Mid Week Milwaukee Area Day Trip

A couple weeks back, I took a day long fishing trip, visiting two streams in three different towns, stopping for sustenance and spirits in each town.  I got up early and I needed caffeine, so my first stop was a local one.  I stopped at the almost legendary Fuel Cafe in Milwaukee's eclectic Riverwest Neighborhood.  They have great cafe food, better coffee and several local bottled beers to offer.  I really enjoy the El Gato Mexican Mocha, and when I really need a boost, the Kevorkian Crush.

Fuel Cafe

From Fuel Cafe, I got on I-43 north and drove up into Sheboygan County to fish the Onion River.  I got a little lost when my phone lost connection and the GPS failed.  For this reason, it's always a good idea to have a map and understand how to use it.  Most of the good fishing destinations are probably far from a cell tower.  I found an alternative route without having to backtrack ten miles to the county road I missed.

Sheboygan County Country Road

The Onion River doesn't have a lot of access points, but they're well marked as public fishing waters when you find them.  The particular spot I went in is very close to a maple syrup producing facility with plenty of chickens running free.

I am always shocked at how cold this tiny little stream is.  I don't regularly wear waders in the summer months, and the Onion made me question that decision.  With my 5wt in hand, I stepped into the frigid spring fed water, working my way up to the next overpass. 

 

 I have not had a good day on the Onion, but I know they're in there.  I saw one really nice sized brown trout come out from under an undercut bank to investigate a dead drifted Bugger .  He came so close to taking it, then disappeared back under the bank and refused to budge.  My only fish on the Onion was the tiny creek chub below.  It beats getting skunked, but not by much.

 After leaving the stream and walking back to my car, I drove into Sheboygan for a light lunch.  The first place that caught my eye was Black Pig.

Black Pig had reasonably priced food and an interesting beer selection.  I was more interested in a drink than food.  I had two beers and an order of White Truffle Oil and Black Pepper Bacon fries.
 I had a Dubbel by Une Année, and a Rübæus Raspberry ale by Founders.  The Dubbel was good, the Raspberry ale was remarkable.

After some lunch and rest, I hit the road for Cedarburg.  There is a roadside park at an overpass of the Milwaukee River called Garrison's Glen.  I guess it's technically in the town of Mequon, but these are small details.  Garrison's Glen is no well kept secret, and I have never had the river to myself at this location.  Spinning gear with bobbers and worms, fly gear, centerpin guys, all in vehicles ranging from massive Ford F-350s to tiny Volkswagen Beetles all crammed into a parking lot that is meant to hold about six normal sized cars.  Be respectful and have fun out there.
I always go upstream at the overpass, casting streamers toward the submerged boulders.  There are some nice bass in  here, but they see a lot of angling pressure.  I only landed one fish, the smallmouth pictured below.  Not the largest fish, but these little smallies really put up a fight!  This scrapper gave my 8wt a great workout!

 I probably walked close to half of a mile against the current of the powerful Milwaukee before heading back down to the overpass and driving into downtown Cedarburg.  My first stop was Morton's Wisconsinn.

  Morton's is a strange place.  There were families with children there, Fox News was on in the corner, the bar was full of anti government propaganda and corny little knick knacks covering every square inch of space on the walls and ceiling.  The only beer they had on tap that I had never had was Bud Light.  When in Rome...
I was actually sitting next to the owner at the bar. A kind man, whose name i don't recall.  We talked fishing and beer, he gave me a shot of Jägermeister
Remember the bar fight scene from Terminator 2?  The whole place reminded me of that scene.  Just as I decided to get out of there before the T-800 burst through the front door and asked me for my clothes, my boots, and my motorcycle; The Dwight Yoakam song "Guitars, Cadillacs" came on.  I swear I can't make this up!  I got out of there right away!

I walked a few blocks to Maxwell's.  Maxwell's had a better beer selection, and seemed to be a local favorite.  I took the only open spot at the end of the bar and ordered a New Belgium Skinny Dip.  I only planned on one, and just as I was about to leave, I heard mention of their $1.00 taco Wednesday special! I ordered a beef and a chicken taco and a Rebel Kent The First by 3 Sheeps. The beef taco is the way to go, but for a dollar you can't really go wrong.

I originally planned on driving back to Milwaukee to fish the river in town and hit up some night life spots, but it was dark and I was exhausted before I made it into town.  Really, there is so much to do in Milwaukee, and so many overlooked fishing spots, I'll have to do an entire blog post on what to do in Milwaukee for a day.  But if you want to hit three spots in one day, the Milwaukee river provides great summer smallmouth fishing within the city limits from the Capital Drive overpass down to the North Avenue dam with many access points and very light pressure.  There are other species too.  I've caught carp, all sorts of panfish, northern pike, and even an occasional walleye.  In the fall, the anadromous species will start to run, with chinook showing up in good numbers starting in October and mighty steelhead showing up in good numbers (from my experience) in April and May.

The Window

We got some serious rain a couple weeks ago.  Most local streams were just short of, or over flood stage after the three plus inches we got in less than two days.  But after a week, they were looking much better!  Still a little higher than average, but pretty clear, all things considered.  The local weather reports all talked about much cooler weather coming for the current week, but Sunday it was gorgeous, and I took full advantage of it, spending around five hours on the Menomonee River.

At an overpass in Wauwatosa, I spotted fish, and no other anglers.  I got my gear (I got a lot of fun new stuff over the winter) and went in.  Most of the fish were suckers, but there were trout as well.  One trout was rather large and easy to spot.  He showed interest in the flies I presented but was hesitant to strike.  I changed patterns and colors every few casts to keep his interest, and eventually he struck!  He threw the hook right away and took off upstream.

I took off right behind him, searching for him for a hundred yards or so, before it started to get too deep.  

He was gone.  There was no sense wearing myself out, so I started to head back, not being particularly stealthy.  In a shallow area I found a very interesting fossil.  I find a lot of fossils in the Menomonee, but this is one of the nicer ones.  I have no idea what this is.  If you do, please share!

Menomonee River Fossil

After stopping to pick up and wash the grime off the fossil, I started back down, and there he was again!  I didn't see him until I was only a couple yards from him, and he quickly darted off into a deeper pool with some boulders and a swift flow.  I tied on the heaviest Clouser minnow I had and made a few casts behind the first boulder in the pool and let it swing through.  I don't think I had made a dozen casts before he struck again, this time the hook held firmly, and the fight was on!  He came right to the edge of the pool right away, so I thought the fight would be over relatively quickly, but then he charged right into the swiftest, deepest part of the pool as I tried to maneuver him around the boulders and rebar.

The Menomonee is charming.

The fish went airborne a couple times, it was a spectacular fight!  He almost came to hand twice before finally admitting defeat.  I pulled him into a shallow, snapped one quick photo on my phone, unhooked him and shoved him back into the pool.

Menomonee River steelhead

I explored a nice stretch of the river without seeing any more fish, so I went back to my car and drove downstream by Miller Park.
There were many cars at the overpass, and probably a dozen people swinging rods at the water.  I walked downstream to the Interstate before even seeing any fish.  The fish were suckers mostly, hundreds of them, and occasional northern pike.  I kind of thought, "What the hell," and started casting.  The suckers would not move, and the pike would flee from my fly.  I was just about to leave when I found a school of more active suckers.  From my experience, the more active suckers will take a fly.  Today was no exception.  I broke one off and landed two in short order before calling it a day.  The two pictures below are of the nicer one.

Suckers on fly gear are fun!

A sucker on a Clouser minnow

So far, today is the only day it hasn't snowed this week.  I'm glad I got out before that window closed.  Who knows when it will open again?

Slow Week In Milwaukee

I've went out fishing three times this past week on the Menomonee and haven't caught a single fish.  I did, however, catch this adorable turtle by hand.

Yesterday, I tied some flies from some clearance bin craft store yarn hoping they'll be good for rough fish.  I call the flies "hooker eyelashes," it's funny on a couple different levels

The fishing was no different yesterday than it has been.  I probably covered a mile of stream and only saw three fish.  I think the rain and cold has slowed the sucker run, but I don't really know what temperature suckers spawn at.  I took the opportunity to explore the restoration progress since the fishing was slow.  The improvements are looking nice!

Menomonee River Surprise

I took my little girl fishing on this beautiful afternoon.  We went down to the Menomonee to try to catch some suckers on the fly.  I haven't really fished the Menomonee since last October.  The water was high, fast and filthy; but it was also full of fish.  There were mostly suckers, but there were also a fair amount of steelhead!  I lost a few really nice steelhead, but I did manage to land one.  I caught so many fish that my arms are tired!  It was a great afternoon.

Oops, foul hook

My first ever steelhead!

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!

 



The Milwaukee Harbor Is Full Of Fish

I drove down to the lake today to kill some time on my day off.  As I walked along the water in Veteran's park, I saw numerous brown trout very close to shore.  I walked back to my car, drove a little ways, assembled my fly rod, and grabbed some "reserve" flies that happened to be in my car.  I walked to Mckinley Marina and started roll casting off the rocks.  It probably wasn't 20 minutes before I was hooked up with a fish.

It took me around five minutes to land the fish.  Not the biggest brown trout I've ever caught, but not a bad catch for a 30 minute outing.

Salmon Are Showing Up In The Streams

Not in great numbers, but with consistency.  I saw my first few salmon in the Menomonee River Saturday.  I had a strike on a white Woolly Bugger, but the hook didn't connect.

Monday I went out again in the late afternoon.  I saw a few fish, and made perfect casts with egg patterns, just to watch the the fly bounce off the face and roll down the body of the fish.  Something other than food on your mind pal?  I walked through the concrete and found one massive fish that looked like it had been hooked, landed and left for dead, such a shame and a waste.  I don't know how else it would have got there.  In the picture below, the butt of my rod up to the end of the cork measures 10" just to get an idea of the size of the fish.

I went out fairly early Wednesday and had the river to myself for awhile.  I only saw  two fish, a smaller salmon that tucked itself into an undercut bank and wouldn't budge for anything, and then one big Boss Fight of a male making all kinds of noise.  When I first spotted the big guy, he was basically out of the water, "swimming" over the shallow gravel heading downstream.

I made the decision that I was going to get wet, and I went in after him in my jeans and work boots.  After a couple hundred yards of wading downstream, I gave up hope of finding him and started to head back up.  That's when I saw him, when I turned around.  He was in two feet of water just ahead of another run of inch deep riffles.  Even in that two feet of water, his dorsal fin and tail broke the surface.  He was swirling and rushing all over, I don't know how I could have missed him the first time.

I only made a few casts before he lunged and slashed at my streamer.  I've never actually seen a take like that before, only felt it.  Then I had that "What have I gotten myself into?" feeling.  You know? When you realize that you just hooked into one of the biggest fish of your life on a size 8 streamer, a five weight fly rod with a 4x tippett? that's what most people would consider stream trout gear.  Oh yeah, I didn't bring a net either...

 I almost landed him right away actually, I reached down to grab him by the tail and he took off hard and didn't stop.  I could see the backing on my reel, but he never actually went into the backing.  I'm sure I would have seen it proper if I didn't run downstream to keep up with him.  He pulled me a few hundred yards downstream.  There were several more failed attempts to land him that resulted in reel hissing runs. But each run got shorter, until it seemed like I didn't even need to chase him anymore because he didn't get much more than ten yards away.

Finally he was beat, I brought him along the bank, reached under his gills with my reel hand, I must have set my rod down and grabbed him by the tail with the other hand, but I don't remember.  I lifted him from the water, and he made one last ditch flailing effort to get away, but he was mine.  When he thrashed, I got covered in fish slime, and I held him tight to keep from dropping him.  I think I kissed him at that point, I've kissed bluegill and sunfish with my baby girl because she always does but never a big slimy salmon.  I guess when you spend that much time with a fish, you bond.  It felt like I had him on for an hour, but I have no clue how long it was. 

I only snapped one picture so I could get him back into the water.  I wanted to show the perfect hook set in that mouth full of teeth.

 There was a spectator who took some pictures.  She said she would email me some, but in my adrenaline haze, I could have totally messed up my email address for all I know.  Anyway, if I get them, I'll post some.

The fish took a minute, but eventually swam away.  I have no upper body strength left, and I can still smell fish slime, but after an epic Boss Fight like this one, you level up!

Menomonee River Restoration Is Underway

It's been talked about for a few years now, but actions speak louder than words.  I've visited the stretch a few times since the machinery has breached the wall and moved earth.  It's pretty insane to think about the amount of water that has to be moved to get to the concrete beneath it, and I always wondered how it was done.

The workers constructed a makeshift dam with boulders, gravel, and a thick plastic sheet above the section of the river to be restored.  A powerful pump was placed in the pool above the dam to move the water through a pretty large pipe.  I'd say 30 inches in diameter.

The water is pumped through the thousand foot pipe to a point below where the restoration is occurring.  A similar pipe is constructed on the opposite bank, so when the south bank is complete, the pipe is detached and connected to the pipe on the north bank.

I'm not sure what will happen to the salmon run this fall during the restorations.  It appears the water is only pumped through the pipe when the crews are actually working, so fish will still be able to swim through at night and during the weekend.

On another note, I've finally caught fish on dry flies in the Menomonee, unlocking another Menomonee River achievement.  I was walking through the concrete section with my little girl, and I had my fly rod just in case I saw some fish.

My Little Cleo loves smelling flowers

I started to see some fish rising, so I tied on a tiny little Elk Hair Caddis and made a cast, hoping for a bluegill.  It took a few casts before I finally got a take.  It was a common shiner, I believe. Some sort of minnow that's for sure.  It was fun, and I caught a few more.

She loves to pet fish

I found a spot above the concrete where I can catch green sunfish pretty consistently.  It's so close to home; any time I get the itch I can walk down to the river and catch fish.

Be careful of the spines!

I'm sure ready to see some salmon in the streams here in Milwaukee, are you?  I hope to see you out there.