BOB MITCHELL'S & CONSERVATION CORP - CLEAN RIVER CRAWL

Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop and Conservation Corps have teamed up with a few different breweries to host 4 separate river clean ups around the Saint Paul/Minneapolis area.  I attended the first one, and had a great time.  It was my first river clean up, and it was such a positive experience cleaning up some trash around the waters that I fish.

Scavenger Fly and Lift Bridge Brewing table.

I got to explore a part of the Kinnickinnic River that I hadn't fished, and it was beautiful.  I had no idea there were some small waterfalls just up river from the usual stomping grounds.  There wasn't a lot of trash found on this part of the river, and that was surprising to me.  It also, told me that there are definitely others out there that care.

The Kinni. (Kinnickinnic)

Couple hours later we all met back up at the tents and David from Lift Bridge Brewing began to grill up some goods, while we all drank some Lift Bridge brews and told fish stories.

David grillin' up the good.

Hazel the Tiny Dingo keeping cool.

Bret and Evan ready to chow down after a long hard day of cleaning the Kinni (Haha)

It was a great day on the water, and I didn't even wet a line.  I will definitely be back to that section of river with my 3 wt and some small flies.  I spotted quite a few small trout zipping around while I was cleaning up.

Post clean up BBQ.  The yellow bags contained the trash picked up.

Fish stories with Aaron, Robert and Bret.

I won't be around for the next clean up, but I should definitely make it out for the last one.  For a schedule, links, and more information about these river clean ups - please check out the links below.  Big thanks to all of those that did the organizing for these events!  Cheers!

Free the Kinnickinnic.

BOB MITCHELL'S FLY SHOP

CONSERVATION CORPS

LIFT BRIDGE BREWING

UPCOMING DATES FOR THE CLEAN RIVER CRAWL

===CLICK HERE===

June 17th: Lift Bridge clean up on the Kinnickinnic River

July 15th - Fulton Brewing clean up on the Mississippi River

August 19th - Odell Brewing clean up on the Vermillion River

September 16th - Lake Monster Brewing clean up on the Minnehaha Creek

It's Gotta Be The Glasses

Over the weekend, I was just hanging out at the house doing what I always do, plotting to take over the world.

Then my sister called me, and said that she was in the neighborhood with her boyfriend.  They came by and we hung out, had a few beers, and I tossed some pork chops on the grill.

Beer and Barbecue.

This was my first time meeting her boyfriend, and we got on the subject of fishing.  I saw that the fish were getting active in the shallows of my backyard lake, so, I suggested that we go down there and fish.  They were both game, so, I grabbed the only 2 rods I had set up.  My 5 wt and an ultra light spinning rod.

Bluegill I caught.

After some difficulty with some tangled line on my ultra light rod, I decided, to let my sister and her boyfriend have a go at my fly rod.  I gave them a fixed amount of line, and it was GAME ON!  They both had the short cast down, and were catching fish!

My sister.  I made her fish.  She had a great time!

Her boyfriend is an Oakley fanatic, and he dug my white sunglasses.  We deemed them my signature trademark when I go fishing, so, he suggested it was only right that they took pictures with fish while wearing them, because, I was teaching them.  Ha!

It's gotta be the glasses.

Told her this was the most cliche' pose that she could make.

My sister and her boyfriend Javier and a bluegill.

While my sister was using the 5 wt, I had fixed the line on the ultra light, and tied on a small jig and bobber.  My sisters boyfriend started using that, and he hooked up with a really nice bass!  He was stoked, and so was I!

Taught him how to long arm.

Fish Kisser.

Say Hello to my little friend.

Oh, and I overcooked the pork chops, because, we were busy catching fish.  I didn't overcook them that bad...nothing that some Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce couldn't fix.  It was well worth it.  We all had so much fun!  I think my sister and her boyfriend want to do this more.  Awesome!

Driftless Winter 2016: BOB'S BITCHIN' BBQ

After Day One of my Winter Driftless trip, my buddy Adam, and I were in dire need of some food and drink.  While I was driving, Adam, was naming off places he was finding near our hotel in Dodgeville, Wisconsin....

McDonalds - No.

Burger King - No.

Hardee's - Hell No.

Culvers - Maybe.

A&W - Maybe.

Bob's Bitchin' BBQ - Did you just say bitchin'?  Really?????

I think we were both sold on the name alone, and I mean, how could you resist some barbecue.  After finding it and driving past, it didn't look like much, but once we stepped inside the place was big, and it was PACKED.  Everyone in Dodgeville and surrounding towns must have been there.  The Hostess told us it'd be an hour wait.  Starving, but intrigued by the place, we decided it was a good idea to grab a beer at the bar and wait.

The BBQ was definitely Bitchin' 

The food lived up to expectations.  I forgot what Adam had, but I ordered the sample platter and chose the beef brisket, smoked sausage, and smoked pork chop.  It came with cornbread and 2 sides of your choice, and I chose the mac n cheese, and sweet potato fries.  They had a bunch of different BBQ sauces that they make on the table.  All of them were great, but my go to was the habanero bbq sauce.

It never had a chance.

Well worth the wait, and would definitely make a return trip there in the future.

CARF Strikes Gold!!!

I caught my first carp on the fly!!!!

I am super stoked!!!!

I mean, look at all of those exclamation marks!!!!

Do I wish it were a bigger one, yes.

Am I still as excited, yes!

Check out the video.

Looking forward to hooking into some bigger golden nuggets.

By the way....the pork chops were DELICIOUS!!!!

Windy City Fishing BBQ at Beck Lake

This past weekend, I was invited out to a local lake that I have never fished before, to participate in a small gathering with some guys from a local fishing forum that I frequent WindyCityFishing.  The man organizing this shin dig is Kevin aka "Bassman29" but he should also be known as the Grill Master! ...or cigar man, because, he owns Utopia Cigars (Great place BTW and he is extremely knowledgeable.)

Grill Mater Kevin

I was at a Lake X this Spring with DanK and Kevin showed up to fish, but he also brought his grill, and grilled us up some sausage when we took a break around lunch time.  Man, what a great guy!  If you're reading this, Kevin, thanks, for the hot dogs!!!

Before cheese was added.  Kevin is a master of char...and I love charred burgers.

These sausages were absolutely delicious!

It was a fun outing.  I seriously got almost next to no fishing in, because, I spend most of my time talking with some new and familiar faces.  It's always great to put a face to a screen name behind the many reports that are put up, and to see who is reading your stuff.

There were quite a few Ascend kayaks that showed up.  Here is mine and Kevins. Awww aren't they cute.

A fellow Windy City Fisher, Keith, has this really badass kayak.  It's called a "SCANOE."  I have never heard of these, and I thought that it was a nickname for his boat, but I was wrong, it's the actual name.  There's a lot of DIY mounts on this water craft.  Those seats are definitely not stock, they're from the bar stools at his parents house...and yes, they still swivel.  My other favorite part is his outriggers.  2 Scotty mounts on each side paired with crab pot floats.  WHAT!!!

THE SCANOE!!!!!

I wish I was able to stay longer than I did, but I had to leave early.  I caught zero fish, but had many many laughs.  After I had left, I learned that there were a few fish caught, and the biggest one of the day went to Keith.  I don't have the picture here, but I'll link you to the post.  It was a very nice LMB.

CLICK HERE FOR REPORT OF THE DAY

More SCANOE with Kevin and Keith.

Looking forward to the next BBQ, and I'll be sure to clear my entire schedule for it!