The One That Got Away

Saturday morning, Cleo and I went to the Washington Park Pond to test out her Ugly Stik.  We found a worm in the leaves and fished under a bobber.  We caught no fish, and neither did the other dozen or so people around the pond.  Little Cleo sure had fun though.

Later on after dropping Cleo off, I drove down to Lake Michigan with my 9wt to catch some warmwater fish or whatever else.  There were a few bass, some pike, many very small hatchery trout, and schools of very large carp.  I went for the carp.

I had a hit early on, but most casts toward the schooling carp went unnoticed.  The hit was enough to let me know I was on the right track though, so I kept at it.  Eventually I put my fly right in front of a carp.  As it sank, he dove for it like I had just thrown in a piece of chocolate cake.  I set the hook.

My 9wt  held up to the fight perfectly but I lost the fish at the shore trying to land it without a net.  It counts, right? a long distance release?  I caught a little video right before I tried to land the fish.

Striking Gold in Washington Park

Another early Saturday morning impromptu fishing trip to Milwaukee's Washington Park Pond.  This time I knew right were to go to catch fish.  My first fish was a beautiful goldfish with black markings.  It took a worm suspended about 18" below my Voltorb bobber.

After the goldfish, I took the bobber off and caught a few bullhead.  I lost count, but i'd say between five and ten.  None were all that big, the biggest one is the one pictured below

Then there was this goldfish that looked just like its ancestor, the Prussian carp.

This goldfish had stunning colors and beautiful white markings.  He was quite a scrapper too.  The goldfish were the hardest fighting fish of the day, and they're tricky too. they tease your bait, and then they make a run for it.

Finally, I caught a perch,  Not a big one by any standard, but it's good to know they're in there.

My little girl called all the fish "pretty pretty" and told them all "bye bye" when they swam away.  She almost touched one of the bullhead, but wasn't too sure about it.

I'm yet to catch a rainbow trout out of the pond.  I know they're in there, and some of them get to be a nice size too.  I've seen seagulls swoop down and pick them from the surface, and i've seen more than one dead fish on the shore.  I'll keep trying.

Washington Park Pond

Achievements Unlocked

1. (*) It's Super Effective! (catch a fish under a Voltorb bobber)
2. (*) Pond Lord (catch a game fish [perch])

Killing Time In Washington Park

Last Saturday morning my little girl woke up early so I took her on an impromptu fishing trip to Washington Park Pond to give my wife a chance to sleep a little more.  I came up with a list of achievements to unlock on the pond, but I had never fished it.  I figured it was time to unlock some of those achievements.

I took an empty baby food jar and we scrounged around under some leaves for half a dozen worms.  We started to walk around the pond and we came upon a rainbow trout that had the life squeezed out of it.  It was a nice size, over a foot long.

we stopped and made a cast near where we found the trout and let a worm soak, but had no action, so we continued to walk.  At our next stop, we found this poor snapping turtle left for dead.  he had swallowed the hook, and was clawing at the heavy weight line coming out of his mouth obviously in pain.  The other end of the line was hung up on sticks.  I cut the line as close as I dared to get, picked him up by the tail and put him back in the water.  I saw him surface for air once, then he was gone.

There were some fish jumping here, so we soaked another worm under a bobber, and quickly had a hit.  The fish sucked my bait off the line without taking the hook.  I took the bobber off, baited the hook again and made one more short cast.  Within seconds, my line was going tight.  I set the hook and reeled anxious to see what I had hooked.  The fish came to hand, and my mind was blown.

An 8" feral goldfish.  It was quite beautiful, way prettier than I'd expect a goldfish in the wild to be.  I always thought they'd be hard to distinguish from common carp.  Around this time, my wife texted me that she was awake, so we headed home.

Washington Park

Achievements Unlocked

1. (*) Garden Hackle (find worms on site)
2. (*) For Beginners (catch a fish)
3. (*) The Conqueror Worm (catch a fish on a worm)

Leveling Up

The first thing I like to do when my family moves into a new area is find the closest body of water and come up with a list of achievements to "unlock" on said body of water; like playing video games.  Looking for special "ITEMS" to add to your "Inventory" is also fun.  There are two bodies of water within walking distance of our current apartment, the Menomonee River, and the Washington Park Pond.  My achievements to unlock and ITEM pickups are listed below, I'll list the conditions that need to be met to unlock these achievements as I complete them.

Menomonee River

Achievements

1. (*) Blue Heron (locate three areas likely to hold fish)
2. (*) Eagle Eye (visually locate fish)
3. (*) Bronze Hook (catch a fish)
4. (*) Silver Hook (catch a game fish)
5. (*) Gold Hook (Catch a game fish over the minimum length requirement [Achievement unlocked 10-1-2012]) 
6. (*) Cleanup Crew (catch a rough fish)
7. (*) LATFH (catch a fish on the fly)
8. (*) Elitist (Catch a fish on a dry fly [Achievement unlocked 09-02-13])
9. (*) Baby Bear (Catch a member of the family: Salmonidae [Achievement unlocked 10-1-2012])
10. (*) Mama Bear (Catch a member of the family: Salmonidae that measures over 30" [Achievement unlocked 10-3-2012])
11. ( ) Papa Bear
12. ( ) Hungry Bear

ITEM Pickups

1. FOSSIL FRAGMENT
2. FOSSILIZED CORAL
3. DISK GOLF DRIVER
4. GOLF BALLS

The stretch of the Menomonee River that I live by is very urban, right on the edge of the Menomonee Valley.  People might ask, "Why are you gonna fish in there?"  Because it's there!  It apparently has decent salmon and steelhead runs, and in the past it was stocked with rainbow trout, bass, and pike.  It's too tempting not to fish, and it's a fun place to hang out.

Very urban.

The Menomonee is kind of tucked away and
out of view to most.

My brother Shane throws a golf ball.

After a little rain, it muddies right up.

Looks like dirty dishwater.

As you go upstream, it becomes more natural looking.

So pretty in this stretch.

It doesn't seem to take long to clear up after the rain.

Beautiful remnants of an old bridge

Nice undercut bank.

I found these beautiful flowers.

So pretty, I couldn't bear to pick
one for my wife and daughter.

Some kind of shiner.

Bluegill on a beadhead scud.

FOSSIL FRAGMENT.

FOSSILIZED CORAL.

Washington Park Pond

Achievements

1. ( ) Garden Hackle
2. ( ) The Conqueror Worm
3. ( ) It's Super Effective!
4. ( ) For Beginners 
5. ( ) Pond Scum
6. ( ) Matador
7. ( ) Pot O' Gold
8. ( ) Pond Lord

Washington Park Pond is stocked with some gamefish and catchable trout.  The urban ponds have some different regulations, they're posted around the pond on big yellow signs.  I've never fished it, but I have noticed a lot of surface action in the evening when walking around the pond.  It gets pretty crowded at certain times, but now that kids are back in school, a mid-week fishing stroll might be in order.  When I finally do get a chance to fish the pond I'll post some pictures.

Coming up with lists of achievements is a fun way to fish.  It gives you a goal, something you can check your progress against.  Each time you unlock an achievement, you'll level up for that body of water!  I know it's super nerdy, but I'm a pretty nerdy guy.  My wife calls it "Karping," like Larping-- get it?