Cold Blows the Wind

Date: Oct 26, 2008
Location: Land of the Lost
Air temp: 30s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: --
Fish landed: 1 Lake Wolf


Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

QuickDraw
TAFKAY

It was a cold and stormy morning.
Well, By the time TAFKAY got to my house, it was a cold and stormy afternoon, but that's to be expected.
;)

we got out to the lake around 11:30 i think and we shot the shit with Coach McGuirk for a while. it took a while to get the boat started but once it was up and running we were soon trolling. the Winds were really whipping across the lake and I had a difficult time maintaining a straight line troll. we decided to head for shallow/calmer water to the west side of the lake.

we finally got out of the wind and were casting in shallo water. he hit the spot between the J-hole and the southern point for some time before moving south along the shore. We didn't have any luck in that spot so eventully we decided to move to the edge of the alpha hole and try our luck there.

We hit a few sppots along the edge of the alpha, using the anchors to hold us out of the wind. once we moved to the far south western edge of the alpha, TAFKAY had his first strike. that was really cool, but the fish quickly got off. Soon after that he got another one on which was putting on a good fight, he loostened the drag a bit and soon enough we got the fish in the boat. we didn't get a measurement on the fish but by my estimate it was near 30".

good fish and a good day to be out despite the "first snow" and cold weather.

This one is for the White tigers, they are the tastiest of all the tigers.

The End is Nigh

Dates: September 13, 2008
Location: EPB&G Spot
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 1 brown


Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan


The season is winding down, and thankfully the temps are finally dropping as well. After a few weeks of no fishing, I found a drizzly, cool day to hit the Curd. I hoped things would be as ideal as possible, but fishing still sucked balls. The water was low and somewhat clear, fish were hardly rising, nymphing involved cleaning one's fly every second cast, and the fish were not very active. I barely got one 12" brown by setting my hook on a whim. Well, hopefully steelhead season will be eventful...

SeaWolf

Dates: Sept 16, 2008
Location: Land of the Lost
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: Mayflies, Bats
Fish landed: 1 Lake Wolf


Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

QuickDraw

Well Me and naaz headed up to the lake after work for a lil nitebite action. the land of the lost did not disappoint. when we got out there, the water was absolute glass. the weather was soooo nice out, we setup on the backbone and began to cast big furry things. It wasn't long after we started that naaz had a large follow up to the boat, soon after that I had a ambitious bass in the boat.

After a while of no action we moved the boat over to the edge of the J-hole. Bingo! Northern on, it was an odd fish I thought he got off the line twice, but we were able to somehow get him in. Snapped a few pics and sent him on his way, 38" was the semi official measurement. Good night indeed!

What's that smell?

Dates: August 23, 2008
Location: Brule
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 1 lil guy


Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

TAFKAY
Froot Boot
Scoot Boot
Jazz Hands
B-Chubnut
Xan


It was a special occasion, with the West Coast contingent of F.A.G. in the area for a wedding. We were near the Brule, and had some time to kill, so why not go fishing?

Because there are no fish in the Brule, that's why. But, we fished anyways. I caught a little guy, and had another one on. Jazzy also landed a small one. The rest of the day consisted of throwing rocks and gear at one another. All in all, a nice outing, which was capped off at the Cro Bar.

Watch Out For That Tree

Dates: August 17, 2008
Location: Canyon
Air temp: mid 80s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 4 or 5 browns


Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

QD
Xan


Quickdraw recently purchased a canoe. The USS Poopship (Arleigh Burke Class) once again set sail down the Canyon, for a day of sun, fun and trout. We floated down to the Alpha Hole where we started fishing. Not much was going on there, but we did see a beaver swim by. Sadly, QD wasn't able to tie on a mouse fast enough to try and catch it.

We made our way down, fishing along the way. We saw numerous other floaters, including a 30 person kayak horde.



Times are tough these days, as the summer has brought forth the underwater plant life to full head. We rid our nymphs of vegetation almost as often as we cast. The only trout I was able to land were in the deeper runs, mostly devoid of the undergrowth.

QD skillfully navigated us through the perils of the Canyon, and for the second straight day, I put in an honest day's work on the stream. Hopefully this will be one of many trips on the Poopship.

Comfort Sport

Dates: August 16, 2008
Location: Warwick & Famous Original Ray's
Air temp: mid 60s to mid 80s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 1 bow, 2 panfish, 2 suckers


Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan


I've had quite a lot on my mind as of late. I'd been racking my brain, pacing the room, lost in my thoughts. I didn't even want to go fishing, but I knew I needed to. So early Saturday morning, I woke up without an alarm at 3:30, got my things and headed out. I've been wanting to fish a particular spot after visiting it months prior, to see if it held large trout. I arrived at the Warwick just before dawn and headed to the dam.

I stood on a large chunk of stone on the bank, and casted an egg sucking leech around my perimeter. As daylight slowly filled the areas around me, I started to see fish rise. I tied on a stimulator and eventually got a hit. Quickly getting the fish in, I discovered I had caught a crappie. The chances of large trout faded from my mind, but I continued to fish other areas by the dam to see what else I could land.

The sun started to peek over the large concrete wall. Standing in that place, faced with the cascade of water, the glowing mist, the trees, all amplified and sharpened with the yellow tint of my polarized glasses, I finally felt like I was in the right place. I hadn't solved my problems, but I knew, over time, that I would.

After landing one more crappie, I headed downstream to look for trout. I went directly to a deeper run, tied on some nymphs, and set to work. I was rewarded with two consecutive suckers, but was finally able to land a 12" bow. That was my fill of the Warwick, and I headed off to McD's for some biscuits.

Refueled, I drove to Famous Original Ray's. I tied on a hopper and set to work. I fished all the way up to the gallery, only sporting a dry. Between a hopper and a stimi, I had hits throughout the day, but wasn't able to land a single fish. I fished until I had worn myself out, until all the worries in my head were gone and the decisions I needed to make at this point in my life were made. I returned to my car, with my mind silent, my body exhausted, ready to go back to the world. And so I did.

The Dark Night

Dates: August 1, 2008
Location: Great Lawn
Air temp: mid 60s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: mice
Fish landed: 3 or 4 browns


Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan
TP


Trout fishing has been few and far between since Montana. The weather has been hot and humid, so freaks like TP have spent the time chasing giant suckers. He claims they fight like hell, take you to your backing, yadda, yadda, yadda... But they are still suckers. He has slightly redeemed himself by landing a sweet Muskie, but only slightly.

It was time to return to the trout, under the stars and the new moon. We hiked way up the river to runs that TP felt would be productive. As the last bits of sunlight were fading across the valley, I got some nymphing in. Through cleaning the river bottom of much vegetation, I was able to land a decent 15" brown.

Soon, night took over, and it was mousing time. TP started to get some action and landed a trout or two. As we made our way down, most areas were active with trout, and we started to land them here and there. No huge fish were caught, but it was still a lot better than the last time I had night fished this area.

As the night wore on, I started to lose energy. TP decided to fish one last run, but lost his mouse in a tree on his first cast, and that was the end of our session. As night fishing goes, it was fairly productive, but Walter still eludes us...

The Great Salmon Fly Hunt of 2008

Photo courtesy of Jazz Hands

Ah, the salmon fly. Those lovable, hug-able, stupid, giant bugs that fatten trout and drive anglers insane (with joy or frustration). With all the snowfall that Montana received last winter, we were initially concerned that our target rivers would be blown out. As our trip neared, concern turned to optimism and then to worry. The rivers were starting to fish well, but the salmon flies were already hatching. Would we get there in time? Could we find the hatch? Would the fish be gorged already? As we learned, the answers to those questions would be, kinda, not really and who the fuck knows.


Dates: July 11-17, 2008
Location: Gallatin & Madison
Air temp: 80s
Water temp: ???
Hatches: shit loads of caddis and some salmon flies


Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Jazz Hands
B-Chubnut
Quickdraw
Xan


Jazzy and Chubnut were the first to arrive on Friday. With some time to kill before QD and I would arrive, they hit a familiar spot on the Gallatin. Unfortunately, this area was still blown out and the fishing was poor. They picked us up from the airport, and we made our way to the motel to taunt Jazz Hands over Brett Favre's recent drama. Evidently, he inhaled too much of Chubnut's anal sulfuric discharges, as he was a basket case all night.

Photo courtesy of Quickdraw

The Madison - The Agony

Photo courtesy of B-Chubnut

The next day, we traveled to the Madison to find these damn salmon flies. Over the next three and a half days, we made our way up and down the upper Mad trying to find our Mecca. A humble philosopher might say we had already found our Mecca, by being in the beautiful state of Montana, united as friends, but that philosopher can suck my ball sack. Water levels were good, the salmon flies were around, caddis were everywhere, and we wanted fish flying out of the water with insects falling out of their gills. But, it was simply not to be. Try as we might, dry fly activity was scant, even with thousands of bugs all over the water.

Photo courtesy of B-Chubnut

We gritted it out, casting nymphs by day, streamers at night, negotiating the hordes of fellow anglers, catching our fish here and there, with a whole lot of nothing in between.

Photo courtesy of B-Chubnut

Photo courtesy of Jazz Hands

Photo courtesy of Jazz Hands

Photo courtesy of Jazz Hands

Photo courtesy of Jazz Hands

As Tuesday arrived, we gave it one last shot, before returning to Bozeman and calling an end to our Mad River adventure.

Photo courtesy of Jazz Hands

The Gallatin - The Ecstasy

We dropped off QD at the airport and had a few hours to kill before Jazzy had to leave. We went back to our familiar Gallatin spot to find the river still blown out. Fortunately, there are two channels at this spot, the main branch and a side branch, which in turn has what looks like an irrigation canal. The side branch was fairly normal in terms of flows, and Chubbers and Jazz landed some decent trout. When it was time, we took Jazz Hands to the airport and then came back, where I was able to land a few as well.

The next morning, Chubnut and I hit up a fly shop at Four Corners for some flies and advice. We were told that the Gal was flowing well and wade-able up by Big Sky. We fired up the Kia and made our way there. Neither of us had ever fished this area, and we did some scouting before selecting a spot to start our fishing.

Photo courtesy of B-Chubnut

What commenced was a full session of catching fish all day long. We were interrupted by a thunderstorm, at which time we ate some salami sandwiches and drank some beer. When we resumed, the fishing was a bit slower, but still productive. We didn't catch anything huge, but a few nice fish were brought to hand amongst the scads of bows. After days of struggling for fish amidst massive crowds on big water, we had a stretch of river all to ourselves, with every fishy run producing. We fished to exhaustion, and called it a day and trip.

Photo courtesy of B-Chubnut

The next morning, I dropped Chubnut at the airport and went back to our familiar Gal spot for the White Bite. I landed a few trout, a few whitefish, and that was that. I boarded the plane sweaty, exhausted, sore, and content, and I didn't even have to visit an airport bathroom stall. That's what Montana is all about.

Photo courtesy of B-Chubnut

Silent Night

Date: July 5, 2008
Location: New spot, Bridge & Lawn
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 1 brook

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Booter
Xan
Scooter


Needing a healthy restocking of flies, I headed out to Lunds late on Saturday afternoon. After dropping a healthy amount of dough on a wide assortment of dollar flies, I decided to check out a spot high up on the Curd. QD, Timbo and I had driven here once, but did not explore the area as the river was high and muddy. Now, it was slow and clear, so I set up and headed upstream. The river was mostly wide and slow. The few riffles I saw were quite shallow, though I did scare some fish here and there. After a ways, I headed back and went downstream from the bridge to find more of the same. I tried fishing one riffle, but didn't get any strikes.

Having some more time to kill before Booter and Scooter would join me for some night fishing, I went down to the EPB&G spot to see if I could get some casts into my favorite run. Alas, the area was crawling with fishermen, so I got back into the car and headed to our rendezvous area, the Bridge Spot. The sun was setting behind the bluff, and I made a quick nymph run along QD's favorite spot. There were fish rising here and there, but I was too lazy to tie on a dry, and found no interest in my copper John.

Walking back to my car to get my headlamp, Boot and Scoot pulled in, and we had a beer. After finishing our round, we hit the river as the last bits of sunlight faded into night. I was able to pull a small brookie on a hex dry before I could no longer see my fly on the water. Now, it was mousing time. The absence of moonlight made the fishing even more difficult, and the action was slow. Perhaps the uneven barometric pressure or lack of moon had some effect, as the hits were few and far between for all three of us.

After fishing around the bend from QD's spot, we headed to the Lawn, where we fished two areas. More of the same. Tired, we called it a night and headed back home.

Balls Deep

Date: June 23, 2008
Location: The Magical Land that time forgot
Air temp: 80s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 1 Big Fucker, 2 Small Fuckers

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Quickdraw
Coach McGuirk (non F.A.G.)
Naaz (non F.A.G.)

yea another great day, I'll keep it short and sweet. first cast I caught the biggest walleye of my life right about 24" maybe a bit over that. that was at about 7:30 am fished all day saw a ton of big muskies and northerns maybe about 15 follows up to the boat.

Had lunch at roman's which was awesome, coach joined us after lunch and we caught some crappies and had more big follows. Coach and I left for home around 4 P.M.

good day.

Big Fucker.

Date: June 20, 2008
Location: The Magical Land that time forgot
Air temp: 80s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 2 Big Fuckers

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Quickdraw
Coach McGuirk (non F.A.G.)

Well me and coach headed out to the magic lake around the azz crack of noon. it was just a perfect day to be outside about 80-85 degrees out. we got setup on the alpha hole and started our drift/casting for large toothy beasties. It wasn't long before we had multiple follows. the fish seemed a bit lazy though, not hyper aggressive.

A few hours later and I hooked into this big boy.
at first I didn't think he was that big, he seemed to be swimming at the boat for the beginning of the fight, he made a few strong runs and we hauled him in the boat(excellent network by coach). we did a quick measure on him and he was just over 40" and chunky. We took a few pictures and released him, he swam off really strong which is always great to see. Caught him on the eastern edge of the J-hole, near weed island on the edge of the backbone. That fish turned out to be the biggest northern caught by us so far on that lake. Also this fish qualifies for a Master Angler Certificate from the Minnesota fishing hall of fame, I'll be submitting this fish this year. Bow down to your master. Now working on a Grandmaster Flash Angler Certificate.

about a half an hour later I hooked this one. He was a scrappy little bastard, ended up measuring up at a respectable 30".


It was a good day.

Broken Record

Date: June 14, 2008
Location: EPB&G Spot
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 4 browns

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Quickdraw
Xan
TP


Well, the water was still brown. Storms over the week had brought the Curd river to over twice its normal levels, with discharges over 1,100 cfs (normal is 100 cfs). The river rapidly recovered by Saturday, with gauge readings almost exactly the same as last Sunday.

Quickdraw, Timbo and I arrived at the EPB&G spot to find a horde of fishermen upstream of the parking lot. It appeared they were part of some sort of class. We approached them, displayed our credentials, and announced that when they were ready, they too could join the F.A.G. UMC. Actually, we didn't, but we should have.

Seeing a few other fishermen at the pool by the lot, we headed downstream. It was another slow day. I had a few fish pop off, and false hooked a few more. TP and QD landed a few here and there as we continued to march downstream. They headed further downstream than I did, as I made a futile effort to catch fish. After a while, I had lost almost every decent nymph I had. By the time they came back up, they had reported some decent fish landed. QD had a "state record" fish on, but it had popped off mid fight.

We decided to fish some runs as we made our way back to the car. I decided to try the nice, deep run that is upstream from the lot. With my fly box decimated, I was now left to dead drifting an orange bugger. I fished the lower portions of the run for a short while, then decided to hit the head, where it was easier to wade. After a long, frustrating day, I landed a decent fish on the tail end of a drift. I continued to cast upstream, where the riffle poured into the run, and hooked up a sweet slab. It was chunky enough where I had trouble handling it, and wasn't able to measure it up against my rod before he was able to wiggle free (when the fuck is my new net going to get shipped?). After a couple more trout, it was time to go. I was able to end my day on a good note, with one "tri-county record" brown landed.

That's what a hamburger's.... all about

Date: June 14, 2008
Location: ?
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: ?

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Booter
Xan


Normally, I would have said my Saturday morning was starting out poorly. For starters, I had just brought my car to the shop. I should have been alarmed by the ominous fissure that ran completely across their narrow parking lot, but for some reason that worry simply didn't stick. Booter was coming to get me, and fishing was in store. The sun was shining and good feelings enveloped me.

Fruiter arrived and I hopped into Old Blue. I checked my cell and had eight texts, mostly from other fishermen eager to join us. Despite the prospects of bad fishing in low, clear water and sunny skies, and having my car swallowed by a sinkhole, life felt good. I literally did not have a care in the world. I was going fishing with friends, and that is all that mattered.

Or so I thought.

As we drove up 35W through Bloomington, Booter had to make a quick stop in the area to pick something up for work. Running on an empty stomach, we decided to hit up one of the local fast food establishments. Curving around the highway offramp, we came across a McDonalds. Duly noted, but we would look for a few more options before deciding. Only moments later, all was decided, and this good day shot through the roof to stratospheric levels. Right behind the McDs stood... an In-N-Out Burger. A MOTHERFUCKING IN-N-OUT BURGER!

I sat there slack jawed like a mouth-breather for a few seconds, trying to process what I was seeing. It didn't look like any In-N-Out I had seen before, it looked like a converted IHoP, but the name was there, along with another large sign proclaiming $1 burgers. Joy rushed from my body to my brain and then back down to my lungs as I shouted, "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!"

And then I woke up... on Friday morning... dehydrated and exhausted from all the drinks the night before... still trapped in a land where paunchy yokels worship Culver's pap and overpriced juicy lucys.

Fucking A.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Date: June 8, 2008
Location: Bridge & Great Lawn
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 3 browns

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan
Booter
Scoot

Scooter, Booter and myself headed to the Bridge to play in the brown water. Recent rains had slightly raised the water level, while discharge was about twice the norm. The water was very murky, but fortunately, the river wasn't blown out and the fish were feeding.

We parked by the bridge itself, and started to make our way up the stream. I was able to land a decent trout just in front of the bridge to start the day. Reassured that the day wouldn't be a complete bust due to the water color, I continued to nymph the run, much to my future dismay. The prior day I had spoken at length with a fellow fly fisherman. The topic of suckers came up, and I happily declared that I had yet to catch one this year. Naturally, I hooked one the very next day. My second fish quickly splashed the surface when I set, giving me the false hope that it was troutish. It kept low for the remainder of the fight, though after seeing it flash a few times through the murk, I started to get a bad feeling. As I brought it to the surface after it tired out, I let out a shriek of disgust. I had on a large, disgusting sucker with my stone fly impaled through its inflamed sphincter of a mouth. Still awaiting my new net to be shipped, I was faced with the prospect of handling the putrid bag of mush with my bare hands. However, I got lucky, and the large fly I had been using was easily accessible, and I was able to pop it off without having to handle the shit eater. After the unpleasantness, I moved upstream to find fish of repute.

Fishing was slow all day, with few rises due to the brown. We worked the immediate area and then headed to the Great Lawn. We stuck close to the immediate lawn area, and each of us pulled a few fish here and there.

Scooter pulls in a nice brown.

Once we were tuckered out and hungry, we decided to forgo the EPB&G and try out the Lawton Bar for a change of pace. The Lawton had been closed for a while, but was now open again. It is a very simple bar, with a small menu of mostly burgers and fried apps. We tried their curds and had a few burgers, but were not overly impressed.

The Return of the Fruit Boot

Date: June 1, 2008
Location: Club
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: skank

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan
Booter


After missing the early season while in Asia, an aborted first trip, and a few additional weekends out of town, Fruit Booter made his triumphant return to the hallowed waters of the Curd. We headed to the Club to hit the evening hatch, and Booter got his groove back post haste. At the run by the car, he landed his first fish of 2008.

We made our way up to the great pool, and pow-pow-pounded the hole with streamers, but couldn't stir a fish. Booter fished the run just up from the pool, and continued to catch fish. He switched to his nemesis, the dry fly (a caddis, which I loaned him), and caught a few more. Later, true to form, he pulled a Booter and fished a run I had been fishing, while I was sorting out a tangle. At least this time he didn't catch a fish there. It's good to have that bastard back.

Born On the 31st of May

Date: May 31, 2008
Location: Posturepedic
Air temp: 60s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: shit loads of something
Fish landed: 1 brown

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan
TP


Timbo thought it was time to check out some new water. Either the Driftless region or a famed river in the northern part of Wisconsin. Given that the Curd has turned into a zoo since the regular season opener, I agreed. Due to recent rains, the Driftless was blown out, but up north had not gotten much precipitation, so north we went.

This is a long river, with the lower half being great smallie water, and the upper portions holding trout. From reading the interweb, the trout here are supposedly the biggest on average in the state. Finding them turned out to be another matter. We drove to many different spots and fished a few of them. After a few hours of effort, the only fish either of us had landed was a 2" brookie that I hooked.

After much futility, we decided to check out a spot where TP had seen cars parked at in the past. This was located right outside the town of mattresses, and right along the highway. I walked a ways downstream, while Timbo fished near the car. There were bugs all over the water, and the only fish that were rising were chubs and tiny trout.

I was skeptical, but kept at it, and soon my indicator twitched. After setting the hook, the battle began. A chunky fish began to dart around, giving my arm a nice workout. The fish didn't jump, and when I would see it flash in the water, its fins looked reddish. I had a bad feeling I had hooked into a red horse, and I had no net to deal with such a disgusting creature. Still, I had called out to Tim to give me a hand, and when the fish tired out, I was pleased to see I had caught one of the fattest 16"ers of my short career. TP was nice enough to snap a pic.




Next, it would be Timbo's turn. He returned to the run he was fishing, and then all hell broke loose. The hits started coming, one by one by one. He hooked and lost three potentially huge trout, but mined the run for probably every fish that was there, catching roughly 6 or 7, if not more. Inch for inch, all of these fish were heavier than anything we've seen on the Curd.






We fished a bit more, to no avail, and then called it a day and made the long drive home.

Double Dippin'

Date: May 25, 2008
Location: Great Lawn
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 0

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

QuickDraw
Timbo

well as we were heading out the radio was blaring about the storm of the century. the skies were stirring up a big ol' mess of shit stew. we were trying to figure out when we would be hit, how much time we'd have on the river before things got messy. our best guess was an hour and a half.

as we pulled up to the great lawn there were 3 cars there. we headed up river in search of uninhabited water, as we got up around the first bend and got ready to cross the river, the skies opened up on us and started raining. yay, "I guess we're fishing here". Which really wasn't a bad spot except for the fact that we were sandwiched between 2 anglers that probably weren't happy with us for fishing there, but oh frickin well.

we fished for a while and tim caught a decent brown who was really colorful, with bright red spots and a red belly, sweet fish. The weather wouldn't stop acting weird and I was really paranoid so we called it a day early.

Date: May 24, 2008
Location: Cannon
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: worms and leeches
Fish landed: 3 Walleye
2 Smallmouth Bass
2 White Bass
2 Freshwater Drum
1 Sauger
1 Goldeye

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

QuickDraw
Marker(non F.A.G.)

This was my first Excursion to the Cannon, It was a pretty interesting day, just fun to get out on a float trip, we were do float about 5-6 miles. We were quickly fishing and although the first spot was fruitless, we were fishing and the day was young.

we soon moved down river to the next spot, we were fishing off an island which was pretty cool, and I saw a ton of big suckers, we tried to catch the suckers but they didn't seem to be interested, we moved down river again, the third spot was kinda interesting, we were soon catching walleyes just a foot or two off shore. it was a fun spot, caught the majority of my fish here. We were having lunch in this spot when a canoe rolled by and it was my good friend Patrick, WTF? what a weird coincidence. cool nonetheless. also some girls asked us to "show us your tits" which was funny, as me and mark were just discussing the finer points of this phrase. another coincidence.

we moved down river and caught some more fish and also caught a goldeye, which was the first time I've ever seen or heard of this fish which was really cool, caught my first silver bass and first goldeye on this trip. on the way home we stopped off at the creamery and had some $1 shakes(use to be $.50 shakes, damn arabs and their oil).

Two Quick Posts

Date: May 18, 2008
Location: Great Lawn
Air temp: 60s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 6 (4 browns, 2 brooks)

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Scotty Mac
Xan


Another early morning, another day at the Curd. We arrived to a bridge without any cars parked by it. Once set up, we began covering the watery expanse along the Great Lawn itself. Cast after cast, after cast, after cast... after cast. Nary even a hit, for either of us, as we slowly moved our way upstream.




Finally, along the bank, protected by overhanging branches, I was able to land four fish. We kept on, fishing our way to the large pool, and even further up past the second major pool. I was only able to land a couple more, that was it.






We ended the day by the first, smaller pool from the lawn. The fish were rising with regularity, but not interested in our dries. Worse, they were taunting us by occasionally rising just behind them. After a good deal of futility, we called it a day.



Date: May 17, 2008
Location: Eagle
Air temp: 60s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 4 browns

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan
TP


TP and I set out early on Saturday hoping to beat the crowds. After encountering a refugee camp at the EP Spot, we arrived at Eagle to find no cars. Things started well, as I was able to land a few just upstream from the bridge. We then traveled a ways downstream, to the first big pool in the area between Eagle and the Club. It was slow going for the both of us, with a few fish picked up here and there. The water was low and clear, and in a few hours they were swarming with other fishermen. After a meager haul, we went and got some spicy curds.

Left Hand Blues

Date: May 11, 2008
Location: Great Lawn and Bridge
Air temp: 60s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: Caddis!
Fish landed: 6 (4 browns, 2 brooks)

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan


Sunday was sunny and windy, with waters sadly unaffected by the recent rain. The water at the Great Lawn and Bridge were low and clear. The primo conditions of early season are quickly becoming a sweet memory, as the water level drops and the fauna rise. To make matters worse, the start of the regular season is bringing added pressure to fish that are learning once again to be more wary.

Most tragic of all, Booter's triumphant return to the streams ended before it began, most likely due to some South Asian scourge. The only thing that could save this day would be the later season's saving grace, juicy hatches.

Caddis, followed later by tricos, grasshoppers, hex, mice, etc..., are a solid hatch throughout the warmer months. A heartier meal than the tiny mayfiles of early season, they will offer a steady rise throughout their convergence to the water's surface.


I was lucky enough to arrive in the middle of a hatch. I started catching fish not far upstream from the Lawn's access point. I lingered at a few runs, picking off trout here and there, but had the hankering to keep moving up. I was curious to fish the large pool not far up, but saw some folks from the Lawn Compound already there. I headed back to the car and went to the Bridge. The caddis had died down by then, and with that, the action. I hit a few runs, but quickly called it a day.

Date: May 12, 2008
Location: The Great Lawn
Air temp: 60s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: little bwo's
Fish landed: SkunkApe

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

QuickDraw

well I headed out to the river for an early morning fishing excursion. I wanted to fish my spot but as I pulled up i was surprised to see 2 cars there and people fishing at 8am. so I headed to the great lawn. When I got there there were 2 fisherman there so i started heading up river, i walked a long ways up because I wanted to fish alone. about 10 minutes after I started fishing, I started seeing more fisherman. I saw a total of 5 guys fishing the great lawn. got skunked, though I did have one fish hit my caddis. I was quick on the draw, but it was not to be.

I was also surprised that there were still no morels yet. Double SkunkApe!

Muddy Club Lounge

Opener 2008

Date: May 3, 2008
Location: EPB&G spot and below the mighty DAMN
Air temp: 60s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 2 (browns)

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

QuickDraw
Xan
Gutmang

Well it's damn tradition, WI opener! Traditionally the crappiest day of fishing all year due to the thick stench of mouth breath, mixed with the smell of stale crawlerz. This year was no exception, although the conditions were far from ideal, we thought we'd harden up and brave the weather for tradition's sake. Hell it's opener forchristsake!

opener started out a few days earlier this year with me ridiculing anyone who was not "hard enough" to fish the opener, I finally convinced Xan to go, I will never question his hardocity again. Friday night at the poker game we convinced Gutmang to go with us. it had been raining for the better part of the night, but before leaving the Kremlin we checked the gauges and all looked grand, the river was at about 3.53' and holding steady( a little over the average of 3' but not bad).

we headed out to the river at about 9 after making a trip to McD's for some breakfast and a McD. when we got to the river it looked like a carnival had come into town, there were some ol' ratty tents pitched and spincasters in lawnchairs lined up on the bank. the river didn't initially look too bad, so we decided to hit it. I got settled in my first spot and discovered that the water was rollin' high, fast, and dirty dirty. Soon after I started fishing I hooked into my first fish a 10" brown, I hooked him in the slow water on a Hot Pink Squirrel he hit super lightly. 2 minutes later I had 2 anglers set up about 20' up river of me, uh, yea, thanks guys. 2 minutes later I caught my second brownie, looked exactly like the first. I took a few more casts and decided to head down to Xan and Gutmang.

When I got down there not much was going on, we fished for a little while and decided to move on to the next river below the Great Damn. we figured that we had a better chance at fishing calmer waters.

when we got there we decided to check out the Dam and to our surprise there were about 6-7 guys fishing with bobbers about a foot away from the dam. the view was great, lots of water spilling over the edge.

We headed down river and fished to slightly calmer waters, but no fish would bite.

we ended up going to Dick's bar where they had 4" of sand covering the floor for their "beach party" uh yea, great. anyways that was opener '08 in a nutshell

Fish & Bird

Date: April 27, 2008
Location: Famous Original Ray's
Air temp: 50s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 19 (18 browns, 1 brook)

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan


The WI inland trout early season came to a close recently. If I'm not allowed to fish for 5 long days, then you best be sure I'll take advantage of the WITES closer. Car trouble prevented Quickdraw and Mark for joining me, so I fished by myself, very much so, as it turned out.

I decided to hit the Original Spot, a place (along with Eagle Pass) that I had yet to fish this year. While I arrived to find one truck in the parking lot, I never saw a fisherman the entire day. For 8+ hours, I had the entire stretch of river all to myself.

Starting at the pool just downstream from the access point, I started picking up fish and losing flies in a quick fashion. 4 fish and 4 flies later, I began to make my way upstream. As I was making my way up to the big pool, I came across this fellow:



Focused on the river in front, I didn't notice the sky carp behind me until I was startled by its unwholesome hiss. As it was, I did not have the tool to reply with the hiss of hot lead, so the winged shit-factory was left unharmed, though unhappy, while I continued to fish.

I decided to explore that day. Moving past the gallery, I hiked and fished all the way to the next access point. I didn't really find much good water, though I was able to pick up trout along the way. But, good to do it once, I suppose.

Hiking back down to the great pool, which I had not bothered to fish the first time around, I sat on the bank and gave my weary legs a rest. In a daze, staring at the water, I realized that this was the only spot, on any west central stream, that resembled Montana water. Deep and with a healthy current, I had never caught much here. Realizing it was time to use Montana tactics, I adopted the mantra of "Big Fly, Big Fish" ("Big Fish, Big Fly?"). I tied on a large stone fly nymph I had purchased, but not used, for the Brule. With a small emerger dropper, #1 split shot, and wooden orb of an indicator, I started extracting decent (though not piggish) trout from the depths of the run and pool. Four fish later, I called it a day.

The Garbage Man Can (Fish the Dry)

Date: April 19, 2008
Location: Lower Curd and Upper K
Air temp: 60s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: BWOs
Fish landed: 10 (browns)

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Quickdraw
Jess
Xan
TAFKAY
Scotty Mac


Whether it's court imposed or not, community service embiggens the spirit of the Guild. The Fly Angler's Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter joined the call to clean the Curd River. Sponsored by a few of our fellow local fly angler societies, over a hundred forty folks gathered to clean vast swaths of the river area.

Suck the teat, gently

We didn't find anything too unusual. Wisconsin waters tend to be well respected by their visitors. Nonetheless, we made a decent haul of items, found along the lower stretches of the Curd.






After cleanup, we had some chili, provided by the sponsors. Figuring the Curd would be packed with fisherman, we headed to Lunds to stock up on flies. QD and Jess parted ways with us, and the remainder went to the Upper for some hot dry fly action.

While many of the fish caught were little guys, sent flying across the stream during hook sets, there was surface activity all day. After trying a BWO parachute and a white mayfly, I finally settled in on a grey and brownish mayfly pattern and caught fish at a regular pace. By the seventh fish, I finally started landing fish of decent size, but alas, no piggies.

All in all, a fine day of the dry.

Flowin' and the Wind

Date: April 13, 2008
Location: The Great Lawn
Air temp: low 40s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: BWOs
Fish landed: 5 (browns)

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan
Timbo
Quickdraw


We, of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, formally change the name of the "above the bridge" spot to: "The Great Lawn."

And so it is done and recorded.

Anyways, we went to the Great Lawn to test our luck after recent rains. Saturday's expedition was canceled due to high water levels and strong winds. By Sunday, both had receded enough to allow for some fishing.

We finally (this season) came across another car in the lot. Two gents were fishing the actual great lawn area, so we decided to hike upstream to water we had yet to visit this year, fishing the usual spots along the way.




The day was windy, with healthy flow rates and brown water making the faster runs tough to fish. As we made our way up, we started to pick off trout here and there. A few nice browns were landed, and many, many flies were lost by all.




Late in the day, Timbo found a run far upstream and laid waste to the trout armies. In a single stretch, he quickly got into double digits.

We hiked a bit further up, but eventually heeded the siren call of the (spicy) curd. After we departed the spot, I came to know why we perform the Scotty Mac Memorial Walk Around when we are packing up. We of course had neglected to do the Scotty Mac Memorial Walk Around, and my reel fell off my back bumper at a "T" in the road. This delayed our EPB&G visit, but I was able to recover my reel, and a newfound appreciation of the Scotty Mac Memorial Walk Around.

Even if Scotty Mac is a douche who never fishes.

Pork Pork

Date: April 6, 2008
Location: EPB&G spot
Air temp: mid 40s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: lots of something
Fish landed: 7 (1 brook, 7 browns)

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Xan

Non Members:
Mark


The early season continues to kick ass. Not realizing the Curd had been blown out just a day prior, we arrived at Eagle Pass to find Timbo's car. We also found 5 other cars, so we decided to seek out calmer waters. We got to the EP Spot to find the lot empty.

I started fishing the slow water by the access point without much luck. As I moved up, the rain started, and so did the fish. I landed a couple browns pushing 17", and a 16" by the head of the riffle.

Fishing a nice, deep run just upstream, I was able to land a couple more, before calling it a day. When I met up with Mark, he told me of his banner day, roughly 17 fish landed.

Reports from Timbo and his friend also indicated a spectacular haul. All hail the early season and the Curd river.

Chub Chummin'

Date: April 5, 2008
Location: River of curds
Air temp: 60s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: BWO's
Fish landed: O (skunk Ape)

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Quickdraw
InMyPants

Well, it was a day after the brule trip and I was to head to the Curd river for some hot brookie action.

we started of at the spot that has become known as "my spot". From the car the river looked a bit high but the water of the small tributary, didn't appear to be too stained so I was initially hopeful.

when we got down to the river we saw the reality, it was completely blown the Fuck out. It was so blown out that the only safe way to cross the river all day was to go over the bridge.
well we threw everything we had at them to no avail, oh well, it was a great day to be on the river and outside. we tested a new fishing technique perfected by centuries of mouth breathers, it's called Chub Chummin'. I've been aware of the technique since last year's "F.A.G. way out West trip". This video outlines the pinnacle of mouthbreathism notice the container of maggots next to the lawn chair.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

Date: April 4, 2008
Location: Brule
Air temp: mid 50s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: something
Fish landed: 1 (steelie)

Present members of the Fly Anglers Guild :|: Upper Midwest Chapter, for this outing were:

Quickdraw
Timbo
Xan


While the south central streams have thawed out, the Great White North is just teetering off its winter axis. Last weekend was steelhead opener at the Brule, with reports of cold weather, ice below Highway 2, and a few fish here and there.

QD, Timbo and I decided to beat the crowds and drove up on Thursday night to the Brule. Waking up bright and early on Friday, we went to Red Gate, only to find a bunch of cars of the blue plate special variety.

The morning started off well, with a bit of snow, a chill in the air, and a really slippery hill. Timbo was nice enough to let me use his 7 weight Sage XP. I promptly snapped off the tip on our way to the stream, in what would be one of five or six spills I took trying to descend the f%$*ing hill. I also cracked my net into two pieces.

A great start morphed into a predictably slow morning session. The water was cold and the air was colder. Using a spare 6 wt I had brought, we fished the bend where Timbo had caught his beast from our last trip, but didn't get any hits.

QD and I headed a bit upstream to find some good runs. The water was brown and flowing well. A recent up-tick in temps have started to thaw the area out, bringing the river dangerously close to being blown out.




After more of the same, we headed back to find Timbo still fishing the run. The sun was shining and temps were quickly getting into the 50s.

I decided to give the area one last shot before heading downstream. After numerous casts, the river gods smiled upon me. My strike indicator twitched, I set, fish on. The fish quickly came to the surface, and I had confirmation: Steelie, a smallish hen. A quick yell of "fish!" brought Timbo to my aid. After a short fight, I guided the fish toward the bank, where he was able to secure the fish and take a pic. After seven or eight sessions, my Brule cherry was finally popped.