It’s Steelhead Time!

Adam and I met at sunrise this morning in Milwaukee to see if we could get lucky and find some fish.  Adam and I both have had a hard time putting down the two-handed rods for the last few seasons, which has kept us fishing the Milwaukee River most of the time.  As far as southern Wisconsin’s tributaries go it’s really the only river practical for spey casting.  Upon arrival this morning we both strung up our short two-handed rods, and for the first time in a long time we grabbed our 9 footers to rig up with eggs as a plan B.  With the water so low we didn’t spend much time trying to swing.  It only made sense to drift eggs in the small pools below riffles where salmon were spawning, so that’s what we did.  And it produced!!  After a few hours of fishing I landed two steelhead and missed another fish that went unseen.  Not bad for the conditions.  In situations like this where conditions are not ideal it’s important re-evaluate all your favorite spots.  They most likely fish very different in 5o cfs than 200 cfs, so adjust accordingly.  The fish are there.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Comments Off on It’s Steelhead Time!

Lake-Run Trout 9/30/12

I attended my fourth wedding of the summer this past weekend and thankfully it was the last because It’s time to use my days off to chase steelhead and lake-run brown trout!  Luckily for me this wedding was in Milwaukee, and my friend Chad was in from Boulder and he just so happens to be as nuts as me when it comes to fishing.  We got up at sunrise the morning after the wedding and made the short drive to the river.  Chad insisted on fishing an egg right away while I swung streamers.  About a half hour in Chad was into a strong fish.  The first time the fish surfaced I heard Chad say “its a steelhead!”.  I didn’t really think there was gonna be a real chance at any steelhead due to the warmer weather and lack of rain, but sure enough he slid the fish up in the shallows and I could see the rosy cheek.  We fished hard for a couple more hours and Chad came up with two nice browns as well.  The lack of rain lately has really delayed the salmon run but fish are moving and have been trickling in for the last week or two.

Just your average 25 inch brown trout!

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

Driftless Area Season Coming to an End : ( Steelhead Season Just Heating Up: )

I had to go back to Southwest Wisconsin to get another day in of some of the amazing hopper fishing that has been happening these last few weeks.  Last weekend, Bret and I headed out with light rods and big hoppers and had a great time making long cast over slick runs watching fish come out of the woodwork to eat our flies.  I didn’t see as many hoppers jumping in the grass, but this late in the season these fish don’t want to miss out on the much needed calories to get them through a long cold winter.

I stopped by the Milwaukee River today to see whats happening and managed to go 1 for 2 on some angry king salmon.  I’ve also heard from a friend that he has also had some luck IN THE RIVER, although most reports online say that no fish have been seen moving up stream.  Chinook are leading the way, followed by the cohos/brown trout, and finally the steelhead!!  Any rain will help get the fish moving and/or eating, and from my experience baitfish or marabou spey patterns trump egg/nymph flies for kings.  Good luck and tight lines!

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Driftless Area Season Coming to an End : ( Steelhead Season Just Heating Up: )

Driftless Area – Hoppers

I was in the Dodgeville area last week to spend a night camping and fishing with the family and I would say now is PEAK hopper season!  Hoppers, hoppers, and more hoppers.  Maybe a dropper if you wanna catch a lot of fish.

Categories: Uncategorized | 2 Comments

North Branch Kishwaukee River

This morning I headed over to a favorite spot on the north branch of the Kishwaukee River to try my luck (or skill depending who you ask) on some smallmouth and northern pike after we got that nice cold front with a little rain to see if it had stirred up some fish activity.  After fishing only two hours I would say that things had improved both for the river and the fishing.  Up until that last rain the Kish was starting to look and smell like an algae infested farm pond, which I hadn’t seen in the 6 years I’ve been fishing there.  Low flows and HOT weather was really starting to effect the water and fish’s behavior.  This morning however was a different story.  I struck out at one spot, but after changing location I found some active fish, and I mean active!  The 30 inch pike I caught came flying out of the water twice trying to inhale my streamer.

After that I watched two smallmouth bass come out of a cut-bank and chase down my fly two or three times.  These fish were ready to eat!   I changed up my retrieve a few times until finally one ate it!

I released that fish and threw it right back in there to see if I could get his buddy to eat too.  After a few tries I got ’em!  The second fish was a bit smaller than the first so I released him without a photo.  I was happy to see the Kish looking clean and the fish eating and fighting hard again.  I’m already trying to plan my next day back there.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Comments Off on North Branch Kishwaukee River

Great Lakes Summer Steelhead – NW Indiana

Finally, after one of the hottest and driest summers I’ve ever experienced we are starting to see some cooler temperatures and a little rain.  The last month or so there have been few reports of skamania steelhead that have moved into the St. Joseph and small creeks of NW Indiana, but since we’ve seen some rain I had a feeling that much more fish had finally made their move up river.  On Wednesday my Dad and I made the drive to find out for ourselves.  Upon arrival we were shocked to see a full parking lot in the middle of the week.  On the other hand we saw two fisherman walking away with 5 nice steelhead on a stringer.  Which tells me that the fish are here.  I set my dad up with a leech and I rigged up with a nymph and indicator and we set out to find a vacant spot.  We set up on my favorite pool and within 3o minutes a couple guys walked up and very casually started floating shrimp right in front of my dad!  Like that is ok!!  WTF!  We didn’t even know what to say to these idiots.  I don’t go fishing to get confrontational with inconsiderate people.  So, we let them drift for a few minutes and sure enough he catches a nice fish.  I’ve never seen someone look so bored fighting a steelhead.  It didn’t seem liked he was enjoying it one bit.  Maybe that’s because he said he has fished just about every day that week and caught 10+ fish a day, but he really had to jump in front of my dad to catch that one more.  DON’T BE THAT GUY!!!  After those clowns left we were able to hook some fish, and my dad even landed one.  Fishing was good until two more idiots showed up and continued to drift shrimp right in front of us.  I had lost one fish that had gotten tangled in this guys line and he still didn’t get a clue!!  The fish seemed to be in thick, but the assholes were in just the same.

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , | Comments Off on Great Lakes Summer Steelhead – NW Indiana