Sunny Success

I made my way to Rosenow Creek right around 4:00 Sunday afternoon.  The temperature rose slightly throughout the day and it was perfect when I got there, about 50 degrees and sunny, a slight breeze out of the southwest.  I tied on a rather large white Woolly Bugger, a size 8 I think, and wet it before fishing at the pedestrian bridge.  I usually fish the south bank, but I made a strategic choice and crossed to the north bank to keep my shadow from spooking these native wild beauties.  I dropped my fly in just inches from an undercut bank and let it drift.  Just as I was about to pull the fly out at the end of the drift, my fly went darting under the bank.  This stunningly beautiful brook trout took my fly on the first drift!

That is probably the nicest trout I've caught on this tiny, tricky little stream.  I caught one more a little further downstream in a stretch that will be unfishable in two months.

I ventured just about as far downstream as one can go before trespassing on private property without catching anymore fish.  I let my fly drift through one particular pool that usually holds a fish or two and almost hooked up with a muskrat.  He scared the hell out of me, surfacing right at my feet as I pulled the fly out from under the bank where it had gotten hung up.  I hope it wasn't hung up on him!

I made my way back upstream and caught this one last trout in the same spot I caught the first one.  I also had a miss in this spot.

I crossed to the east side of the trail and headed upstream farther on the south bank.  I have not had as much luck east of the trail, and today was no exception.  My shadow grew long and let the fish know well in advance of my approach.  I saw a few fish dart for cover, but only had one hit that I missed.

Any fish you catch on Rosenow Creek is a fish you can be proud of.  My skunk rate on this stream is over 50%. One or two fish is a decent day.  I think three fish is my second best day.  There was a day last May that I caught a dozen or so trout.  Double digit days on Rosenow are few and far between, at least for me.  I still can't believe I can catch wild brook trout just a 45 minute drive from downtown Milwaukee.

First Skunk of the Season

Yesterday was a pretty rainy day, but the temperature wasn't all that bad.  I studied the radar and saw a brief opening in the rain at just the right time to give me approximately an hour of trout fishing time.

Rosenow flows clear and swiftly with virtually no signs of life.  I only saw two fish, one a nice size, and one very small.  They both darted under a log jam as I made my approach.

I seem to have better luck on Rosenow on sunny days. It sounds like the weather Sunday is supposed to be pretty nice.  I'm sure I'll find myself out that way again.

Rosenow is a tricky creek, but it's so rewarding when it all comes together.

Just Kidding

My plans to go fishing last weekend were thwarted by beer and burgers on Saturday, and fifteen degree weather on Sunday.  I hope to find some time to venture out this upcoming week.

On another note, it was Little Cleo's birthday earlier this month.  I got her her first fishing rod, a little beginner's Ugly Stik with a spinning reel and a limited tackle assortment.  I'm looking forward to taking her out this spring and slaying some goldfish on the urban ponds!

It Begins

It's been a few months again.  I have a place I call my own now, but it is far from where I want to be.  Things are continuously looking better in my future every day.  

This winter has been brutal!  I'd normally use the winter months to concentrate on tying, but I have not found time with my constantly evolving situation.  My stocks are low from last season, but I think I can manage to venture out soon.

I think I'm going to fish my favorite Waukesha County trout stream very soon.  They may be hard to find this time of year, but those wild brook trout are absolutely gorgeous!

My go-to streamer on Rosenow

Tony's first brookie

My first brookie

That is a beautiful fish

The New Normal

First off, I'd just like to apologize to my half dozen or so regular readers for the lack of material.  A series of events out of my control brought my fishing season to an abrupt end early in October.  This big brown trout was the last fish I caught.  That day was also the last day that I woke up in my home with my wife and daughter.  Having just spent all of our money on a car, with not much more than a handful of change to my name, she told me she wanted me out.  I feel like I exhausted myself trying to make it work, and I'm sure she would say she did too. 
It's been almost three months now.  I'm still basically homeless, but I have friends that have been more gracious than I could ever imagine.  I'd like to thank all the old and new friends who have offered a place to stay, home cooked meals, warm coffee, cold beer, Christmas dinner, and just someone to talk to and a shoulder to cry on.
It's been rough, especially Thanksgiving.  I've probably relied on alcohol a little too much here and there, but I think that's almost expected.  I'm doing ok, a little better every day.
I plan on keeping up the blog.  It will be much easier when I get a place to call my own and a computer.  I'm not sure how long it will be before I post again, but I promise I'll be back.

There Are Still Salmon In The Harbor

I took a trip down to the lake wednesday with my little girl.  She had the greatest time terrorizing the geese.

 

 

 

After she tired of chasing geese, we started for the car.  As we were walking back, an angler that we had spoken to briefly about the day's lack of action was setting the hook.  He reeled in a two foot chinook that fought valiantly.  Five minutes later, he was reeling in the coho pictured below.  The bite turned on as the clouds rolled in.

 

 

My little girl didn't want to leave after this because she loves looking at fish.  We stuck around for a while, watched half a dozen or so missed hook sets, and saw one other chinook come ashore by a second angler.  Finally, we left for the car, but as we were driving by on our way out, I saw one of these guys scramble for the net again.  Pretty good day, I'd say.

Restoration Progress On Milwaukee's Menomonee River

I went down and checked to see what kind of progress was being made.  Only a small portion of the stream has been restored so far, but I really like what I see.  The picture below was taken early last May.

 

 

The next pictures are post-improvement pictures. One from almost the exact same location (note the matching blue graffiti) and one from upstream looking down. 



 

 

This is going to open up so much habitat for our anadromous fish!