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!