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
Granny and I had river plans today but with all the rain we’ve had this month, the river was far too high. We bagged it and went to a musky lake we fished a couple times last year. I should mention we were skunked both of those trips. Today, we didn’t get … Read more
Bob Butler and I had trouble deciding what to do today. Bob has a new lake boat and a new raft. We opted for the lake boat trip. It’s a fantastic Lund with an amazing platform for fly casting. We hit a little lake known for having a high population of decent sized muskellunge. … Read more
It was an enjoyable 7 hour drive home from Nipigon on Friday. I daydreamed about the incredible fishing run of the last two months from Bhutan to Colombia to Canada. It was unbelievable. But it was great to finally be home for a normal dinner with Granny on the back porch. I unpacked on … Read more
It’s happened before – going fishing when I probably shouldn’t be going fishing. But while I was galivanting in Mexico earlier this month and while down on Georgia last week, buddy Mr. Bob Butler has been back home in WI catching muskies. When he invited me along for an afternoon on the water today I … Read more
I was literally cleaning the boat and adjusting my Simms tackle bag from our Wisconsin season to get it ready for a trip to Baja this week. When I reeled in yesterday I was 99% sure I was done with local fishing. I had a few big musky flies laying out and Granny walks over … Read more
Any scientist will tell me it’s a bunch of bologna, but I’m a believer in the “autumn equinox storm”. My definition is: a storm that provides a deluge of rain, strong wind and leaves us with much cooler temperatures permanently till next spring. It’s the true and noticeable shift from summertime to wintertime. Yeah, I’m … Read more