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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

the drought of 2012


Well no, I haven’t disappeared. With vacation the entire week of the fourth, my priorities have just been other places. That certainly doesn’t mean that I didn’t fish, in fact it’s quite the opposite. I’ve done a good bit of fishing but just haven’t devoted much time to writing about it. With my laptop in for service and summer vacation with the kiddies my focus has just been enjoying every second I could while not being at the office. We’ve been on a steady diet of trips to the pool, evenings at the arcade, movie nights, and yes even a few fishing outings together.

If you haven’t noticed the overbearing heat and complete and utter lack of rain then you must not be from around here. For almost my entire week off, the temps were in the high 90’s and for a 3 day stretch they were well into the 100’s.  Flows on most of my favorite Wisconsin rivers are approaching and have even fallen below 10 year lows. For the most part, in clear water rivers the fish are congregated in the deepest pools but they are especially spooky right now. Given these series of circumstances I felt the best bet was staying off the local rivers and harassing some local green bass and bluegills in some of the small lakes and ponds might be best.

big brother with a nice green bass
My son at the age of 6 is a proficient caster, knows when to set the hook, and is finally 100% self sufficient barring the unforeseen tangle. My daughter on the other hand is 3 and just starting to show an interest in joining us on out fishing trips. I remember 3 years ago when Lucas had just started fishing, the excitement and curiosity he showed for the outdoors was tremendous. I’m a proud daddy because at this moment in time my daughter seems to share that same excitement and curiosity.

Our trio caught a ton of fish on slip bobbers and live bait. Monster bluegills bigger then daddy’s hands came from the private lake as well as the elusive 5 pound cat we tried twice to land but never could get up and out of the weeds. In the public lake we caught tiny gills, a few nice stripped bass, and one largemouth. From the industrial park the big largemouth finally came out to play and was a nice way to cap off a week of fishing with the kids. With all that done and said, I’m most proud of the way that big brother took the time to help little sister through all those lessons he learned just a few short years ago.

holding little sisters first bass ever, what a nice first bass

14 comments:

  1. Both are excellent fish and it is especially good to see some youngsters smiling ;)

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    1. Cutting teeth on pond bass is how I got started, everything comes full circle sometimes.

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  2. It looks as if the next generation of Hamiltons are well along the way of a lifetime of outdoor pursuits. Good going Blake!

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    1. Good to see you stranger. Hope all is well and thanks.

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  3. Blake
    What a great report, I really like when I see small children being taught the importance of the outdoors and even better being shown how much fun it is to land fish. Thanks for sharing

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    1. It certainly helps when daddy has been scouting the area for 30 years. Thanks for the kind words.

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  4. Great read! Reminds me of taking my kids fishing Boy 8, Girl 4 and both love heading to the pond or creek. Self sufficient at 6 is AWESOME and a great testament to your patience. My son just started removing the hook himself this summer and still hands off the larger fish that he cant get his hand around.
    Which slows my fishing down. :(

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    1. I don't fish myself when I'm with my kids. It really keeps my attention focused in the right place, making sure its fun is where its at.

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  5. Awesome post man. The kids look like they know how to trick the Bass at a young age :) Nice pics. Great fish. Tight lines.

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    1. Good to see you Tm. Thanks for the comment.

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  6. Congrats on your angling duo!! They are catching machines!!

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    1. We were only gonna take one trip. They enjoyed the first so much we went 2 more times.

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  7. That is a great first bass, my first fish was a lowly catfish, so I'd say she did ok! It is good to see that some families can still enjoy America's greatest pastime together (yes, fishing not baseball is the greatest pastime).

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  8. Nothing wrong with cats, they are under rated.

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