Fishball

Dates: November 15, 2009
Location: Brule
Air temp: 40s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 0

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

Xan
Fruit Booter


As a football fan and an upper Midwestern fisherman, sometimes one is faced with tough choices. As the inland season is ending, the NFL season is just getting underway. You've waited nearly 8 months filled with sports garbage (NBA, NHL, college sports, Cincinnati Reds, etc...), carefully assembled fantasy teams, watched reruns of the '98 QB Challenge (Jim Harbaugh! Woo!) and anything else on the NFL Network, and sat through countless hours of dipshit prognosticators picking assholes like the Rams as their sleeper teams. Sure, river conditions at that point are generally shitty, but you know you won't have another chance at trout for 5 brutal months. However, this availability of addictions isn't a bad dilemma to have.

Once the inland season is over, however, you're still not out of the woods (pun mildly intended). Hunting is still in the picture, but most importantly, steelhead closer. As fate would have it, this year's closer happened to fall on the day my favorite team was coming to town. However, my favorite team is the Lions, so fuck them, I went fishing.

Booter and I decided to go for a Brule Blitz (pun not intended). Drive out early Sunday morning, fish, drive home near dusk. We didn't need to be on the river at first light, but we were concerned about losing all the good spots to the early birds. Sure enough, the parking area at our usual haunt looked like a used car lot. So, we drove to a new spot and were lucky enough to find only one car.

What followed next was your typical Brule day. We flogged lots of good looking water, lost a ton of flies, ate sandwiches by the car, talked to people that had hooked a steelie or two, caught some small bows (Boot did, I got skunked), and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day out in the middle of nowhere. Hundreds of miles away, the Lions played like the Lions, and all was right with the world (except for not catching any goddammed steelhead).

More, Man!

Dates: September 22-25, 2009
Location: Blue, Berry, Robo
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: A few here and there

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

B Chubnut
Fruit Booter
Xan

The thing I like about end of summer trips is that you get to look forward to them all summer. The trip's main purpose was to attend the nuptials of our old friends Tokyo Drift and The Naz. However, given the location (and no Montana trip this year), some tweaks to the itinerary were made, and fishing was added to the agenda.

Through our research leading up to this, we concluded we should fish two rivers. We'll call them the "Blue" and the "Robo." During Chubnut's research (calling one guide), the Blue came highly
recommended. My intensive study on the matter (a 2 page article in a free fishing magazine from Lunds) pointed to the Robo. Booter's contribution to the brain trust came from his sole experience fishing a section of the Robo. Amongst the trash strewn about, he saw a television embedded in the bank. This fact would be repeated ad nauseum for a good portion of the trip.

We finally decided to split our time. Wednesday and Thursday would be spent on the Blue, Thursday night we would drive to the Robo, and fish that on Friday morning.

9/22

So it was, Chubnut flew there on Tuesday morning, and Booter and I met up with him a few hours later. We loaded up our shitty rental car (who needs power locks, windows or engines?), and made our way out to the Blue. We got into the area about an hour before dark, and decided to try the sunset/night bite. By the time we arrived at the river, the sun was starting to disappear behind the mountains, and the hordes of drift boaters were landing their crafts. We fished till dark, with no luck. Chubbles was just downstream from me when I heard him shriek. A huge splash only a few feet away from him had caused this outburst. When Booter returned to our area, he was told of the splash and took action. Casting his streamer out to the vicinity of the disturbance, a nice fish attacked and was hooked. Booter was on the board, and so it began.

9/23

We awoke just before the dawn, which turned out to be a waste since we needed to wait for the fly shop to open. A few hours later, Booter ran down to the shop to purchase a new pair of waders. After many years of service (probably about 7 or 8 fishing days total), his waders were letting in more water than they kept out. That or it was urine. Either way, it was time for an update. One swanky pair of Simms later, we were off to the river.

With daylight on our side, we headed upstream to explore the water. River access was well laid out in the area, with nice trails and occasional boardwalks all along the bank. The river seemed similar to the Madison in terms of size. Unfortunately, the "not catching many fish" part was also similar. All day we toiled under bright skies on clear water. We each caught a few fish, some were even decent, but they were hard earned, and came over the course of an entire day.

9/24

Since the previous day sucked balls, we changed plans and headed out to the Robo. Along the way, we stopped at a small stream recommended to us by a fly shop guide. This was prime 3wt territory, but the scenery was magnificent. We were surrounded by towering rock structures as the river twisted through the canyon. The fish were small, as was to be expected, but it was a nice break from the big water.

After lunch, we continued on to the Robo. We arrived near dusk, and fished till dark. The river reminded me a lot of the Gallatin, decent sized, but wadable. The place was crawling with other anglers, and we made our way upstream, with little success. Our nymphs were cleaning the masses of plant life from the bottom. Despite this, there was a cautious optimism for the next morning. The river was a good size, accessibility was good, and there were many fishy looking spots.

9/25

One last shot at Utah's rivers. We went back to the Robo, but went downstream this time. The three of us started fishing a long run. Near the head, Chubbers and Bootie started to land fish here and there. Small zebra midges and scuds seemed to be doing the trick. After many casts and a few more fish, we continued downstream and came upon a pool. Casting his zebra midge into said pool, Chubnut hooked into a nice fish.

And so it went all day. Those who used tiny nymphs (#20 or smaller) caught fish. Those that did not (me), struggled all day. Near the end of the day, as we were fishing our way back to the car, we arrived at the pool where Chub had landed his first nice fish of the day. Seeing my frustration, Chubnut lent me a small zebra midge to try. I tied it on as a dropper, added some weight, and set to work. After more fruitless casting, I was given five final casts. Cast one: nothing. Two: nadda. Three: same. Four: couple flies floating down the river. Cinco: bam! At the buzzer, a decent/ok fish was on. After a bit of a fight, I brought him to net, and that was the end of our Utah fishing adventure.

Closer To Me

Photo courtesy of QD

Dates: September 19, 2009
Location: New Spot & Warwick
Air temp: ?
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 3

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

Xan
QD

Though it was a bit early, it was time to say goodbye to the season. Trout fishing, for the most part, had long since sucked ass. An unusually bad year for water levels in addition to an extremely dry September made the late season even worse than normal. Today would be our closer, due to a trip to Utah over the next weekend, and also because I didn't realize when the season actually ends.

QD and I set out in the afternoon, heading directly to Lunds for a final fly restock. Since we were nearby, I took QD to the minor waterfall/dam area for the first time. Standing on Dead Gosling Rock, I finally was able to tempt a decent brown out of the base of the dam. Quickdraw fished the waterfall to some success. Those being pretty much the only spots to fish there, we drove off to the Warwick, upstream from the real waterfall.

We made our way downstream, fishing all the usual holes and runs along the way. The hours passed, steam was lost, and the taint of late season overcame our enthusiasm. We had caught some fish, Pat a decent brookie, myself an OK brown, and that was enough.

Twas an interesting season. A season of falling water, dry skies, low levels, new spots, and the park popo pinching Poachdraw. It was indeed the year of the Warwick. While the Curd and Canyon were clear and low, the Warwick held strong all season, and produced the hardest fighting fish as well. Now all that is left is the hope of Utah, steelhead, and a quick and merciful winter.

Curd Hoss

Dates: August 22, 2009
Location: Various parts of the Curd
Air temp: upper 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 6 (3 brooks, 3 browns)


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

Xan
QD


After scrapping a planned float due to bullshit hot weather and wind conditions, Quick and I decided to canoe the Canyon on this day. But, QD wasn't feeling well in the morning, so we decided to keep it simple and do a normal outing.

We went to the Curd instead, first going to QD's favorite run. We soon discovered it was really friggin' cold to be wet wading, but pushed ahead anyways. We didn't catch shit there.

Next up, was the Great Lawn. Finding a mouth-breathing family fishing from the bridge, we walked upstream to the first pool, where I was able to land one or two. We hiked up a bit, but low levels and the bright sun made for more futility.

To end the day, we decided to hit the EP spot. I started casting from the mousin' stations, and landed a brookie right away. QD went downstream and I went up. Landing a few more fish here and there, I made my way back to the stations, were I met up with QD, who unfortunately had gotten the skunk.

After the fishing was done, we went to town, where they were holding their annual summer festival. We saw the largest horses I've ever seen, paired up and pulling sleds laden with huge concrete blocks. We sampled various culinary delights, and then went back home, to tell all of the feats of strength we had witnessed.

Guilty Pleasures

Dates: August 2, 2009
Location: iRiver
Air temp: 80s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 2 (1 bass, 1 pike)


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

Taffy
QD
Xan

As the heat of summer reached its shitty apex, it was once again time to leave the trout alone and focus on fucking with bass. So off to the iRiver we went, to taste its sweet fruits and do battle with stupid fish.

I was most excited for the raspberries, which I ate with frolicsome abandon as QD and Taffy were still setting up. After repeating last year's misguided path to the river, we finally got our bearings and found the spots with the goods.

While QD went downstream to fish some runs, I took Taffy, an iRiver virgin, to the area of my past conquests. Things started slow, as we flogged sections of a pool with our streamers. After tossing around my green bugger with no action, I decided to put some split shot on. My next cast landed by the bank, infront of a submerged branch, an area I had hit only minutes ago. I let the added weight do its thing for a moment, then a strip... boingo! As I fought the fish, it became clear that it was neither bass nor trout. It sported a beak-like mouth, long and lanky body, and darted through the water like a true killer. Getting it to the net, I found a 17" pike or muskie (fuck if I can tell the difference, probably a pike though). Neither of us had a camera, so we examined the beast for a moment and then let it swim off, hopefully to grow into a big and strong gosling eater.

A short while later, QD was by us when I began to drift an egg sucking leech through a run. I saw a flash go after the purple fly, and the showdown with Billy Bass was on. True to form, the roughly 16" bass put up a solid battle. It was Quick's turn next, as he fished a pool upstream from us, taking on a few bass of his own.

Things slowed down after that, as we cast here and there in vain. With all said and done, even though they weren't trout, I'd do it again.

Dog Days of Summer

Dates: July 19, 2009
Location: Warwick Falls
Air temp: 70s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: a few


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

Xan
Booter


Sorry for the lapse in posting. On this day, Boot and I went to the waterfall (again). Caught a few dinkers, only fished for a few hours, nice to be out, yadda yadda yadda. Like most things in life involving Booter, it was only mildly satisfying and ended prematurely.

It's LaToya's time.

Dates: June 26, 2009
Location: The Curd Rivah
Air temp: mid 90's
Water temp: ?
Hatches: some Lil guys, and the dreaded parsnip
Fish landed: 1(TAFKAY)


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

QuickDraw
TAFKAY

well it was another slow day on the river but we had a good time, It was hot, so we sought the shelter of the shade, we had a nice walk down river starting at the "family lands". We hit a few small runs on the way to our ultimate destination. Me and TAFKAY had a good day out eventhough the fish weren't biting.

I managed to find a bug that was completely covered in Flashback!!!!
Take that Booter! Take it all.

We capped off the day right with a stop to the EPB&G for a large order of their delicious Spicy curds.

RIP

May heaven be filled with P.Y.T.s.

Generations

Dates: June 7, 2009
Location: Various parts of the Warwick
Air temp: upper 50s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: low double digits


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

Xan

It finally rained on Saturday. I stayed off the streams as the first good dousing in weeks replenished water levels, if only for a little while. On Sunday, I went fishing, though only after waking up rather late and finding it hard to motivate. The skies were overcast and the air temps were unusually cool, and I finally realized that I wouldn't see such plum conditions until September at best.

Because of my late start, I decided it would be a good day to hit lower traffic areas and perhaps explore a bit. I went to a spot well upstream on the Warwick, only to find a truck parked in the lot with a bumper sticker that read, "I fish, therefore I lie." I decided to give it a whirl anyways. This was a place I had found morels and hardy trout in years past. On this day, I would find neither, though I did land a few smaller trout here and there. As I made my way downstream, I came upon the presumed owner of the truck, an old mouth-breather who was stalking a large trout. In our brief exchange of chit chat, he made the remark that fly fishermen could not catch large trout. My retort consisted of the words, "You fish, therefore you die, ape fucker," coupled with a devastating chop to his temple. Actually, I ignored him and continued downstream until the trail disappeared and nothing looked very fishy, so I went back to the car.

At this point, it was exploring time. I studied the DeLorme to find spots between my normal Warwick haunts and my starting point. I found a few candidates and drove to check them out. My third stop looked the most promising. Walking down from the bridge, I found a few kids hanging out underneath. I asked if they would mind me wetting a line, to which they had no quarrel. The run looked promising, and sure enough, my first few casts landed fish. This piqued their interest, and they asked to get a closer look at my catch. Walking over to shore, I let a girl hold my brown trout, leaving you, my dear reader, to interpret that as you will. Not long after, some more kids and a couple adults arrived at the opposite bank, along with a dog not owned by anyone present. The dog proceeded to swim through the run, and one of the girls started yapping about her life story, so I got the hell out of there and went upstream.

I made my way up, finding my surroundings to be quite similar to the regions above the Canyon. Fish were landed here and there, though nothing of size. I explored for a while, until things started looking the same. After tiring of the lack of trails, I made my way back and went home.

Sorry, Dude

Dates: May 31, 2009
Location: Various parts of the Warwick
Air temp: 60s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: Caddis and such
Fish landed: low double digits


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

Xan


I woke up at the ass crack of 5:30, Sunday morn, and was on the river by 7:30. Like a moth to a flame, I found myself at the waterfall, only to find a mouth-breather fishing just below the base. Being a man of etiquette, I ceded the entire base area and climbed up to the second tier. As is the usual, I hooked into a nice fish, only to have it pop off. Things were a bit slow on the tiers, so I decided to climb up past the waterfall to see what I could find.

Wading and fishing upstream, I was landed the usual aggressive rainbows in small runs throughout the stream. I took a leisurely approach, enjoying the morning sunlight, seemingly catching fish at every run I tried.

Eventually, I made my way back to the falls, only to find an attractive, blond mouth-breathette fishing the base. I briefly fished the second tier, catching a bow, before moving on downstream to explore. Walking a ways, I didn't find anything worth wetting a line, so I hiked back to the car to try another spot.

I arrived at a lot upstream and found no cars. I hiked down to a money run/hole, and almost immediately had a fat 16" brown on. The fish fought hard, and took me roughly thirty feet downstream before I got a net around him.

A few more fish were brought to hand, and then the porker of the day appeared. I cast toward the opposite bank, indicator down, fish on. Another brown, between 16-18". It didn't fight as hard as the other, but it felt like a stone. I got it in the net and decided I had to take a picture. Fumbling around, I got my camera out and took a snap of him in the net. It just didn't do the fish justice. I decided to get cheeky, and setup my camera on a rock. As I tried to take the fish out of the net, he started to squirm. I wasn't able to get a good grip on him due to his girth, and he slipped out, hitting (I believe) his head on the rock, and landing in the water. At this point, I abandoned my desire to take a pic, and tried to revive him. After letting him go, he swam/drifted about a foot then sank to the bottom. Crap. I tried nudging it, and then could no longer see him through the murky water.

I fished for a bit longer, caught a couple more, then called it a day. I can only hope the fishing gods forgive my sins.

RIP

MLSRB

Dates: May 17, 2009
Location: Canyon
Air temp: ?
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 1

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

QuickDraw
Booter
Xan
TAFKAY
Scooter
McGlory

As is the trend these days, another member of the Guild, Scooter, has decided to procreate. To celebrate this conception, we gathered the canoes to float the Canyon. Considering how much Scooter fishes without child, we were also celebrating his final day of fishing ever. A retirement ceremony of his BWO will follow.

We left the Cities on a beautiful Sunday morning, gathering at McD's to eat and shit. Once those matters were settled, we drove to the river to start our day. It was planned that we would not start fishing until we had floated past trail accessible areas. Booter and I were in his canoe, and found ourselves to be much faster than the other slugs. After creating a sizable lead, we stopped just upstream of the Alpha hole to let the others catch up. It was here that I found a nice, smooth branch which I used to hit rocks. I called this game, stick-rock-ball. This game would provide much entertainment for nearly all involed, including a near scalping of TAFKAY at the hands (or lack thereof) of Booter.

Floating down a bit further, we setup shop by a nice looking run and the others took turns fishing it while I played stick-rock-ball. Despite the flogging the water took, multiple people were able to land fish.

We continued on to the beach, where we ate sandwiches, fished, and took turns hitting rocks.

So the day went, floating, fishing, and hitting rocks. A few more fish were caught, and many rocks were slapped around. We enjoyed a beautiful day on the river and no one sustained a massive head injury. Good times all around.

Booty Back

Dates: May 9, 2009
Location: New Spot & Various parts of the Warwick
Air temp: ?
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: A few

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

Xan
Booter

Booter finally got a chance to go fishing, so I showed him all the new spots from this season complete with dead gosling. As we got to the dam, we came upon a horde of bird watchers. As they shuffled along, Boot set to work at catching fish by the dam. We next went upstream to give the mini falls a shot. While Booter caught some small trout, I landed a few suckers. It was wonderful.

Of course, a trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Warwick Falls. As a mob of sightseers watched, we fished multiple levels of the falls, catching small bows. No real slabs were found, but it was nice to see Boot out there, catching him some fish.

Boot had to leave, and I had an engagement to attend in River Falls, so I decided to fish the dam at the head of the Canyon. Didn't catch shit. Ah well.

Sky Carp of A Feather Die Together

Dates: May 8, 2009
Location: New Spot & Various parts of the Warwick
Air temp: ?
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: A few


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

Xan


A very sincere apology to my reader for the great delay in getting posts out. I can't say I'll be better in the coming months, but with the lack of rain, I can say I probably won't be fishing as much. With that said, on to some blog updates.

Through the power of the Interweb, a few new spots on an old river had come to our attention. With the use of the latest in satellite imagery (Google Maps), I was able to locate a baby waterfall and dam just above the Canyon. There were a couple of folks fishing the falls when I arrived, so I decided to check out the dam. While I didn't find many fish, I did find a gosling massacre. Climbing around some rocks, I almost stepped on a wounded gosling that was struggling to get away. A few feet away, I found another that had gotten its neck caught in a branch along a rock wall, effectively hanging itself. Good times!

As the fishing was slow, I decided to head over to the Warwick to fish a run I had made a mental note to hit a few trips ago. A caddis hatch was going on, and I was able to land my season's first trout on a dry, which also happened to be the only fish I would land on a dry that day. As the fishing slowed again, I headed toward the waterfall, only to find a mouth-breather and his son had been fishing the area since the morning. I was able to land a few fish, though nothing of size. I did, however, find fish on the third level of the falls. After an honest day on the rivers, I called it and went home.

A River Runs Down It Pt. Deux

Dates: April 26, 2009
Location: Various parts of the Warwick
Air temp: 50s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: A few


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

Xan
TAFKAY


TAFKAY wanted to go fishing, and I wanted to show him the waterfall, so we did both. The day had a steady drizzle which we thought would work to our advantage. When we arrived at the falls, I set up TAFFY at the base, while I climbed up to the next level to settle some scores. All the level 2 fish I had hooked into the prior day had popped off, so I was determined to land one. I finally landed a nice bow up there (and had a few other pop off). Satisfied, I went back down to the base to see how TAFKAY was doing. Things were slow, but we fished the area relentlessly, eventually pulling out a few fish. After many hours, we were soaked and tired, and left to fish the falls another day.

A River Runs Down It

Dates: April 25, 2009
Location: Various parts of the Warwick
Air temp: 50s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: Lots, I didn't keep count


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

Xan
Quickdraw

Having missed the previous weekend due to what I thought was a cold (new allergies, yay...), it was time to get back to Wark. QD, who had been on the shelf for even longer due to child birthings, came with to try and capture the slab glory from my last visit.

We decided to hit the pool I had ended my last visit at, and then explore what lay downstream. The fishing started off slow. After we had each cast our way through the pool, with only a few small bows to show for it, we headed down. Unlike much of the area upstream of our starting pool, we found more frequent pockets of fish than I expected. Bow after bow came to hand, though the pigs were elusive.

As we made our way further down the river, we entered a small canyon, with occasional rock cliffs in place of riverbanks. Quickdraw began casting into a run along one such cliff, and hooked into a slab brown. It was around the 15" range, but plump, and a nice change of pace from the small bows.

At this point, we had the choice of calling it a day or exploring more. We had caught a lot of fish, though only one of girth. We would have to walk the river, as the trails had long since vanished due to the steep banks on either side. I guess the drive to find the slabs kept us going, and down the river we went.

I was a little ways ahead of QD when I came around a bend in the river. Looking downstream, the river dropped off. Figuring it was time to get out of the river, and curious as to what we were approaching, we ascended up one of the banks. As we made our way up the hill, we saw an observation platform near the top. Once there, we were granted a spectacular view of the waterfall below. Descending a huge staircase next to the deck, we were now at the base of the falls. The Warwick was cascading down five large steps to create the sight infront of us. Granted, it wasn't Niagra, but as trout streams go, it was pretty awesome.

Now it was time to find some fish. I cast out into the pool at the base of the falls and soon hooked into a nice fish. I have a feeling it was a sucker, but it broke off my rig before I could find out. After retying, I would soon hook into a slab of my own. It was then that the strong arm of the law came down upon QD. I happened to be closer to the bank at the time the DNR officer arrived and called me over. After checking my license and that my flies were barbless, he had me call over QD. While we were up at the observation deck, he had mentioned that he had forgotten to renew. Whoops. So, as the officer hauled him away to the nearest license vendor (and to fine him), I had the entire waterfall to myself.

I continued to fish the base, landing some more decent fish and a sucker. Then I began to wonder if there were fish on the other levels of the falls. I climbed up to the next level, where I saw a fishy looking run. Sure enough, I started hooking into some slabs. The first popped off. The second made a mad dash downstream where he popped off just before going over the falls into the pool below.

Eventually, QD returned, and we fished the area until things became quiet. We then made the long hike back to the car. As days go, it was quite eventful. We caught a ton of fish, including some decent pigs. We found a waterfall with two levels of fishing. And, QD learned the expensive way that WI licenses expire at the end of March.

Saturday Slab City Slaughter

Dates: April 11, 2009
Location: Various parts of the Warwick
Air temp: 50s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: midges
Fish landed: 18 or 19


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

Xan


I needed fish. I needed to get back into my rhythm. No more waking up late and getting beat by the crowds, no more shitty Curd River, no more bullshit.

Leaving the house at a decent hour, I settled back into my familiar ways. I got breakfast at a McDonald's drive through. I took a shit at a gas station bathroom while Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" played over the muzak system. I'd been missing this, waking up after McD's stops serving breakfast, shitting at home. The early bird gets the worm, and the early fisherman gets the trout.

The Curd was out of the picture, so was the Canyon. I rolled the dice and went to the Warwick. The W isn't bad by any stretch. Granted, in the summer it becomes chub city, but this is a river that holds decent fish, and bows to boot. The only problem with it is that it's feast or famine. While the other rivers generally have trout scattered throughout, the Warwick has vast stretches of no fish, with areas that hold trout few and far between. If you don't know these areas, you can be in for a long day of wasted casts, but I know a few, and I was determined to hit them.

The water was a bit low, but had a tint. I started at my go-to run, a place QD and I had been to a few weeks prior. Sure enough, I quickly dug into the always aggressive bows. A smallish fellow, but better than anything I've landed on the Curd in recent days. Then, the slabs started coming in. They weren't long, all roughly 15", but they were FAT. These were Rosie O'Donells. I had a hard time getting my hand around them. I landed three Rosies at this first run, two bows and a brown. They were all great fighters, my arm getting its first good workout of the year.

I walked downstream to another known run and landed a few more smaller bows. It was here I finally saw another fishman. Knowing there wasn't much more decent water around, I headed back to the car and drove to the next access point downstream. Here there is a nice pool, and I started landing fish immediately. Another Rosie or two came to hand before the spot went cold. I moved upstream, and pulled out a few more fish, including yet another Rosie brown.

I decided to give another area downstream a try. I had fished it in years past with no luck, but was curious. I drove to the lot, only to find a bunch of cars, so I drove to another lot just upstream. I ended up hiking to the spot I had intended to check out. Finding no other fishermen around, I started plumming the run/pool. Bow after bow came to hand, topped off by one final Rosie, a nice 14" brown.

It was the perfect day; numbers, size, great fights, a sore arm, beautiful weather, and the river seemingly to myself. Before the season started, TP declared this to be the year of the Warwick. I say TP is wiser beyond his years. I say, yes.

Bad Friday

Dates: April 10, 2009
Location: U(ltra)EPB&G Spot
Air temp: 50s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: midges
Fish landed: 1 little guy


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

Xan


Another late start, another shitty day. Having the day off, I slept in, reluctantly getting out of bed to fish the Curd River. I'm not sure why I went, I knew it would be crap, but maybe I could at least beat the crowds.

Wrong.

Not only has the Curd been low and clear for most of the early season, it's been packed, even on weekdays. I first arrived at QD's favorite run, saw a car and kept going. Getting to the Lawn, I found two cars and two more after I had parked. I then went to the EPB&G spot, more cars. Driving off towards Famous Original Rays, I noticed that a spot in town I usually see cars parked at was empty. I had never fished this area, but fuck it, there weren't any other cars.

Peering down from the bridge, I saw not a single fish upstream. Walking to the other side of the road, I looked downstream and saw roughly 500 trout, and some of the biggest suckers I've ever seen, all piled up in a 50 foot run. We stared at each other for a while, a few trout rising occasionally for midges. I figured that wouldn't be a bad place to start fishing.

I hiked down from the bridge, waded underneath it, and started casting a dry toward the mass of fish. Nothing. Cast after cast, nothing. Giving up, I walked upstream to the first signs of life. A nice little run with a lot of risers.

Once again, I began the futile process of casting my dry. Much like the hero in a war movie, who is running for his life through a field of artillary fire, my fly floated past watery explosions all around it. Much to my dismay, it made it safely through every time but one, when a 2 inch fish was stupid enough to latch onto it. I must have tried 4 or 5 different dries, trying to match the hatch, but the fish didn't care. They had real midges to eat.

I hiked upstream a long, long ways, trying out nymphs at this point. I found very little fishable water, but I did find more fishermen. After a while, I got tired of exploring and headed back. I gave the artillary run and the trout refugee camp each another whirl, but with the same results. The Curd has curdled.

Master Class (in sucking ass)

Dates: April 4, 2009
Location: Eagle Pass
Air temp: 40s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 0


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

Xan


I got off to a late start on Saturday, which was made later with stops at Burger King, a gas station and Lunds. After I renewed my license and purchased some pink squirrels, I was on the road, ready to take advantage of the glorious overcast day.

There were four cars at Famous Original Rays, so I drove to Eagle Pass, determined to try a spot I hadn't been to this season. There were a couple of cars there, one of which departed with two anglers as I was setting up.

Fishing just upstream from the bridge, I began what would be a frustrating day of bullshit. Snags, two lost flies, getting caught in the same tree twice (once on the way up, then on the way back down), scaring every fish in the stream, destroying a leader, etc... The only fish I came close to catching was one that rose to my Royal Wulff early in the session.

I hiked up a ways upstream, fishing every decent looking spot, which were few and far between. Once again, the river was low and clear, and my late start ensured numerous anglers had already flogged the water I was fishing. On days like this, I can only take solace in the fact that I didn't impale myself with a guide or have to take a shit in the woods with just a sunflower seed bag to wipe with. There's always a bright side.

On a side note, what the fuck is up with Wisconsin and pile of shit stores like Pamida and Shopko? They seem poised to compete against Wal-Mart and Target respectively, except with roughly a quarter of the inventory. Need a store with no produce, six packs of Bud and Sanyo TVs? Pamida is your place!

The Legend Of John Henry's Fly Rod

Dates: March 29, 2009
Location: Club
Air temp: 40s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 1


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

Xan
The Lawyer


It was a bright and sunny day, with a light wind and a shit load of fishermen. When we got to the Club, we didn't see many cars, but the river was hopping. We fished here and there, walking long stretches upstream to get away from the many anglers. Eventually, we made it past the boulder field, where many a mouse excursion has gone down. Water levels were very, very low. It seemed as like late summer, without all the vegetation. This might be a short trout season if conditions don't improve. I might have to resort to slumming for bass, or buying some new gear to fish for musky. That or get a lobotomy and fish for suckers.

On a more positive note, the Lawyer, a staunch mouth-breather, got skunked. As I caught one fish, I was victorious, with two consecutive wins versus the mouth-breathers in as many trips (see the March 21st post). Much like the mighty John Henry, I have shown that the inhuman technology of the lowbrow is no match for the fly rod (even if the mouth-breathers had no idea such a contest was being held).

An Ill Wind Bloweth

Dates: March 23, 2009
Location: Upper Warwick
Air temp: 30s
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 0


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

Xan
QD


On a cold and blustery Monday, the Draw and I decided to hit the Warwick for the first time this season. It probably wasn't the best idea to go fishing, but I had already taken the day off of work, so why the hell not.

After stopping to purchase a WI state park parking sticker, we headed up the road to one of our usual upper Warwick locations. It was a nice, overcast day, and the water levels were healthy, but a constant wind sucked our balls.

QD was not far upstream from me, fishing one of the known money runs, when I heard him curse. The fish he had on had snapped his line. That would be the only fish sighting between us. After a short session in the biting wind, we called it quits and went to get some food and regain feeling in our fingers.

Geocaching My Balls

Dates: March 21, 2009
Location: Upper & Canyon
Air temp: 40s?
Water temp: ?
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 3


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

QD
Coach
Xan


I met up with Quick and Coach at the parking lot of a spot above the Canyon. It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning, and the only other folks around were a group of kayakers. Water levels were slightly low, with a bit of a tint. QD and I walked upstream a bit, where I began to fish. While casting and conversing with Quick, who was on the bank setting up, I noticed a plastic water bottle wedged into the crack of a tree by him. I pointed it out, and upon his investigation, Quick reported that it was a geocache. In true Guild fashion, QD left his signature mark on the cache, and we continued on fishing.

With little action, we decided to head to the Canyon. We found many other fishermen there, but pressed on regardless. We hiked and fished our way past the alpha hole, with little reward. Coach caught one, while I caught three, neither of us getting anything of size. Regardless, I was triumphant over the mouth-breather.

Early Season Cak

Dates: March 14, 2009
Location: EPB&G Spot
Air temp: 50s
Water temp: 40
Hatches: midges
Fish landed: 1 Brown


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

QD
the Lawyer(non UMFAG)

Well it was a great day, we started out by hitting the "Sportsman's Wherehouse" liquidation sale. it wasn't that great, 10-20% off i didn't end up buying anything.

We drove through the little unincorporated town to scope conditions, and found a shit ton of people fishing there for the second week in a row.

made it to the spot(cak), and started to get ready. didn't notice that many people fishing in that spot which is always cool. I did notice that the water was down a bit from where it was last week and fairly clear. Made my way down river and fished all of the good spots on my way, trying every early season fly that I had(no dries though). I had one strike all day on a red San Juan, pulled in a healthy 14"er that still had some spawning colors. Mark landed 3 browns and had around 10 strikes on kastmasters.

I fished my way up river back to mark and despite the slow fishing it was a beautiful day outside and I had a good time. we ended the day at "Sunsets" bar and grill, had some chicken wings and a turkey bacon sandwhich, with carmalized onions it was damn good.

-QD

Early Season, Fuck Yeah!

Dates: March 9, 2009
Location: EPB&G Spot
Air temp: 30s
Water temp: 36
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: 15 or 16 browns


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

QD
Xan


I took the day off to join QD for some trout. Driving by spots around town, we were surprised by the number of folks on the stream. We arrived at the EP spot to find only one person in the parking lot and another two arriving shortly after.

Some considerable work has happened here since last September. An area between the parking lot and river has been cleared out, leveled, and adorned with three concrete mousin' stations.

A short hike downstream from the parking lot and I was into my first trout of the season, a brown around 14". The second fish took a while to materialize, and we then hiked down to fish between the crossings. Through the tea stained water came trout. Browns, in the 12-14" range. Hike down to the next run and repeat. I quickly hit double digits, and QD landed around 5. I was even able to get one while stripping a bugger, which makes me wonder what a non-fisher would think when reading that.

As the sun started to set, we went back to the parking lot and fished from the mousin' stations a bit, before calling it quits and getting some curry. Huzzah.

Put On Yer Boots

Dates: March 7, 2009
Location: Lawn
Air temp: 30s
Water temp: 36
Hatches: ?
Fish landed: zippo


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

TAFKAY
Xan
Booter
Quickdraw
Gutterball




We set out in a two car caravan on Saturday, the first day of inland trout season. This past winter was more reasonable than the last, so the ice was mostly gone or on the banks and islands, rather on top of the water.




Unfortunately, the water levels had yet to subside from the recent thaw. The river was running like B-Chubnut's stool after his recent colon blow, fast and brown. We fished from the lawn to the second, larger pool upstream. Nobody caught shit.

While the fishing sucked, the sun came out and made it a nice day to be in the woods and on the water. We devised a new game, where not only do we send ice chunks down the stream, we then throw rocks at them. I realize that it sounds simple when written out, but trust me, this is some good stuff. Between that and throwing snowballs, rocks and logs into people's casting lanes and at each other, we had a full day.

But, no day would be complete without a trip to the EPB&G. A good day of throwing rocks creates a hunger that only spicy curds can satisfy.

Representin' FAGUMC

Date: Jan 17, 2009
Location: Peg Leg
Air temp:10s
Water temp: cold as shit
Hatches: Bait
Fish landed: 2 'Bows


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

QuickDraw
Non FAGs:
Coach McGuirk
The Lawyer

First post of the year!!!
Well yesterday officially opened the trout season for me, went to peg leg for some trout ice fishing. I don't have a ton to report, but we got out there around 10:30 and fished till 1:30. We saw quite a few trout throughout the day but as always they were really picky. I got more action out there yesterday than I did all of my times out there last year combined. Probably the best day of fishing I've ever had out on Peg Leg. Caught 2 14"ers, and they're sitting in the smoker awaiting a batch of smoked trout chowder. Can't wait.

Coach caught a small northern and The Lawyer caught the Skunk!(yeah bitchez, you can't fuk with a UMFAG member)

My goal is to hit the early season hard, as of April 2 or thereabouts I'll be a Papa, and grooming a future fishing partner. Hopefully a ton of posts coming up with pictures of multiple 22" brookies.

Signing off
-QD