Hammer Handles

Goals are good to have, but if they never make it any further than the piece of paper on which you've written them, what good are they?

For the last couple of years, I've had chasing Northern Pike high on my list of fishing goals.  The Midwest is chock full of them and I've loved chasing them with spinning gear.  So when I heard some talk of chasing them locally here, just a couple of hours away from home, I couldn't say yes fast enough.  

We managed to for the most part, to avoid the rain last Saturday and had a great day tossing ten weight rods and sinking lines to hungry Spring fish.  The invitation came from Bill Katzenberger, of Skinny Water Culture fame, to fish out of his Boston Whaler, with him and his buddy Mike Timmer.  Mike was new to the fly fishing game and mainly stuck with the bait casting gear and massive plugs, but still managed to move and land just as many fish as us fly guys.

With the weather holding off, we made our way around the lake looking for some good water and nice weed lines.  We found some early and we knocked the skunk off the boat with a nice follow and take on a perch pattern.  We had a handful of follows, couple more takes and fish to the boat before we high tailed it to another spot, searching for these guys' big brothers and mommas.  

A few hours of pounding casts and working around other boats pan fishing without another bite, and we all decided it was more fun chasing hammer handles and getting some action than just working on our casting.  

We finished strong, with Mike hammering a couple of fish, and showing it wasn't just flies they were after.  

Watching all the follows we got throughout the day - fish coming from the depths to attack the fly, or slowly stalking before engulfing it at the right time, had my knees shaking and senses on high alert all day.  

With a full summer ahead of us, and some new info on a phenomenal fishery, I think we're finally going to be able to check northern pike off the list and finally get in the game.  It's something new for me, but something I'm really looking forward to digging in to.  

 

Plans This Weekend?

Are you headed out this weekend, or trying to figure out the fishing patterns for an upcoming trip?  There's a ton going on in the Midwest now, from warmwater fishing in the local ponds, to the Great Lakes producing colossal smallmouth, and don't forget the trout.  If you're heading out, be sure to visit Jeremy over at DuPage Fly Fishing Co. for a local report and some hot flies.  

If you're traveling up to the great state of Wisconsin to chase trout, be sure to swing on over and see Mat at the Driftless Angler for the local hot flies or check out the report section on his website and tie up a few flies before you head up.  Are you looking for someone to show you around the Driftless, give Kyle a call over at Black Earth Angling Co. and he'll get you on some fish and teach you a ton about the local areas as well.  

 

 

To those getting out - best of luck, stay dry, and if you see me, please don't high hole me!

 

TU Spring Fling

This Spring has been a flurry of craziness in our house.  Between healing up my ankle and trying to be ready to run a 5k with the Mrs., the ups and downs of a career in sales, putting our house on the market, and myriad of other reasons, it's been a good, but crazy start to the year.  Unfortunately things have suffered, including getting regular content up here.  

One thing that I haven't been able to do much lately is sneak away to the local events taking place through Trout Unlimited, DuPage River Fly Tyers, DuPage Fly, Chi Tie, and even the local Orvis.  Everyone has been having different events focused on local fishing opportunities, tying and all things Midwest fishing, and unfortunately I was finding out about things a day late.  

Last week I received a message from a good buddy, Kyle Zempel of Black Earth Angling Co. looking to seeing if I had any plans for the weekend.  He was coming in to town for the OakBrook TU chapters Spring Fling to give a presentation and talk about the Driftless Region and Wisconsin River fishing opportunities.  He was hoping to take me up on my offer of a place to crash and I didn't hesitate.  We stayed up late as he told me all about his epic trips down to the Bahamas chasing bonefish.  Needless to say it's moved up a few spots on the bucket list.  

Kyle awoke early and headed out to the show, leaving me to tidy up the house a bit and finish some weekend running around.  I made my way in time for the brats (not a coincidence) and say hello to Jeremy from DuPage Fly Fishing Co, and friend of the blog, Mike Allen.  As we walked in Mike spoke of the great times that were had at the recent Hardly Strictly Musky tournament down in TN.  I've got musky high on my list for this year, but hearing about a weekend of casting flies the size of small varmit without a bite, sounds maddening.  I don't have that much hair to pull out.  

I went in and hung out with Kyle, checking in to see how the rain had affected the turnout.  Turns out there weren't as many guys as I thought that got rained out like me.  The numbers grew closer to Kyle's presentation and there seemed to be a good buzz as I made my way around the room.  The event overall was nice and well put together.  It was great to meet some of the members of the OakBrook chapter and get my TU membership back up to date.  I appreciate what the organization does and hope I can help make an impact.  

As I walked out Jeremy grabbed me and I told him about my finished Yomogi four weight.  I just so happened to have it in the car and offered to have him a cast.  I headed out and met back up with Mike who had some nice things to say.  After both had cast it, neither wondered why it was quickly becoming my favorite rod.  I look forward to a season of switching between my beloved Kabuto and now the Yomogi.  Hopefully I'll have plenty of willing trout to test them on.