Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Wisconsin Driftless Trout Opener 2020: Part 2

Aaron has been found, but he's been acting weird.  I found him down by the river fishing which is nothing unusual, but he was hooked in to a fish when I saw him...that's highly unusual!  He's literally the worst at fishing.



There was a lot of fishing the rest of the day.  No catching, but a lot of fishing.  When you're in company the catching doesn't matter much.  After seeing a few posts from others about the Wisconsin Inland Trout Opener, it was a slow day for all in the Driftless.

Bobby Nachos keeping a low profile.

Area Man watching Bobby Nachos work a streamer through some riffles.
Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast.

Dirty Harry hero shot with a brown.  Love this reel case!
My Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast sticker box always makes it out to the river when I'm fishing for trout, and so does my Vedavoo Dirty Harry patched Reel Case.

Area Man searching for the right used fly.

Area Man found it.
All in all, it was a solid first outing of the new year.  A fish was caught, Area Man was abducted then found, and I got out of the house and away from my computer.  Cheers and Happy New Year to all of you out there!  I hope 2020 brings you all the awesome!

Area Man working an area.

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Monday, January 6, 2020

Wisconsin Driftless Trout Opener 2020

The 2020 Wisconsin Inland trout opener // Driftless opener.  After a slow morning of fishing with my friend Area Man aka Aaron Przybylski.  We went back to the truck to hydrate and wait for our friend Bobby Nachos, but something happened.  Area Man went missing.  

At first I thought it was the Driftless Sasquatch, and after reviewing the footage (I conveniently had my cell phone recording) I believe it was aliens.  Now that I'm thinking deeper in to it, what if the Sasquatch is the Alien.  Then I got to thinking that Chewbacca and Sasquatch have the same build, and Chewbacca is basically an alien!  Whoa.

What do you think?  Please subscribe to my YouTube Channel, while you're watching.  It would mean a lot to me.  :). Thank you!


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Monday, November 18, 2019

Vedavoo x Dead Meat Customs November Giveaway

With fly tying season here, Vedavoo and Dead Meat Customs have teamed up to bring you a pretty sweet fly tying giveaway!

Prize Offerings:
- Dead Meat Customs mixed eye package (63 pairs) that includes some custom Vedavoo logo eyes ($90 value)
- DMC and Vedavoo Stickers
- DMC bar coasters

How to enter:
1. Follow both Vedavoo and Dead Meat Customs on Instagram
2. Like the photo in the original post. Link: CLICK HERE
3. Tag a friend in the comments.  Each individual comment tagging a friend counts as an entry, so, enter as many times as you want!

Contest starts 11/15/2019 and closes at 10 PM CST on 11/21/2019.



Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Fly Tying Season

Snow is now on the ground, and based on the future forecast, it's not going anywhere.  Enter fly tying season...and half assed ice fishing season. I'll most likely spend more time tying flies than sitting on the ice.  I'm really good at catching trees during the warmer months, so, I need to get those boxes filled back up.

Vedavoo Fly Tying Wallet keeping all of my tools organized. 
My Bench Basin is always near my vise ready for scraps and whatever else I toss in it.
My fly tying gear you see in the 2 photos above.
  1. Vedavoo Bench Basin - Perfect if you go to open fly tying events, trips, friends houses, or other parts of your home.  Also works great for an on the go dog bowl.
  2. Vedavoo Fly Tying Wallet - Great for keeping all of your tools organized at home or on the go.
  3. Vedavoo Pinch Pouch - Another great piece of gear for organization.  Perfect for keeping all kinds of small things together while you're on the go.
  4. Rite Bobbin Half Hitch - My favorite bobbin to use for all of my trout, bass, and similar sized flies....I even use this for my pike and smaller musky flies.
  5. Rising Stellar Scissors - Hands down my favorite pair of scissors out there.  I've been using them for years, and have several pairs of them.

I probably sound like a broken record, but I'm definitely not giving up on this blogging thing.  I really need to contact the Google and figure out why I cannot "reply" to comments in the comment section.  It's not recognizing my Google account name/log in information.  Maybe it's because I've been neglecting the blog.  More to come.

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

YOU'RE KIDDING ME, RIGHT?

It's mid April, and it snowed.

It snowed a lot.

14-16 inches of snow fell over the weekend.


Oh, and there's still roughly 20 inches of ice on all of the lakes around the Twin Cities area.

It's mid April.

Spring does not exist.

What is this place?

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

PIG FARM INK: IRON FLY TWIN CITIES

PIG FARM INK: IRON FLY
TWIN CITIES
Saint Paul/Minneapolis


When:
Friday - March 16th
7:30 P.M. - Bitchin' (Close at Midnight)

Where:
755 Prior Ave N.
Saint Paul, MN 55104

BIG THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS/SUPPORTERS

Also, my homie Brooks Miller with the Minnesota Twins will be there with a few pairs of Twins tickets to give away, so, this is definitely an event you'll not want to miss!  So come on out to hang, chill, participate, learn, or whatever.  This is open to all skill levels and we HIGHLY encourage people that have never fly fished or tied a fly before to come out and join in on the fun.

Sunday, March 4, 2018

POUND THE BOTTOM

Fishing trips are the best with some fun friends.  Before the Minnesota bass, pike, and walleye season closed on February 25th, my homie Ed drove up from Chicagoland to go ice fishing with me and Troy.  The chosen destination was Leech Lake and we were staying at Trappers Landing.


Of course I caught a small fish.  It's what I do.
The fishing was slow, but the beer and laughs were plentiful.  I made a short video of the weekend trip.  Check it out below, and don't forget to subscribe to the new channel.



MY GEAR Camera - http://amzn.to/2hnMwkD Lens #1 - http://amzn.to/2hhdHJS Lens #2 - http://amzn.to/2CLhwQZ Lens #3 - http://amzn.to/2EoB27q GoPro - http://amzn.to/2FGHKFc Microphone - http://amzn.to/2oGSMEq Laptop - http://amzn.to/2CYjRHa Memory Card Case - http://amzn.to/2CYRWXU **The above links are Amazon Associate links**

Thursday, February 1, 2018

HIGH FALLS WINTER HIKING

High Falls.  A 120 foot drop makes this waterfall the highest fall in the state of Minnesota.  Another unique thing about these falls is that it's located in the Grand Portage State Park on the Pigeon River that separates the US and Canada.

Where's the low falls?
The trail that leads you to the falls is very well marked.  I've been to this place in the summer, and there were definitely a lot more people around hiking the man made trail paths and taking in the views.  For this time of year, I was really surprised to see that the trails were somewhat maintained.  There's some ice on the stairs closer to the falls, but at least there isn't 2 feet of snow covering the trail.

With the there being ice on the trail, it's a good thing I had my Diamond Grip Yaktrax to help me stand up to winter.

#STANDUPTOWINTER
Walking in a winter wonderland.
The Native Americans developed "The Grand Portage" ...meaning "the great carrying place."

High Falls
Upon arriving to the falls, it was clear that it's been frozen for some time now.  It was very cool to see it completely frozen over, and see water still escaping out of the bottom of the ice.  There was also an opening located in the middle of the falls acting as a window, and showing that water is still flowing behind the ice.

That's a lot of ice.
In the photograph below, if you look just left of the center, you can somewhat see the window through the ice.  Granted, it's a still photograph, but you get the idea.

Closer view.
If you ever find yourself up near the Grand Portage, High Falls is a place I'd definitely recommend to stop and see, regardless of what time of year it is.  It was really interesting to see how green and full of life it is during the summer, but equally as interesting to see in the dead of winter where everything is full of snow and ice.

Everybody Chill
MY GEAR
Yaktrax 2 - http://amzn.to/2Eu6CAu

**The above links are Amazon Associate links**

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

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
Flip Over Shelterhttp://amzn.to/2G5c5ya

**The above links are Amazon Associate links**

Monday, January 22, 2018

KEEP CALM & TIE FLIES

If you do not have any winter activities, and the cabin fever is starting to settle in just remember to Keep Calm & Tie Flies.  A message I received from Partridge of Redditch hooks that I just wanted to pass on to all of you.

Minimum Cowbell: A fly.
If you don't tie flies, then I suggest you start learning.  It's a great way to stay fishy, flex your creative muscles, and refill your fly boxes for Spring Summer and Fall fishing.  

If that still doesn't do anything for you, order a pizza.  Pair that pizza with an adult beverage of some sort, a sports game on T.V. or a classic trilogy like Indiana Jones or The Naked Gun, and you'll be happy...until the next time you order another pizza.

Keep Calm & Tie Flies
MY GEAR
Rising Stellar Scissors - http://amzn.to/2yCE7wM
Vedavoo Bench Basin - http://amzn.to/2zGBU78
Rite Bobbin Half Hitch - http://amzn.to/2hzxKab
Peak Vise - http://amzn.to/2zXEBCd

MATERIALS USED FOR FLY
(Note: The links will not give you the color I used for this fly.)
Tail Fillerhttp://amzn.to/2rvwol6
Tail Flash http://amzn.to/2rvwFo8
Body (Wrapped)http://amzn.to/2DszFU1
Body (Bottom)http://amzn.to/2Dw7wiP


**The above links are Amazon Associate links**

Monday, January 15, 2018

MONSTERS THROUGH THE ICE

Lightfield BBQ and I were back on the ice and exploring new hard water.  I don't know what I would do without the phone app Navionics.  It's seriously the best $10 I've spent in a long long time.  Without it, I would have no idea the depth I am fishing in my raft, kayak, or when I am out ice fishing.

Is your Navionics working??
On this day, we were on the hunt for anything.  Having only caught 1 fish in our previous outing "WALLY WALLY - WHERE YA AT" we decided that we would set out with the goal of just catching fish.  Any fish.  So we targeted some shallower water.

How Swiss Cheese is made.
After popping a popping some holes and contributing to making this lake look like Swiss cheese, we set up shop, and got our flashers in the holes and were immediately marking fish.  Time to get our jigs down there and see who wants to play.

Hubbin'
Red illumination coming from the heater is a very welcomed sight when the temperature is in the single digits.  Lights on the flashers are even more welcome, and get the adrenaline going so that you can temporarily forget about the cold.

The game of lights.
We both were making so many fish.  I literally had my face in the hole as I was watching the fish take turns swipe at my jig.  I spotted a few sizable fish with my eyeballs, but the small ones were the only willing participants.  I changed jigs a few times to bigger sizes, but still nada.

Monsters Exist.
Lightfield and I had some fun none the less, hooking up with a plethora of small perch and 2 sunnies.  Nothing worthy to keep, but still a lot better than just sitting there wonder if I was ever going to see my rod bend.

The long arm technique to make catches look bigger.

The release back into the ice hole.
This ice fishing sport is quickly growing on me, and I'm looking forward to getting out on the ice a lot more, and hopefully experiencing what it's like to hook into much bigger fish.  My first fish of the 2018 year was this 10 pound perch (pictured below).  I couldn't believe the gut on this one.  It looked as if it had eaten a bowling ball.

10 pound perch.
Some advice for all fisher-people, regardless of time of year, fly fishing, gear fishing, and ice fishing.  Don't forget to close up your tackle boxes before bumping your ass into them.  That is of course, if you're not in training to be the best at the game pick up sticks.

Gear all over the place is my favorite.
Instagram - @JUSTINCARF

MY GEAR

LIGHTFIELD'S GEAR
Rod Holder - http://amzn.to/2DcNoPr

**The above links are Amazon Associate links**

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

WALLY WALLY...WHERE YA AT

This was my first fishing outing of the new year, and we were on the hard water in search of anything...but mostly walleyes and crappie.

Lightfield clearing some snow for the hub.
We pulled up to the lake we were going to fish, and there were quite a few vehicles and ice shelters already out.  It was a good sign to my homie, but to me, it just added to the fear of being on the ice.

Poppin' holes.

A gas powered auger is a luxury...need to get one for myself.
After drilling some holes, setting up the hub, we were inside sitting pretty.  I have never had such luxuries in the few times I have been out ice fishing.  A gas auger, 4 person hub, propane heater, and camping chairs...I felt like I was in the Presidential Suite.  I could get used to this...

The Presidential Suite.
We each had 2 rods rigged up.  One setup to dead stick a minnow, and the other we were jigging with.  The fishing was really slow.  We were fishing in about 26 feet of water near some drop offs, with hopes there were be fish hanging around the edges.  We also chose our spot, because, there were a bunch of other ice shelters around. :)

Working it.

I could get used to this.

Waiting for some action on the flasher.
Late in the afternoon, just as I was about to go out to the truck for something, I had glanced down at my flasher, there were some extra lights.  Finally some action!  I slowly jigged my lure and then my rod bent.  I set the hook and began to quickly reel, but the fish came undone after 2 seconds.  Bummer!  It felt like a good one, too.

Shortly after my failed attempt to bring a fish in, my buddy Lightfield marked a few more fish and he was then hooked up.  This fish put a solid bend in his rod.
Lightfield hooked up on his custom FSA Custom Rods ice rod.
Lightfield found Wally.  It was the only fish that we caught, and it was a good one.  Would have been nice to hook up with a few more, but I was just happy to be out fishing.  Looking forward to getting back out on the hard water.  Just need to get some ice fishing gear of my own.

Lightfield and Wally.
INSTAGRAM - @JUSTINCARF

MY GEAR

LIGHTFIELD'S GEAR

**The above links are Amazon Associate links**