Musky on the Fly

Fished the Namekagon last Saturday for a full day float with Matt and Brian.  We had 8 musky bites on flies but only got one in the boat.  Brian had one hit and a great hook set but somehow she came unbuttoned.  The river was super clear which was expected with the lack of rain - unfortunately there was a lot to look at and Matt and I both missed fish that were on our fly next to the boat while looking at others.  In total we saw maybe 10-12 muskies and caught 3 nice pike.  This was the only photo taken (it's pretty bad) - 29 incher.  I vow to start taking better photos and not just of people holding fish.

We mainly used 6 to 9 inch minnow patterns on sink tips and the fish were active.  Honestly, just about every spot that looked like it should hold fish did. 

Sunday we did a super short float (really sweetie) on the St Croix and didn't move or even see a fish. 

Musky Maddness

Just got back from our annual trip to Lake Vermilion with the work guys.  The past 2-3 years we have really focused on muskies but have yet to get one in the boat - many close calls.  That changed this year.  This fella bit my black bucktail on the second turn of the figure-8 - 46 inches.

The next morning we started out and decided why not head back tot he same spot - got this girl on the figure-8 as well but I did it for a number of times after she lost the bucktail on the first figure-8 of the retrieve.

This one was about 47 inches.  We saw 4 other fish and Matt had one bite right at the boat and turn but the fish missed - it wasn't Matt.  Basically all fish where moved on double-bladed bucktails - it was great.

We also had some decent walleye action and were a fish shy of limiting out the first day in about 3 hours of fishing and had to throw back 3 19 inchers out of the slot. 

Vermilion is awesome with tons of islands and structure to cast too.  We saw fish in a bunch of spots and it really built our confidence to finally get one in the boat.  I can't wait for next year.

I two weeks we'll switch back to the drift boat for Namekagon and St Croix musky floats.  This low water should really concentrate the fish.

Klickitat Steelhead

Brian and I are back from fishing the Klickitat River in South Central Washington and it was epic.  We fished for two days at the Steelhead Range owned by Jack and Jen Mitchell (http://theeveninghatch.com/Klickitat.htm).

The Klickitat starts from the glacier on Mt. Adams which you can see from the ranch.

This time of year the fishing gets more consistent but it can be hit or miss with visibility depending on the weather for the glacier.  The river itself was really cool.  In total we covered somewhere around 27 miles.  Parts of it were pretty dicey and I was glad I wasn't rowing.  While we were there the flows were around 900 cfs, Jeff and the crew told us it hit 60,000 cfs this spring and there were significant changes from last year.

The fishing for the most part was really easy.  We would float down and look for the troughs, buckets and slots which basically were different color than the rest because it was deeper.  We had 7 and 8wts rigged with a nymph and an egg under a big indicator and let it ride.  The takes we slow and easy but after that it was anyones' guess how crazy the fish would go. 

The guy in the front of the boat did have an advantage.  In the first 45 minutes of fishing I hooked and landed 3.  Very quickly the trip was exceeding expectations.  The picture above is me with the "Corbra" aka Jonny.

One of the best parts is that we were wet wadding.  Even though I have about $2,000 in Simms waders I really like wearing shorts and sandals when fishing.  It was cool in the morning and at night but otherwise the 50+degree water was fine.



 The wild (unclipped fish) you are not supposed to take out of the water, hence the belly in for the photos.

I botched the picture of Brian with this 20+lb Chinook

And I botched this one (my bad Brian) - here he is with Kevin and nice wild fish.

We hooked almost 30 fish in 2 days and landed at least 20.  We were having so much fun that we stopped taking fish pictures.  It also made losing some fish that went absolutly crazy easier to handle.  Some fish just dominated us.  We even tried swing flies from spey rods too.  The fishing was great and mixing in some chunky 20+ inch whitefish (not pictured), 15 inch resident rainbows (not pictured) and about 50 smolts (also not pictured) you were able to stay in the game from 9:00 am to sun set.

I highly recommend it and I will be back. 

Fishing Update

It has been busy the past few weeks.  We've hit the St Croix a bunch of times but mainly wade fishing.  It's been great and we even hooked a few small muskies

The water came down through July and we couldn't get the boat on the Upper Upper St Croix and the wade fishing has been great around Cty Rd T and above (don't get lost though - we did).

It's also been nice because you can really work a spot thoroughly and see fish like this walleye and get it on the fly (my first on the fly, the next one was 21 inches but still difficult to get a good pic on).

It's also easier to manage the little rug-rats.

I've done a few floats too in the Grantsburg area and the water is getting pretty low.  We had to drag the boat a few times but it's been worth it.  I also fished the Snake from Pine City to the St Croix for the first time a few weeks ago.  Great water, it was maybe a little low when we went down but I will definitely do it every year from here on out. 

But summer is coming to an end, we've been in Minong almost every weekend since May.  I'll be heading to Washington to fish the Klickitat the 24th & 25th for steelhead, wish me luck.

Week of fishing and exploring

I took last week off and started the weekend by hosting my brother's bachelor party.  It can pretty much be summed up with this time lapse video.

Matt and I snuck away Saturday for the St Croix by Cty Rd T.  We had really good luck for it being overcast.  Probably got a dozen SMBs and some nice pike.  Everyting on top-water.

The pike must really hide went the water is high - because Saturday when it came down we caught a bunch - and this nice 30 incher.

Sunday morning I took Jon out on the St Croix before he left and was able to land this beauty - biggest of the year for me - 19 inches.

Right away we turned around and hit the Namekagon from Cty K to Whispering Pines.  I don't know why I've never done this stretch of river before - it is possibly the best in the area.  Flows were fast and the SMBs were slow because of the high water.  But the plus side was the musky maddness.  Matt landed this 36 incher before the middle split ring was about to give.

Matt's hit a Skitter Prop mid stream with a cool slow take.  We floated with it for awhile to tire it out before netting.  Lou had one hit at the boat while Matt and I were recovering from his fish. 

I also had 3 bit offs with the fly rod.  Unfortunatley I wasn't prepared and didn't have my 20 lb floro for a bit leader and lost some nice fish that took the Bart-O-Minnow. 

The rest of the week I explored some nearby musky lakes and also floated the Totagatic from the County I Dam to Lake Nancy Road - and the St Croix from the Gordan Dam down to Cty Rd T.  Both were awesome water and hopefully I can fish this next week. 

I have a guide trip Friday on the St Croix above Grantsburg.  The flows should be prime with the Kettle falling quickly after the Duluth area rains - the 4th is shaping up for a good weekend.

Hot St Croix Fishing

Fished the St Croix for a full day float last Friday and short float Saturday.  The flows had come down from the record highs after the Memorial Day and the fishing was great.

Friday I had Matt and Mitch in the boat - who were both in the casting zone.  We hit a stretch above 70 in Grantsburg and caught fish entirely on top-water.  Mitch casted a Skitter-Prop and Matt a Hula-Popper.  Matt took the oars I had great success on boogle-bugs and JJ-Specials. 

We caught at least 50 and even caught them shortly after a passing thunderstorm.

Mitch caught the biggest fish of the day - right around 17 inches - right after the storm.  There was nothing bigger than that but a lot in the 16-17 inch range.  The real excitement when both Matt and Mitch hooked muskies on their top water lures.  Matt's fish hit and swam right at the boat - we both got a look and he was gone.  Mitch's took the Skitter-Prop right in front of us with an aggressive take.  He got good hooks into him and he jumped straight out of the water.  We estimated him at 45 inches - and after a pretty good battle with the landing net ready he bit through (or the knot slipped - it's still not fully know).

Anyway the following day I hit the St Croix with Donny up by Cty Road T.  The flows were at 1400 (in Danbury) which is about as low as it can be for me to float there.  Donny casted great as well and was rewarded with a dozen SMBs in about 2 hours.  We also finally got some pike.  I hadn't seen many all year and was getting a little concerned.  My thought is they really hide in the grass in the those high water situations.

I have some good video to put together - but next week I have off up at the cabin - hopefully I can get some good fishing and footage in - if Lou participates.

Tough Mudder

The brothers and I completed the Tough Mudder Saturday in Somerset - it was a blast and I highly recommend it.