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?

A Pretty Good Week

A good week indeed, considering the slump I'm coming out of.  After a few other failed attempts at landing a carp on fly gear, I finally brought one to shore in the concrete section on the Menomonee River over Memorial Day Weekend.  The fish wasn't as big as the one I hooked in the marina a while back, but this river carp took off downstream and led me on quite a chase!  It was like trying to slow down Juggernaut from X-Men with a 2X tippet!  I never really did slow the fish down,  it circled back upstream and looped around.  As the fish came back down, I scooped it with the net.  I snapped one quick picture and released the fish.

I think my 9 weight is a little bit too heavy for a size 8 streamer.  The Juggernaut started to straighten my hook!  

A little later on, I was making casts at a pike, and what I thought was a pile of goose poo jumped in and attacked my fly.  It scared the hell out of me!

Bullfrog on a Woolly Bugger, that's a first!  the frog was very upset with me, but he seemed fine once he got back in the water.

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, I made a last minute decision to make one last trip into Waukesha County for the season before it's unfishable.

The grass is already getting tall, but the water isn't overgrown yet.  The ground is still very swampy downstream, and I had hits, but no takes.  I decided to try it out upstream on more solid, manicured ground.  I was able to find some nice fish in the relatively short period I was there.  I fished about an hour, landed three trout and missed about a half dozen or so.  Two of them were really close to ten inches, one was about five.  All were beautiful

I took one of the nature trails through the wilderness back to my car.  Everything turned green so quick this spring.  Soon it will be unbearably hot and humid.

When the dog days come, I'll be waist deep in the Milwaukee chasing smallmouth bass.

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.

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.

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.

A Great Day On The Milwaukee

We got around a half inch of rain last night.  That paired with the change in the weather had dramatic effects of the Milwaukee River smallmouth bass population.  I took my little girl out again this morning so my wife could get some more sleep, and I had one of the greatest days I've had on the Milwaukee.

Here is my highlight reel from the day




Little Cleo loves to pet them

 


These next three fish were caught on three
consecutive casts!





Probably my nicest fish.




This Mr twister took a royal beating!







What a great way to start the day!

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])