My first Northland College roommate back in 1983 was Donn Ambrose and he was a Wisconsin native. Donn spent most of his life growing up in a cabin with no electricity on the banks of a unique remote river here in the Northwoods. Many times he treated me to his home water and we took … Read more
Only minutes after getting home from a full day of fishing with Granny last night, friend Bob Butler called and simply said, “Have your raft ready. I’ll pick you up at 6. Muskies and smallies. Bye”. “Cool”, I thought out loud. Cool because today was a chance to break out our new Striker … Read more
Last summer Granny worked hard to get our fixer-upper house here in Hayward, Wisconsin completely finished. This meant missing out on lots of fishing. It’s been great to get her out on the water almost every week this season between her work days. She has been enjoying it so much that today it was her … Read more
I recently said all great fly fishing days in June start early. Well, in July they do too. In fact today was my earliest in years. Lots of years. I can only remember leaving earlier back in my Freemont Lake ice fishing days in the early 90’s. Back then I left at 2:30 AM. Today … Read more
Like most anglers, I’m a map nerd. I can go down the rabbit hole staring at a map looking at lakes and rivers I’ve not been to for hours. But my buddy Bob Butler takes it to a new level. He finds boat put-ins and take-outs overlooked by most. Bob and I rowed down a … Read more
All great fishing days in June start early. Today was no different. Friend Josh Hulbert picked me up at 4:30 AM and we headed to the river to meet up with a new friend, Tanner. Young Tanner is 24 and was raised in the Hayward, Wisconsin area. The sun rose at 5:15 and it was … Read more
Granny and I made a major scouting trip yesterday looking at lakes, rivers and places to camp for the future. Our fun day ended with dinner in Bayfield and we slept in the back of the Exploder on the banks of Lake Superior. This morning we awoke to drizzle but also amazing calmness on … Read more
I had a lot of work to catch up on over the weekend and by around 8 PM last night I was 99% done. This morning I woke up incredibly early – 4:22 AM early to be exact – and I got up and enjoyed the birds while inventing things to do. I worked on … Read more
I was a little groggy when the robins were singing at 4 AM. I rolled over a few extra times before finally making the coffee at exactly 4:45. Heck, I fished till 10 last night then didn’t get to sleep till midnight. But today’s forecast was for another brutally hot one so it was important … Read more
When Granny and I made our move to Wisconsin official, it was amazing how many local fly fishers reached out and welcomed us. We got advice on places to fish, some folks offered to take us fishing, and Stu Neville, owner of the Hayward Fly Fishing Company, Stu offered to promote my art, sell my … Read more
Its hot here in northern Wisconsin. I’m mean like really hot. Temps have been in the mid to high 80°s since I got home from Arkansas Monday. While Granny and I wanted to take out our new Striker raft and float a river on today’s summer solstice, a full “longest day of the year” roasting … Read more
It was a busy Saturday on the famous White River of Arkansas. You couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day. The cold river flowing from below the Bull Shoals Dam created a thin layer of fog. The temperature began comfortably cool. As you would expect, everyone from anglers to sightseers to kayakers wanted their piece … Read more