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!

Obsessed with the Northwoods

***FOREWARNING***

This is a picture heavy post, but it's worth it.

One day mid June, The Fat Gordo, hit me up and asked if I wanted to head North....my answer was YES!

What perfect time, as well - The Fat Gordo's birthday was the 12th (Friday) and mine was the 14th (Sunday - Flag Day). It's funny, because, the two of us really don't like celebrating our birthdays, so, it was kinda perfect we spent it on a river in the middle of nowhere with one another. Ha How cute, right?

I casted 3 flies the whole trip, and found great success with a brown pattern I had tied this past winter. The Fat Gordo used his usual double blade inline spinner, and mixed it up with a frog.

The smallies were definitely ready for us, and wanted to do battle with us often. These river smallies never cease to amaze me with their strength, heart, and willingness to hit big ole musky flies. 

This particular small jaw (pictured below) put up one hell of a fight, making multiple runs, and never giving up. I could not believe the fight this one put up against my 10 wt. As it was bent over, I shouted to the Gordo, "It's a TANK!....Whoa!!!!!" As I held her up, Gordo and I, were in awe of her beauty. The colors and markings were just beautiful. After a successful release, Gordo and I, must have high fived and fist bumped a hundred times. Good times!

What you can't see is the biggest smile on my face. Like Christmas morning.

Another shot of the big beauty.

After a super long wade...which should have been split into 2 days, we decided to find a backwoods road I know of in the dense forest, and hike it back on land. We knew that it was going to be a very difficult wade back, and both of our legs were jello. The Fat Gordo already took an accidental dip in the river, and we didn't want to chance anymore.

Killed around 6 ticks on my waders when we made it back to camp.

Walking along the road we came across this big bad momma. She was relaxing in the middle of the road soaking up the last of the sun, and did not like our presence. We saw a few areas on the road where it looked like something was digging. The Gordo and I, started to think she was looking for a place to lay eggs. I'll have to do more research on that, because, I'm curious. Anyone have knowledge of snappers and when they lay eggs and where?

Also, I am still AMAZED at how fast they snap. She snapped at my GoPro camera, and my jaw dropped. Excuse my language, but HOLY SHIT!! I advise everyone and their mothers to never put your fingers near their face, that is, if you still want them. It's safe to say that I will never go noodling after this experience. F THAT! Hahaha

SMILE you're on camera!

...and of course no trip North is complete for me without stopping and picking up a 6er of something from Wisconsin's finest breweries, New Glarus. I usually go with Moon Man or Spotted Cow, but I've never seen this one before, so, I gave it a try, and I was very pleased with it.

New Glarus Hopster

My Nautilus Premium Fly Reels Yeti Cooler is pretty awesome, and I am thoroughly impressed.

Some more fish porn. Another thing about the smallies in this river is they are all kinds of different colors. Some are dark, some are light, others have more markings than others, and some don't have any at all. Really interesting stuff. I know some people associate it with spawning, but I guarantee that these fish were not spawning.

The Fat Gordo with another small jaw

One of mine. Keep 'em wet.

The Fat Gordo was determined to catch a smallie using a frog, and he was successful. The first one he did not get a photo of, because, of some sly tactics from the smallie after the Gordo removed the hook. The small jaw pictured below fell victim to a Booyah frog, and you can just see how happy the Gordo was, but I know he wanted a picture of that first one.

BOOYAH!

What a great trip. There's nothing better than having a successful trip, getting back to your truck at the end of the last day, packing up all of the gear, enjoying a quick lunch, starting the truck....trying to start the truck...SHIT...the truck didn't start. I forgot the headlights on. The Fat Gordo's truck does not have a beeping notification telling you that you left them on, in turn, leaving you with a dead battery if you leave them on.

So, here we are, a few miles away from the main road, in the middle of nowhere USA, on a Sunday afternoon. Luckily, we were able to get a hold of a 24 hr wrecker service that was very familiar with the area we were in. 1 hour later...the truck received a jump, and we were finally on our way home.

WANTED: KING OF THE NORTH

Already looking forward to my next trip North.

Party until you're blue in the face!

I stopped by my local honey hole to see if the big bluegill wanted to play. Casted a small boogle popper with my custom FSA 3 wt, and the bluegill did not disappoint. They accepted my blue popping invitation with excitement, jumping out of the water with each delivery. Every cast was greeted with as much excitement as the last. It was a fun 30 minutes.

Taking more than they can handle.

All jacked up on mountain dew, and came at me like a spider monkey, but I was ready. I came in first, and he came in last.

The Fuzz showed up forcing everyone to dip.

I even made a new friend. There's no doubt his kung-fu will grow strong, and he will enjoy plenty of pizza.

Turtle planking...this little dude is on some next level shit. Look at that focus...and the form...perfection.