santa delivers a report from clinton lake

   03-25-12 Clinton Lake - North Fork Fished for the first hour in the coves across from the takeoff. Fishing was very slow for first hour till I figured out the secret. Bass holding tight to cover, mostly in less than 1 fow. It all started on the NE Corner of the bridge and worked way up the bank North of that. Water temp was 70 degrees and a massive shad die off was evident by...

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Visiting The Vise

  Since the weekend was a bust for me, I figured I would share something a little more productive. The following images are a few flies I have recently tied up. I have been toying with all different size flies and patterns. These are not just trout flies. I am on a mission this year to try and catch a pike or musky on a fly. Hope you enjoy! ...

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jump into spring - fox chain of lakes report

With such a rapid infusion of warm weather, local areas lakes are fishing in full blown spring patterns. Backwaters, bays, and harbors are heating nicely and are drawing in all sorts of gamefish. choke that husky jerk son On a side note, this winter was hardly severe enough for all the weeds to be killed off. In fact, they are quite lush for this time of the year. this feisty s.o.b. took a large...

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A Quick Sneak Down To The Lake

  Tuesday evening after a long day at work, I found myself pondering the thought of sneaking down to the lake for an hour on my long drive home. Do I go, should I stay home,or  Should I tie up some flies? Ahhh what the heck, I'm goin fishin! Soon after I arrived home I found out my little fishing buddy(my son) had a Cub Scout meeting, and I was really hoping to get him out there. I was kind...

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Newton Lake- Big Bass!

On a more productive note, a good friend of mine headed South this past weekend. The destination was set for Newton Lake. Newton is a gem in disguise when it comes to Largemouth Bass fishing. I have personally fished this lake a half of a dozen times, and every time down there was never a disappointing moment.  Newton serves as a cooling lake for a hydro power plant....

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2012 spring steelhead

With record breaking warm temperatures the spring cycle has been accelerated with all types of species found swimming Illinois and Wisconsin's waters. The sucker run is already in full swing in the tribs that flow into Lake Michigan and I would just have to assume that the steelhead cycle is well ahead of last years time line. Last year, fishing was good until...

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grant county trout fishing

Location- fennimore wisconsin Conditions- sunny warm and windy Target- driftless stream trout Tactics- nymphing In total, I fished three different creeks and scoped out two others on drive by's. Of the three streams fished, only two yielded fish catches. Of the two places I caught fish, one was far above the rest in finding an active population of fish. The wind was blowing hard at a sustained twenty...

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Spring Ahead To Steelhead

  As most of you know the clocks bumped forward an hour on Sunday morning. The loss of an hour of sleep can really bring you down. For me it didn't matter much because the spring ahead meant Steelhead on the fly. Every year I look forward to this amazing spring run. It compares to nothing. Hooking into a Steelhead, hearing the line strip off your fly reel, and sometimes getting an acrobatic...

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Pink Squirrel Part 2 of 3: How To Tie

  A few weeks ago I posted the first part of the Pink Squirrel. Part 1 was an article written by John Bethke who is the creator of this magical fly . On Part 2 I took some photos on how to tie the actual fly while I was prepping for the opener. On a side note, this fly can be used for fish other than trout. In my First Ice! post the secret bait I was using was a Pink Squirrel tipped...

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The Start Of Another Season! 2012 Trout Opener

  This past weekend(March 3rd) hundreds of trout anglers flocked to Wisconsin small streams in hopes of connecting with an all mighty trout at the end of there fishing lines. Wisconsin offers thousands of miles of trout streams and has some of the best in the Midwest. The weather however didn't exactly cooperate with the angler in mind. High winds, snowflakes, and frigid temps keep some...

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indian fly

Very similar to the black prince with the absence of tinsel and a few color changes. I tied it early this weekend and think I will like this fly very much. hook- 2-8 thread- black tail- white hackle body-    rear- 1/2 yellow wool    front- 1/2 red wool hackle- brown wing- black squirrel ta...

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milwaukee river- sturgeon rehabilitation

So, I came across this sign last week while fishing the Milwaukee River. Lake Sturgeon Reintroduction Project It prompted me to do a little more research on the Milwaukee River stocking program and here is some of the best links I found online. DNR stocking and history (check out the attached video) A more recent DNR update Sturgeon caught in Milwaukee Harbor Dead sturgeon turns up...

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