WHITE BEAR LAKE PERCH

It's official - I have caught the ice fishing itch.  I went out and bought myself a used single person flip over sled, 8" hand auger, and a real cheap ice rod combo.  Now my Vexilar is no longer alone as the lone piece of ice fishing gear.

I will not ice fish without one of these.

I drove out on White Bear lake.  Since there were roughly 3 billion trucks on the lake already when I pulled up to the boat ramp, I figured the ice would be safe enough for me to drive out on.  This was the first time I took my own vehicle out on the ice, and let me tell you, it was extremely nerve wrecking.

It's so loud - I love it!

Using my Navionics, I looked for what would be the best spot.  After driving out to the spot I had chosen that would yield fish, I learned that I was not the only person who thought that was a good spot.  There were already quite a few ice houses over the exact areas I wanted to set up shop.  I settled for an area somewhat near them.

Didn't realize my auger and shelter were from the same company.

I set up a tip up with a jig and tipped it with a few Gulp grub worms, and then I set up my shelter.  If was much roomier than I had expected for 1 person, and it kept me out of the cold wind.  I was loving it.  I started jigging and marked a bunch of fish on my flasher, but couldn't get anything to commit.  When I did finally coax a fish into biting the jig it turned out to be a MONSTER...not really.

Monster Perch.

The action was non stop with twinkie sized perch.  I was entertained and super stoked that the CARF Outdoors #icatchsmallfish tour was on fire to kick off the year.

More Monster Perch.

Below is a live stream of the action that is ice fishing with CARF Outdoors.  Don't look away, because, you might miss the action.

Real Time Feed of the happenings inside the ice shelter.  Don't stop watching!

White Bear Lake - You've been conquered by CARF Outdoors.

White Bear Lake.

MY GEAR

Camera - http://amzn.to/2hnMwkD

Lens - http://amzn.to/2hhdHJS

Lens #2 - http://amzn.to/2CLhwQZ

Boots - http://amzn.to/2CIGHUc

Yaktrax - http://amzn.to/2DbWDPG

Flasher - http://amzn.to/2CJ9iZx

Flip Over Shelter - http://amzn.to/2G5c5ya

Auger - http://amzn.to/2GaGefl

**The above links are Amazon Associate links**

Northwoods Exploring: Part 2

Forever exploring the North.

2 lane roads, tall trees, endless amount of rivers and lakes, and no ambient light to hide the stars at night.  These are just a few of my favorite things.

There's just something special about finding beautiful places like this at random.

Smallmouth, musky, pike, trout, New Glarus beer, and cheese curds.  A few more of my favorite things.

I fished a few places along this river with some great success.  I was able to entice some fish at 3/4 spots.  The next time I head up, I'm going to spend some more time at these areas with my kayak and waders.

Here's a small pike that came out to play.  I asked where Mom and Dad were, but his lips were sealed.

Another spot warrented some hefty bronze smalljaws.  Oh how I love these river brutes, and the fight they put up.

This one had some real battle wounds.  Hawk?  Eagle?  Snapping turtle?  Musky?  Pike?  Whatever it was, the wound was fresh.

Cannot wait to get back up there.  I know my Subaru Outback enjoys the dirt gravel logging roads. 

Until next time.

Exploring the Northwoods: 2015 - Part 1

Few weeks ago, I had a last minute opportunity to do whatever I wanted, so, I decided to quickly pack my car, load my kayak, and head to the Northwoods.  The weekend forecast called for clear sunny skies, and 90 degree weather.  I was hoping to arrive with time to spare on a Friday night, so, I was racing the sun.  Fall and Winter are on their way, because, the sun is starting to set at 8 PM and rise shortly after 6 AM.  Need to take advantage of what strange summer we have left.

Racing the sun on beautiful open roads.

Almost there.

I made it to my destination with minutes to spare.  I grabbed my bait caster and tossed a few top water lures into the river with no luck.  After providing many mosquitoes with a 5 star meal, I decided to call it a night, and head over to a familiar campsite.

There were a few strong storms that passed through the area throughout the day, and I'm sure this tree fell casualty of the high winds.  Luckily it left just enough space on one side of the dirt for me to pass.  There would have been no way I would have been able to remove it.  I do carry an SOG tomahawk in my trunk, but I would have been chopping away at that tree for quite a long time, if it came to that.

Bumps in the road.

The next morning I got my waders on, loaded up my kayak, and tied a rope from the front of it and attached it to my wading belt with a carabiner.  Wading up river, I was dragging my kayak, and I didn't even know it was there.  It glided over the water and didn't hinder me once.  With the kayak I was able to bring a spare fly rod, my bait caster, extra water, tackle boxes, and a dry bag with some miscellaneous stuff.  In hindsight, I could have just loaded up my Yeti Cooler and had a really nice lunch out on the water.  Hell, I could have just brought everything in my car. Haha

The smallies were en fuego, and still loving the brown fly I had so much success on them my last trip back in June.  So enjoy some fish porn!

I really cannot get enough of these fish.

Catch and Release.

Got some from the kayak.

TANK.

And more tanks!!!

This place is special to me, and I pick up any trash I find along the way, I only found 1 can of Old Style this trip, but 1 piece of trash is usually all I find.  Another good reason for the kayak.  As I reached the end of what should be a 2 day wade, I hopped in my kayak and floated all the way back to where I launched....BRILLIANT.

Athletic tape saves my wrist and fingers from blisters before they even start.

Be on the look out for Part 2.  I did quite a bit of exploring of new waters this time.

Superbowl Blizzard

This Chicagoland area received 19.5 inches of snow Saturday night through Monday morning. I spent some of that time out on the roads, and the Outback was a beast! I had zero issues, and I was extremely impressed with it's handling of all the snow on the road. It was very difficult for the plows to keep up, and most of the roads were a mess, but it was not a problem.

Bring on some more snow!!!....Yeah, right! I'm over it. I told my shovel, that we need to start seeing other people/things.

On another note, I was rooting for the Patriots to win, but why in the world wouldn't you give it to Lynch on the 1 yard line! Congrats, to the New England Patriots, and all of their fans. 

Winter DPR Float

I have been itching to get out on the Des Plains River (DPR) 1 last time this year, and I finally got my opportunity. After my morning workout, I loaded up my kayak, and headed toward the river. When I arrived at the launch, the sun was out blazing, and it was a very warm 35 degree's outside.

Paddled up river quite a ways. Pretty much my 2nd workout for the day - I was exhausted. My gear was kept to a minimum. It was hard for me to only bring my 10 wt fly rod, and 3 flies. The first 2 minutes of my float back to the landing, I had a very nice chunky 25+ inch northern pike sort of lazily explode out of the water in a terribly failed attempt to strike my fly. It kind of seemed like it didn't want to go after it, but had to. Sort of how I most of us feel about work sometimes. Don't really want to be there, but need to be. I anchored and casted like a billion times into the same area, but no dice...or pike.

That was the most action I received fishing on my float. I did, however, see a female deer standing near the bank, and soon after that,  I saw a raccoon walking the bank. They were probably just enjoying the beautiful weather just like me. 

Not wanting to end this beautiful day with a skunk. I loaded up my kayak, and headed towards an area I can get a decent cast from shore with my fly rod, not to mention, the spot is always good for at least 1 pike. Upon arrival I was happy to find no one else was there. The last few times I stopped here, there were some characters I didn't get a good vibe from.

If you look close, you can see the fly, flying.

Nothing on Side A, so, I flipped over to Side B.

Graffiti under the bridge.

Side B had the soothing sounds of thrashing water I was looking for.

These pike have dirty mouths.

Not Amused

Had the day off on Friday, so, I took my girl Daisy to get her nails cut. From the looks on her face, I'd say she had a great time!

Daisy is not amused.

Wolverine

The Outback received a new decal. 

I think it suits it very well.

Winter's here....

Outback Modifications

I've made some more cosmetic modifications to my Subaru Outback. Looking for more of a rugged look, I used black Plasti Dip to color a few things.

1. Grill

2. Fog light housing

3. Side door moldings

Let me know what you think!

Door moldings. They used to be the same color red, but now they're black. I think it adds some nice contrast.

BEFORE

AFTER

Fall

Fall is here, and this tree has probably is all different sorts of fall colors by now.

Does anyone have a special place they like to visit to see all of the wonderful colors the trees display this time of year?

Exploring the Northwoods.

New sticker has been added to my Outback.

Yep, I'm a Star Wars fan.

MANDALORIAN

Winterizing the Outback

Stumbled upon this on one of the Facebook Subaru Outback forums. Someone posted about how the side skirts really have no drain holes, and if removed you will find all kinds of dust, muck, and old salt residue. 

Living in the Chicagoland area, in the winter we go through a astronomical amount of salt. That is bad news for our vehicles, because, of rust. The side skirts in the picture below have almost no drainage holes underneath.

Underneath the side skirt it's all painted metal. That paint is really not going to protect or prevent your vehicle from rust.

After cleaning the all of the dirt, soot, muck, salt, and debris in the side skirt and body, I just used painters tape to protect the areas that I did not want to spray with the Rust-Oleum undercoating.

I sprayed on 2 layers on the side and underneath where the side skirts cover. I just made my vehicle better prepared for the upcoming winter and beyond. I was very pleased with the outcome.

Vehicle Modifications

I have been very very slowly planning out and making modifications to my new/used Subaru Outback. This is by far my most favorite vehicle to ever own. I cannot wait to see how it handles with the white stuff on the ground.

I've been doing some research and found a lot of people are using this stuff called Plasti-Dip. I am not an overly huge fan of chrome, so, I decided to start by using this $6 can of Plasti Dip that I got at home depot on my emblems.

I couldn't believe how simple it was to apply this stuff, and remove it. All I needed was a roll of a can of Plasti Dip, painters tape, and a few tooth picks.

Here are my end results. I'm really digging it!

Next - I will be blacking out the fog light housing, grill, rims, and adding some stickers to the trunk and rear windows.

......And a car wash. :)

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.