You can fish Lake Superior in November but you better be damn sure the gales of November don’t come early. Me, Howie, Granny and our good college friend Paul Cavanaugh, paid serious attention to the forecast and decided it was safe for an Apostle Island journey out of Bayfield. I was badly distracted by a … Read more
It has been a fabulous three days celebrating a big-time birthday this week. I don’t have time to elaborate but I caught my usual birthday fish. Like last year, it was a smallie. It’s a little guy for Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior dock tour but this one stole the fly from a larger one … Read more
September 26-28, 2025 I’m even further behind so another quick blog. I had no business fishing three days in a row on Lake Superior but that’s exactly what I did. It was on the books and a fun trip with Howie, Mike Neuman and another college buddy that has retired and moved to northern Wisconsin, … Read more
Howie, Granny and myself went to Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior today. The forecast was iffy. We knew we were pushing it. But all that being said, it looked like we could squeak a few good hours of fishing in before the rain and wind hit the fan. I questioned things however on our sunrise … Read more
I haven’t had much fishing to share in a week. That’s because I was working on some Florida Slam Cliff Fly Boxes for Back Country Fly Fishers Naples and a large Indo-Pacific permit painting for my friend Mike Lodge. Mike goes with me on most my hosted Yellow Dog trips and two years ago he … Read more
Yesterday morning Granny and I and Mike Neuman and Mark Reesor all headed up to Howie’s in Iron River, WI for the full day 60th birthday celebrations. No one’s birthday was actually yesterday but at least ten of us are within three months. Howie and his wife Sue basically threw a mega party for all … Read more
Success fly fishing on lakes always comes with its challenges. Success when fly fishing the largest lake in the world takes some luck to help overcome the challenges. A mere three days ago Matt “Howie” Norton, Granny and I met our match on Lake Superior. Despite fishing hard all day we managed only one tiny … Read more
Since September 15th 2024 I have been away from home almost constantly. Lots of fishing travels and a ton of speaking engagements ranging from The Fly Fishing Show tour to a heap of one night gigs including ten days ago in the Phoenix area and continuing on next week in Oregon. Presently I’m home for … Read more
Granny said I was full of it when I called December 9 in Florida my last day of fishing for 2024. She was right. Yesterday Howie and I took our ladies to Bayfield, WI for lunch at Morty’s Pub then we fished the town dock on Lake Superior for a short time. It was chilly … Read more
40 years ago today I lived on the shores of Lake Superior. I was a sophomore at Northland College in Ashland, WI. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I had a very light load of classes so that I could fish. But I can assure you I would not have thought about getting in a boat on … Read more
Granny and I walked in our house from Australia early Sunday morning. 1:30 AM to be exact. We slept a ridiculous 9 hours straight and woke around 10 AM. A big no-no as far as defeating jetlag and getting back on schedule at home. But we grabbed the bull by the horns since. Sunday turned … Read more
Matt (Howie) Norton and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to chase smallmouth bass on Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior. The morning was cool and crisp and as the sun rose so did the thermometer. But it never got too hot. The thermometer touched the low 70°s and there was a refreshing … Read more