Wisconsin Driftless Trout Opener 2020: Part 2

Aaron has been found, but he's been acting weird.  I found him down by the river fishing which is nothing unusual, but he was hooked in to a fish when I saw him...that's highly unusual!  He's literally the worst at fishing.

There was a lot of fishing the rest of the day.  No catching, but a lot of fishing.  When you're in company the catching doesn't matter much.  After seeing a few posts from others about the Wisconsin Inland Trout Opener, it was a slow day for all in the Driftless.

Bobby Nachos keeping a low profile.

Area Man watching Bobby Nachos work a streamer through some riffles.

Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast.

Dirty Harry hero shot with a brown.  Love this reel case!

My Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast sticker box always makes it out to the river when I'm fishing for trout, and so does my Vedavoo Dirty Harry patched Reel Case.

Area Man searching for the right used fly.

Area Man found it.

All in all, it was a solid first outing of the new year.  A fish was caught, Area Man was abducted then found, and I got out of the house and away from my computer.  Cheers and Happy New Year to all of you out there!  I hope 2020 brings you all the awesome!

Area Man working an area.

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Wisconsin Driftless Trout Opener 2020

The 2020 Wisconsin Inland trout opener // Driftless opener.  After a slow morning of fishing with my friend Area Man aka Aaron Przybylski.  We went back to the truck to hydrate and wait for our friend Bobby Nachos, but something happened.  Area Man went missing.  

At first I thought it was the Driftless Sasquatch, and after reviewing the footage (I conveniently had my cell phone recording) I believe it was aliens.  Now that I'm thinking deeper in to it, what if the Sasquatch is the Alien.  Then I got to thinking that Chewbacca and Sasquatch have the same build, and Chewbacca is basically an alien!  Whoa.

What do you think?  Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel, while you're watching.  It would mean a lot to me.  :). Thank you!

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The Legend of Eddie Rivard

I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast while they interviewed fly fishing Legend Eddie Rivard.  This had to be one of my favorite podcasts that the 3BT crew has put out.  Eddie is great fly fisher-person, canoeist, adventurer, drive thru orderer, and blogger.  Here are some photos from the night.

The Legend Eddie Rivard.

Eddie talked about brown trout, musky, and how he used all of his free time exploring new water with his canoe.  He also talked about how he and Eddies Army regulate the internet and social media platforms for the #muskyonthefly hashtag.  If you're using it, you better be using it right, because, Eddie is watching.

Grant in his 2nd natural habitat.

Matt Ebbers amongst the Hamms.

The Legend Eddie Rivard

LINKS

- Eddie Rivard Instagram

- Eddie Rivard Fly Fishing Blog

- Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast

- Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Instagram

- Grant Meyer Instagram

- Matt Ebbers Instagram

Tanuki Pocket Ninja Kickstarter

Another great find at IFTD 2019 was the Tenkara Tanuki Pocket Ninja.  I met Luong Tam when he asked if we were going to one of the after parties and if he could jump in the Uber with my friends and I.  Absolutely was my answer.  After talking he turned out to be a rad dude, and he has a rad new Tenkara rod coming out, the Tanuki Pocket Ninja. (Kickstarter link - CLICK HERE)

The Kickstarter went live for the Tenkara Tanuki Pocket Ninja on 11/15/2019 and it's already exceeded its goal.  Having held this rod first hand, and even helping out filming a short little video of me putting it in a glove compartment of a rental car, I can tell you that this rod is a backpackers dream.  It's light, responsive, and it breaks down really small!

This rod is definitely going on my wish list, because, it would be perfect for the Driftless Area streams that I fish, my local lakes for bluegill, and when I'm traveling and in need of something compact.  I see this being the perfect rod for backpackers and people who enjoy hiking, but don't want to carry a big rod tube, etc.

KICKSTARTER

>>>CLICK HERE FOR KICKSTARTER LINK<<<

Vedavoo: Dirty Harry No-Kink Reel Case

The Paul Puckett Dirty Harry design is back!  I remember when Vedavoo released t-shirts of this design a long while back.  I still wear that t-shirt to this day.  So stoked to see Dirty Harry make a return.  Definitely going to need to pick one of these up.

Vedavoo Limited Edition Dirty Harry No-Kink Reel Case

Paul Puckett knocked it out of the park with this one!

Vedavoo Limited Edition Dirty Harry No-Kink Reel Case

Paul Puckett Art

Brown Trout & Bridge Beers

I sat down with the guys from the Brown Trout & Bridge Beers Podcast to talk brown trout.  Per usual with me, it went off subject rather quickly and we found ourselves chatting and laughing.  The conversation went from talking brown trout fishing, to whales, dolphins, mop flies, marabou, and I gave some tips on how to succeed out on the water.

Give it a listen to below.

Would love to hear some feedback.

Where you can find the guys of Brown Trout & Bridge Beers:

Soundcloud

Instagram

Facebook

Grant IG

Matt IG

WINTER TROUTING & ROOT RIVER ROD CO.

PART TWO

Part One - The Pink Tutu

Jim perusing the selection for the fly of The Root River Rod Co.

After fishing all morning and only coming up with 1 brown trout brought in by the illustrious Jim. We (Grant, Jim and I) decided to take a walk down Main Street.  Here we are, 3 guys in waders carrying fly fishing rods and walking the streets of a small town in rural Minnesota, and we come across a fly shop none of us had ever been to - Root River Rod Company.

Shop owner Steve Sobieniak whipping up some lunch time bugs.

The shop was clean, bright, and welcoming.  The shop owner Steve Sobieniak was very informative letting us in on what the local fish are keying in on this time of year, and was even nice enough to whip us up some fresh flies for our departure back to the river.

Jim supports local business, but also knows how to get info.

Jim just couldn't leave without making a purchase to support the local business, but also being a resident of Minnesota, you can never have too many quality gloves during winter.  Jim was also excited to see a whole section dedicate to Root River Hackle, and he proceeded to rave about the quality of the feathers.

Steve pointing us in the right direction.

Jim's purchase also bought us some extra information, in the form of a hand drawn map.  Unfortunately, after Steve completed the drawing, we all learned that we could not take the map, because, it was kind important to the shop, but that's what camera phones are for, right!?

Steve discovering the map was on something important. :)

Stoked to get back out on the water with some local intel we stepped out of Root River Rod Company, and saw a watering hole across the street.  It's lunch time, and we deserve a drink for all of the hard work we put in on the water during the cold winter morning.  

Sitting at the bar in our waders, tossing back a $3 personal pitcher of beer, and enjoying the locals at the end of the bar cheer on Godzilla (We later learned it was King Kong) as he destroys New York City was one of the better lunches I had in a while.

Jim laying out some line with precision.

After the bar we set out to wet some lines with the intel Jim acquired with his glove purchase.  After a short car ride and Grant showing us how to properly jam out to some Always Be My Baby by Mariah Carey, we found our destination.

Grant sending some smooches.

The spot had some great looking water, and looked promising.  We just didn't have what the trout were after that day, and with the sun setting at 1 PM (Kidding - It just feels that way) we had to make the drive back North.

I hope you all download this for your next phone background.

Not a bad day in our books at all.  Brushed off the early shivers of cabin fever, new water was fished, 1 trout was caught, cheap beer was drunk, Godzilla (King Kong) destroyed New York, and a new fly shop was shopped. 

End of the day and into the tall grass we go.

ROOT RIVER ROD COMPANY

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

ROOT RIVER HACKLE

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

MY GEAR

Camera - http://amzn.to/2hnMwkD

Lens - http://amzn.to/2hhdHJS

5 wt Fly Rod - http://amzn.to/2CMGm2a

Waders - http://amzn.to/2BHwpnC

Wading Boots - http://amzn.to/2qiwU5p

Nippers - http://amzn.to/2CjYO2u

Sunglasses - http://amzn.to/2CM17Lr

Fly Box - http://amzn.to/2Cz6lO4

**The above links are Amazon Associate links**

THE PINK TUTU

PART ONE

Text from GRANT:  Jim and I are heading South.  Leaving from BMFS at 6:30.

12 Hours later....

Reply text from ME:  I'm in.

The day was looking promising.  The weather was fantastic (for winter) and we were the first ones to arrive, and had the waters to ourselves.  Grant and I started out chucking streamers, and Jim went with the trusted nymph rig.  This was new water for the 3 of us, and I can tell you that it had some extremely fishy runs.

Grant and I both had a handful of bumps, but couldn't get any of the fish to commit.  No worries, because, here comes Jim to show us how it's done.  Drifting a fly he dubbed The Pink TuTu he hooked up with a nice brown trout.  No surprise to any of us.  Jim is just one fishy dude.

Jim doing what he does...catch fish.

Buttuh.

Jim's Pink TuTu

We continued to fish with no luck.  Jim's brown was still the lone fish on the board, but that was alright with me.  It was a pleasure to be out on the water fishing with my homies, and not freezing.

Grant working a streamer dropper rig in one of the many nice runs.

After some time with zero action for all of us, we took to the streets.  We were on the hunt for more access points to the river through the old time feel main street in this small Southern Minnesota town.

On the hunt for more river access.

On the way, we came across a pay phone and decided to contact the 1-800-BEATDOWN article that we have all read in The Flyfish Journal hoping that it wasn't only for steelhead fishermen.  None of the option really applied to us, so, I think Grant hit the # symbol for phone sex, and to hear that he looked good in his waders, but I'm not entirely sure.

Grant calling the 1-800-BEATDOWN Hotline and hitting the # symbol.

To be continued....

MY GEAR

Camera - http://amzn.to/2hnMwkD

Lens - http://amzn.to/2hhdHJS

5 wt Fly Rod - http://amzn.to/2CMGm2a

Waders - http://amzn.to/2BHwpnC

Sunglasses - http://amzn.to/2CM17Lr

**The above links are Amazon Associate links**

DREW & EDDIE

This is Drew.  He likes to tie flies and fish for trout.

Drew admiring a musky fly.

Drew is also a big fan of playing with my camera while I'm using it.

Drew using my camera while I was trying to use my camera.

Drew also likes to play with my camera when I'm not using it, and sneak close up pictures of peoples faces or behinds.

Drew in search of Eddie Rivards best side.

This is Eddie Rivard.  He likes to fish, tie flies, and share his stories on his blog Eddie Rivard Fly Fishing.

Eddie showing off some bucktails with the Chicago Bears colors.

...and here is the product of Drew sneaking up on Eddie Rivard with my camera.

Possible caption contest photograph for the future??

QUICKIE

Found myself in Wisconsin with some time to spare, so, I did the logical thing....I went trout fishing.  I was out and about enjoying the weather and hiking around Willow River State Park, and afterwards, I decided to head on down the road to the Kinnickinnic River.  I grabbed my FSA custom 3 wt, Vedavoo hip pack, and Tacky fly box, tied on a top water bug I've been working on, and walked on down to a new spot I scoped out back in June.

EATER

The no name fly I've been working on was the ticket and my fly box was not needed.  I found some rising trout on the tail end of some small riffles, and they were picking off anything that was drifting through.  

Vedavoo hip pack.

Wet waded up the river just a little bit in to some skinny water, and found some a few more fish drifting that same fly.  I don't know if it was the fly or the amount of fish caught, but the fly was starting to come undone.  Need to do some tweaking...I kind of want to think that the trout were just beating it up throughout the short outing, which is very possible.

Brook trout like to party.

Came across a floating fish, and upon further investigation - I determined it was the biggest trout that I have ever seen with my own eyes in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, and that it was a brook trout.  Didn't have a wallet on it, so, I wasn't able to determine it's age or where it came from.

What a shame.

All in all it was a solid 1.5 spent fishing on a beautiful day, and a reminder to me and to all of you that live here in the Midwest to get out there and enjoy the outdoors and the kick ass weather while we have it....Winter is coming.

MEND IT.

This is a super late post, but back in March...or was it April.  I have no idea.  Sometime this early Spring I went fishing.  It was fun, and I was given some trout fishing lessons from Joel Ebbers, Matt Ebbers, and Aaron Przybylski of Scavenger Fly as they sat on the bank of a juicy run and watched me fish.

The words of advice I received from all of them.

"Mend It.  Mend It.  Mend It.  Mend It."

Joel working a run while Aaron watches intently.

Aaron and I started out with streamers, but switched over to nymphs and the fishing really turned on for everyone but me, but that's expected, because, I have no idea what I'm doing.

Aaron hooked up with a brown trout...

...almost got it...

...and fish.

Matt working a nymph in the distance.

Aaron showing me how to "MEND IT"

Matt working one of his finely tied streamers through a really nice run that should have produced a few trout more than it did.

Almost forgot Mr. Jim Aronson was there at the start of the day, but left early....and of course he did what he always does - catch fish.

Brown trout caught by Jim.

Driftless brown trout caught by Jim.

Big thanks to the guys for showing me the ways of trout, and how important it is to mend your line.  An extra big thanks goes out to Joel and Matt for picking up my net that fell off of me while making my way back to the car.  Oh, and a nice to meet you goes out to Jake White who we came across on the walk back.

Until next time.