One of those days...

Have you ever had one of those days, where it seems nothing wants to go your way?

The Subaru all loaded up for it's first of many trips.

Well, I had one of those on a recent trip to the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

The target species - Musky with a side of smallmouth bass.

I enticed 2 follows from the same musky in the first 20 minutes with a fly I tied, but couldn't get the shiny green beauty to commit. As the day went on, I had another musky follow, and then I was able to get one to commit, but me being over excited about the take, I lost focus and didn't strip set the hook, and went with a hook set I would normally do for bass. I realized the second I lifted my rod. The fight lasted about 3 seconds after that, and then my line went slack. D'oh!

Orange Crush - 8/0 single with an articulated shank.

I was able to hook up with multiple smallies, but just couldn't bring them to hand. I had a 4 +lber smash one of my flies, and then swim behind me, back around, between my legs, back around me, back out, and back through my legs before coming unbuttoned. All of the others came unhooked when they went airborne. After 9 hours of wading we went back to the car to grab some lunch, and I switched to my baitcaster and an inline spinner. New set up - Same story. Hooked up with multiple smallies, but they just didn't want to stay on. It became quite comical.

I know what you're thinking...you use barbless hooks - Correct - But on the flies that I recently tied for this trip, I completely forgot to smash the barbs on them.

Oh, well...there's always next time!

At least my buddy The Fat Gordo was able to hook up with a bunch of those beautiful Northwoods smallies, and I was able to take some pictures of them. 

Flexin'

I love my GoPro camera!

All in all it was a great trip, and it definitely won't be my last. Unfortunately, I will be sending in my rod to Redington for repair. 2 of the pieces came apart while casting and the male ferrule on one of the pieces snapped at the tip. Thank goodness for their warranty.

End of an 10.5 hour wade. - Exhausted.

The search for teeth...

Time to start prepping.

Got me some new materials to play with at the vise.

Exploring the Northwoods

So, I took a 4 day trip to the Northwoods of Wisconsin with my buddy Fat Gordo. We drove around in search of any water we could find to fish. We fished some rivers, and we fished some lakes...pretty much just stopping when we saw something fishable. I'll let the pictures do the talking. It was a great trip!

The top water bite was on. The smallies were loving the fire tiger Todd's wiggle worm I was tossing.

I love these Northwoods smallies. They all fought way bigger than they were.

An underwater release shot I got of this smallie with his war paint on, all ready for battle, again.

When I'm in Wisconsin, I just cannot pass up picking up a 6 pack or 2 of some of Wisconsin's finest beer. New Glarus Brewing Co. This was my first time having Moon Man, and it did not disappoint.

Lucid Fishing Grips helping me handle the toothy pike. Check out them eyes!

I didn't take a measurement, but this pike is way bigger than my personal best 25" northern pike.

The Fat Gordo hooking up with some chunky smallface bass. 

Replacing the studs on my wading boots, and eating dinner. Turkey and Dorito's sandwich.

The nicest fish I caught all trip. What a freakin' beauty!!!!!! My face doesn't show it, but I am beyond psyched! (I've got a good poker face.) This one took a swim jig with a Stankx Bait Co. mudbugz trailer in the Gobi Wan color pattern. Killer!

Just another shot of the beauty with me holding back my excitement -  I really don't know why I wasn't smiling in those pictures, Haha. I was really pumped up, that's for sure.

Pulling over on the shoulder to cast a frog in some of the best lilly pads I've ever seen while my buddy watched. I went 1 for 2. I got too excited for the 2nd fish and set the hook well before it had it.

3 days of turkey Dorito sandwiches will make you want a whole pizza to yourself.

My favorite shot of the trip.

The smallies up there are something else. They fight they put up is second to none. I absolutely cannot wait to return up there. There's a ridiculous amount of water up there just waiting for me to explore it some more. Big thanks to the fishing gods, we were able to catch a few!

Musky on the mind

I haven't been fishing at all lately. Don't you just hate that! I know I do.

Although, I haven't been fishing. I have been able to get some vise time in at night. I'll be making a trip to the Flambeau and Chippewa Rivers in Wisconsin (North of Eu Clair) the second week in October with 2 of my friends in search of musky. So, I've been tying up some big musky flies. I forgot how much fun it is to tie such big flies, and how much easier it is...to me anyways. Here are a few of my finished products. Any advice on these flies or materials that you would recommend or suggest would be greatly appreciated!

First of the big flies. 2/0 hook in the front, articulated shank in the middle, and a 1/0 hook in the back. Buck tail, Grizzly Hackle, CCG eyes, black EP fibers (tail section) with some flash.

What material is good to use for the tail section/body behind the bucktail? I used EP fibers, because, that's all I had. Do you think it would flow well with this fly? - I haven't fished it, yet.

Articulated shank, followed by a 2/0 hook. Buck tail, Grizzly Hackle, and then green and black EP fibers with some flash.

Brad Bohen Hangtime on a 2/0 hook. Black Green and Pink buck tail, pink grizzly hackle, purple flashabou, and some crystal flash in there.

Another shot of the Hangtime fly.

Constructive criticism, and any tips/tricks you're willing to offer are much appreciated!