Kinnickinnic River

The Kinni (Kinnickinnic) River - I've fished it once last year when I was up here with my homie Dave for the River Falls Fly Fishing Expo hosted by Brian from Lunds Fly Shop.

• FISH, FILMS AND FUN IN RIVER FALLS
• RIVER FALLS FLY FISHING EXPO PART: 2

I was invited out to fish the Kinni by John and there would be 3 others with the group - Robert of Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop, Charlie Forbes, and Jigger Jim.

The day started early.  It was cold, slightly windy, and as the day progressed the warmth of the sun was seeked.  The guides on our rods were freezing up, and there were no fish being caught, but damn was it nice to be out.

The difference in temperature between the shaded and sun hit area was fun.  We all much preferred the sun.

John and Charlie discussing flies and Jim working a very nice pool in the distance.

Theme of the day.

Robert trying his hand at a pool Jim just finished working.  The rest of us were working on our tans.

While Jim and Robert were working the pool above, Charlie, started to rig up a nymphing rig.  We were all tossing streamers all day and the only person who hooked up was Jim.  Once rigged up, Charlie worked the pool and caught a few little browns.  He then suggested and insisted that he rig me up with a nymph, and I agreed...first cast and drift I had a fish on, and I didn't even know it.  Haha

Thanks, for the picture, Jim!

On the trek back John found a deer carcass frozen in some shallow water along the bank.  Interested to see if it had a rack, he started to kick some of the ice, and that unsettled some very potent smells, which lead to some laughs and the end the day.

Kick and Sniff.

Done.

A big thank you goes out to John, Robert, Charlie, and Jim, for inviting me out and showing me some new water.  Much appreciated guys!

The Kinni.

Agate Falls - UP Michigan

During my mini winter road trip around the Midwest, I stopped at another waterfall, Agate Falls, to be exact.  This one was different, and not as touristy as my stop at Bond Falls.  There were 2 parking areas, and a man made trail, but the trail only went so far.  You had to view the falls from a great distance.

I noticed that there was a beaten path made that went down to the bottom of the gorge, but there was just a few red flags that went off in my head:

1. I'm alone and there's no one else around.
2. Snow, ice, and an pretty steep incline aren't a good combo.
3. The sun was starting to set.

Given those red flags, and me being me, I still gave it a go.  After a few missteps on some icy rocks, I decided that today was not a good day to die.  So, I turned around and walked back to my car, and called it a day after taking some pictures from afar atop the bridge.

Underneath the train bridge in the distance is Agate Falls.  The pictures I seen on Google look great, and I will definitely be making a trip back here, in much favorable conditions.

It's really easy to drink Shasta Cherry Cola, PBR, and Budweiser.  It's even easier to carry it out with you and toss it in a garbage can in the parking lot or the next gas station you stop at.  Don't be an A hole and leave it somewhere it doesn't belong.  Take out what you take in.  Leave no trace.

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!

It's Colder Up North

A decision has been made, and I have decided that I will be doing a multi-state road trip.  After work on Thursday (Today), I will be headed in my favorite direction for adventure...North.  I am planning on doing some exploring in Northern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  I'm going to be doing quite a bit of hiking to seek out new rivers, lakes, access points, and sights I'm not used to seeing in the summer months.

I will most certainly be wetting a line, as well.  Hoping to find some rivers with shore/wading access way up North that come from Lake Superior, and maybe, just maybe, there will be some willing salmon or trout that will want to party.  

A few other things I'm sure I'll encounter on my adventure.

• Cheese Curds
• New Glarus Beer
• Friday Fish Fry
• Peace
• Quiet

Thank you, all, for your suggestions!  
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Open Mic Night

I am back from my trip, alive and well, refreshed and rejuvenated.  Although, I wish I could have stayed out in the wilderness a few more days, week, month, forever...ha

It was a total last minute decision to take off Thursday night for the Northwoods of Wisconsin.  With the arrival of Fall, I just knew it was time for me to get away.  The lure of the Fall colors, and it being "Musky Season" just forced me to take off and get lost.

I'm still sorting through pictures and thoughts...there's a lot of them, so, this story is going to come out in pieces.  I know what you're thinking, "F you CARF!"  Don't you worry, though.  I'm not going to allow myself to fall back into my slacker ways.  I have a need to keep the story telling alive!

Before I embarked on my 4 day solo adventure, a local bar my buddy bar tends at (Bigby's Pour House) was having an open mic, so, I decided to bring the guitar out and play some tunes in public.  It's been quite some time since I had done anything like this.  I had such a great time playing and listening to some of the local talent, and man, there are some talented individuals out there!  All in all, I think I did a good job.  I felt like an acoustic rock star.  Ha!  Looking forward to playing some more open mics, and possibly opening up for some friends bands.

Photo Cred goes to my friend JoAnna.

As soon as I left the open mic night at Bigby's, I jumped on the expressway and started my trek North around 11:30 PM.  2 short parking lot naps, and 6 hours later, I reached my destination.  There were a bunch of deer on the gravel road, and all but 1 scattered off.  This one was confused at the departure of it's other deer friends, and didn't even notice I was there.  3 minutes later the young deer bolted off.  Hopefully, it doesn't sit around that long for hunters and poachers.

Uhm...Where did everyone go?!?!?!

After another short nap in the middle of the forest, I was on the water.  It was beautiful out, and all of the small smallmouth bass were out to play, but no sign of Momma or Poppa.

That is all the time I have at the moment.  Still sorting through pictures.

Midwest "Golden Bones" Fly Tournament

The first annual M.G.B. tournament will be held on September 9th and 10th. The event will be based out of Rivers Edge Bar and Grill in Batavia, IL. Entrance fee is $70.00 per angler. Every angler will receive an event shirt, poster, SWAG bag, drinks, and food. Great prizes will be handed out to tournament winners. Live music both nights. Raffle prizes will also be handed out. Entrance fee can be mailed to Kurt Nelson, along with your shirt size, and email address for confirmation of entry. 

Registration is now open. There will be a limit of 35 slots available for the tournament. 

BASIC RULES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Fishing Area: DuPage, Des Plaines, and Fox River Systems (with Bonus water being added the morning off).

Wading, kayaks, and boats are all welcome to fish. This will be an individual angler scoring system. No combined points between anglers in a boat.

All carp must be taken on fly, photographed/measured, and released. Pictures must be taken of the angler holding the fish and of the fish with the tournament supplied measuring stick/bumpboard. Pics must be texted to tournament staff by 6:00 PM Saturday.

Phone numbers to text pictures to will be provided on angler rules sheet given out at the meet and greet Friday night at Rivers Edge Bar and Grill and at check in at Dupage Fly Co. Saturday morning.
Tournament staff will provide anglers with individual measuring tapes the morning of tournament.
Anglers must be back at Rivers Edge Bar and Grille in Batavia, IL by 6:30 PM Saturday for awards.

SCORING SYSTEM:

The point totals will be based on total length from the day, with additional prizes for biggest and smallest carp. There will also be 1/2 points given to smallmouth bass that measure over 12"s.

Example Scoring:
30" Carp = 30 points
18" Carp = 18 points
12" Smallmouth Bass = 6 points
18" Smallmouth Bass = 9 ponts
Total Points = 63 points

Payment Options:

1.Send check payable to:
Kurt Nelson
email me at midwestwatersflyfishing@gmail.com
call at 6304290419 or message me on Facebook for address to send checks to.

2. You can pay cash in person at DuPage Fly Fishing Co. as well.

3. Also accepting entry fees through paypal. Send entry fee payment to Knkirby1@gmail.com
Contact Kurt Nelson for details or email Midwestwatersflyfishing@gmail.com for questions.

www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/send-money-online

*A confirmation email will be sent to you upon receiving your entrance fee. It will include details about the event, when and where to be, and other event giveaways.

We look forward to seeing everyone out at the inaugural event! If you have any questions or concerns please message us and we will get back to you ASAP.

Hardly, Strictly Musky

McMinnville, Tennessee Musky, I am coming for you, but totally not expecting to catch you or even see you.  I'll be attending the 2016 Southern Classic - Hardly, Strictly Musky hosted by Towee Boats.  The event runs May 12 though the 14th.  

The Team - Dave and Chris.

The Goal - Have Fun!

While I'm not too positive that I'm going to even see a musky, I do expect to have a great time spent drinking beer, and talking with other musky nuts.  There's actually going to be quite a few guys from Illinois making the trip down.  Few of them I haven't met, but I am looking forward to meeting.

There's still time to register if you're interested in the event.

- CLICK HERE FOR REGISTRATION DETAILS -

 Tenetive schedule for this years event.

- CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS -

I should note, this event is fly fishing only.

Tenkara Angler - Spring Edition

The Spring Edition of Tenkara Angler is out, and if you haven't yet, I suggest you check it out.  Whether you're a Tenkara angler or not, you will most certainly enjoy the articles in this magazine, and maybe, just maybe you'll find yourself wanting to pick up a Tenkara rod, and giving it a shot.  I know I want one, and definitely see one in my future. 

The articles/essays I enjoyed.

Brookies & Beer

The World in Black & White

Matching Nature

Tenkara Abroad

Click on the link below to view the eMagazine

TENKARA ANGLER

DUN Magazine - Spring Edition

The Spring edition of DUN Magazine is out, and it's a good one, so, I suggest you check it out!

My favorite articles are The Last Frontier, and Breathe.

Enjoy!

Pink Squirrels and Hatches

While at the fly fishing expo, I purchased some much needed proven trout flies from Matt Ebbers.  On the way back to Chicago, Dave, and I stopped at the Rush River after pretty much everyone told us to go there while on our way back.

Dave and I doubled up about 15 minutes into our wade.  I hooked up with a small brook trout on a Matt Ebbers pink squirrel, and Dave caught a brown trout on...I have no idea...a trout fly.  Pretty fish.  Small fish, but pretty fish.

Doubled up.  Photo by UA Dave.

Me wading upstream.  Photo by UA Dave.

While on our wade back downstream to the car, I noticed that there were trout starting to rise.  As I continued to watch, more and more trout were rising and at a faster rate.  What is this madness I thought to myself.  I felt something crawling on the back of my neck...it was a black winged insect.  Very small with sort of a long body.  I was witnessing a hatch!

I quickly switched flies to the smallest black dry fly I had, and immediately told Dave to do the same.  After quite a few missed opportunities and some good laughs, I finally hooked up!  My first "match the hatch" trout, and a nice one at that!

The small fly that caught the brown trout above was from my purchase of trout flies from Phil's Phly Shop.  I am terrible with all the names of these small flies, and really only know if it's a nymph or a dry fly.  Haha

Well, that brown trout shot out of the water like a missle to take the fly, and it was AWESOME!

R4F - Stop On By!

RIVER FALLS FLY FISHING FESTIVAL

Just a reminder, this weekend, CARF Outdoors will be in River Falls, Wisconsin participating in all of the fly fishing fun.  So, if you're headed to the Fly Fishing Film Tour aka the F3T on Friday night, look for +Dave Kuntzelman  (Urban Assault Fly Fishing + CHI-TIE) and myself.  Dave will be tying up some of the biggest flies for bluegill you have ever seen, so, you definitely won't want to miss that.

On Saturday, we will have our own tables at the Fly Fishing Expo.  We will both have stickers and flies available for sale.  Our friend PJ's Guide Service will also be at the show.  Stop on by and lets talk fish!

I should also add, that we will be doing as much fishing as we can with our free time, so, if you want to share some information with me about fishing opportunities in the River Falls area, that would be awesome and greatly appreciated!  Shoot me an email at - CARFOUTDOORS@GMAIL.COM

Hope to see some of you there!

For more information please click on the links below.

R4F Expo Exhibitors - Full List

FRIDAY - Fly Fishing Film Tour 

SATURDAY - Fly Fishing Expo

Lunds Fly Shop

Bass On The Mind

Just some recent flies that have come off of my vise.

CARF's clouser minnow variation.

I was wandering around Bass Pro Shops fly tying section one day and they had these Rainy's popper heads on clearance, and I just couldn't pass up the deal.  The green ones are medium, and the yellow are small.

Size 1 poppers in a froggy pattern.

Size 4 poppers.

There was a theme that night....can you guess?

Has Google fixed the G+ comment issue, yet?  I apologize if I have not replied to a past comment of yours.  I know Google is working on the issue, so, hopefully, they'll resolve it soon.

Driftless Winter 2016: Part Two

Day Two

When I walked out of the hotel to my car, I noticed that we got some rain overnight.  One of the streams we were planning on fishing is known to get cloudy fast after some rain.  Throw all of the melting snow and ice in the mix, and our plans changed.

We decided to hit a stream that I have only spot fished in one of the few times I had been up here.  In the summer this stream is extremely difficult to fish, because, of all of the overgrowth.  Lucky for us, it was Winter, and the banks were somewhat open.

With this being much smaller water, I opted for my FSA custom 3 wt.  The weather throughout the day was great.  The temperature dipped a few times, but nothing outrageous.  It definitely did not feel like January.

Adam continued to work a hopper dropper, and I casted small streamers and occassionally drifted some nymphs. Adam was the first to garner the attention of a few brook trout, but none were fully committed to showing face.

One of the small streamers I was tossing was a tiny woolly bugger...I forget the size, because, I didn't tie it, but my guess was a size 8.  Well, I casted at the front of a nice pool I was approaching, and a trout came completely out of the water to hit it, but wiffed, and never came back. 

The after a few more drifts a trout came out from right in front of me and hit the bugger, I lifted the rod, felt the weight, and then it went slack.  After some silent F bombs, I made a few more casts, and then checked my fly, and to my surprise, the hook had broken off.  I could not believe it!  Has this ever happened to anyone??

What really sucked was it was my last small black streamer.  I scarified a few to the shrub gods.  I'd also, like to give a little shout out to, Brad of Tippets and Tales, for giving me the tip on small black leech type patterns, and Tim Lobello, for his report on the area the day before we went up.  Much appreciated Gents!

Tossed pretty much everything.  Don't mind my sinking leaders.  The stuff I was using was stashed behind them.  Ha

On the walk back, we decided to take the road.  We looked down on the stream in the parts we had waded and fished and we could see schools of trout shooting around and stopping at this one pool.  Outrageous.  We drifted some flies towards them, but no dice.  They were really not having what we were selling.

Skunked, but we didn't care.  It was a great weekend to get out and explore some of the endless amount of water that flows through some beautiful country.

The Driftless.

Driftless Winter 2016: Part One

Day One

My friend Adam and I have been trying to get out and fish this winter.  We were thinking steelhead in Michigan or Wisconsin, and that just never happened, because, we've both been busy.  Things always work out in the end, because, it just so happened that we both had a free weekend at the end of January.

We decided, we're going to fish.

Our destination, the Driftless Area of Southwest Wisconsin.

You just couldn't beat the scenery.

I haven't been to the Driftless Area of Southern Wisconsin since May 2013.  The last time I attempted to go was in September of 2013, a few days before the season is set to close for the year.  I never made it, because, my car was totaled. Click here to see that old post - Sitting Duck.

We left early around 4 AM on a Saturday morning and as I made the last turn onto a gravel road we we greeted by a bald eagle.  Always a beautiful sight.  Adam has never been up here, and he recently got into fly fishing, so, I was looking forward to showing him the very few spots I know in the Driftless.

Frozen guides did not stop us.

The morning started off cold.  Our guides were iced every 5 minutes, but that's okay, we weren't miserable, because, we were thrilled to be out of the house and wetting a line surrounded by such beautiful scenery.  Adam brought along some liquid heat to help warm him up from the inside out.

Adam sippin' on some liquid heat.

What to use...dries? nymphs? streamers?

What size should we use...10? 14? 16? ...20??

After changing flies quite a few times, I ended up getting some attention from red beadhead leech I tied on a size 6 egg hook.  Adam went with the hopper dropper technique.  A technique I rarely use, but probably should use more often.

Not wanting to spook any of the fish with my walking, and how I slip and fall in the snow, I was attempting to make hero casts, so, I can fish an area before I was near enough to spook the fish.

Streamer Eater.

Casting the leech to the tail end of some riffles, I got a strike, but missed.  3 casts later, my rod bent, and as I lowered my net, a beautiful brown was scooped up.

Release.

As the day went on, it got warmer.  Our guides were iced, no more.  I was actually breaking a sweat, because, I was so warm in the 4 layers I was wearing.  The rise in temperature gave us hope that the fishing was going to turn for the better, but it didn't.  It stayed stagnant.  We couldn't figure out what they wanted.

Long stealthy casts.  One of the keys to fishing the Driftless.

The lack of fish didn't affect us at all.  One look around and it was all good.  These streams are very special, and they just get prettier when the snow reveals lush green grass, and the trees begin to become full of life, again.  The trip wasn't done, and we were already looking forward to returning when jackets and winter gear were not needed.