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?

Skunked

Last week I got to spend an evening with my beautiful little girl.  She loves being outside, and I had not taken her fishing yet, so I decided we needed to find out if the salmon were running in the Menomonee River yet; maybe I could unlock some of those remaining achievements.  She's just six months old, so I wasn't planning on doing any really serious fishing.

After her nap, we made the two and a half mile trip to the more natural stretch of the river, and she was already being fussy and crabby.  I put her in the carrier on my chest, grabbed my gear out of the trunk and walked to the river.

This picture was taken at an earlier date,
the water is even lower now.

The water is terribly low still, but there is a pool where the water cascades over rock, if there are salmon this far up, they will be bottlenecked up in the pool for sure.  My little angel had a good time when we got to the bank, she loves the water, and there were some ducks and frogs for her to see.
I didn't anticipate how much wearing a baby on my chest would effect my cast, but I still managed to get my lure where I wanted it.  I think my girl's favorite part of fishing was watching the reel spin as I retrieved my line.
I managed to fish for ten or fifteen minutes before baby turned into crabby pants and we stopped fishing without so much as seeing a single fish.  We started walking, and she calmed right down, so I dropped the gear back in the trunk and hit the nature trails.  My sweetie fell asleep instantly, I continued to explore the beautiful Jacobus park as she napped.

Tiny stream.

Very nice trails in the park.

She wakes up! 

Baby had a fun time

She eventually woke up and was a happy, cute little angel.  Even though I got skunked, that was the best fishing yet this season.

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?