There’s a lot of fishing to be had the next six months. Now in the tail end of spring here in Wisconsin many or our waters are open and the fish are about to turn on. The only season not open around Hayward yet is muskellunge. But that opens soon.
Today I woke up confident that I’m packed and ready for departure to Colombia early Tuesday morning. Almost immediately after returning from fly fishing Colombia I head to the Ontario side of Lake Superior out of Nipigon. There I’ll meet some of my Scientific Angler buddies and track down some coaster brook trout and lake trout. I enjoyed this trip last year. The superb fishing caught me by surprise – so much so I rebooked the minute I got home. And I’m organized for this trip to Canada as well.
Being ready for the big trips gave me a chance today to turn off the computer and start the season with friend Bob Butler. If you’ve followed the blog the last two summers you saw us fishing together at least a couple times a week. This summer will be no different.
Bob and I didn’t travel far. We dropped his drift boat in the river near his house and pointed his tiny drift boat motor directly upstream. It was a gorgeous day. The sky was a rich blue. A subtle breeze blew and our starting temperature was around 60°. The birds, the hardwoods budding out, the fresh green from the newly grown tamarack needles – being in the heart of spring is always a sight to behold.
We cut Bob’s outboard after about 35 minutes. We anchored and rigged to let the river settle. Once I was ready I tossed some casts right near the boat. I had the same 6-weight Winston pike rig Granny smeared the fish with on Wednesday. After about five casts I was wrestling my first small pike of the day.
Bob and I took turns back and forth between rowing and fishing. We kept our sessions short. It’s the best way when you haven’t been behind the oars in a while. While we didn’t catch any lunkers, the action was steady. We picked up about six pike and each one smallmouth bass.
The wind kicked in early afternoon. After the short float we intended to get Bob’s new lake boat on the water but we opted not too because of some strong gusts. That was ok with me. I’m in training for these upcoming trips and needed a little leg exercise.
When I got home I put on the running shoes and knocked out 1.3 miles at full throttle (not that fast, trust me). Then I walked another. On this jaunt I ran into three young black bears. Pretty awesome. And what’s really cool, last week Granny and I saw a sow with two cubs raising my 2024 bear count to six already.
That’s all for now. Unless something crazy happens next cast should be to a school of tuna or busting cuberas off the coast of Colombia. Never let your rod down!