Spring is near!

I am pretty excited to see that the 10 day forecast calls for consistent 40 degree weather, and Spring is just around the corner. I cannot wait until these lakes in the Chicagoland area to be ice free.

This short video by Catch Magazine always gets me pumped up for bass fishing. Check it out, and I'm sure it'll have the same affect on you.

CARP

Chum an area of a lake with corn, put a few kernels on a hook,  and wait. Growing up, that's how I was taught to catch these lake behemoths. It's probably been a good 20 years since I've actually targeted a carp, until now.

One of my goals this upcoming fishing season here in the Chicagoland area is to hook up with some carp on the fly. I have read, and talked with people about how much fun it is. Fly fishing has rejoiced my childhood love of catching bluegill, and I can only imagine what hooking into a 10+ pound carp will do.

Stumbled upon this online magazine today, and it has only fueled my fire to catch a carp on the fly. Unfortunately, that fire I am experiencing does not melt away the snow and/or ice that we have here. So, I will just have to wait....

Please feel free to share any tips you might have!

One thing that I do know is, that I will be tying and trying out this pattern I heard about from a blog you should check out. BrookfieldAngler - The Backstabber

Here is the digital magazine - CarpPro

Driftless Area of Wisconsin

This past September, I took a day trip to the Driftless Area that is southwest Wisconsin to do some trout fishing. The weather was looking ugly all the way up there, but once I reached my destination the rain stopped, the wind calmed down, and the sun came out. I couldn't have asked for better weather. 

I've always read, and heard about how spooked the trout get, but you don't really have an idea until you see them scatter with your own eyes, while you're still 10-20+ feet away from the edge of the stream/creek. 

I caught rainbow trout 2 months before this trip, but this time I was after brown and brook trout. I managed to catch my first brown. I caught a total of 3 brown trout for the day. They were all caught using a grasshopper. I also lost a total of 11 browns, and 3 of them were big! One of them I almost had in the net before he kindly unhooked himself. It was one of those look to the sky and yell "no!" moments, like in the movies, but I kept my cool, and opted for a quick "MF" bomb.  

Another cool part of my trip was, I got to see a wild barred owl fly. I think it caught something because it was on the ground. I got to see him take off into the trees. Pretty damn cool! 

If you haven't been to the Driftless Area, I highly recommend it! I plan on making more than one trip there next year. It's a beautiful place with excellent fishing opportunities.