Friday, September 30, 2011

Last Shot

As the last light dwindled another beautiful Brookie came to hand.

This was my last shot at stream Brook Trout in my area as the stream season closes today.  It was like this little Brookie wanted to be caught, just one last time this season.  My Polish Woven Grub drifted effortlessly into his domain as he shot out from under a snag in a violent streak of fury.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

BWCAW: Nature's Finest

A buddy and I took Charlie up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area to target Northern Pike in a backwoods lake and hunt down a few Grouse.  Our free campsite is just as beautiful as I remember it from 12 years ago.  We set up a nice camp.


It took about 2 hours of hiking through the woods to find the trail back to my secluded Pike spot.  We fished Tuesday for 4 hours and we caught 21 Northern Pike.  The action was almost nonstop, but the reality of our 2 mile trek back through the swamp dragging a 14 foot aluminum boat, cut the time down.  We used to get monster 16-23 pounders out of this lake 12 years ago, and they now averaged 6-7 pounds with the biggest being 9 pounds.  I still believe theres monsters lurking there.  We kept 2 to eat.


Heading back to a Grouse trail we saw a cow and a nice bull Moose.  We only caught a glimps of the bull and could'nt get a picture, but the cow stood at full pose and let us get close.


Everything is beautiful up there.



Yesterday I shot my limit of Grouse before 10:30, all nice birds that will eat well and whose flanks will live on in my flies.


Charlie had the time of his life up there and had no problem hangin' at the campsite just chillin'.


Sunday, September 25, 2011

Depth Charge

Size 8 long shank buggers with oversized beadheads and a lead core.  These babies will sink down in the core of a hole and stay true in turbid current.  The Browns of Gitchi should smack the crap out of them!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Moving up in the World

I recently recieved my new Lamson Konic 3.5 in the mail straight from Chicago Fly Outfitters (ChiFly).  This is huge for me as I've been using starter kits and used/old fly reels.  The days of losing 6 Steelhead from not having a drag system or from sub-par equipment are over. 

I decided to head out with Charlie and look for some Grouse and test out the new Konic on a local stream.  The reel worked flawlessly as I caught numerous resident "stamp collection" Pike.
  With the sealed system on the Konic I don't have to worry about water or grit getting in my reels anymore.  At $210 with an extra spool this reel is a remarkably good deal for the quality.

The thick undergrowth made the grousing difficult and resulted in 1 ghost flush that wasn't seen and a few distant drummings.  Charlie enjoyed being out and sat patiently as I plyed the waters with the Konic in search of water wolves.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Bobbing with Gebbu

I've always been facinated by how others fish and the different tactics and techniques used in different parts of the world.  I've recently been reading about "Bobbing" on the UP of Michigan for Lake Trout and Salmon.  The Finlanders have been doing it for quite some time and with great success.  They use a spool of line called a "Gebbu" or "Debbie" and vertical jig spoons and maribou jigs down hundreds of feet for these fish.  It got me thinking about how cool and possibly effective it could be for Whitefish this winter.  Then I started thinking about Jeremy Wade handlining a Bull Shark and I had to make some Gebbu's and try it out.  I plan to soak one for Sturgeon soon and ice some Pike this winter as well.  This is what I came up with; they should work well.
I ordered up the "modern" Gebbu line (45# stainless steel nylon coated wire).  I ordered my spools from a professional kite shop and had the SS swivels laying around. 
Just add a rig to the swivel and experience some hardcore "hand-to-hand" combat fish fighting.  I can't wait!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

New Spot....

About a month ago I was cruising some backroads near a river looking for new secluded spots to fish for Redhorse.  This particular river is known for having some giant Greater Redhorse and nice Shortheads and Silvers.

I had found a perfect location for targeting Redhorse.  Its an old train bridge with huge boulder eddies, sandbars, deep scour holes, and pile-ons.  Last night I had my first chance to fish it and caught Walleyes, Smallmouth Bass, and Shorthead Redhorse.  The Shortheads were huge.

(This one was at least 20", but I forgot my tape. 20 for sure though)
(This one is more like an 18", but still big.)

I caught a ton of small Smallmouth Bass and 4 small Walleyes averaging around 13-14".


Next time I'll get a Greater Redhorse there!