Bond Falls Park - UP Michigan

Work. Work. Work.

I was in dire need of a mental escape with all of the hours I've been putting in at work.  I'm not complaining about the hours, because, the extra pay is nice, and if it's there, I'm not one to say no.  

With my car loaded up, I headed North.  Stopped at my favorite Northwoods spot in Wisconsin to spot fish a few familiar areas.  These were going to be quick stops, so, I opted for my casting rod and a spinnerbait, so, I could cover an area faster.  I knocked and knocked, but no one was home.

Next stop - Bond Falls

The last time I was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I drove past a sign for Bond Falls, and didn't have a chance to stop there, because, the sun had already set.  When I pulled up the parking area was closed, and I was a little bummed about that. 1/4 mile down the road I came to another parking area, and there was 1 vehicle already there.

Most of the U.P. was covered in snow from the previous week.  I was thankful for this, because, it added an extra element of beauty to the already gorgeous U.P.....and it allowed me to follow some footsteps to find where the falls were haha!

After following some footprints in the snow, I came across some signs.  The tracks were no longer needed.

The walk was fairly short, and the signage and man made paths helped quite a bit.  I can see this place being heavily visited in the summer months with how easy the access is to some great scenic views.  After a short walk along the trail, I came across a small set of waterfalls.  I knew right off the bat that these were not the actual falls, because, I had seen picture on Google.  They were still pretty to see.

Walking further down you come to the top of the falls, and what a sight.  I didn't get any good shots of the view, but it was pretty awesome.  The stairs next to the falls that lead down to the trail that leads you to the front view of the falls is really slippery and icy this time of year.  So be careful!

Now I present to you - Bond Falls.

The falls were incredible, and definitely well worth the stop.  While I was walking in, the couple in the other vehicle were on their way out, so, it was really cool to have the place to myself.   I really wish I could sleep next to them and listen to the sound of that rushing water...I think I may have to take the audio from a short video I took of them, and make it my ring tone or something. Haha

If you're ever in the Central Upper Peninsula, I highly suggest you make a stop to see Bond Falls.  As you can see from the pictures, it's a beautiful place.

It's also supposed to be a good smallmouth fishery, as well.  I've heard the bass aren't big in size, but plentiful and fun.

Go visit now!

The bluegill

Far too many people over look the bluegill, and think of it as an annoying fish...

I can guarantee when those same people started out fishing, one of their first fish was a bluegill.

Next time you catch a bluegill, take a closer look at it, and you will find an array of colors revealing a beautiful fish. A fish that's always willing to bite, and save the day of a skunk.

Driftless Area of Wisconsin

This past September, I took a day trip to the Driftless Area that is southwest Wisconsin to do some trout fishing. The weather was looking ugly all the way up there, but once I reached my destination the rain stopped, the wind calmed down, and the sun came out. I couldn't have asked for better weather. 

I've always read, and heard about how spooked the trout get, but you don't really have an idea until you see them scatter with your own eyes, while you're still 10-20+ feet away from the edge of the stream/creek. 

I caught rainbow trout 2 months before this trip, but this time I was after brown and brook trout. I managed to catch my first brown. I caught a total of 3 brown trout for the day. They were all caught using a grasshopper. I also lost a total of 11 browns, and 3 of them were big! One of them I almost had in the net before he kindly unhooked himself. It was one of those look to the sky and yell "no!" moments, like in the movies, but I kept my cool, and opted for a quick "MF" bomb.  

Another cool part of my trip was, I got to see a wild barred owl fly. I think it caught something because it was on the ground. I got to see him take off into the trees. Pretty damn cool! 

If you haven't been to the Driftless Area, I highly recommend it! I plan on making more than one trip there next year. It's a beautiful place with excellent fishing opportunities.

My First Trout

I started fly fishing about 4 years ago. Living here in the Chicago suburbs, I primarily fish for bass. It wasn't until this past summer that I hooked into my first trout. 

For the past 4 years I've been doing a 4 day - 40 mile canoe float trip on the Current River in Southern Missouri. The river is full of small mouth bass, rainbow trout, brown trout, pickerel, needle nose gar, carp, etc. The first 3 years of the trip I was focused on enjoying the beautiful float, camping, and fishing for smallies. (The smallie fishing is amazing here!)

This past July (2012) I decided that it was time, that I finally catch a trout. I mean I am fly fisherman, and trout is usually the fish of choice for most.

I started off using flies I've never used before...such as prince nymphs, hares ears, and elk hair caddis. I probably wasn't using the proper technique with these flies, but I'm sure with practice, and time I will get better. I wasn't attracting anything, and probably scaring all of the fish away with the horror that was me trying to fish these flies. 

So, after playing around with those flies, I decided to go to my old faithful...a wooly bugger. I tied on a white wooly bugger, and the fish started hitting. Large mouth, small mouth, and I finally caught my first rainbow trout! It was very exciting. At first I didn't know what I had hooked in to, as it got closer, I saw that it was a trout. I immediately jumped out of the canoe and landed it. As I held it in my had, I admired the beauty of it's color and markings. They really are beautiful fish.

I ended up catching 3 rainbow's the entire trip, and I also, think I caught a little case of trout fever. (Another blog to follow - The Driftless Area of Wisconsin)

Orvis kindly reposted this picture on their page. Pretty cool of them!

All fish were caught, and happily released.