Channeling my inner Bill Dance

Have you ever made the mistake of going to cast, and forgetting to open the bail on your spinning rod???  I've done this often, but never once has it happened to me this bad.

Turn up the volume, and you'll hear me laugh at myself.  It's something I do often, because, I'm hilarious. Ha  What you can't see in the video is the slope that the rocks are on, that's why my rod and reel rolled into the lake.  I laugh every time I watch it.  Watch my hands, you can tell that I am helpless and there was nothing left for me to do but watch, and laugh.

Oh, and if the video from my last post didn't work for you, check it out here.

Spin For The Win

This weekend was a bit strange for me.  Part of the strange was me fishing exclusively with my spinning rod.  The other part was hooking into a yellow bullhead.  One of the reasons I decided to go with my spinning rod was, I wanted to catch the fish in the backyard utilizing a different method.  I like variety.

On Saturday, I decided to use my spinning rod to toss out a floating Rapala lure with hopes of finding some bass cruising in the shallows.  15 minutes into my backyard outing, I hook into a fish.  At first I thought it was a bass, and as I was reeling it in, it was sort of barrel rolling on the surface of the water all of the way in.  I was surprised, because, that's a new species to my knowledge for the backyard lake.

I've handled quite a few catfish this year of all different sizes...I've lip grabbed all of them with no problem.  Did they bite down, yes.  Did they hurt, no.  All good, I'll just lip grab this little bullhead to better get the lure free.   OUCH!!!!!  Teeth like Velcro just like a bass, but I was not expecting them to have such a strong bite.  Whoa!!!  I was totally not expecting this little dude to have such a strong jaw.  While I was cursing the bullhead out, it bit down even harder, and I just couldn't wait to get my finger free, so, the lure had to come out after me.  Haha

Note: The short video is silent.  There were some curse words and laughing, but the GoPro case doesn't have good audio.  I hope it works.  If it doesn't, you'll be able to play it on my Instagram page - ( JUSTINCARF )

***Click on the center to get it to play***

Tossed a lure tonight looking for some cruising bass. Instead I hooked into a yellow bullhead. This little fucker had the strongest jaw, and actually drew blood from my finger. That fucker! #fishing #bassfishing #bass #swampdonkey #slouchmob #trophycatch #catchandrelease #catfish #bullhead #yellowbullhead #bitch #cat #fish #gopro #ouch #punk #rapala

A video posted by Justin Carf (@justincarf) on Sep 26, 2015 at 7:11pm PDT

After quite a few curse words with laughing in between, I was finally free, and then the lure was, and this little guy was free to swim and terrorize me, again, in the future.  I'll be better prepared for him.

Oh yeah, he drew blood.  What as asshole! Haha

Sunday morning, I tied our little dog Bo Marley's leash to my belt and went into the backyard.  I brought my spinning rod, again, but this time I tossed a Mann's -1 in the firetiger color scheme.  Bo barks at my lure whenever he see's it and I can see it in his eyes that he want's to chase it out into the lake.  

I've caught fish with him tied to me before, but he's never seen a big fish.  I hooked into a decent little guy and Bo tried biting at it's tail while I was trying to get the lure out.  After getting the lure out I let him make a fishy friend....and he licked him.  Is it weird for new friends lick each other? Daisy is visiting with my Mom, but I'm curious how she would react to a fish.  We shall see.

***Click on the center to get it to play***

Good morning bass! Tossed a Manns -1 on the spinning rod this morning for 30 minutes. Note - I did not kick the dog haha. #fishing #bassfishing #bass #bucketmouth #largemouth #largemouthbass #gopro #topwater #swampdonkey #slouchmob #lunker #monster #fish #spinforthewin #goprofishing #goproeverything #catchandrelease #midwestfishing #midwest #outdoors #catchandrelease

A video posted by Justin Carf (@justincarf) on Sep 27, 2015 at 8:31am PDT

Bo Marley meet Bass.  Bass meet Bo Marley.

It was a good weekend.

#SPINFORTHEWIN

Fly Fishing with The Slaunch Mob

My buddy Adam aka The Slaunch Mob (Instagram - @theslaunchmob) decided that he wanted to pick up fly fishing.  We were finally able to get out and fish with one another, and since we both have a love for smallies, we decided to wade a stretch on the DPR that he fished the day before with minimal luck.  There were some storms that rolled through, so, the water was high, but that didn't stop us from getting out and getting some casting time.

We were skunked, but it was a good time none the less.

Here's a short short video of the outing.  Basically, it was just me playing with different camera angles and working on my editing for future stuff.  Turned out pretty cool.

Enjoy the skunk.

Here's an awesome shot that Adam took while I was casting into the morning fog with the sun peering over the trees.  If you're on Instagram, I suggest you give him a follow.  You certainly won't find fishing shirts quite like his anywhere else.

@justincarf casting in the fog this morning. www.slaunchmob.com #flyfishing #fishing #bassfishing #largemouth #smallmouth #trout #slaunch #slaunchmob #carfoutdoors #art #apparel #illustration #chicago #heavymetal #deathmetal

A photo posted by @theslaunchmob on Sep 13, 2015 at 12:41pm PDT

Fly Fishing Poplar Creek

The GF wanted me out of the house, because, I was bugging her while she was baking cookies for a work event.  So, I went fishing of course, but this time, I decided not to take any still pictures.  Instead, I recorded some video. Check it out!

I didn't realize my camera wasn't aimed down far enough, but you can still see what's going on.

I had a lot of fun creating this video, and it made me realize that I had forgotten how much I love the editing process or making a video, so, be on the look out for more in the future.  That's a promise!

Poppin' for Pike

Got our for a float with some cool dudes.  Met up at a boat launch on a Northern stretch of the Des Plains River (DPR) about 7 AM.  Spotted this at the boat launch out of the corner of my eye, and got a good lauch out of it.  I have a simple humor, and I'm a little upset, I didn't think about this. HA!

Here's looking at you!

The Float Crew this trip......

Urban Assault Fly Fishing - Dave

Marcus - DPR Pro

No Intro needed.

Not pictured are Dan and Saul.

4 Kayaks, 1 Canoe, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Dave tied up some big weedless frog flies, and gave me one.  It's just a super sized version of a Gutless Frog pattern, and they're awesome!  Both Dave and I tossed the top water for awhile.  I had a small pike fly completely out of the water trying to eat it...It was AWESOME!!  Unfortunately, none of us hooked up with any top water pike.  I was 0 for 3 or 4...I forget.  Dave hooked up with 2 pike, and I forgot how the others fared.

9 AM...is it too early for a cold one on the river????.................NAHHHHH

Thanks, for bringing the brewski's, Dave!! I got 'em next time.

UA Dave and a solid DPR Pike.

DanK got a good shot of UA Dave and I in his canoe approaching the take out spot, and getting in some lasts casts.  This is the very spot that I caught my first pike on the DPR.  T'was a good float Gents.  You would have thought with the overcast conditions that the fishing would have been popping off, but it wasn't.  Next time!

DPR...IT'S BACK!!!

We've had an extremely wet June and mid July here in the Chicagoland area.  That means that one of my favorite fisheries has been blown out or not to my liking to fish.  Finally, the rain let up for a few days, and the Des Plains River returned to it's normal levels, and allowed me to finally get some fishing in.

One of my favorite shirts to wear out on the DPR is a $3 shirt with a shark on it for "Shark Week."  Well, this past Spring I was checking out the clearance section of a store and stumbled across this gem of a shirt.  It's a Shark Week shirt, and it says "I <3 Snuffy"...I'm not familiar with Snuffy, but someone told me that's what they named one of the seals at the infamous spot where Great White Sharks fly out of the water.  The best part about this find is that it was another $3 shirt! SCORE!!  I couldn't wait to wear it out on the DPR, and I finally received my chance.

SNUFFY and PIG FARM INK

There were 4 of us that day...DanK, Keith, and Piker Mike.  We floated a section that Keith was familiar with, and it proved to be tough.  DanK, Keith, and Piker Mike tossed spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and some other lures.  I tossed some flies, with the occasional soft plastic swimbait (I wanted to try something different).

Cleaning up all of the missed pike. :)

I ended the day with 3 pike caught all on a firetiger baitfish pattern of mine on a size 2 hook.  Nothing with crazy size, but the normal hammer handles that love to keep me busy.  I really with all of the ones that missed came back for a 2nd run.  DanK hooked up with 1 little "pickle" and missed about 25 others using a buzzbait.  He was really determined to hook up with all of his pike top water.  Keith caught the biggest one of the day toward the end of the float trip, and missed quite a few others.  Piker Mike finished the 8 beers he brought too early and didn't even see pike.  I'm sure he had some unseen follows, the pike are getting hungry!!

This one exploded out of the water when it hit my sub-surface fly.  Great strike!

DanK got caught playing with his Pickle!

Great company to go on a float with.  Looking forward to our next outing Gents.

Catch n Release

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!

We're Huntin' Musky

Friday 7/24, I received a text from my buddy, Mario, informing me that Friday night basketball has been cancelled.  Damn.  Then I received a text from my buddy, Mike, that said, "Open seat if you want to chase some Ski's today.".....Yeah!!!

We put the boat in at 6 PM, and what a perfect time.  There were still a few pleasure boaters out and about, but they were decreasing in numbers as time went on.  The waves in the lakes were starting to go down, and it was a cool sight to see.  I've never seen these lakes without waves.  It was a beautiful thing.

We started out casting inline spinners, and then we began to toss some big top water lures that splash down in the water like a cannonballs.

My new favorite July beer.

As the night progressed, we did not see any fish.  There were a few other musky hunters out, and they were having the same luck that we were having.  

It was getting late, and the time was 11:30 PM, and we were just talking about heading back.  As I was making a few more casts into the darkness of night, one of my casts did not find water.  Instead we could only hear the not so joyful sound of leaves.  I just casted an expensive lure of Mikes into a tree.  No other words can describe how I felt other than "SHIT."

We tried everything from the boat, and then Mike decided to climb the tree...and he did.  Turns out, I cast the lure so far, that it went beyond the tree that was nearest to the water, and into the tree behind it.  Hilarious...but not really.

Motoring to another fishy spot.

There were no fish caught, no follows spotted, but there were a few beers drunk, and a good time had.  

 How's that old saying go - "That's musky fishing."

Big THANKS goes out to Mike for inviting me out.

Froggin' with DanK

Froggin'

A short story.

Kind of.....

Not really...

DanK and I met up at Lake X to do some froggin'. The lake was calm, and there was overcast...those two added together equal, a great time. The lily pads were thick, and seemed endless. I fished this lake once in the early Spring, but have never fished it in the summer months. One of my very first casts into the thick lily pads warranted an explosion, I waited, waited, set the hook, and FISH ON!

....or not. I thought the fish was tangled in the lily pads, so, I paddled over to it. I reached my hand in the water and started to remove all of the vegetation that accumulated from trying to reel this bass in. Wait a minute...what was that I felt...so as I was doing this, I felt something that was not a fish hidden in the mess of vegetation. You have got to be kidding me haha it was a huge snapping turtle! I am so glad I didn't accidentally put my hand by it's face, otherwise I might be typing this with a few less digits on my hand. Thankfully, I had brought my Backwater Assault Hand Paddle that I won at the Great Lakes Kayak Fishing Series in May of this year. I was able to pop my frog free of the jaws of this mean ole turtle, and it was free to live without a lure in it's mouth. Without that Assault Paddle, I have no idea how I would have been able to get that frog free from that turtle.

A few snaps at my paddle startled me. What a wimp!

After that, it was a turtle free morning of frog fishing.

DanK with the nicest one of the day.

The bass were flying out of the water when I had the camera out. They knew I would be featuring them on my blog. 

2 Thumbs up...you can't see DanK's

I finally shook the skunk off one of my Slaunch Mob shirts. I've 2 shirts from my buddy Slaunch Mob for 2 months now, and I have been skunked on each outing I wore them. The curse has been lifted. I'll drink to that!

Hiding my big smile.

DanK is having a great year. New baby, new home, and he's killing it out on the water. Seems no matter what technique he's using, he's brilliant. The fish just don't stop coming his way, and it's been a blast to withness!

The Master.

As I was floating and fishing around, I took notice that this lake had trash everywhere. It was a shame. It probably would have taken me the entire day to pick it all up. I picked up what ever I crossed paths with. I'm going to start doing it more when I'm out on the water. I already do it whenever I'm fishing at a lake, I'll just start tossing stuff in my sling pack and toss it on my way out. 

RICHARD is an ASSHOLE!

Weekend Floats

SATURDAY 7/18

I was hoping to fish early and beat the heat, but that plan did not work out. I woke up late. It was forecast to be cloudy and 70/80 until Noon, and then it was going to be clear skies, sunny and in the 90's. I got to the Des Plains River around 9:30ish, unloaded my kayak, and paddled upriver.

What a workout! The water was high, stained, and moving fast due to some recent storms we've had. That did not make paddling up river easy at all, but I toughed it out. I brought some beers with me, and that helped offset the calories I burned paddling. Haha.

A local Chicago brewery - Revolution Brewing - Fist City

There's a very busy road that runs along the river, and it's appropriately named River Road. I started to hear some rumbling, and figured it was just some semi trucks hitting one of the many potholes. Started to hear it some more, and I saw the sky get a little darker west. I quickly checked my phones weather app, and nothing. Same forecast as before. Then I heard the rumbling, again, but that time I was damn sure that it was thunder. The fishing was terrible, so, I decided to just paddle back the rest of the way. The wind picked up and it started to drizzle as I approached the launch.

Right after I got my kayak and gear loaded, and sat down in my car, it started to downpour. LUCKY!

SUNDAY 7/19

I arrived at Busse Lake around 8 and fished until 11:30...I think. Ha ...I really don't remember looking at the clock.

I had an are of the lake known as CWB all to myself. The rogue storm from Saturday churned the water up, so, it was murky everywhere. The water was up, too, so, the weeds that I normally fish with a frog were all submerged. I tossed a frog with my casting gear, and some flies out in some open water parts of the lake. I was receiving a skunk, so, decided to call it a day.

On the way back to my put in, I decided to make a few more casts before I paddled the 25 yards to the take out. Boom! I was rewarded with a froggin' bass, and beat the skunk!

Decided to wear a Hoo Rag so that my racoon eye tan lines don't get any worse.

CPR

All in all, it was a rather interesting weekend. That rogue storm was really something else. I should also note that I'm happy to hear that some friends that were out fishing on Lake Michigan were able to make it off of the water before it got too hairy out there.

Side note - My farmers tan is looking killer!!!

A little wacky

Caught my first bass on a wacky rigged worm using my spinning rod this weekend. I caught a few more after it. Now that's a lot of fun!!!! I can't believe it's taken me this long to finally hook up with a bass utilizing this method.

Bass Stache

Senko Stache

IRON FLY - CHICAGO BURBS

If you're looking for a good ole bitchin' time, then mark your calendars for June 4th (next Thursday).

IRON FLY is going down at T-Woods (Thornwoods) in Wood Dale. 6 PM start time for mini games until the main event.

T-Woods (Thornwoods)

1051 North Wood Dale Road

Wood Dale, IL 60191

If you're into fly fishing, fly fishing curious or none of the above, come on out!! Everyone and anyone is welcome to participate, especially, those who have never tied!!

I've got some awesome swag to giveaway, and the only way to have a chance at it, is to be there!!

High Water Floating

Recently, I was invited out to float the Fox River with Kurt from a Tight Loop magazine and Sean from Rushing Waters. I was pretty excited and nervous at the same time. I was excited, because, I have never fished from a drift boat before, and I was just thinking of all of the knowledge I could gain from these two experienced fly anglers. I was nervous, because, having never been in a drift boat before meant, I didn't know how to row a drift boat, and I was well aware of the new guy rule when it came to rowing. I should also mention, I was scared of everyone seeing my non-tight looped casting abilities.

The weather looked picture perfect, but man, was that wind howling! There were some storms that passed a few days prior to our float, so, the water levels were up about 2 feet, if I remember correctly. We were all in search of smallies, the occasional pike, and maybe even a surprise musky...but we weren't holding our breath.

With the high water there were quite a few flooded areas. This is where the carp were all feasting and soaking up the sun, and we even spotted a few pike in spawning mode. We switched our tactics and tried sight fishing for these golden behemoths, but were not able to find any takers.

The fishing was tough, and 1 smallie was boated all day by Kurt. He hooked up with it on a very nice cast underneath a bridge. The smallie was right where it should have been.

All in all it was a great time. There were a bunch of laughs, a few beers, ciders, and doughnuts. Another "THANK YOU" goes out to Kurt and Sean! Thank you, for not making me row on such a windy day, giving me the front of the boat, and teaching me proper drift boat etiquette on poach casting. Haha

I owe you guys big, next time!

Lake X

I met up my buddy FishDank at 9 am this past Sunday. It was cloudy, windy, warm out (to me anyway), and so damn windy. Did I mention that it was windy? Good thing I had an anchor. It's not a very good anchor, but it does the job, sort of.

I brought out 3 rods. My 10 wt fly rod (I haven't sent in my 9 wt to get fixed, yet.), my baitcaster, and my spinning rod. Eventually, I just gave up on my fly rod, because, it was just too damn windy.

My buddy FishDanK was the first to hook up, on a jig and craw trailer...and what he hooked up with was a freakin' Sherman tank! HOLY SMOKES!!!!

He caught 2 more later in the day. Around 11 am a few more guys from the fishing forum that we post on showed up. DanK knew them from some of the tournaments he's fished, but it was my first time meeting them, and they're a bunch of cool dudes. Always nice putting a face to the screen name. One of the guys Kevin was nice enough to bring a grill and some sausage and hot dogs for a quick shore lunch. How awesome is that!!! Thanks, again, if you read this!!!

I caught 2 bass on the day. Both of them came on a KVD rattle trap. The lake was about 6-8 feet deep with some nice weed beds that I ran the lure right over the top of. The 2nd bass I caught was a nice healthy one, and put my landing skills to the test. I really thought I was going to lose it boat side.

Action Shot!!

Hello and Goodbye.

The fishing is starting to heat up, and I'm getting excited!!!!