giving credit where credit is due

Being a brand new smallmouth bass fisherman and the newly appointed president of “The River Snobs” (a made up group) I would like to take a moment to say thanks. Not to a person, but to a river. This river begins in Fon du Lac County and flows just over 100 miles before emptying into Lake Michigan. Its watershed covers a 900 square mile radius and its flow is fed by three main tributaries. It gets...

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des plaines river dam

Went out to for a little exploring expedition tonight. I've wanted to check out this dam for the last few weeks and have just finally found the time to get around to it. Never have I seen the water on the Des Plaines so crystal clear, it even felt cooler then normal. The bottom here was ninety percent sand and relatively shallow. Of course, I brought the fishing rod with and gave it a go but the...

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crossing paths – iowa county trout

When I first started my blog, I never would have imagined how many great people I would come to meet in such a short time. Most of these people I have met online and some I have come to meet in person.  I recently had the opportunity to meet another local trout fisherman who just started his own blog. By coincidence, he shares the name Blake with me and is a talented fisherman, rod builder, and...

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crossing paths - milwaukee river musky

a milwaukee river musky Sometimes on the water we run across some strangers that are very good fisherman. While its nice to observe their style, its always cooler to lend a helping hand when needed… Coming around the bend I could hear the commotion. The stranger one pool up was laying back on a very big fish. One of those fish that make a crash rather then just a splash when it jumps. He gave...

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bluegill and the bacon fly

the first bluegill on the fly Pond fishing bluegills is a great way to introduce a kid to fly fishing and an almost sure fire way to catch some fish every outing. Any bead-head nymph is a good stating point, you want something that is gonna sink. I love to add a pinch of raw bacon fat to the back of my fly in an almost “tail” sort of fashion. Bacon fat has earned me more fatty panfish over the...

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poke a pike on the des plaines river

I spent 45 minutes last night fishing a feeder creek to the Des Plaines River (northern lake county). des plaines river feeder creek  I rolled this fish almost a half dozen times before catching him. Hungry little bastard! des plaines river (feeder creek pike...

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two hours spent on the des plaines river

some new backwater on the Des Plaines River The water is still running very high on the Des Plaines River in southern Lake County and has crested its banks in most areas. The once dry shoreline has become something that more resembles a marsh and quite a few new back water areas have been formed. This would be the third time fishing the Des Plaines river and the very first under these high...

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independence grove summer bass

a decent independence grove bass The recent rain over the past week has completely wreaked havoc on the local river systems in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. The weather has stabilized and is now back to its normal hot and muggy mid summer pattern, but it has left behind overflowing banks on most if not all of our local rivers. I have to admit, this last year I have really become quite...

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