I’m fishing hard this week trying to squeeze in every last cast before it gets too cold here in Northern Wisconsin. Today I musky fished with Josh Hulbert and an old Jackson Hole friend, Shannon McCormick. On my last four musky days with friends we’ve managed exactly one musky per trip. This may not sound … Read more
I rowed my boys Howie and Numzie down a river today. If my friends are fishing hard and making at least the occasional competitive cast, I’ll row all day long and that’s what I did. It was the coldest fishing day of the year. When we pushed off my phone read 24° and the rod … Read more
It was a chilly one when Josh Hulbert picked me up. It was cloudy and still dark at 7:30 am. It seemed a storm was brewing. I used to hate this time of year for the cold dark mornings, but now that I live in Wisconsin, I don’t mind them so much because this is … Read more
Like most outdoorsman, I love the fall. I cherish every minute of October and these days I prefer relishing it in Wisconsin. But I’ve been gone a lot lately and it’s been building inside me that I’m missing out on my favorite time at home. Last night, the minute Granny got out of work we … Read more
Bob and I went on an adventure today. What this means is that we floated a piece of water we’ve not yet done and likely very few have which in turn means there was nowhere to get info. When you do this you could encounter some issues such as a completely blocked passageway. But Bob … Read more
I’m often given flies when at fly fishing shows and speaking gigs by generous fly tyers. I do my best to fish each and every one of them. At the January Edison Fly Fishing Show, the “Girl with the Musky Tattoo” gave me one of the most amazing flies ever. It’s a muskellunge fly exactly … Read more
2024 will go down as one of my best local water fishing seasons since I was a youngster in Jackson Hole. Two years ago everything here in Wisconsin was new. I got my butt handed to me most outings but love new water and the challenges that come with. Last year the results improved greatly … Read more
Bob and I each whacked one of those 27” northern pike the other day. Most foraging anglers avoid pike because of the Y bones but if you no how to fillet around them, pike are delicious. Last nights meal reminded me and Granny that we need to collect one a week rather than one a … Read more
Once upon a time, October was considered the last fly fishing month of the season. And to tell you the truth, the places I’ve spent most of my life, New England as a kid, Wisconsin during college and in the Yellowstone/Jackson Hole region back in the 80’s and 90’s, it was. November was too cold … Read more
We celebrated Howie’s epic musky last night. And rightfully so. A 46” fish of any kind from a river is a creature that is rare in this day and age. Today however was a different day and in order to complete my goal of getting both Mike Neuman and Howie into their first ever muskies … Read more
I made a goal last night as I bedded down, guide my two buddies (regulars on the blog), Mike Neuman and Matt “Howie” Norton, to their first muskellunge on the fly. Not an easy task being Neuman is new to chucking the big fly rods and Howie is jinxed with the elusive freshwater giants. To … Read more
We experienced a drastic temperature drop the last 24 hours. It plummeted enough that Bob Butler and I put down our smallmouth 6-weight rigs and broke out the 9-weights. I put on an SA Toothy Predator leader and clipped in a big black Brush Fly that goes with on giant trevally trips. We went prowling … Read more