Green Darner

A family friend sent us this Darner picture from her backyard.  I love Dragonflys.



Lake Sturgeon Season

Starts September 4th

Please catch-photo-release!

Tis' the Season!

Great Lakes Steelhead and Salmon

Cool nights means fall is on the way.  Fall is the time of year that my business dies down a bit and the fishing heats up alot.  Tying some multi-color eggs and some bloodspots and stripes.  All colors work, just some work better than others in different water clarities.

On the North Shore of Lake Superior I have found over the past several years that white and baby pink are my go-to colors.  With the tannin coloration of many of those streams pink and white really pop.  All colors do work though.

I like to make a few different sizes.  I generally choose a size 8 hook and I really prefer stainless steel hooks.  I sometimes leave the egg a bit fluffy and other times trim it tight.  In deeper slower water a fluffy egg can outproduce a tight egg.

Generally high/dirty water means big and bright.  Low and clear water means small, sometimes as small as a 16 penny carpentry nail head.

Redhorsing Around

In the state of Minnesota we are lucky to have six different species of Redhorse; Shorthead, Golden, Silver, Greater, River, and Black.  I've caught all except for the River Redhorse.

At the River Redhorse "spot" the other day I managed a couple visuals and some already caught Redhorses.

I saw this Northern Hogsucker chilling under a grassy cut bank.

A closer look....

 

Their camoflauge is amazing and often times their right under your nose and you can't see them.

Here's one I caught. (Circa 2009)

They're also called Hog Molly, Boxhead, Stone Toter, Hammerhead Sucker, Pugamoo, and Goth Sucker for the telltale black markings on its lips which looks like black lipstick.  This is a very cool species that often gets overlooked.

Then the Reds start hitting.  Redhorse are stocky fish with an attitude.  Greaters, Rivers and Silvers can push 10 pounds and put up a hell of a fight and the smaller Goldens, Shortheads and Blacks are fiesty in their own right.

Beautiful Shorthead Redhorse

Golden Redhorse

Their abundance, and fighting abilities make fishing for Redhorse a blast.  They've been scrutinized as a worthless "roughfish" for too long.  The colors can be amazing and the sharp edges of their scale patterns are remarkable.

I did spot my intended quarry feeding in a fast run about eight feet out.  In the midst of catching numerous Shortheads and Goldens I saw my River Red.  It was a beautiful fish of about 6-8 pounds.  My first attempt blew by him and wasn't close enough.  My second drift brought my crawler chunk straight past his nose and spooked him off the run never to be seen again.  I scanned the area for an hour and fished the exited direction for an hour and never hooked up.

This just means I'll have to spend some more time on that beautiful spot this fall.



Got Worms!

The Clitellum is the smooth segment usually about 1/4-1/2" long that separates the two halves of a worm.  Its a perfect tie in spot for a lead wrapped core and a little color. 

Clitellum Worm

Recipe: #8 SS Mustad Hooks, Thick Brown Chenile, Lead Wire Wrap, Colored Floss, Brown Thread

It's Feeding Time!!

Local Waters.....

We all have local waters.  These are the places close to home that we can sneak away for short periods of time to re-coup from the day to day rigors of life. 

I am lucky when it comes to local waters, one of the reasons I moved from the city.  My home is surrounded by lakes and streams with endless nooks and crannies perfect for killing time when time-killing is needed and short.

One of my nooks that I often visit isn't the best fishing per say, but is one of the most beautiful spots in my area.  Its a babbling Brook Trout stream with a manicured park and trails parralleling its edges.  Rarely do you encounter anglers here, but the park is a popular picnic spot and sometimes draws a crowd.  The stream is shrouded by thick hardwood forest and the sounds of dropping acorns echos through the undergrowth. 

Down in the valley

The Approach

Water is low and clear

White Sucker took a wire worm



The Zone

Scanning for Trout

Work done by Trout Unlimited



The Reward

Beautiful Brook Trout, White Suckers, and few Brown Trout reside here. 

Other than busy weekends or holidays I often times have the whole place to myself and with little to no distractions I can focus on peace and solitude in my hardwoods jungle close to home.

Billy's Bullheads

I don't get to see my nephew too often.  Billy lives 3 hours south of me and we only get to hang for short periods of time sporattically throughout the year.  We still managed to get out for some Bullheads.

We only fished for about an hour, but he pulled out one after another.

Horny's and Pearl's

Learning about our surroundings is so important.  I want to know what everything is and maybe a little about it so when I see this thing, I'll know what it is. 

 They're pretty small, fiesty, and largely unknown to the average angler or anyone who's not a fisheries biologist.  I'm talking minnows again ya' know.

Pearl Dace

Check the colors!

 Hornyhead Chub



Crazy Charlie

My fishin' buddy Crazy Charlie

Hair Fly and Fry

A ten minute test run in a small creek yielded 2 small Pike and a nice Smallmouth that got off.

Then I found the Common Shiner hotspot and pulled in one after another.

The colors and sheen are fanominal!

The spot was also beautiful

Is that a new weave?

"What up girlfriend?"  I heard the chick with the big booty say to the lady behind the counter.  With my day-job I have to travel to discount fashion shows and events.  This weeks event produced weaves in: pink, hot pink,  yellow, red, green, white, orange, lt. blue, dk. blue, brown and purple. 

At a buck a piece wholesale, I had to stock up.  At approximately 2 feet in length this synthetic hair will make many nice big ol' flies.



Rest & Relaxation

Fishing for ghosts can make for a long day.  Luckily for me this day of hunting down the River Redhorse was beautiful.  No River Reds, but still very enjoyable.

White Admiral Butterflies were out in force

A couple Walleyes

Bees

and Green Sunfish

Nothing big or real interesting, but fun to be away for such a beautiful day.

Why Not?!

In the pursuit to catch as many species of fish as possible, one becomes familiar with the micro variety at some point in time. 

Why fish for minnows?  Why not?  There are countless species often times right under your nose.  Dace, Shiners, Chubs, Darters, Sculpins and many other species that can be found in drainage ditches, ponds, creeks, streams, lakes and just about any body of water. 

Often times a size 22 hook, a fleck of crawler skin and a micro float is all one needs.  A single nightcrawler can last all afternoon making this a very economical pursuit.

Don't knock it til' you try it!

Stonecat

Common Shiner

Creek Chub

Golden Shiner

Goldfish

These "lesser-fish" can fill time in any excursion and keep racking up the numbers of species for anyones fishing portfolio.

It gets addicting!