just another day in racine

Two cars pull into the river access at almost the exact same time, one car carrying a solo angler and the other with a duo. I'm sure we've all been there, you look at the other group gearing up and can just tell they are heading for the same exact stretch of water as you were planning to fish. Sure, there is plenty of water in the park, but you have already eliminated all that other water in your brain on the trip over. The bridge was gonna be holding fish and that was "the spot" today. So what do you do? You do exactly what any other weekend angler who has been trained in combat fishing does, you put your gear on faster. Thank God you fish in hip boots and not the full body waders that the opposition is faced with. But wait, a momentarily lost streamer box puts you back to a neck and neck pace. Hurry, come on lets go!

Both groups finish at almost the exact same time and the solo fisherman looks over at the pair. "Please let them head down stream, please let them head down stream," the thought runs over and over in his mind. Sure enough, it's too good to be true. The pair shut their trunk and turn and head upstream just a few steps behind him. What does one do now? Do you quicken your pace and slide right in to the pool and risk some dirty looks?

Instead, he turns to the group and said, "Where you fellows fishing this morning?" The two turn and look at each other quite confused. It wasn't that hard of a question but it seemed to stop them dead in their tracks. After the uncomfortable silence dissipates, the reply come back in broken English, "The bridge." Sure enough, yours fears are made real. With no thought the solo angler concedes the spot, "Sure guys, have at it and I'll just move upstream." Not sure that his words were understood, the angler just turns and heads one pool up from the bridge.

For the next hour he watches these two fools from the next pool up. The duo managed to snag almost every rock with their large weighted dropper rigs and splashed through the pool with heavy feet trying to free their line. After an hour they reason that there must be no fish hanging out under the bridge and decide to move one pool down.

Finally given the chance, the patient angler slides down to the bridge pool and goes three for three on brown trout. Two nice fish and one stocker fall victim to the black streamer in the next hour all while the duo were forced to watch from the next pool down.

wisconsin great lakes brown trout

best fish caught from the bridge pool

This was just another day in Racine...