respect the outdoors, but to also enjoy them. No matter what happens, their will always be people that disrespect and do not follow the rules, but its the generation of true outdoorsman that can help keep mother nature as beautiful and plentiful as it can be.

Winter Root

2012-01-07T15:13:00.002-06:00

After this past fall fishing trip to the Root River, I have been looking forward to getting a line in the water on some of the new water we explored. My time finally came this morning.
The drive up was pretty smooth from Chicagoland. I headed to the main dam on the river since I heard a couple of guys had great luck there last weekend. Knots all tied, black and orange popsicle fly tied on, and the cigar was lit. It was time to head to the water. I worked a nice hole that gave up a few kings in previous years. I was about 5 drifts in when I had my first bump. After a quick strip set, the fight was on.
Unfortunately the fight didn't last as long as most would hope. The fish was unbuttoned within the first 45 seconds of the fight but I was able to get a look at the Brown Trout that had my heart racing. He was only about 20inches but still hurt to feel the tug no more. I was able to get a picture of this little guy cruising the opposite shoreline.

After about another 30 minutes of working this hole, I decided to head out to fish the water I came across back in October. The quick five minute drive had me pass the Weir Dam which was open for business allowing migrating fish to get above and beyond. This was great news since the new water was just upstream of there. A quick gathering of the gear and walk down a man made trail and I came across superb looking water. The water level was a little lower then I had hoped for, but it was clear and allowed me to survey about 3/4 of a mile. The substrate is perfect for spawning steelhead and would be perfect holding areas for migrating fish. I hope to be in the moving river after a nice rain fall in the future. Until next time...

Adventures...

2011-12-28T20:38:00.001-06:00

Driving into work this morning I say a billboard advertising a college. The sign read, "All adventures begin away from home." I have been on adventures throughout my life, and almost all of mine begin at home.

The intent of my blog was to be detailed notes along with personal thoughts of my adventures across the Midwest while fishing. I still have that intention.

Every fishing adventure begins at home for the fly fisherman. No matter if you are heading to a local smallmouth bass water for an overnight camping trip or a long weekend trip to the driftless area for trout, all trips begin and end at home. Depending on how long a trip is and what species will be targeted depends on when the pre trip adventure begins. My last trip to Southeast Wisconsin for Salmon involved two months of preplanning. The two months prior to leaving on the trip involved countless hours of fly tying, going over leaders and tippets, cleaning rods and reels, and getting the warm clothes together.

The time on the bench is a great adventure that begins at home and could end on a body of water caught in the corner of a fishes mouth. Time at the bench is an adventure whether or not the fly ever hits the water. Each thread wrap continues to build a hook, thread, and material into a finished fly that is edible for a fish.

Now the adventures I have mentioned are a few that I have not been able to go on and enjoy as much as I would like. I am currently on a life adventure that began at home and who knows where it will end. Fatherhood has taken over my life in a great way. It has been a great adventure so far and I look forward to juggling the adventure of fatherhood with all my other adventures.

If Only...

2011-11-04T08:27:00.004-05:00

If only this was my view while standing knee deep in running water instead of half way up the steps to my office. I am going to try and get out this weekend and get a line wet. I will not have enough time for an over the border trip so I will be limited to either swinging flies for smallies or chucking big nasty flies for toothy critters. Which ever it is, I will be enjoying a view similar to the one above, but this time I will be knee deep in water, with a fly rod in one hand and a tobacco pipe in the other. It is hard not to love fall when you love being outdoors...

The Buzz Clears at the Root

2011-10-25T22:07:00.002-05:00

The alarm came and went on the Monday morning, the day after our night of booze. We got on the water as quick as possible. We knew that a weekday wouldn't draw the kind of crowd we just put up with the past two days and had a good feeling about the day in general. The air was brisk with the sun slowly working its way over the treeline. We worked our way to the same spots we worked the past few days.
It could have been the late start or the fact that we had a little more action than normal, but the morning seemed to go by pretty fast.

ET was the big winner of the morning hooking up and landing three salmon, one being a coho with spawn colors starting to come in. His fish couldn't resist his pink streamer that resembled a popsicle fly but with a little less material. It was a gorgeous fish and a great catch.

Tom was real proud of this catch and was the big fish of the weekend so far. I think it came in at about 15lbs. but that is just a guess. Another great catch for Tom and it looked like he was going to run away with the total on the weekend. The Big Easy was not on the board yet with his first of the trip.

Finally, I see some slack in my line and set the hook. I feel weight pulling on the other end of my line. This was weight that I have never felt on the other end of a fly rod before. I quickly inform ET to make his way back toward me because I will need some help netting this fish. The Big Easy gave his net to ET since mine was up on shore. This fish fought hard and long. I brought it close a few times and could see the white bugger clearly in his mouth. After one more run that had the fish about 40 yards downstream, I was able to gain control of the fish again. ET goes to put the net on the fish and all of a sudden SNAP!
My heart sank for a moment. Here was the fish of my lifetime, caught on a fly that I tied myself and the line snaps. ET lifts the net and there is a huge king salmon in it with the hook still in its mouth attached to the line. It hits me, the line didn't snap, my fly rod did. Never mind that right now, the fish of my lifetime is in the net. We start walking to shore to get a few pictures and weight of the beast. About four feet from shore, the fish is back in the water. The fish ripped through the net, but luckily it barely had energy to swim away.

The 17lb. female that destroyed my fly rod and the Big Easy's net. The fish measured out at 34.5 inches and was my biggest fish. After collecting my thoughts and few apologies to the BE, I rigged up my other rod and went back to work. ET was able to hook up with three for the morning with me ending up with two including the monster. A much needed rest was in order.
That midday nap was just what the doctor ordered, and even though the three of us could have laid there all afternoon, our workday was not over. We beat the after work rush and started with the main pool we have been working. This is where the numbers get all bundled up so I will not be going into much detail about the next series of fish caught. Just note that the next 36 hours of fishing was epic for me. I was able to pick up six more salmon that night and six salmon the next morning to bring my total to 17 fish on the entire weekend. The three of us were able to bring 31 fish to net (well until my net broke also) or hand. The Big Easy landed both his first king and coho on a fly rod.


The Big Easy getting in the action.

I still can not believe that three guys hooked and landed 31 fish when five guys had a total of three fish the year before. As for that 17lber I caught that morning, I topped that with this 19lber.

This beast was 19lbs., 37.5 inches, and did not break my pole, although it did rip my net. All in all this was a fantastic trip with two great friends. We were missing a few guys from the party, but with numbers like this, we did not miss many fish. I can only hope for numbers like this again in the future.

Here are a couple of more pictures of fish from the trip.

Lost and Found Logo

2011-10-23T08:25:00.001-05:00

Check out the logo. My wonderful girlfriend did an amazing job creating this on adobe illustrator. Let me know what you think.

If the Root Got You Here, Why Change it Up?

2011-10-22T23:19:00.000-05:00

The next morning came quickly. After some great breakfast tacos, the three of us were on our way to the truck. Knowing how many fish were moving up the river system the day before really kept us motivated. As we stepped out of the car in the brisk morning air, we could hear fish thrashing and trying to work their way upstream.
Unlike last year, we removed our waders into a heated garage the night before so sliding them on was almost welcoming. We worked our way down the rocks and slowly walked into the water. With no sunlight to help guide our way, we made sure to be EXTRA careful. Nothing like taking a spill in cold water with temperatures in the 40s. The water was a little higher today than yesterday which could mean fresh fish moving up. I hoped for excellent conditions and it seemed that today was going to be a great day on the water.
I started my morning drifting a purple esl through some riffles that opened up into a deep eddy. I was working the top of the riffles while ET worked the bottom along with the eddy itself. The Big Easy walked downstream to cross the river. He was working the middle of the pool on the other side of the river. At about 8:00am I switched to a white wholly bugger that I tied. I noticed that there was a few smaller fish in the riffles. After a few casts with the bugger, I finally got a legal strike. A quick hookset and decent little fight which contained a few jumps, and this little guy was in the net.

It was a nice way to get on the board early. I already caught more salmon this trip than last year and was feeling pretty good. It wasn't long until ET was on the board which we were unable to get a picture of. His was a decent little coho that ran him up and down the pool.
For such a promising morning, it was actually pretty slow catching wise. We took our normal 11:00am break for lunch and for some football before the afternoon action. After a Detroit Lions lose (which was awesome) we were headed back out. The river had a decent crowd for a Sunday afternoon. We were able to work a little downstream from where we fished that morning. I decided to throw an egg pattern that I tied. It was probably 30 to 40 minutes before I got my first hookup. I am not a seasoned vet when it comes to salmon fishing, but this fight was a little different. As this fish opened its mouth and flared its jaws, I could tell it was different. I was hoping for a steelhead since I have never caught one before. The fish did a back flip and my body tensed up. I thought for sure I was fighting a steelie and I did everything in my power to contain my excitement. After a great net job of ET, I posed for the picture to send it to our personal fish guru.

I was told later that night it was a coho which was still excellent news since this was my first either way. ET worked his magic that afternoon and hooked this beast.

The Big Easy was skunked again and was starting to turn a little salty. ET and I were tied at three at the end of the second day. With the Bears on Sunday night, we decided to make this our "drunk" night. We'll go back, make baked mosticholli, and drink. Stopped and got more beer for the night and head back to base. After team effort on the meal, we feasted, drank beers, and passed out happy men.

To Move Ahead One Must Start at the Root

2011-10-20T21:31:00.000-05:00

Thispast weekend, two friends (ET and the Big Easy) and I traveled to the land ofcheese in pursuit of the migratory fishes of Lake Michigan. Our home base wasRacine, WI. Last year we made the same trip and although it was a great time,the lack of catching took its toll on our mindset going into this year.

Ihave been preparing myself for anything going into this trip. I spent timetying flies, researching online, watching flows, weather, and reports from upand down the Wisconsin lakefront. I hada good idea of what to expect, at least I thought I did, but nothing could haveprepared me for what took place.

Outof the three of us, ET had the most success in previous years catching close toten total salmon. The Big Easy never caught a salmon before, and I have beenlucky enough with only one. We set out leaving the suburbs on Friday night,making a quick stop for groceries, and then off to get settled in before ourfirst morning on the water.

Aftera 5:45 a.m. wake up and a few breakfast tacos (probably the best pregamebreakfast ever) we were on our way to the Root River. With a speedy sevenminute drive, quick overview of the situation, we parked and suited up. Beforewe knew it the three of us were drifting flies through some swift currentbreaks.

Theriver at this time was pretty crowded which is what we figured. The water was alittle low and clear making us a little nervous, but at least we could see therewere fish working upstream. The morning was quiet and after watching about tenfish snagged in the dorsal fin, dragged up to shore, and thrown on thestringer, we decided to check out some other familiar stretches of the river.

Thefirst stretch we came across had the same type of fishing as our first so wewalked the river looking to find good water that wasn't being disturbed by thesnagging ~~fisher~~man. With nothing going on and the sun up above thetrees, we decided to break for lunch. It seemed that even though we hadn'tcaught anything yet, the mood in the group was still upbeat since we saw fishin the river system moving upstream.

Aftera few hours off the water to eat, relax, and collect ourselves, we headed backfor the afternoon bite. We were hoping to beat the rush and get closer to therun where most of the fish were being snagged. By this time we all switched toa new fly pattern. ET and I were throwing esls, while the Big Easy was throwingbunny leeches. Unfortunately, there was a guy in a Minnesota Vikings stockinghat that was fishing right in the spot we were hoping to get and a guy and hiskid snagging fish in the run we fished in that morning. All of a sudden theVikings fan got on the phone and headed up the bank toward the cars. ET and Islowly slid down to where he was and started getting our drift on. The Big Easyhad gone downstream and was slowly working his way back up toward us by now.The guy across from us and his kid were clearly snagging fish and keeping them.His kid even snagged a fish in the tail and ran through our pool to try to landit.

Nowthis was where the first day got exciting. The Vikings fan came back and I asked if he wanted his spot back. Hereplied with, "No thanks, I'm done fishing,” to which I responded,"Yea, it's hard to actually fish in an area like this with guys lettingsnagged fish thrash through your pool then chase after it." The guy lookedat me and said, "Don't worry, he'll be gone in thirty seconds." Ithought he had called the DNR which I had done earlier in the day on adifferent stretch of river. All of a sudden another guy appeared and asked thesnagger to grab all his gear and fish and head over toward his side of theriver. The guy refused until the Vikings fan pulled out his DNR badge and toldthe guy again. The guy, his kid, and his snagged catch were escorted to the topof the bank by two DNR officers. The spot filled up with fish soon after and itwas up to us three to finally get into some fish.

Finally,ET hooked into a fish legally and did a great job fighting it into the shallowslack water for an easy net job. First fish was on the board.

Soon after his fish swam off on his own (his was a male fish since it had akyped jaw), I got into the action with a fish hooked clearly in the mouth. ETwas there for an outstanding net job and I was finally on the board with myfirst of the trip (second salmon ever).

Unfortunately, the three of us lost more fish than we landed that first day,and the Big Easy did not land his first, but we still had two and a half daysof fishing ahead of us.
We headed back with some hope that this trip would be better than the last.With already two fish brought to net and still a lot of time on the water, wewere looking forward to the following day. We had a good dinner of burgers anddogs on the grill, a few beers, and decided that we should try to get to thatsame spot early the next morning. We passed out with a positive outlook of thenext day.

Quick Report

2011-10-15T21:09:00.001-05:00

Just a quick preview of day one.

Been Busy

2011-10-11T20:54:00.001-05:00

This is what I got tied up so far. I'm about 10 flies away from having the total number that I wanted. My goal was to tie 6 of each combination of flies. I have six purple and pink showgirls, pink, chartruese, and purple steelhead hammers. I need to tie up five more black and orange and four white and red show girls and I'll be pretty much set. I have a few miscellaneous flies I'd like to tie up but they aren't important.
This will probably be my last post before the trip up north. Leaving Friday night and staying in Racine, WI to chase kings, chrome, and cohos. A few buddies fishing, smoking cigars, and drinking till Tuesday morning. Hopefully this rain coming will get a fresh push of fish. Wish me luck and hopefully I can tie into a few beasts on my own flies.

Easy Canvas Prints

2011-10-11T20:37:00.000-05:00

Just got the above pictured printed to canvas and it looks amazing. By following this link http://www.easycanvasprints.com/photos-to-canvas/ you are just a few clicks away from having any picture of your choice printed onto canvas. The above picture will be hanging in my man cave right next to all my other fishing pictures. They have a special right now if you like them on Facebook you'll get 50% off your next order along with free shipping. Facebook page can be found here http://www.facebook.com/EasyCanvasPrints. Hurry while this deal lasts and have one of your favorite memories printed on canvas.

Material Arrived Today

2011-10-05T22:20:00.000-05:00

Not pictured: hooks, thread, tinsel, and floss wrap

Material was waiting for me today when I got home from work. Took a little longer then expected, but I'm not complaining. The material I order is primarily going to be used to tie up steelhead hammers and showgirls. With time restraints tonight, I was only able to get a few of these bad boys tied up. I'll probably pick up some more blood quill marabou for the showgirls, but this is what I got tied up so far, let me know what you think.

Annual trip up north to chase chrome, brown, and salmon is just around the corner. Can't wait to try and hook into something on a home tied fly.

Steelhead Hammer Fly

2011-09-29T20:20:00.001-05:00

The fly above is called a Steelhead Hammer and can be found on Orivs' website here:
http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=27Y6&dir_id=1236&group_id=1264&cat_id=5487&subcat_id=6637

I just purchased material to tie a variation of this fly in purple, hot pink, and chartruese. I hope to get the material by Monday or Tuesday of next week so I can get these tied up before my trip up north in the middle of October. That will give me this weekend to try and get the weighted buggers all tied up along with the egg patterns.
Going to be a busy weekend but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Indiana Trib - Little Cal

2011-09-25T20:10:00.000-05:00

So my goal was to be on the Little Cal river this morning in Indiana before sunrise. Well I hit snooze a few too many times and was on the road about 30 minutes later then I had wanted too. No big deal, at least I woke up and got on the road in the first place.
After a quick stop for food and coffee, I was on my way 57 miles from home in search of salmon. The ride went pretty smooth and didn't take as long as I had expected. Even with my 30 minute snooze session, I was still on the water about 20 minutes after sunrise and on a cloudy, rainy today like today, it didn't seem to matter.
I walked the trail down to the river and passed a few people fishing the easy access points from land. It seemed most were throwing hardware which has been working on this river as of late and I was going to be throwing flies as usual.
I walked down the trail looking for a good spot to get the boots wet and start drifting the white streamers I had tied a few weeks ago. I was excited to see how heavy this fly would be in the water with the tungsten bead head. I probably traveled about 300 yards on the trail around the river until I realized I was way off the mark that was given to me by a friend. I decided to figure out where I was on my iPhone maps app and start over. As I was walking back to my car I was asked by a fellow fly fisherman if I've had any luck yet. We talked a little bit and he offered to show me a few holes that he does well with during the winter time for steelhead (which has been noted down in a few spot so I don't forget).
He started drifting spawn about 40 yards upstream from me while I was throwing the white bugger with one of my green egg sacs trailing behind it. Let me just note that the bugger sinks and sinks quick. The hole I was fishing was at least 10 feet deep and I had to retie a longer leader since my fly was sinking so quickly. I fished this run and a few others as I headed back to my car. I had one hookup, but came off quickly. I'm sure it was snagged or was a snag all together. It's hard to feel hits when your fly line is angled straight down into a hole.
I feel bad for not ever saying goodbye to the gentleman that helped me out. I know its hard to meet people on the water willing to converse and help another fisherman out during the salmon season. It seems everyone is usually out for themselves and when they do something stupid, they don't speak English anymore.
I stopped at Bass Pro on my way home to get some quick essentials for the annual salmon trip to SE Wisconsin coming up in a few weeks. It was nice to get outside, get lost making my own path, and getting a line wet. Even though I didn't didn't catch any fish, I did see a few making their way upstream. It was raining on and off when I left and the temperature seemed to be dropping. This is a nice stretch that I'll be back on soon. All in all, it was a good morning on the Cal.

Car is loaded up...

2011-09-24T21:11:00.001-05:00

For a quick trip over the border tomorrow to fish for some Indiana tunas on the fly rod. Goal is to be on the water by sunrise and back home ready to watch football all day at noon. Stay tuned for a full write up on this quick trip sometime tomorrow.

Fall Season Fly Patterns

2011-09-21T20:03:00.000-05:00

Weighted Streamers


Egg Patterns

Well as promised in my post earlier this morning, you'll find a few of the fly patterns I've been working on for the upcoming salmon/trout season. The weighted streamers are just white wholly buggers tied on size 2 hooks with tungsten bead heads giving them some serious weight. I plan on tying these in black and olive as well and go down as small as size 6 hook.
The egg patterns are all tied on size 8 curved hooks. All egg patterns are tied with McFly Foam or Flat Diamond Braid. The egg patterns will mostly be tossed for brown trout and steelhead later in the fall season, but it's never too late to get ahead of the game and you can never have too many flies.
Hopefully I can get out sometime this weekend and try some of these streamers.
Good luck and tight lines.

Lost and Found Fly Tying

2011-09-21T07:55:00.000-05:00

I haven't been hitting the water lately, but I have been busy at the tying bench honing my skills while tying up some flies for the next few seasons. Pictured above is the world famous Hangtime created by The Afton Angler (Brad Bohen). This is the same fly that Brad showed a small group of anglers to tie last December which you can read about here http://www.lostandfoundfishingthemidwest.com/2010/12/fly-tying-with-afton-angler.html. As you can see from my first attempt to now, my skills have increased. I've also been working on new egg patterns and weighted streamers for Salmon and Steelhead. I'm finally planning on taking advantage of the waters to the North and East.
The streamers pictured above are the big nasty streamers for pike and muskie. With fall in the air and the temperatures cooling off, both species will be getting their feed on in the local rivers. I'm hoping to hookup with one of these fish this coming fall or spring.
I'll add pictures later today of the eggs and weighted buggers I've been tying. My second goal (first goal listed in my last post) is to post at least once a week. I've slacked in posting since starting this blog. I thought if I had somewhere to write about my adventures, it would automatically get me outdoors more. Well unfortunately the blog doesn't add more time in the day. All because I'm not outdoors as often as I would like doesn't mean I'm not tying flies, reading, or researching about the great outdoors. I still promise to get out as much as possible and post about those outings and I hope you continue to enjoy.

Salt Creek Pike Search

2011-09-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

Well as was mentioned in my last blog, I was going to be getting out Thursday morning to swing some big nasty streamers for some toothy critters. With Salt Creek basically in our backyard and knowledge that this polluted body of water holds both pike and walleye, we decided to try our luck. Nate and I met at the creek at 6am and quickly started getting our stuff together. Waders buckled, flies tied on our rods, and it was time to hit the water. We both were throwing flies that I personally tied. Its a streamer known as a Hangtime that the Afton Angler himself taught me how to tie last December. Each one I tie continues to get better and I was really looking forward to hitting my first pike on the fly with a home tied fly.
We surveyed the water to get an idea of what spots would be our best chance. We both waded out to a nice rocky inlet so we could hit an eddy with some down branches in it. Each of us worked different ends of the eddy but only had a few less flies in our box to show for it. We worked from the dam to about 200 yards downstream with nothing except snags and snapped lines.
The air temperature the past few days were a little on the high side which could have caused the fish to move to deeper water. I know I'll be trying over this stretch again once we have our Midwest Fall season.

I know I haven't been fishing much lately, but the thread has been working often, tying up big nasty streamers, weighted buggers, and egg patterns, getting ready for this upcoming fall season. I'll add a few pictures of the flies I've been working on. I'm really striving to hit that end of the year, no more buying flies to fish with anymore goal. Wish me luck...

Fishing with Friends

2011-08-31T21:31:00.000-05:00

I would think 98% of the people that fish have someone that they just can't pass up hitting the water with. I am part of that 98% group and tomorrow morning I get to fish with my longtime buddy and fishing partner Nate. Nate is in town doing electroshock work on some neighboring water and actually has some time in the morning to get a line wet. He sent me a text today saying he would be on the water from sunrise til about 10 am and I instantly requested the day off to get some fishing in.
It is a rare occurrence having him in town especially with some time to fish. This will be our 3rd time in the past week chucking flies at whatever is biting. I cherish the times him and I can get on the water together. It brings me back to when we were kids and would ride our bikes to a local lake for some sick crappie fishing.
I'll be back again with a few fishing adventures that I've been on the past few weeks. I've also hit the tying bench pretty hard lately really honing in on my skills and thread work. My goal is to only fish flies that I've tied myself by the end of this year.
Remember to enjoy all your time spent in the outdoors and never take it for granted...you may never know how long it will be before you can enjoy them again.

Spring is Just Around the Corner

2011-03-02T17:45:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone. It's been a while since I've been online, but I'm finally settled in my new home and most importantly, hooked back up to the internet. It's been just under a month since I wrote and the weather is dramatically different from my last post. The snow around the Chicagoland is just about melted away after a record setting month of February and that means the water levels are up. I can't wait to hit up some local waters with some big nasty flies for post spawn pike and muskie in the next month or so. First order of business now that the boxes are all unpacked and the girlfriend is finally happy with how everything looks will to get back behind the vise and start tying some flies again. I would also like to finish Fool's Paradise by John Gierach which I was enjoying before life got put on hold for a little bit. I'm surprised and in shock by the amount of traffic this blog is getting lately. It's an honor to have someone show interest in just an average Joe's writings. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll have some flies to talk about and maybe even a quick local trip if the weather permits. Until next time...

Quick Lost and Found Update

2011-02-03T22:03:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone. Just wanted to let everyone know I am alive and will be getting back to my blog as soon as I'm settled in my new home. My girlfriend and I are moving into a house we are renting this weekend so needless to say my past few weeks have been spent packing. Once settled in, I'll be going back to the writing board. Stay warm Chicago.

Lost and Found in 2011

2011-01-13T20:54:00.002-06:00

A few websites that I frequent have asked its members to list their goals for the 2011 year. The majority of the members discussed the amount of fish they would love to catch or a certain size of fish. I think goals in general are a great way to stay motivated, along with keeping yourself on target throughout a period of time. For me though my goals are a little different. I don't like the idea of limiting my goals to concentrate on catching 20 plus muskie in a given season or catching that 10lb bass out of Illinois waters. There is nothing wrong with these goals, I know I'd love to accomplish either of them. I like to think of yearly goals as something that can be achieved, but could possible take the entire year to accomplish.

I have spent the past week or so really thinking about what I would like to accomplish in the new year. I have really taken an interest in fly tying, even more so than before. I've been tying on a regular basis, and this has allowed me to concentrate on technique along with understanding the material. I'm still working on large muskie flies since they are large enough to practice on and will continue to work my way down in size to more complicated flies. My goal regarding fly tying would be to tie at least once a week all year even if it's only one fly. With all the flies I have tied up, I'll need some place to fish them.

With 12 months out of the year and with bodies of water in my area I have never fished, I would like to fish two different bodies of water a month. This could be local or a little further, but two different bodies of water a month for a total of 24 different bodies of water on the entire year is doable. This will allow me to fish in different situations on bodies of water that I'm not familiar with, teaching me to learn the water. I plan on strictly fly fishing on all open water this entire year since conventional fishing does not have the same feeling it used to when I was younger.

While fishing these new bodies of water, I would like to concentrate on catching a variety of fish on the fly rod. I have caught bluegill, green sunfish, largemouth and smallmouth bass, suckers, chubs, chinook salmon, and rock bass all on the fly. A list I'm grateful to have so far in my early fly fishing career and something to work on. My goal this year is to catch 15 different species on the fly rod. Something that could be done, but may take the entire year to do.

This past season on the water, I started keeping a small notebook on me at all times. This way I could write down notes as I traveled up and down rivers describing what worked and what did not. After my trips were over, I would go back and read my on the water notes. I will continue to write notes this year, but plan on writing full reports after each time out. My future trips should benefit from keeping a descriptive journal. Along with a journal, I'll keep taking photos from my adventures. I realized that a lot of the pictures I take are just to take pictures. I look forward to really figuring out what I'm taking a picture of and learning how to concentrate on it.

We are lucky to have cold months here in the Chicagoland area. Luckily for me I have a few friends that love to get out on the hard water to ice fish. This is something I would like to prepare myself to do more of. My goal is to get a few more outfits, along with some tip-ups, miscellaneous tackle, a flasher, and an auger. I would like to help locate fish when going out in a group instead of being the guy that has to wait and see what the fuss is about. It could be relaxing to hit the pond down the street to see what night ice fishing is all about.

It's very easy to come up with goals, but to come up with goals that can keep someone motivated can be difficult. I look forward to trying my best to achieve these goals along with writing about the adventures I'll have this year. Hopefully you'll enjoy reading about them...

Morning on the Trail

2011-01-11T18:51:00.001-06:00

Sunday morning a friend (Big Mike) and I ventured out to Trail Creek in Michigan City, Indiana. Being the first time to explore this water for the both of us, our goals were to get acquainted with the river and what it has to offer along with drifting some flies for the first time in 2011.

We reached our first stretch of river at about 8:00 am and were both quickly ready to drift some flies minutes later. It was a gorgeous morning to be out even with the heavy lake effect snow coming down. The air temperature was about 17 degrees with a nice wind chill of about 10 degrees which seemed to have zero effect on this spring creek. I'd estimate the water temperature to be around 50 degrees.

We worked the main access points on the main branch of the river, not really spending too much time at one particular spot since Mike had to get home for work. We were both happy to be out for the first time in the new year doing the one thing we love, fly fishing.

I doubt I need to say that no fish were caught or hooked up. We now have a better understanding of the river structure and where to start fishing the next time we head out there. With the river only being a little over an hour away from me, I'll definitely be back to work this river. In the meantime, I'll continue to strengthen my techniques tying flies and reading the few books Santa got me for Christmas.

Can't wait to smell the fresh air again soon, until next time...