a look back- 09-28-2009 fly fishing salmon (tributaries, wi)

This post is a continuation from my previous post. This is the second day of a fishing trip I went on with Neal last year. If you didn’t read my last post then click here.

09-28-2010

We awoke that morning to find a puddle of water on the bottom of our tent. The rain last night wasn’t a downpour but more like a consistent drizzle that gave everything a good soaking. Since camp was right on the banks of the river we were able to see the flows hadn’t been affected by the rain last night. The decision was made to pack down the entire camp and be on the river in the next hour. The sun was just starting to give us some light and that made breaking down the tent and reloading our gear into the truck super quick. Breakfast consisted of pop-tarts washed down by red bull and after brushing our teeth we were ready to fish.

A short drive and we were ready to stalk some salmon. The lot was practically empty only having one other car in sight. I love fishing weekdays! We made a short walk to the first “sweet spot” in the river, a place we never were able to fish the day before due to the other anglers that had this spot locked down. Just walking down the bank, I spotted a group of 3 large fish pushing up and down the front of a gravel bar. Neal conceded the spot to me and I gratefully accepted preparing to send my purple egg-sucking-leach into the war zone.

wisconsin tributaries

On the third cast into the pool I hooked up. Neal stuck around long enough to help me land the first fish of the day. We took a quick photo and both Neal and my fish headed down river. I stayed to work the remaining fish I had in front of me.

a solid salmon to start the day!!

Twenty minutes later I followed my friends footsteps down river stopping to work a couple isolated pods of fish. I hooked up on four more fish and landed two. One of them was fouled and the other was fair. These fish I had to tail grab by myself.

as close to fair as it gets

I walked up on Neal playing a foul hooked fish that we caught and released. Neal had chased the fish a good distance upriver. He told me “bro, you won’t believe the amount of fish in the next pool down”. We made our way to the pool and sure enough he was right. At least thirty fish were packed in that fifty yard stretch. This is where we spent the rest of our day.

neal with a nice king

me and my new friend jack

my new friend buck