Way ahead of last year

Spring has been trying to arrive throughout the upper Midwest and the U.P. is certainly no exception.We are weeks ahead of last year, when April brought storms with snowfalls above the one-foot mark. Depending upon where you go right now, you will find anything from rivers that have seen the bulk of runoff to those that are still frozen. 

I did manage to fish a bit this week and found the fish very reluctant to cooperate. That is most likely due to the water temperatures, the warmest of which I measured at 36 degrees. However, barring a repeat of last April, I suspect that we will actually be able to do something other than go ice fishing when opening day arrives later this month.

Windshield time equals summer fun

This is the time of year when guides, outfitters and fly shops spend hours behind windshields on sometimes treacherous roads to fill their summers doing what they love … putting clients on fish. Certainly my life is no exception. Last weekend I was in Madison at the Badger Fly Fishers’ Spring Opener, a group I had the privilege to speak with not long ago. It’s always fun to go to shows to renew acquaintances and to visit with potential clients. Renewing acquaintances has gotten easier thanks to today’s technology and I offer the picture here as evidence. I received an email recently from Dean, who took a U.P. Fly Angler hat to the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall is an awesome sight enhanced, in my opinion, by his choice of headgear (look closely at the logo). Thanks to Dean for the picture. Speaking of technology, you can now find the U.P. Fly Angler on Facebook at this address. Please like us and visit often, especially during the season, where you’ll be able to receive up-to-date reports and photos.

Looking forward to the season, I was out and about on Saturday. Snow totals are behind last year, although we still have a solid 30 inches of snow on the ground after four inches of the fluffy stuff yesterday. Cold has been the operative term with the mercury dropping to -26 on Thursday morning. Needless to say, the rivers are iced over in most spots and it will be a while before fishable water appears. That being said, I know many folks are looking forward to the opener of Wisconsin’s early trout season on March 7. Good luck to those lucky enough to find themselves with a fly rod in their hand. 

Only a couple more days left

With the regular trout fishing season ending Sept. 30, there are only a couple more days to get out. The rivers are in great shape, the fall colors are at their peak, and the fish are still willing to eat a fly. Get out and catch a few more before the temperatures cool and the season closes.

Fish of 10,000 casts wins again

With a couple of days off this week, I headed for northern Wisconsin and continued on my quest for a musky. I replaced the 4-weight rods littering my truck with a 10 weight, tossed in the musky flies I had tied, and employed the services of a couple top-notch musky hunters. My first stop was in St. Germain where I met up with my buddy Greg. The weather had taken a definite turn for the worse with northwest winds howling at 20 miles per hour and crystal clear blue skies ushered in on the heels of a cold front. We fought the conditions for four hours on a nearby lake and never moved a fish. The next day the winds had died down and the temperatures had warmed up to 70 degrees (still not ideal conditions for my chosen prey).  I managed to get two follows, one from a fish in the upper 40-inch class, and soaked in the peaking fall colors. By now, my casting arm was sore and my hand was covered with blisters from tossing the big rod and flies. Day Three brought more sunny skies and warmer temperatures. I met up with Bob in Hurley and we fished a nearby flowage in the morning and lake in the afternoon.  Neither of us moved a fish. The bad news is that, after three days, the fish of 10,000 casts had won again. The good news? I have an excuse to try again when my schedule allows.

Another week of fine fishing

September has offered a flurry of activity for me. Heavy rain last week literally muddied the waters, but I was (pleasantly) shocked at how quickly they dropped and cleared.  Randy and Tom arrived just after 3.6 inches of rain and we spent the first day in the drift boat chasing pike. Hitting a lake after the high temperatures have dropped 20 degrees isn’t always productive, but the pike still went about their business, albeit a bit more slowly. They certainly needed some extra enticement, but when that happened Randy and Tom found themselves holding fast to their fly rod as a mean toothy critter pulled on the other end.  The next two days we chased brook trout (which were still eating hoppers) and hauled in many brookies in the foot-long category.  Jim then joined me for a day of fishing and had a marvelous time catching rainbows in the morning and brookies in the afternoon. The rainbows preferred a girdle bug, while the brookies were still inhaling hoppers. Fall is definitely in the air and the roads are filled with bear and grouse hunters. The trees are nearing their peak which means if you want to get out one more time before the regular season closes, you had better hurry.

Rainy weather slows fishing

The past week has been a tough one for trout fishing. Copious amounts of rain brought rivers up, turning those running through clay soil into muddy messes and making those which remained clear hard to wade. It didn’t do much for the fish either as they were reluctant to eat. Caddis and hoppers were the best producers on top and black buggers proved the best below the surface. The finest fishing came in the form of pike, which remain in the shallows and continue to eat savagely. The first few days of this week will be sunny, but the bottom is scheduled to drop out Wednesday as a cold front will lower highs into the 40s and 50s. Next weekend looks to be better if the forecast holds. Regardless of the weather, there is still time to be out chasing fish.

Still time to make some memories

Our fall weather has definitely arrived and the rain gauge has been quite busy as of late. Whereas a few weeks ago, I was hoping for rain to cool warming stream temperatures, I am now wishing it would stop. Our larger rivers are back to being a bit challenging from a wading stand-point  (a simple way of saying be careful out there) and our smaller streams are inching their way up to the point where they should start fishing well again.

I began the week rowing Pete and Bob around in search of northern pike. It was a windy day and a challenge for both oarsman and angler. Fortunately both were up to the task and we had plenty of action from feisty pike willing to hammer a fly. Both Pete and Bob also landed a smallmouth, an exciting addition any time one eats. Pete and Bob visited me in July for some trout fishing and it was a joy to spend more time with them as I enjoy their fishing knowledge and sense of humor.

This weekend I was visited by Dean and Eileen. Dean is yet another of the fine Trout Unlimited volunteers who ventured north this summer. We began the day in search of brook trout which were, admittedly hard to come by recently. Nonetheless, both caught fish. I was quite impressed by Eileen’s casting, mending and overall fly fishing skills. While still a young angler by many standards, she learns quickly and has skills I didn’t learn until I was much older than she. This was especially evident in the afternoon when we shifted gears and jumped into the drift boat. Despite having never held a 6-weight rod, thrown a sinking line nor casted a pike-sized streamer, she performed admirably in windy conditions and boated her first northern pike. I didn’t get a chance to fish with her father Dean in the morning (as he asked me to fish with Eileen), but I quickly realized the apple had not fallen too far from the tree. Dean’s casting prowess brought multiple grabs and a number fish to the boat. Bald eagles nearby and a few crimson maples added to the experience, one I will remember for a long time.

This is the last month of the regular trout season, so get out there and enjoy the fall while there's still time to make some memories of your own.