I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving.

 

Eat lots of good food!

 

Don't go waiting in lines after dinner or the day after.  Get out and enjoy what's out there!  There's so many other things that you can do with your time that would be much more enjoyable than waiting in some department store line to save a few bucks.

 

I know I plan on getting out and going for a hike or possibly a quick wade on some small waters that I know won't produce any fish, because, it's that time of the year...but who cares!  It'll just be nice to get out and enjoy nature.

 

 

I have many doppelgangers, and my friends love to find them.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and your families.

Midwest Golden Bones - Recap (Late)

The 1st annual Midwest Golden Bones Fly Tournament was a great success.  Kurt Nelson and Bill Katzenberger were the masterminds behind the tournament, and my hat goes off to those guys for all of the work they did.

There's a great write up, and some fantastic photographs from the event over at the Tippets and Tales blog.  I highly recommend you check it out!!!  --CLICK ME--

The event even made The Moldy Chum blog. --CLICK ME--

FRIDAY - MEET UP AND PFI: IRON FLY
I hosted the PIG FARM INK - IRON FLY event to kick off the weekends festivities at the Rivers Edge Bar & Grill in Batavia, IL.  Kurt had his Towee boat parked in the beer garden and he had compartments filled with ice and beer provided by Sweetwater.  Booze, Boats, and PFI: Iron Fly...an equation that equals a bitchin' good time.  Huge thanks to my homies from the FARM for hooking it up with some killer prizes provided by Yeti Coolers, Costa, and Post Fly.  What a fun night of fly tying challenges, happy anglers, and some creative and questionable flies.  I only took a few pictures, and they're not good. (For pictures please visit Tippets and Tales post.)

Mike Burns walking away with a Dead Weight Fly swag

SATURDAY - TOURNAMENT DAY
Check in at the DuPage Fly Fishing Co. shop was between 6 and 7 AM.  I arrived at 6:58 AM.  Haha  I had slept over at my cousins place which was literally 10 minutes away.  I woke up early and told myself that I had time, and I should just close my eyes for another few minutes.  Next thing I know, I wake up, and it's 6:47 AM.  I was out the door!

After arriving fashionably late, I received my swag bag, measuring device, was given the run down of the rules, and off I went.  Per usual...I didn't have an exact plan of attack, but when Bill said that Salt Creek was in, I knew I had to go back to my old neighborhood.  On the way to my spot, I became very hungry, so, I stopped for breakfast at my favorite breakfast spot, and ordered my usual chorizo/jalapeno omelette, with extra crispy hash browns, and pancakes.  I was stuff, so, when I finally arrived to my destination....I tilted the seat back in my car, and took a nap. (Oh, it was raining at this time btw.)

3 Amigos omelette at Bentley's

2 hours later, I woke up to a big truck, and some guys talking.  I leaned up and peaked to see who it was, and it turned out to be 2 guys from the tournament.  Hilarious.  We had no idea anyone else knew about the water we were intending on fishing.  Needless to say, they were already geared up and ready to rock and roll on the water, but I on the other hand definitely was not, so, I started my car and drove to a back up spot in the area.

...and after fishing a little while at the back up spot, I decided to head back to Naperville and fish the DuPage River.  Long story short...I caught a bunch of small smallies, and bluegill.

CHUBBY.

Huge bluegill that I thought was a decent sized smallie.

I finished the day with no carp, but that was quite alright with me.  Once back at the bar for the final results, there was a plethora of food and booze.  Just what you need after a long day of fishing.  The guys did an outstanding job organizing this event, and I'm looking forward to it next year.  Congratulations to all that won raffle prizes, and those who placed in the top 3 for the carp that they caught.  Extra huge CONGRATULATIONS to Mike Allen who won the tournament with an insane number of fish caught.  You da man, Mike.  You da man!

CUBS WIN!

The Chicago Cubs are going to the World Series!

Unfortunately, I didn't have a ticket to the game, but that didn't stop me from heading to Wrigleyville to partake in all of the celebration that was going on in the streets.  It was PACKED, but oh so much fun to experience.

Surprisingly, there were only a few idiots out, and they were climbing the street lights, and as soon as they came back down they were taken away by the boys in blue, and I'm not talking about the Chicago Cubs.  Other than that, everyone was having a great time in the streets and in the bars.  I didn't see any fights or flipped cars, but the Cubs also didn't win the World Series.  I'm hoping they do, though...and not because I want to see flipped cars. Haha

What a great time to be a Cubs fan!

Oh, and hats off to the Chicago Police Department for doing a fine job amidst the chaos of Cubs fans.  I could tell that some of the officers were enjoying being there and just watching some of the drunk idiots.

Juice. We Can Still Go Fishing.

It's Monday, and I had planned to take my cousins Sam and Dom fishing after work.  It was storming most of the afternoon and in my head, the chances of us fishing were out the window.  I text my Aunt informing her that I don't think I'll be coming by to take the boys fishing.

When I finally got off of work there was light rain, but the skies to the west were all gray.  Once I arrived at home, I received a text message from my cousin Sam that read "We can still go fishing..."...and after a quick glance outside at the dark skies in the West, I said to hell with it, and told him that I was going to pick him and his brother up shortly.

When we arrived to the lake, there was a steady drizzle of rain, but no thunder or lightening, so, we were all good to fish.  The boys didn't mind the rain.  They were just so excited to get out and fish.  Awesome!

We all hooked up with fish.  My cousin Sam (Grey shirt) was the first to hook up, and he ended up with 2 on the day.  Dom (Orange shirt) caught 3, and ended up with 2 sunnies and 1 small bass.

It was really awesome to see how excited they were to get out and fish with me.  I'm hoping to take them out more and more before the cold weather arrives.

I ended up hooking up with a decent sized bass on a top water lure.  I was doing a lot more coaching than fishing, but that was A-okay with me.  I really wanted them to hook up with some bigger fish.  I know they will eventually.  They were super excited to see the big bass I caught.

...but they were also quick to remind me that they were up on me in the fish count numbers.

• Dom - 3
• Sam - 2
• Juice (My family nickname) - 1

When the mosquitoes were too much to handle, we packed it up, and I treated my cousins to some cheese curds and ice cream from Culvers....a dinner of champions.  Ha

Always a good time when it's family time!

PIG FARM INK - IRON FLY @ GOLDEN BONES

The Midwest "Golden Bones" Fly Tournament is 3 days away!!  This Friday is the first day of the event, and not only will it be a meet and greet with a run down of the rules and information, there will be beer, food, and a PIG FARM INK - IRON FLY event hosted by yours truly!!!

It's going to be one helluva time!

Big thanks, to all of the sponsors for the PFI Iron Fly event - Costa, Yeti, Post Fly, and of course my dudes at Pig Farm Ink!

It Has To Be The Shirt

My first time out on the Des Plains River this year.  Crazy, right?  Usually, I'd be in the double digits in visits, but that's just not the case this summer.  I'm going to make the most of what time is left, that's for damn sure.  Got out to my favorite, most frequented stretch of water on the DPR in Lake County.  The weather could not have been better.

Kept it simple and light this trip.  1 fly rod and just a few flies.  I was just looking to enjoy the day and not over complicate things.  We had some storms roll through the past few days, but the water levels were surprising low.  

What I was extremely surprised about the day was the amount of fish I seen swimming around.  I have never seen so much activity in the water before.  There were schools of bass, bluegill, and rock bass all over the place.  It was really awesome to see that the fishery is flourishing.

Floating along, enjoying the scenery, and casting near downed trees and debris, I was seeing a lot of action.  The Northern Pike were hungry, but man, do they have the worst accuracy.  Once I finally got a hook up, it turned out to be a fish I had never caught on the river.  A largemouth bass!  It must have been my Troutrageous! shirt that enticed the chunky little bass.

On my paddle back up river, I anchored down, so, I can take a break and listen to a live band that someone had playing in their backyard.  They were jamming all kinds of new and old music, and were pretty damn awesome.  I couldn't see them, because, of all of the forest but I could hear them loud and clear.

Here's the spot I was anchored down at...beautiful.  Crazy to think that this is the Des Plains River.  I may or may not have fallen asleep while laying back on my kayak.

Life is good when I'm in my kayak on the river...napping.

40 minutes later...I continued my paddle back to the launch were I parked.  Made a few more casts and hooked up with this feisty snot rocket.  I think I went 1 for 20 on Northern Pike.

Surprisingly, this was the only litter that I found in the stretch I paddled.  Free double buzz bait in Chartreuse...I'll take it!

-Here's a tip for all of you fishermen-

If your lure is snagged, don't cut the line at the reel.  Aim your rod straight at the lure and pull straight, putting zero bend in your rod.  It'll break off closest to the lure (In theory), and you won't litter or lose a lot of line.  Win for you, and win for any animals that might get tangled up in your mess.  Let's be smarter people!

The Dells

 When I think the Wisconsin Dells, I think of water parks and an insane amount of kids running around everywhere.  Don't get me wrong, I love kids.  They're a blast to hang out with, and I hope to have my own one day.  This was a guys trip that my Uncle Mike organized.  2 days 2 nights in the Dells.  "The Classic" as my Uncle would refer to it as...

Life advice for Giac, "....what you'll need, is more vodka." - Uncle Mike

We had a great spot on Lake Delton, and had an absolute blast.  Day One -- We rented a pontoon boat, tossed a football, swam, BBQ'd, relaxed, and then proceeded to terrorize the bars of the Dells.  Good times. Haha

Great location.  Right on the beach.

So much love for this man, my Uncle Mike.

Beautiful night.  I'm surprised I didn't wake up in one of the chairs on our beach in the morning.  

Lot of love for my family.

All in all we had a great time.  On Saturday, we went golfing to this beautiful course.  I played like crap, but we still had fun, and that's all that matters.  We had plans of taking it easy on Saturday night, but that just did not happen.  Haha. Oh well.

Saturday night turned out to be my favorite, and it put itself up there with the greatest time of my 2016 summer thus far.  I won't go into detail, but it's all due in part to someone in the picture below.

Learning To Fly

Back in May, my buddy DanK and I went out fishing.  The bass were on their beds and didn't want to partake in any of our shenanigans.  I downsized the fly I was tossing to something the big bluegill in this lake would be willing to take, and they did not disappoint.

I even got DanK to try his hand at fly fishing.  His casting definitely needs work, but it was getting the job done this day.  The huge bluey's were giving my 5 wt one heck of a work out.

DanK with the cliche fly fishing grip n grin.

I don't think he's going to be converting, but I think he'll definitely give it another go.  I'll make him if he doesn't. ha

Oh, and please forgive all of the curse words.  I hadn't realized I swore so much until I was editing this video.  I have since curbed the bad habit a little bit.....I think.  Probably not.

Lazy Days

I'd just like to share some recent flies with you all, and my secret ingredient to all of my flies.

Pictured below is articulated bass fly.  Also in the picture, you will find the secret ingredient to all of my flies.  Yes, it's true.  Fish love hot sauce!  I use Tabasco for my flies and I favor Cholula on my food when giardinara is not available.

No Name Fly Ingrediants

1. Partridge of Redditch Predator X 4/0 Hook
2. Black Magnum Zonker Strips
3. Bronze Polar Chenille
4. Black Polar Chenille
5. Flymen Articulated Shank (Medium Sized One)
6. Misfit Holo Head
7. Tabasco Sauce - Spice it up!

THAT FLY IS HOT!!!!

If you're a follower of The Fiberglass Manifesto, then you should be aware of a recent post of his that was a - Step by Step - pictorial of a Panther Branch Bugs fly named the "Mini Mouse."  It's a great looking pattern, and simple to tie.

Inspired, I was.  I got to tying my own, and played around with some different variations.  I'm happy with all 3.  Now I just need the fish in my area to start hitting top water already.

...And here we have my dogs, Daisy and Bo, doing a great impersonation of me the past 2 weeks.

Bumming around.

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!