NORTHWOODS FALL 2016: DAY ONE

Upon my arrival to my favorite Northwoods area, I was slow to get the day started.  Exhausted from driving through the night after playing at an open mic took it's toll on me, but that's okay, I wasn't in a rush.  I had 4 days off, and nothing but time.

The morning weather was cool, in the high 50's, and some of the leaves had started to change into their beautiful red and orange colors.  Get those hoodies out, because, Fall has definitely arrived in the Midwest.

Fall has arrived.

The fishing at my first spot on the river was slow.  The smallie's were biting, but each one I caught lived up to the "Smallie" nickname.  On my way to some other spots I marked on the map, I grabbed an always refreshing PBR, because, it's good to stay hydrated, right?

10:30 AM - It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?

Feeling energized, refreshed, and hydrated, I began to chuck my lucky Northwoods fly that has been a favorite of the tank smallmouth I come across in this river since last summer.  I also caught my musky down in Tennessee in the Hardly Strictly Musky on the same fly back in May.  The fly did not disappoint, and wrangled up a few bigger smallies, and the tank you see below.

Hiking through the forest in this new area I came across quite a bit of bear scat.  Being by myself, I just started to do what I normally do when I'm hiking by myself, I started to sing songs from the Lion King soundtrack.  Hakuna Matata and I Just Can't Wait to be King will always be favorites of mine.  They work, because, I haven't come across any predators singing those songs, yet. 

It's Football Season.

Continuing to fish the same fly, I came across a stunning section of river that just screamed "Musky" to me.  It was time to focus on what season it was - Musky Season.

Chuckin' Chicken.

After 2 follows from a huge huge musky, I moved down river a little bit more.  There was a big tree branch in the water extending out from the bank, and I tried to carefully cast near it, but instead, I snagged it.  Ugh... I gave the fly a hard strip and it broke a branch and became free, and as soon as that happened a musky came out and annihilated my fly!!!

Here's the dialogue from the encounter

HOLY SHIT!!!

Strip Set! Strip Set!! (Yes, I said this out loud.)

 YEEESSSSS!!!!!

MUSKY!!!!!

What a fighter!!!  She gave me a run for my money and as I was trying to land the beauty, I fell down, not once, but twice.  I tailed her, and then dropped my rod and grasped her with my other hand, she shook her head, and my fly popped out -  WOW!!!

I was ecstatic!!!  Roughly 4 hours of fishing on my trip and I have already accomplished mission number one - Musky.  It was easy sailing from there on out.  Everything else was considered a bonus.

I didn't get a measurement on the emerald green beauty, but I estimated her to be between 36-38.

Whoever invented tripods - THANK YOU!

Finished day one with another follow from that huge huge musky I had encountered earlier.  Just couldn't get her to commit.  Caught a few more smallmouth, hiked, and just enjoyed the beautiful fall weather.  Ended the day with a drive to a nearby watering hole to partake in a good old Friday Fish Fry.  

Today was a good day.

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.

FALL IS HERE

With today being the official first day of Fall, that means a few things to me.

• The days are shorter.
• The temperatures will start dropping. Get your hoodies out!
• Leaves will begin to turn, and blanket the ground. Making it hard to sneak around outside without making that leafy crunch sound.
• Real football weather. Go Bears (Say what you want - I stand by my team.)

and last but not least.....IT'S MUSKY SEASON!!!!

I will have you all know, that I am leaving tonight (9/22) for a much needed adventure in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.  I'll be exploring, hiking, kayaking, fishing, car camping, jamming out on my guitar, drinking beer, all while sitting by a small campfire and hopefully not eating cold hot dogs.  

Basically being a complete fish/outdoor bum for the next 4 days...rediscovering my old self and decompressing with some good old fashion outdoor therapy.

  It's going to be awesome, and I am stoked!

I hope everyone has a great rest of the week and weekend!!

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.

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.

I'm Back!

Just like Michael Jordan in 1995....I'm Back!!!!

I just want to say, thank you, to all of those who have stuck around.  I wasn't quite sure how long I was going to be on hiatus, but what I did know, was I would most certainly return...and here I am, white sunglasses and all.  Oh, how I have missed writing and sharing my fishing tales/blunders.

Looking forward to catching up with all of you!!

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!