Classic Anglers of Wisconsin (FFF)

2009-12-22T15:21:00.000-06:00

Classic Anglers of Wisconsin Banquet

Please join us on Wednesday January 6th at our Annual New Year Banquet. We will have excellent food, program and fellowship.

After dinner, enjoy a special program presented by Tim Landwehr, owner of Tight Lines Fly Fishing Company and fellow club member.

We will also have our usual gift exchange* and presentation of this year’s Robert G. Reeners Award.

Location is at Legends Brewhouse and Eatery, 2840 Shawano Avenue in Howard.

When: Wednesday, January 6, 2010

6:00 pm cocktails

7:00 dinner

Where: Legends Brewhouse and Eatery

2840 Shawano in Howard

Menu: Once again Jay Gosser, owner of Legends and club member, has prepared a wonderful dinner menu for us with 4 choices for main course.

Grilled Sockeye Salmon-Lightly seasoned & grilled then served with dill sauce on side.

Tenderloin Steak-8oz Barrel cut grilled to medium.

Fried Shrimp Dinner-6 Jumbo shrimp deep fried till golden brown.

1/2 Baked Chicken Dinner- half of a chicken seasoned then baked.

All Dinners will be served with a baked potato, grilled vegetables and accompanied by a house salad with dinner rolls. Dressing will be on the table. Appetizers & Dessert will be complimentary.

$20.00 Per person tax & tip included. Cash Bar

Please RSVP Jay with your dinner choice by December 30th at email jmgosserdepere@aol.com or telephone 920-662-1111

*We will exchange gifts again this year. If you choose to participate, bring a gift for someone of your own gender in $10 - $20 range.

Another Great Winter on Tybee Island

2008-03-29T18:41:00.008-05:00

Next week we have to begin making our trek back to the northern tundra, leaving our winter home, my southern fishing buddies and our friends. Our time here was once again truly enjoyable, and no, we do not miss the Wisconsin winter. The past couple of days has been in the 80's. All we ask of you all is that the snow is gone, ice is out and that no white stuff is forecasted. We believe we can deal with the cold.

My evolution into kayak fishing is on a fast track and has become a truly enjoybale passion, It is a great way to get to the fish, wonderful exercise and above all lots of fun. While fly casting can be a challange, it works well. Presentations are so soft that at times it outfishes the traditional methods.

The Georgia winter has been cooler than norm with water temps not rising as fast as typical. For the most part they have been in the low 60's and need to be mid 60's and higher, so the catching has been only so-so. Did finally catch my 1st flounder on the fly earlier this week which was a goal. Also, did get to fish the Village Creek on St. Simon's Island twice and down to St. Augustine, FL for some R&R. Didn't fish but next year will for sure.

Couple of photos -- my first flounder on the fly, which while not large fried up well; early, foggy morning on the Village Creek on St. Simons; casting the flats off Little Tybee Island.

Plan to stop for a couple of days in north Georgia to chase some Brookies and whatever else may be around. Always enjoy our time in the Georgia Mountains.

See you all in May for our annual casting tune-up.. Until then, Tight Lines,

Fly Size and Dropper Experiments - Don Larmouth

2007-12-03T07:49:00.001-06:00

Before I was relieved of my gall bladder this summer I spent good deal of May and June prospecting and testing some ideas I had developed last year--things having to do with multiple flies and itty-bitty flies. One of the nearby lakes was now a catch-and-release lake, and only one fly was permitted. The other lake was business as usual. I usually fished for four hours in the late afternoon and evening (a few exceptions--one in particular was a 17" rainbow, followed by a magnificent brown trout of 22", both caught between 9:30 and 11:00 a m. These two contradicted some of my working hypotheses, but I also caught a 24 1/2 inch brown trout the previous evening, and it followed the rules.

Fishing K Lake with a big fly + little fly setup, trading off with either a big fly or a little fly by itself, I found that a big fly + little fly setup was quite effective. I used it as I drifted through weedy areas, sometimes with a drogue to slow down the inflatable boat so I could fish water I hadn't yet drifted through. Though cumbersome at times, this was an effective arrangement. I also found that I caught more trout with the big fly + little fly combination when the sun was on the water than I did with the small flies or the big flies by themselves. As dusk approached, however, the big fly drew even with the little fly, and with the last light the big fly did the work. (Note: "big flies" included #4 and #6 Muddlers, #6 Canadian mohair leeches, and #6 Woolly Buggers, while "little flies" were mostly small nymphs, scuds, and chironomids sizes #12 to #16. See article reference at the end of this piece.)

T Lake was limited to one fly--no droppers, no hookless flies. I already had a good idea of what was effective in this lake, so I began to prospect with a #14 Chironomid under a small Corkie as a (Ahem!) strike indicator. I was very surprised at how much more effective this tiny fly was and how far the trout would pull the Corkie. I had more than a dozen instances in which the Chironomid (barbless) moved several feet. The trout almost always hooked themselves. Lord knows how many I might have missed.

I also found that a Chironomid with something white near the head was very good until it got gunked up with algae, whereas a white metal bead stayed nice and clean--and deadly.

More later.

Don Larmouth

Dry Flies, a Wild New Hook

2007-11-29T13:30:00.000-06:00

Especially for fly fishers who like to catch fish “on top” see an exciting and innovative new dry fly hook design.

Not seen before in the U.S. and called the “Umbrella Hook” from Elephant Proof Company in Japan, the design has been used with good success and reportedly guarantees more hook ups.

Using the new hook, a number of the best fly tiers in the club have created different dry fly patterns in various sizes. Their flies and the Umbrella Hook will be discussed and showcased at the meeting.

Please remember to renew your membership and help us continue funding our programs. The $20 annual fee can be paid at the meeting or mailed to:

Ed Houston
2818 Sugarbush Ct.
Green Bay, WI 54301

When: Wednesday, December 5, 2007. Program starts at 7 PM
Where: Georgia Pacific Conference Facility, corner of Quincy and University, Green Bay

Contact Jim Hauer 920-430-1231

John Gremmer's November Program

2007-11-26T16:16:00.000-06:00

Member John Gremmer presented a very interesting program on fishing Happy Valley, PA. The program included lots of photos and maps of the area. Thanks to John for another interesting story.

Careful of old dyeing compounds

2007-06-18T08:40:00.000-05:00

I was reviewing my notes from the Hazardous Waste Conference when I came across the following item.

Picric acid (spellings vary) was often used years ago by fly-tiers to dye fur or feathers a bright yellow color.
This chemical is classified as “high-hazard”, because if it dries out, it can form shock-sensitive (explosive) crystals under the cap. If you have any of this material, DO NOT OPEN the bottle. Please contact your local solid waste department for proper disposal information.

Please pass this along to your fisher-friends.

Dave Larmouth
Rate Analyst
Western Oregon Waste

Northern Green Bay and the Mink 2007

2007-06-03T11:19:00.000-05:00

The warmer weather finally moved in and with it Smallmouth action has picked up significantly. Couple of weeks ago landed and released an 18" and 23" smallie and lost one other giant in the Mink. Yesterday, a friend came up and we started on the Mink around 10:00, only to join about 8 of our closest and dearest spin/live bait fishermen. One or two looked to be catching quite a few and the rest sporadic. Fish were there and biting.

We landed about 8 in the 14-16" range, lost another 10 or so and had numerous hits .... fish were biting very, very light. After about 2 hours we decided to grab a sandwich and then head out to the Bay and see what was happening by the Islands.

The weather looked ominous to the West, but was moving north, so we decided to give it a try ... only would be 5 minutes from the slip. Started on one of my favorite spots and saw lots of fish in the area. We anchored and after a couple of different patterns I hooked and landed a nice 15" fish -- it was strong, solid and gave me quite a fight on a 6 wt. Had a few hits but then the wind shifted and the storm began to envelop us -- we said a couple more casts and that 5 minutes was the difference. A light rain started, we weighed anchor and headed back only to get drenched -- fortunately the seas remained relatively calm. Guess 45 minutes was better than nothing.

All in all it was not a bad day of fishing and friendship. Heading to the UP next weekend, so hopefully will have some good reports on Browns and Bows.

Steve Osterhaus

Latest from Don "WarmWeather" Larmouth

2007-04-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

Dear friends--

We have returned from a month in southwest Florida. We stayed at the Boardwalk Caper condos in Fort Myers, whose facilities include an extensive array of boat slips. We tied up our little ten-foot pontoon boat in one of these, but it got little use because on most days it was just too windy.

While I did manage to get out to Bunche Beach and other wade-fishing locations, most of my fishing was centered on the barnacle-encrusted pilings of the yacht basin, rising early and staying late in hopes of hooking a big snook. Events of the first week were interesting and enlightening and set the tone for the rest of our stay. I hooked a very big snook, surely over 20 lbs., but we parted company on his second trip around the pilings. I also broke off a few big jack crevalles. Regrouping from these initial setbacks, I respooled with PolyPro braided line (20 lb. test) and 40 lb. fluorocarbon leader, casting MirrOlure plugs and DOA Shrimp as well as casting with a 9-weight fly outfit when it was light enough to see where to place the back cast. A full report of activities over a month would rival a Russian novel in length, so I will simply abstract the most critical statistics:

Snook: four caught and released, three hooked and lost; three snook landed of legal size--one 28 inches, one barely legal at 27 inches, and one thumper measured at 30 inches, subtracting two inches for an overexcited angler and the dark of night. Three were caugth on MirrOlures, one on DOA Shrimp. none on fly.

Jack crevalles: 13 hooked and released, five hooked and lost on the pilings; biggest jack was 30 inches, probably 15 lbs., a bunch at the nine to 12 lb. range, and two five-pounders; most were caught on DOA Shrimp fished with a heavy outfit bought in Fort Myers--30 lb. braid + 50 lb. leader. Saw several jack attacks in the yacht basin: first the water rose, then a thousand mullet hit the concrete sea wall with a sound like a giant slapping a wet floor with a heavy towel, then at least a hundred jacks after them, and perhaps 12 dolphins (porpoises) in hot pursuit. Sitting in my little boat, for a few moments all I could see were open mouths and pieces of mullet flying through the air. I have seen jack attacks at long range before, but this was the first at such close quarters. It was a maelstrom, and it took several minutes for the water to come to rest. As quickly as they came, so quickly they disappeared, with a few bits and pieces left for the pelicans and the gulls.
Others: In additition to jacks and snook, I did manage to catch two flounders, one a delectable 15 inches and caught on fly (?!), a few small mangrove snappers, also on fly, a few gafftopsail and hardhead catfish, and a larger than usual leather jack (full of spines and sharp projections), a small black grouper (maybe a gag grouper, but I don't think so).

I went out in a boat twice with a Capers neighbor, Tom Arnold. We caught hordes of ladyfish, a few nice spotted sea trout about 18 inches, one pompano (not mine, unfortunately) and assorted lizardfish, etc., mostly on fly. I also spent an afternoon with a local guide, Jeff Zasadny. We fished a quiet bay with float and live pilchards (?) for snook and redfish. The float and leader rig whirled through the air with a most menacing sound when cast and seldom landed where I intended, but we caught three snook, four redfish, and one jack. Several more were hooked and lost. For several minutes we were surrounded by snook busting bait ("surrounded" = four or five chomping at any given moment)--not a jack attack, but very lively.

I became known as the old man who fishes from the piers at odd hours. I was on the prowl most days for at least three or four hours, some days for quite a bit longer, hoping for a hookup with a big snook. Such events came seldom, but were always exciting when they came. The last snook and the biggest I caught jumped four or five times, crashing into the pilings and banging its head once on the walkways between them. But none of the passersby could imagine such events, so most of the social exchanges were like this: PB "How are they biting? OM "Nothing so far." PB "Oh. Well, good luck!" OM "Thank you." Or this: PB "Anything today?" OM "Not yet. Got a jack yesterday." PB "Are they good to eat?" OM "No." PB "Oh. Well, good luck."

If they only knew.

Best regards,

-- Don Larmouth

North Georgia Mountains

2007-04-05T16:03:00.000-05:00

We departed Tybee Island early April Fools day, having enjoyed our winter and an especially remarkable March. However, it was time to return but not before spending some time on Dukes Creek and Smith Creek in the mountains of Georgia. As nice as it would have been to have made the April meeting .... well, ya all know how it goes.

The first rain in a couple of months greeted me as I made my way to Dukes Creek -- temperature was in the 70's, but throughout the afternoon it poured. Dukes is not known to experience much in hatches, so with the rain fishing was tough. Besides, a couple of locals had a good morning before the rain arrived. By 5:00 I surrendered with only 1 very small brown taken on a Royal Wulff. Most fishermen ply with Nymphs, but being a stubborn German I fished up top .....

The next morning greeted me with sunshine and moderate temperatures so I worked my way up-stream on Smith's Creek in Unicoi State Park. Decided that maybe Nymphing would be the way to go but met little success before reaching a nice pool with rising trout. Switched to an Adams and after numerous hits I still was looking for a hook-up ... frustrating to say the least.

Continued working up the creek, through a fast stretch with some nice pocket water and finally landed a plump 13 1/2" Brookie. After photos and the release, fished a while longer with a hit or two but nothing in the net. So, I called it a day as a head cold (ir pollen congestion) got the best of me in the early afternoon.

Both creeks provided challenging fishing with tight cover all around, demanding accurate, low roll casts. This was my 2nd time on these stretches and despite limited success, the surrounding geography, warm weather and wildlife made for a great experience.

Steve Osterhaus

Smallmouth Bass Fishing in Rivers & Streams

2007-03-23T07:46:00.000-05:00

Are you interested in learning how to catch more smallmouth – even increase your daily catch rate 200%?

It could all start with this program.

Bob Long Jr. thinks the usual dry fly and nymph trout tactics and techniques model of fly fishing is inappropriate for smallmouth. In this program Bob is going to teach that by altering your thoughts and techniques, you can actually double your average daily catch rate.

Bob has been fly fishing for smallmouth bass since 1977. At the Chicago Park District, he’s known as “The Fishin’ Guy” and is in charge of Mayor Daley’s Fish’N Kids Program. They take kids age 6 –12 fishing: about 10,000 kids each summer – over 55,000 in the last 5 years. A consummate fly tier and photographer, Bob is also a writer. Bob’s articles have appeared in many fly fishing and outdoor publications as well as TV segments and slide presentations.

Bob lives in Chicago and now concentrates on fly fishing, photography, jazz, writing, teaching and all the rest of that “fly-fishing-as-life’s-passion” stuff.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 4, 2007. Program Starts at 7:00 PM

WHERE: Georgia Pacific Conference Facility on the corner of Quincy and University, Green Bay

Cabin Fever in Appleton

2007-03-20T08:13:00.000-05:00

The Appleton Trout Unlimited chapter has Lefty Kreh coming this Saturday March 24 to an annual event they are calling "Cabin Fever." They have a chapter web site at www.foxvalleytu.org that will explain when and what is happening better than I can.

http://www.foxvalleytu.org/html/cabin_fever.HTM

Click on the "For More Info" to see what is planned for this get together.

Ed Houston

March Program

2007-03-05T11:23:00.000-06:00

John Gremmer will present a program on the Big Horn River in Montana. Meet on Wed. March 7 at 7:00 pm at Georgia Pacific Conference Center at the corner of Quincy and University in Green Bay.

Central Wisconsin TU program, Nov. 6

2006-10-19T10:19:00.000-05:00

DNR’s Mike Miller to Present “Increasing Angler Success”

Central Wisconsin Trout Unlimited’s, November 6, program will feature WDNR Biologist, Mike Miller, Madison, presenting “Increasing Angler Success.” The program will start at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in the upper level of the Fin ‘N Feather in Winneconne. This is a free program and the public is invited to attend.

Miller will present information on trout senses(how they find food and avoid predators[anglers]). He will also cover the major aquatic invertebrate orders found in Wisconsin trout streams along with the fly patterns that represent them. Miller will also present findings of a recent study of a trout stream in the Coulee Region(Eastern Minnesota) where the invertebrates found in the stream drift were quantified and trout stomachs were sampled. The study reveals what trout are really looking to eat.

For more info on this program check CWTU’s website at www.cwtu.org or call John at 920-582-7802.

November Program, Wed., Nov. 1

2006-10-18T17:39:00.000-05:00

Classic Anglers of Wisconsin
Presents

Bugs Alive!
Major Wisconsin Trout Stream Insects
By Tom Young

Here is your chance to see stoneflies, caddis, brown drakes, hexagenia, epherons and tricos - all major trout stream insect hatches - on film, up close and personal.

Tom Young has captured on video all these insects as they emerge and transform from nymph to adult insect. “Extraordinary video!” exclaimed a state of Wisconsin entomologist after seeing this video. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”, he added.

Tom Young lives in Waupaca. He fly fishes and guides nearly every month of the year. An amateur videographer also, Tom filmed all the scenes on Wisconsin trout streams. He compiled and edited footage taken over several seasons on the water to create his fascinating video. Bonus scenes include: blizzard hatches, a mouse swimming the stream, bats taking hex and big smallmouth bass feeding on tiny tricos.

Geezers Hit The Bighorn

2006-10-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

When it was over, my friend, Art Kempf, State College, PA, and I agreed we had just spent the seven, greatest, trout fishing days of our lives. We fished the Bighorn River at Ft. Smith, MT and all the elements fell into place for us. The weather was in the mid-eighties everyday, the black caddis were at the peak of their emergence, the crowds were down some, we had the right flies, the right water craft, and the fish were absolutely voracious.

Clues of what we were to experience were offered to us on our arrival at the Afterbay Access on the Bighorn, below the Yellowtail Dam, in Ft. Smith on our fist day. We walked down the boat ramp at 4:30 p.m., looked downstream and saw fish rising forever. At the boat landing(I mean standing on thee boat landing), pitching white woolly buggers, we caught and released five fish between us. Then we tied on size 18 CDC black caddis dries and headed down to the Meat Hole. The Meat Hole has to be the most fished location on the river. Every day hundreds of fishermen float up to it, anchor, and start flailing the water with nymphs, streamers, and dries. By the time we reached the Meat Hole there was about an hour of daylight left, it was deserted, and it was all ours. Our CDC caddis dries hooked a good number of Browns and Rainbows in the 17 to 20 inch category. There were three large Rainbows lined up just downstream of me(I mean 2 ft., 4 ft., and 6 ft.) feeding on the things I kicked up with my feet. Black caddis were also crawling down my waders to get below the surface to lay their eggs. The fish were grabbing them off my waders. This is a little disconcerting--having 20 inch fish banging away at your legs. Most of the fish we caught were in less than a foot of water on the gravel bar near the Meat Hole.

The next day we blew up our mini-pontoon boats and hit the Afterbay Access for what would be the first six days of floating and fishing the river. The mini-pontoons took us to prime fishing spots that we were unable to fish on foot in the past. We got in the habit of starting the float at around 10:00 a.m. and fishing till dark. Come evening we had little left in the tank and needed nine hours of sleep to recover.

In a typical day, we would fish nymphs or BWO dries in the morning until the black caddis kicked in around noon. Then we stuck with the black caddis dries. By starting at 10:00 we avoided the guide boats that like to make an earlier start.

The river was always full of guide boats and we had to do some maneuvering at times. It wasn’t combat fishing, but you had to be alert. The thing is, we could always find productive water to fish and people respected our space. People on the river seemed to be well mannered and in good spirits. At times I would watch the guides working with beginners and they were constantly getting good hookups for them. The guides would tie a small nymph, like a scud, or Ray Charles, etc., to the end of the leader and then about eight feet up, a giant strike indicator(a real big bobber) would be fixed. While floating down the river, the novice only had to get the fly about 20 or 30 feet from the boat, let it sit and drift with the current to make a connection with a fish. At other times guides would stop their boats, set the client up at the top or bottom of a pool and show them how to swing a nymph. I saw client after client hooked up to big fish.

Art, who I can accurately describe as a fishing machine and the epitome of a fishing partner, only fished dries and has become somewhat of a dry fly “snob”. At least I teased him about becoming a DFS. When I would tie on a size 18, Starling and Herl with a size 20, midge, beadhead pupa dropper---he would say I was crossing over to the dark side. This combination was deadly though. I put the small foam strike indicator about four feet above the first fly and cast it upstream and then let it float past me to its eventual swing at the end. Sixty percent of the hits came on the swing and almost always they took the midge. I took a number of 20 inch Rainbows this way.

One day at the ramp I saw a guy looking through the stream side vegetation. I approached him and asked what he was looking for. It was Dave Hughes(Trout Flies, etc.), the author and editor(Fly Fishing and Tying Journal) looking for caddis to photograph. We introduced ourselves and had short conversation concerned with insects, fishing prospects, flies, and drift boat design. The next day at the camp Art and I had a longer conversation with Hughes’ fishing partner, author Jim Schollmeyer(The Fly Tier’s Benchside Reference, etc.) centered around the missing PMD hatch and the history of the Yellowtail Dam. Both guys were very approachable, pleasant, and willing to share information on fishing the Bighorn. One day as I floated by these two guys, they had beached their boat and were dry fly fishing, each had a fish on. I snapped a picture and recorded the moment.

We camped at Cottonwood Camp, which had irrigated, green grass(everything else around Ft. Smith is brown, dry, and dusty) and clean restrooms and showers. The people running the place were very willing to make our stay a quality experience. The Camp Fly Shop is a good source of information on flies and fishing locations. Camping cost $15/night and shuttles cost around $20/day. The whole trip of 10 days cost me a little over $400. $200 for gas, $100 camping and shuttles, $55 license, and the rest meals and incidentals. I spend more when I’m at home.

Then again its hard to spend money in Ft. Smith. The one restaurant that was open was dirty and often fouled your lower digestive tract, there is no gas station, no grocery store, no convenience mart, and the three fly shops are woefully under stocked. We had to drive 80 miles round trip to get a half gallon of milk. The fly shops had a lot of flies, but the ones that worked were long sold out. But, there was the perennial promise that the new order would be in next week.

None of this mattered because we were on the water all day anyway---we had our own flies and supplies, and, on the water was fishing paradise. Thirty to forty fish landed a day and at least that many throwing the hook. The key was to find rising fish, position yourself correctly, use a 6X tippet(anything less could not hold the fish), have the right fly on, make accurate casts, and pinch yourself every once in while to prove that it was all real. I have over 200 pictures to prove I wasn’t dreaming.

I used four and five weight rods. I tried a three but it was not up to the job---the fish were to big. The five was best, but a fish broke it on the third day and I used the four the rest of the trip.

The test of a fishing trip is whether or not you would return for more. We spent the two days driving back, planning next year’s trip to the Bighorn and how we would do things different. One, we would have more CDC caddis flies(and maybe design a few new models). I started off with 18 CDC caddis and at the end I had 0(I had purchase Snowshoe Hare Caddis flies and bum others from Art). Two, we would pay more attention to the food supplies(more dried things), and three, we would rent a boat for a day($120/day including shuttle) and fish the extreme lower sections of the river from Bighorn Landing to Mallard’s Landing for projected bigger fish.

This was a great adventure for a couple of guys on the other side of sixty.

John Gremmer

September 6th Program

2006-08-29T09:09:00.000-05:00

FLYFISHING (WARM) SALTWATER FOR CHEESEHEADS
By Tim Landwehr

Many Wisconsinites already travel to warmer climates during cold weather and vacation in places like Florida, Texas, Mexico, Bahamas Islands and others. These places all have great access to warm saltwater fly fishing – the fastest growing segment within the sport. Tim Landwehr is going to present a special program to help us plan these trips to include our favorite activity.

Bring your notebooks and pens. Tim is going to describe all the gamefish and the tackle necessary to effectively fly fish these species. In addition, he has put together some great destination ideas and guidelines how to put together your own trip on a budget by oneself or member of a guided tour group.

Tim Landwehr (sometimes also known as “Timmy Tightlines, the Smallmouth Bookie”) owns and operates Tightlines Fly Fishing Company in DePere, Wisconsin, the largest full-service fly shop in Northeast Wisconsin.

A reminder: annual club membership fee is due. Amount is still $20 for the year. Also please notify John Cantwell with any changes to home or email address changes so that we can keep our roster up to date.

WHEN: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6TH , 2006
PROGRAM STARTS PROMPTLY AT 7:00 PM

WHERE: GEORGIA PACIFIC CONFERENCE FACILITY
CORNER OF QUINCY AND UNIVERSITY

Sponsored by the Classic Anglers of Wisconsin
A Federation of Flyfishers Club
Contact Jim Hauer 920 430 1231

Don Larmouth Recognized

2006-08-29T08:57:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

Thought you would like to know that I received the Silver King Award from the Federation of Fly Fishers at the 2006 Conclave in Bozeman, Montana. This was apparently in recognition of an assortment of activities related to salt water fly fishing. I say "apparently" because the emphasis in the presentation of the award was that it is not frequently awarded, rather than providing a listing of activities. I guess it had to do with presentations at fly fishing club meetings and a few publications, but I think the publication of Tarpon On Fly was very important, at least as an entree to get on the agenda for fishing clubs and fly shops, and Rob Fordyce deserves much of the credit for ensuring the quality of the content. I continue to receive very positive comments from professional guides as well as some experienced tarpon anglers, and to hope that this publication will benefit Rob as well as Flip. As for me, when I've had the opportunity, I've tried to acknowledge the folks who helped us along the way.

Thanks.

Don Larmouth

P. S. No cash, just a very handsome plaque.

Peshtigo Float Trip, Jim Hauer

2006-07-11T12:05:00.000-05:00

My girlfriend and I floated the Lower Peshtigo in my wooden riverboat "Angelica" yesterday. "My girlfriend”, for those who don't know, refers to my wife, Becky. (She's been my girlfriend for almost 35 years and I have learned that referring to her in that endearing term earns me lots of points.) The float from the city of Peshtigo downstream the entire length is at LEAST eleven miles. It takes ALL DAY, or two lifetimes, whichever comes first. Not that one has a choice since the first landing and opportunity to takeout is on the north bank near County Road BB far downstream after the river twists and turns through numerous oxbows and bends. The Peshtigo River also braids in those lower reaches nearing the boat landing so the important key words to remember are RIVER LEFT or NORTH side to keep from getting lost. I'm told canoeists and boaters occasionally need to be rescued after being reported as missing persons. They had been paddling in circles through those confusing braids for days.

Seriously though, in order to float AND fish that stretch of river, one would have to launch at dawn to get the proper start and have enough time. Plan to be off the river around 10p.m. Iron Discipline is critical and necessary to pace oneself throughout the float. Be sure to bring along at least a lunch and snacks, plenty of water or other beverages, a map to visualize your progress, and don't forget your flashlight. If one is planning only to float or paddle this section and not do much fishing, allow at least 6 hours. There are no rapids or whitewater to worry about. Use care, especially in low water, to stay in deeper water and avoid gravel and sandbar flats and shallows. A few sections also have submerged wood and snags to watch for. Altogether this is a beautiful river float, wild and isolated. One probably won’t see many other people using the river. We saw no one else the entire day. Large boats and motor boats can’t access the river either very far up from its mouth.

We saw three bald eagles, an osprey, a very large colony of bank swallows and numerous other bird species. Yes, I caught a few fish on top. I couldn't get the Happy Face Popper to work its magic, so reverted to the smallish yellow blockhead popper I have been doing so well with already this season. We have been having some problems with the foam body of the blockhead popper separating from the hook. The correct adhesive, we discovered, is epoxy and not Super Glue. Apparently, I still have a few of the badly glued ones left in my box since two more fell apart on me. After the second one's body was just barely attached and hanging onto the hook after a cast, I tore the body entirely off and discarded it on the floor of my boat. Not wanting an errant hook in the boat where our little 18-month-old Malti-Tsu puppy, Mr. Muffin, might hook himself, I absently tossed my leader and the body-less hook with its yellow/red tail and collar feathers into the river. This was Mr. Muffin's first float trip. We didn’t want a traumatic episode. Believe me, its no fun removing a fishhook from a dog. I know. I hooked my Boxer Rosie once with a number 6 streamer.

Meanwhile, untangling my fly line and watching the popper's remains slowly sinking my thoughts were "that's not a bad looking fly." Much to my astonishment (I actually had to blink my eyes a couple of times) there about a foot below the surface a HUGE and I mean HUGE smallmouth was gazing at my fly, obviously contemplating grabbing this item. He saw me. Our eyes met. I'm sure my bug-eyed slack-jawed expression scared the daylights out of him. He slid back into the depths and vanished. I shrieked “HOLY SMOKES” or words to that effect. Becky, startled by my outburst queried, "What happened? Did you cut yourself again?" After explaining to her what had transpired, how exciting and how disappointed I was the huge fish didn't grab the fly she sympathetically said, "Oh, yeah, alright- so lets get going."

Other than getting the boat stuck on top of an invisible underwater snag, which required me to strip down and jump into the water to eventually free the boat, we had a pretty uneventful and ordinary float trip. A little stiff and sore though this morning. Also, I'm sure that bass I saw was a 27-inch-well-over-seven-pounder. Maybe bigger.

At the end of the float, with the boat once again on the trailer, Becky asked, "Are ALL your float trips THIS vigorous?"

Jim Hauer

Tarpon, etc. from Don Larmouth

2006-07-04T11:57:00.000-05:00

Dear friends--

Just returned home after a week's fishing for tarpon and other denizens of the inshore flats and backcountry of south Florida with Rob Fordyce. Tim Landwehr of the Tight Lines Fly Fishing Co. in De Pere, Wisconsin, was with us for four days. The first day (26 June) we saw a good many tarpon, and late in the day we were in a very good position to hook up. Rob's ability to locate us in the right place continues to amaze me. Anyway, I hooked up on an 85 pound tarpon and brought it to hand on a ten-weight outfit that was a bit light for the purpose. We got several great jumps and some real scorcher runs before we settled into the yo-he-ho part of the game. It was a good fish to end the day. Rob's son Kyle was with us that day--eight years old an already an experienced angler.

Tuesday saw plenty of fish in the neighborhood of Islamorada. We started off badly--Rob spotted a school of tanker bonefish, I got an ill-timed backlash, and a 12 pound bonefish took my crab and broke me off before I could untangle it. Not an auspicious beginning. We moved out to the flats near Islamorada. Tim got a shot at what must have been a 200 pounder (no kidding--Rob said it was the biggest fish he had seen since the season began). Tim continued to cast well and place his shots where they had to be, and finally he hooked up on what proved to be a 55 pound tarpon, Tim's first to boatside. Everyone in the skiff cheered. It was a long time in coming, and Tim is no longer a snake-bit dude.

Wednesday we didn't see as many fish, and we had several follows but no takers. However, I did manage to catch and release a 20 pound permit on a live crab after a 40 minute fight in a brisk tidal current. Say what you will, it is not easy to catch a permit on anything, but we were lucky that I got only a minor backlash and cleared it in time to hook up.

Thursday was not notable--a few fish seen, Tim hooked up briefly on a 40 pound tarpon, and Rob caught a permit for the table. Your reporter was fishless despite unflagging vigilance on the lookout for another permit.

Tim left for Green Bay on Friday, and we left for the Everglades and had a very good day, with five or six snook (one a nice ten pounder that cut me off at the gunwale), a redfish, several mangrove snappers, two Spanish mackerel, some jacks, two really nice spotted sea trout (close to 4 pounds), a ladyfish--almost everything except a tarpon. We saw a few tarpon roll but nothing to divert us from fishing for snook. We cast the shorelines most of the time, and the snook were tight against the mangrove roots. All in all, it was a good, relaxing day shortened somewhat by afternoon thunderstorms.

The highlight of the trip was Tim's first tarpon, and to paraphrase something I heard in the Bahamas, "Dat young mon can kyas." Rob demonstrated his ability to find fish and time after time put us in good position to make a "kyas," showing once again why he is considered among the top four or five tarpon guides in the Keys. As for me, I was glad to be there, still able to kyas and to bring two splendid fish to hand (not to slight the backcountry fishing, which we enjoyed very much).

Best regards,

Don

Hex fishing with John Gremmer

2006-06-18T19:33:00.000-05:00

I have been having a ball fishing the Hex hatch here in central Wisconsin. I work around the house until about 5:00 p.m. and then load up either the kayak or the canoe(depending on whether anyone is going along with me or not).

I put in at this millpond and paddle up river to a great pool and then wait for night fall. At 9:00 p.m. I hear the alarm sound from the nearby village. Five minutes later the Hex appear. Sometimes its the duns and sometimes, like Friday night, it is spinners only.

After awhile I start the drift back to the car. When I hear fish rising, I bank the boat and make the casts. Moonlight is your best ally here. One night at 12:00 midnight I heard a big fish rise and preparing to cast I heard a voice say---"that one is mine, he's a pig". It was another kayaker---the only other craft I have seen up this river. We compared notes and I moved on. I could see he was in a nice wood, sit-in kayak. Mine is a sit-on-top. The sit-on-top allows you to wear your waders and slip in and out of the water with ease. A better choice in my mind.

The spinners are size 8 and pale yellow the duns are size 6 and look....well look at the pictures.

I use a five wt. rod, six foot leader, and a two foot, 8 lb. tippet of Maxima. You don't want any tangles. Most the casts are about 10 feet. Longer casts may get you in the trees.

Friday night the fish were gobbling up the spinners. Fish were grabbing two feet from me. They hit so hard they set the hook themselves. One fish was close to 20 inches the rest were 12 and up.

When fishing in the dark you can concentrate on the sounds and the constant noisy rises can rattle you. I landed around 8 fish on a thing called the Flex Hex conceived and tied by my friend John Nebel. I was in bed at 2:30 a.m. The dog demanded a walk at 6:30 a.m. He got his walk.

Eagles, ducks, muskrats, beaver, deer, and whatever are in or along the stream. Lots of deer snorting.

I can only describe the whole thing as a "peak experience".

Final June report from Grand Marais, Minnesota

2006-06-18T12:46:00.000-05:00

Days fished--17; rainbows caught--132; brook trout--10; brown trout--1; total
143 trout. (A "day"--2 hours to four hours)

Best day--23 trout; worst day--3 trout

Largest rainbow--19"; largest brookie--14.5"; largest brown--18"

Best flies: Canadian Brown mohair leech, Rowley's Fullback nymph, Carey
Special (olive), #6 Stimulator dry fly, Rickards dark black/olive marabou leech.

New flies and experiments:

3-fly rig with chironomids and indicator--very effective but frequent tangles
in casting apron and kickboat (not enough room;

2-fly rig (big fly + little fly) very effective and far fewer tangles; single
dropper + point fly much easier to handle than three-fly rig; three fly rig
easier to manage in current;

big stimulator in late evening suggested an infrequent appearance of a large
tan caddis a lot like the BC traveling sedge--little ones bumped it, big ones
engulfed it; also effective with a small nymph as a trailer (#16-#18); caught
several 15-17 inchers on this haystack--cast it out, hand-twist it back;

pack a toothbrush to comb out marabou and mohair tangles;

sparser flies are better--flies with too much material puff out fat in the
water, literally twice their size;

browns in lakes prefer weedy, woody areas; rainbows prefer open water;

Look into Denny Rickards, ignore the grotesque big trout if you can, and look
hard at his fly designs, esp. callibaetis nymph, seal bugger leech, all very
sparse;

abnormally sunny weather for June--poor brook trout fishing, excellent
rainbow fishing.

That's it--nothing spectacular, but good day-to-day fishing in area lakes.

--Don Larmouth

Canada Smallmouth Bass Trip

2006-06-14T16:36:00.000-05:00

I just returned from 5 days in the bush out of Nestor Falls, Ont. Flew into Kishkutena Lake and stayed at a cabin outfitted by Northwest Flying. We had steady action for smallies in the 12 to 16 inch range. They hit on nearly any presentation we offered. The most fun was with dark poppers or #8 mayfly patterns of darker colors in 4-6 feet of water in the rocky bays.

John Cantwell

Mink River and Northern Green Bay

2006-06-12T08:13:00.000-05:00

Good Morning:

Smallmouth have been picking up a bit, though still slower than several years ago. Seems like the numbers of fish in the Mink are way down and I saw fewer active nests this year. However, on the Bay side, just north of Sister Bay the numbers of fish look strong and there are a wide variety of size and age classes. They also will hit flies.

Last evening I went out on the Mink for an hour or so and caught 2 -- one 14" and the other a fat 15 incher. The only thing they hit was a crawfish pattern right on the bottom using a sink tip line. That was the good news -- the bad news was a nice hatch of Mayflies (PMD's or BWO's-the match would have been a 14 Adams) came on and many smallies were surface feeding. Only having a sink tip line with me, couldn't take advantage, which in the past with Brown Drakes can be fun.

Last Saturday on the Green Bay side I was out with a buddy on my boat and we had some action on flies, but that evening under the docks I caught a nice 18" SM -- about 3-3/4 lbs. and another smaller fish or 2 lbs. Again, on the crawfish. The Sister Islands held a lot of fish as well and should hold up throughout the summer, but on and off. The rocky shorelines and drops work well for flyfishing.

I marked a number of fish out deeper - down 15-30 feet and 65-90 feet. These probably are Rainbows shallow and Salmon deeper. Haven't heard any good reports on catches this far North yet, though on the Lake Michigan side (the Bank Reef off Sturgeon Bay) in deep water they are getting some nice catches. For me, probably will wait until later in June before going after the Salmon. The downriggers are wired.

Haven't had a chance to hit any trout streams yet, but hope to maybe in the next couple of weeks.

Steve

Stripers, Wipers, and Spots

2006-05-12T08:52:00.000-05:00

Don Larmouth in Arkansas

I'm back from a quick trip to Beaver Lake for striped bass, which are usually high in the water column in the spring and therefore more accessible to casting. What I didn't know is that striped bass are very sensitive to boat noise and other disturbances, including bad weather. We had this point driven home several times during my stint there. Example: on the last of our three days, with very threatening weather, we saw some very businesslike swirls close to shore and hooked a wiper--that's right, a wiper, a hybrid between a white bass and a striped bass, a nice one about ten pounds. Two nitwits fishing from their pontoon dock saw us release that fish, jumped in their boat, fired up the big motor, buzzed around twice (presumably to ascertain the presence of fish), and started trolling. The stripers (or possibly more wipers) promptly got out of Dodge, and there went our best chance in three days' fishing.

We also caught several really nice spotted bass, some well over 4 lbs., but the stripers eluded us.

Now for a paradox: in spring the stripers are high in the water column but scattered and spooky. In late summer the heat forces the stripers deep, where they are easy to pick up on a graph and relatively easy to catch with deep-trolled gizzard shad or deep jigging which a jig or a bait, but fly fishing vertically through 50-60 feet of water is a daunting proposition, unless we borrow a technique from British Columbia trout fishermen and fish a full-sinking line and a short leader to get Kamloops rainbows to take small chironomids. All you need to do well with this technique is to add ice in which an 8-inch hole has been drilled. (Right--ice fishing.)

So--do you want to catch a big striper? Answer--fish in high summer, fish deep and leave your fly rod behind for other duty. Or bring it and some really small scuds and midges and add some trout fishing to your package. Despite what you may have heard, trout fishing at Bennett Springs is quite a lot harder than you might think. Trip from Green Bay to Garfield, Arkansas - 870 miles one way; license - $11.00 for three days; lodging $60/night; guide fee - $300 half day, $400 full day.

Rich Mikuska was a very good guide, faced with very poor conditions. He was very efficient in setting up his gear. Example--eight lines rigged, baited and in the water in three minutes 42 seconds. Every few days he has to go 80 miles to another lake to net his own bait.

Best regards, Don Larmouth

Smokies Revisited by Steve Osterhaus

2006-04-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

April 1-6, 2006

Ah, to return where it all began. Some 30+ years ago, during my wife’s spring break, we headed south with our travel trailer in tow to the Smokey Mountain National Park. Our vision was a land void of snow and ice and more humane temperatures. As we enjoyed our time in the Park, Kathy (to her dismay) muttered something like “why don’t you fly fish” as she knew I had fished as a kid with my Dad and Grandpa. Since I couldn’t think of a good reason, figured why not!

Unfortunately, it took another 20+ years to fully embrace the sport – you know, kids, family, career, etc. that seem to dominate those years. Nonetheless, the seed had been planted and as we entered the “empty nest” syndrome, I was able to literally jump in with both feet. Now, on our trek back from our winter haven, was my chance to return with rod in hand and conquer the Park’s native fish.

While I did get out for a few hours each of the days there, it quickly became apparent that the research undertaken was quite correct. SMNP trout, primarily Rainbows and Browns), while abundant (2-4,000 per mile), are tough to hook and more difficult to land. And, the average size is 7-9” with an 11-12” fish considered special.

The primary streams are for the most part large enough to fly fish, but receive tremendous fishing pressure. The fish are very wary and approach and presentation are critical. Choice of flies is of lesser concern. Fishermen were everywhere, but did not present a major hassle.

The free stone waters, many with lots of huge boulders, can be a challenge to navigate, much less wade silently. The overhead and streamside vegetation seem to feed well on tippets and flies. Seldom was there enough room for a normal cast – generally roll casts (need much more practice) and side arm casts just above the water were the norm. The Little River, which was my primary focus, had reasonable roadside access, though a couple of areas required a 1-3 mile hike. The river had several large, very fishable pools as well as some nice pocket water. The locals said many times of the year the runs and faster water held lots of fish.

My catching success was disappointing – maybe a dozen rises, 3 hook-ups and zero landed. One hook-up was a rainbow in the 12” range; the others small. Despite the shortcomings of my skills, the beautiful scenery and nice weather (until we headed north pursued by tornados) more than made up for the lack of fish.

We’ll return again and maybe be a bit wiser to the wily ways of SMNP trout.

P.S. The Brook Trout streams, closed since the 1970’s and 80’s are to re-open April 15th – one can only surmise the mass of fishermen that will descend upon the Park, though most of those streams are higher up and much more difficult to access.

81 Year Old Wisc. TU Activist Going To Federal Prison?

2006-04-10T07:59:00.000-05:00

TU Member Del Schwaller, 81, won’t be tying flies this Spring. Del has been sentenced to federal prison for entering the facility of the School Of Americas during a 2005 vigil. He tresspassed along with dozens of other protesters. He starts his sentence Tuesday, April 11.

Let him know how proud we are to know a man that has logged ten missionary trips to Latin America building grassroots structures for education, sanitation, and housing. Del regularly volunteers at the Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul, and St. Joseph’s Food Program. Del is active at TU stream improvement workdays and he organizes a yearly handicapped childrens outing for Fox Valley Trout Unlimited (WI).

Del, a World War II vet, won’t be fishing the Wolf this Spring, but you can send Del a fly at: Delmar Schwaller, #91435020, Oxford Federal Prison Camp, P.O. Box 1085, Oxford, WI 53952

To learn more about Del's story check out this article in the Appleton Post Crescent.

http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060407/APC0101/604070657&SearchID=73241051116497

From John Gremmer

March Madness in South Carolina

2006-03-28T09:04:00.000-06:00

It was an unseasonably brisk 42° at 6:30 AM when I picked up John Cantwell (John and Carol were here for Spring Break) to meet our guide and motored from Savannah, GA across the border to the South Carolina backwater’s in search of Redfish. Reports the past weeks were touting some of the best spring fishing for Reds in the past several years. Temperatures had been in the 80’s the previous week and fish were very active until a recent cold front blew in.

The weather reports, predicting that the winds would switch from the NE to the NW proved correct and we were going out on the bottom of an ebb tide. Despite the cold temperatures, we were encouraged as we headed into the unknown.

After a bone chilling ride, we began to rig up at the first area where things began to look bleak. Someone forgot their reel (no names, but he is Irish) and the guides gear was not usable and in need of serious attention. We were down to one reel, though not a major problem as only one of us fished at a time anyway. Then, as we moved to the front casting deck, the combination of our casting rustiness, chilled torso’s and a 25 mph wind in our faces, the prospects of catching fish became even bleaker.

The harder we tried, the uglier it seemed to get – our guide Greg was concerned and even suggested spin tackle. After spooking the first stop, we moved on.

At our second stop, the sun made its debut and shined upon us; as the winds settled a bit, we were given another chance. Our casting improved dramatically and things began to look up. The Dolphins were active (good news/bad news), so we knew the fish were nearby. While Greg barked directions, conflicting at times, we finally had our first hook up and John landed a nice Redfish. The pod was thick and active on the oyster bar and our spirits lifted.

A few minutes later, after finally making some decent casts, a 5 lb. Red came to my hand. Our casting continued to improve and with it so did our hookup success – each of us landing five Redfish in the 5 to 6 pound range before it was time to return to the dock.

While it started out slowly, we experienced a great morning of fishing. We learned a lot about Redfish as our guide really knew his stuff and we certainly enjoyed our time on the water.

The following evening we enjoyed Redfish filets, accompanied by wine with our brides. While the tales got better (as did the size and number of fish) as the evening went on, we realized that is what fishing is all about – friendship, the challenges and being part of mother nature. But, we also learned a couple of lessons: double check equipment and practice casting, not just on land but from the front of a boat with a strong wind (because that is reality).

Our winter in the south will be ending in a couple of weeks and we will begin to head back to Door County. It has been a great several months here. As Kathy and I head north, we will spend the first week of April in the Smokies – hopefully, I’ll have another report to share later as the trout are beginning to become active up in the mountain streams.

Regards from Tybee Island, GA and see you all at the next meeting.

Steve Osterhaus

Tripartite fishing trips - Don Larmouth

2006-03-28T09:01:00.000-06:00

Jim Wiersma and I spent a week with the Tight Lines gang in the Bahamas, then spent an unproductive week in southwest Florida, then a much better week with Rob Fordyce in Florida Bay and the patch reefs offshore. Highlights were fairly frequent at the Mangrove Cay Club--the food, a few bonefish over four pounds, a couple of cudas 12 and 15 lbs., and several species of bottom fish and "Blue Hole" fish, e. g., black grouper, mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, bar jacks, Spanish mackerel, and several more, including a few mystery fish we never saw. Between us we caught 29 bonefish in four days. One early morning elicited a good response to a long throw--"good kyas" from the guide-- and whatever noise a bonefish when it eats a Gotcha.

Lowlights--or nolights--were the theme in southwest Florida. Except for a few big ladyfish in Tarpon Bay, an undersize redfish, and a trout or jack now and then, we were pretty well skunked. We hired a guide for 3/4 of a day, saw some redfish early, saw some thumper snook (but they saw us first), and were somewhat frustrated by the extensive no wake zones which compelled us to travel very slowly.

Rob Fordyce provided a busy first day, with about 60 spotted sea trout from two to 3 1/2 lbs. or so. Catching a lot of fish has a good deal of restorative power. We had another good day Tuesday, highlighted by Jim's 18 lb. snook (his first) and a 50 lb. tarpon by this reporter. Wednesday and Thursday weren't very productive, but we saw a bunch of snook and Rob caught an 18-pounder. Friday we went out to the patch reefs and caught a little of everything--jacks, snappers, small groupers, grunts, yellowtail snapper, mackerel--no big fish but some nice fillets.

The three-week scheme looked good on paper--too bad it didn't pan out so well. We saw thousands of yards of shoreline completely denuded of leaves. I hope they grow back. If they don't, it's going to look grim for a long time.

Best wishes, and thanks for your patience.

--Don Larmouth

Thanksgiving steelhead

2005-11-27T15:45:00.000-06:00

It was a last-minute decision to bring my spey outfit with us to (of all
places) Geneva, Ohio. Indeed, I thought there would possibly be some open water to
practice my casts, but nothing more serious. Wrong--it turned out there were
steelhead in the Grand River, less than a mile from our son-in-law's parents'
home. Sean's father took me to the river, and we walked perhaps half a mile
downstream. In a short half-hour visit we saw two steelead hooked up (one landed
and released, one broken off), another taken from a different pool--more than
enough to launch a search for a three-day non-resident fishing license. We
visited a tackle shop and a gun shop, driving a few hills and hollows in cold
weather.

Following standard procedure, I was up and about at 5:30 a.m., rigged and
ready. I made the 3/4 mile drive to the river, walked to where I had seen fish
hooked the day before, and began to swing a big orange & white marabou spey fly,
working gradually downstream. It was very cold, in the teens, with a tough
wind coming upstream. I had to knock ice out of the tiptop every few minutes.
But the single spey was working to lay the fly within a yard of the far bank.

After a half hour or so I was getting cold, especially in my fingers, but
then I had a heavy strike that knocked all the ice off the rod, and a strong fish
burst through the surface, jumped again, and then motored downstream about 20
yards. The 14-foot rod was bent deep, and it wasn't long before I had it in
close--a beautifully marked male steelhead, about 29 inches, thick and solid,
possibly ten pounds.

Good judgment broke down at this point. Instead of beaching the fish on a bit
of soft ground and shale rock, I decided I would tail it--no simple task with
such a long rod. I also disremembered the fact that a steelhead'd caudal
peduncle isn't as rigid as a salmon's, making it harder to get a good hold. I did
manage to tail it, but my left arm got wet to the elbow, the big reel slipped
into the water, and I had two hands wet, gloves soaked in the process.

The hook was well stuck, just under the maxillary. The gloves were frozen within minutes, the reel froze up solid, with icicles wherever water had splashed on it. I couldn't work the zipper on my parka to dig out my camera. I couldn't get a grip to unhook the fish, finally decided just to break it off, and got a nice little cut (which I never felt) in the process. So yet again--no picture, but an exciting fish that was a pure bonus for the season.

Some day I will do everything right with this ##@!!*&%% spey rod. In the
meantime, I hope to continue making the acquaintance of such splendid fish,
whatever screwups may occur along the way. I do hope I will also learn not to hit
the Escape key when typing an e-mail.

Happy holidays!

-- Don Larmouth

December 7th Program

2005-11-18T15:35:00.000-06:00

Classic Anglers of Wisconsin

Presents

THE DEADLIEST FLY PATTERNS

A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE LEONARD HERTER

SEE OVER 160 YEARS OF FLY TYING EXPERIENCE IN ACTION. We invite everyone to attend this special fly tying clinic put on by elite members of the North Star Guides Association.

Each tyer will be demonstrating and teaching the secrets for a different “deadliest fly pattern." This is an opportunity the serious fly fisher should not miss.

Specific fly patterns to be tied will not be revealed until the night of the program. (I am told at least some of the patterns are or were banned from use in certain states and countries. Ed.)

Bring your own fly tying vise and learn, or just come and watch.

A reminder: annual club membership fee is due. Amount is still $20 for the year. Also please notify John C. with any changes to home or email address changes so that we can keep our roster up to date.

WHEN: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2005, PROGRAM STARTS PROMPTLY AT 7:00 PM

WHERE: GEORGIA PACIFIC CONFERENCE FACILITY, CORNER OF QUINCY AND UNIVERSITY

Sponsored by the Classic Anglers of Wisconsin
A Federation of Flyfishers Club
Contact Jim Hauer 920 430 1231

Program on the Driftless Area Friday Oct. 10

2005-10-06T13:38:00.000-05:00

Central Wisconsin TU to Present Program on the Driftless Area, Friday Oct. 10

John “Duke” Welter, former Wisconsin State Council Chairman and national TU activist will present a program titled “The Driftless Area---A Landscape of Opportunities” on October 10 at the Fin ‘N Feather in Winneconne. The program, presented by Central Wisconsin Trout Unlimited is free to the public and will start at 7:30 p. m.

Encompassing more than 24,000 square miles in the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois, the Driftless Area is one of America’s unique natural resource treasures. Bypassed by the last continental glacier, which flattened Midwestern landscapes and left behind large deposits of soil and rock---or drift---the area was, as Ted Lesson aptly described it in his book Jerusalem Creek: Journeys into Driftless Country, “an island of land rising from a sheet of continental ice.”

Approximately 500 million years old---one tenth of the age of the Earth---the Driftless Area is marked by steep-sided ridges, caves and towering limestone and sandstone bluffs. The region also contains sinkholes and over 600 spring creeks with more than 3,600 stream miles in six major watersheds. These streams, which eventually drain into the Mississippi River, are fed by deep limestone aquifers, and either support populations of trout, or historically did so.

Welter, a Wisconsin native, grew up in Shell Lake(Washburn County) and received a law degree in 1980 from the U.W. Madison. He is currently a partner in the Eau Claire firm of White, Welter & Schilling LLP. Welter is an avid angler, hunter, skier, canoeist, kayaker, and camper and has been a chairman of the the Wisconsin Council of Trout Unlimited. He was chosen TU’s National Conservation Volunteer of the Year, 2002. Recently, Gov. Doyle appointed him to the Natural Resources Board. He has been a law instructor at UW-Eau Claire and currently is the lead instructor for UW-stout’s Introduction to Fly fishing course. He is Co-Chair of Trout Unlimited’s Driftless Area Restoration Effort.

For more information on this program and others see www.cwtu.org or contact John Gremmer in Winneconne.

NE Minnesota report - Don Larmouth

2005-09-01T16:56:00.000-05:00

Dear friends--

More of the same from the little trout lakes in NE Minnesota (now, does he
mean the lakes were little or were the trout little? Answer--both, with some
exceptions in the size of the trout and the lakes).

For those who keep score--I fished at least two hours in one of the small
lakes near our cabin, just about every day I could, which means about 12 days but
typically only two or three hours actually fishing.. My two-fly technique
worked so well I rarely changed--a #6 or #8 leech in front and a small #12 to #16
fly as a trailer about two feet back from the hook bend on the larger fly.
During the late afternoon about 80% of the strikes were on the trailer
fly--usually a chironomid pupa or a small Pheasant Tail nymph. As it got dark, the
leech fly drew more strikes than the trailer fly--and I do mean strikes. They
really slam a leech.

On most evenings I caught between eight and 19 rainbows, ranging from 11
inches to 14 inches, and one bigger fish of 17 inches, but I also had a few poor
days. I lost one rainbow about the same size--about 16-17 inches. Hooked one
thumper that broke off in the weeds--probably a big brown trout. (That makes two
big uns hooked and lost this year--dang!). The only insects I saw hatching
were brown (?) chironomid pupae, size #16, and not very many compared to earlier
in the season.

Here's a tabulation: 8/13--1 (almost skunked--poor choice of lake, I guess),
8/14--13, 8/15--2, 8/16--10, 8/17--8, 8/18--8, 8/22--14, 8/25--19, 8/27--8+5,
8/28--2, 8/29--1 [lake trout]; so a total of 90 rainbows and one lake trout.
Actually this looks better than it is--I lost several, broke off three or four
(??!!!), and caught only four rainbows over 14 inches. Ted Weinberg and I
fished two sessions August 27--caught eight in the morning and five the same
evening, but lost the only good-size fish I hooked. Ted caught several better fish
on his ace-in-the-hole deerhair fly in the late evening while I was talking
with another angler new to the area.

I had two good afternoons using my drogue or sea anchor, which slowed my
drift and enabled me to make quick short casts to openings in the weeds, let the
two-fly rig sink a little, then twitched it to the surface for the pickup and
the next cast. The trout seemed quite eager to feed--more so than if the day
were calm--possibly because they were sheltered from ospreys but still were high
in the water column in attack mode. I'm sure another factor was the fact that
they saw the flies before they could catch sight of the V-boat. My best day
was two hours' fishing time (1:30 to 3:30 p.m.) and 19 rainbows, several around
12-13 inches and one 17 inches, all but two caught on a two-fly rig, no casts
longer than 20 feet and usually fewer. I had several evenings with eight or
more trout, others where things just went dead, and one inexplicably bad
evening (8/28) with two dinks of seven or eight inches. Moral: beware simple counts
of fish caught and released.

Oh, the exception to the usual lake size? Well, it was Lake Superior, and the
fish was a small lake trout, about three pounds, caught casting from shore at
dusk on August 29--a perfect fit for the broiler. We also ate two rainbows
about 13 inches (delicious), ate one badly injured ten-incher for breakfast, and
returned all others caught, some with flies attached but otherwise in good
shape.

Best regards,

--Don Larmouth

Rich Osthoff program in Winneconne, Sept 11

2005-09-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

Rich Osthoff to Present Fly Fishing Program

On Monday, September 19th, guide, author, and professional fly tier Rich Osthoff, Mauston, will present a program titled “Designing and Fishing Freshwater Flies” The program, starting at 7:30 p.m.and free to the public, will be held in the upper level at the Fin ‘N Feather in Winneconne.

The fly designs of Rich Osthoff are featured regularly in American Angler, Fly Tyer and other magazines. Osthoff has also written two books Fly-Fishing the Rocky Mountain Backcountry and No Hatch To Match. Rich will discuss how he develops fly patterns to solve specific fishing challenges for freshwater fish from trout, to smallmouth bass to deep-water walleyes. His concepts of fly design will help you develop you own effective patterns. Whether you tie or buy your flies, this program will give you fresh insight into fly design.

You’ll learn:

The design concepts behind many of Rich’s most popular flies including the Duck Shoulder Dun, Upland Caddis, Soft-hackle Wooly and Bobbing Baitfish.

Commercial production techniques that recreational tiers can readily adapt

How to inexpensively collect, preserve and prepare an array of natural materials so you can stretch your tying budget.

Keys to designing your own innovative flies to solve the fishing challenges you encounter.

This show, in addition to talking about a range of fly designs(mayflies, caddis, midges, terrestrials, prospecting nymphs and streamers, baitfish imitations, & bass bugs), delves into the vital connection between fly choice and presentation for specific situations. Osthoff will also have an assortment of flies available for purchasing.

For more information on this program contact John Gremmer at 920-582-7802 or jgremmer@charter.net.

Montana Fishing Report - Cindy Finesilver

2005-08-02T07:01:00.000-05:00

The Big Horn Is Back!!

Alan and I just returned from five days of fishing --- three on the Big Horn and two on the spring creeks south of Livingston. We had a great week with successful fishing and lots of education about fishing.

We did not go to the Big Horn last year, primarily because of the drought conditions that we had experienced two years ago. This year the flow was approximately three times higher than two years ago -- we could see and feel the difference while wading for sure! We went with Bob Krumm, known by a number of members of the club. The majority of the fisherman were on the upper Big Horn and found that there was quite a bit of dry fly fishing, especially later at night (caddis and blue wing olive). Bob prefers the lower Big Horn (put in at Thirteen Mile and take out at Mallard's Landing) and we had very few other fishermen down there.

The fishing on the Big Horn was primarily nymph, although we did get quite a bit of action on hoppers and caddis too. One major difference that we noticed that we were catching primarily rainbows as compared to browns several years ago. The fish were very healthy looking and a bit chubby with beautiful colorations.

On the last day we had a fair number of caddis landing on trees, etc, in preparation for their egg laying march in the river. Bob searched out two semi-submerged trees with multiple caddis on them and declared that there were probably large fish under the trees. It was about 8 pm and I volunteered Alan to get out and wade around the submerged branches, etc. while I sat in the boat with my camera ready to go! Anyway, it was really only a good opportunity for a left handed caster because of the trees. To make a long story short, Alan hooked three large rainbows, lost two (one of which escaped during very unsettled moments as he was climbing over and under branches, submerged and otherwise). However, he did hook and land a large rainbow that forced him and Bob to not only climb around and over trees, but also to chase down the bank the river for 200 yards or so. I was sitting in the boat thinking about my rescue attempts (how to untie the boat, etc) in case they both went in, but that was not necessary after all!!

We figured that we probably hooked 150 fish during the three days. One day it rained so hard at lunch that we had to dump water off the plates, but we kept on fishing in the afternoon. Finally, at 8 pm when I was shivering so hard that the boat was shaking, we called it quits!

For those of you who know Fort Smith, I am pleased to report that Polly's is open again (until 10 pm!) It is owned and operated by a young couple from Denver and we found that the food was simple and good. Judy, who used to cook at the Big Horn Trout Shop, has opened her own restaurant also (called Judy's), but we didn't get there because of our late arrival back in town. As Alan and I said, "you can eat anytime, but you can't get dry fly fishing like that all the time." There were anglers from all over, including some from Italy, who had a great deal of difficulty understanding the lack of cell phone service!

The last two days of our trip were spent on the spring creeks south of Livingston. Alan had arranged for a guide, etc. through George Anderson's shop -- we really had no knowledge of the guides, etc., but ended up with the # 1 requested guide from Yellowstone Angler. His name is John Green and he is superb. He taught me a great deal about dry fly fishing (I had a lot to learn), but Alan said that he learned a great deal also. He was a great teacher and had a wealth of knowledge. The first day we were on the Nelson, where the fish were plentiful and hitting. He put me in a particular area where I was able to practice casting and landing fish in an area better suited for a beginner. Alan was in a tougher spot..... the fish are wise and get spooked easily. We totally enjoyed the day and did well. They only allow six anglers on the creek per day.

The second day we went to the De Puy Spring Creek with John. Alan told me that this would be the most challenging fishing that I had ever done and he was right! They had only 11 fishermen on the creek, but it was obvious where the fish were hitting, so we had to work at it a bit. John put us on some excellent fish in the morning --- a spot that he liked that was not so popular. Alan and I both struggled with the 7x tippet issue, especially after the more heavy duty nymph fishing that we did. Even though we didn't catch a lot, we had a fantastic time and learned a great deal about fishing from John.

In summary, Alan said that he thinks that the Big Horn has rebounded nicely as a fishery and that hour for hour, you will do well with the numbers of fish that you hook there. It seemed that both the upper and lower Big Horn were fishing well, although the hatches were not really going strong yet. The spring creeks were amazing, but if you want to land a lot of fish, it is not the place for you. We enjoyed working on technique -- especially me (not much opportunity for dry fly fishing during my limited experience). We recommend John Green highly, but you have to book very early to get him.

If you have any questions about rods or other equipment, Alan would be the one to ask. It was a great trip and we plan to go back next year and do the same thing!

Cindy Finesilver

Menominee River smallmouth bass

2005-07-30T14:43:00.000-05:00

Dear friends--

Thanks to a cancellation, I was able to book a day with Tim Landwehr. Weather had been just right for bass--hot, humid, plenty of insect, baitfish, and crawfish. We were due for a change. Unfortunately, it came during my watch, resulting in a systemic change--clear skies, wind, and jittery fish--a classic cold front.

We determined to make the best of it and to try to discover what worked. To make a long story even longer, we tried a green and white popping bugfget(sales) Then we tried a Murdich Minnow, a chartreuse Scorpion fly, a yellow sneak-up-and-drift-bug, and Tim's Muppet. When you are changing flies that often, it usually means the fish are "off". We tried to sneak bugs into holes that might spook a fish, but even though they could see us. We did spook a few, including two really big ones.

We managed to scrape up four bass to boatside, two of which were about 17-18 inches, each, both very chunky and spunky, both on the Murdich Minnow. We also achieved four specimens of the Esox clan, losing only one to a cutoff. As a little extra for the soul, we saw two bald eagles, an osprey, and several whopping sturgeon that free-jumped--possibly to try to make us jump.

It was a long day, but with water rising and then falling, bright sun, and just plain unsettled conditions, we coouldn't expect much more. If I had boated two fish that I lost instead (both big, of course), we might be noting it as a thumping success rather than a tough day.

--Don Larmouth

P.. I used a nine-weight a good bit of the time, because we were throwing some big flies--big as any I striper fly I ever saw. Glad I had it along.

Hot Days of July, Steve Osterhaus

2005-07-27T11:08:00.000-05:00

Finding Northern Wisconsin stream temperatures up in the 70’s, low water levels and an absence of trout, it was time to change tactics. Fortunately, my brother and sister-in-law invited Kathy and I to their summer recluse north of Rhinelander for a couple days of R&R – a/k/a golf and fishing.

Golf was, well, if what we did could be classified as such, another test of one’s patience. That behind us, we faced the 90 degree heat and humidity and headed out on the private lake for some Largemouth Bass and Northern fishing. It was a picture to remember. My brother and nephews, adorned with many rods, live bait and two huge tackle boxes and me, with a 5 weight rod (rigged with a 5X tippit) and vest, all loaded into the boats.

My first hook-up about 15 minutes into the evening came on a yellow Holschlag tied a couple of days earlier. The 20”, 4+ pound Largemouth played a long game of tug-and-war, before surrendering. A very nice fish, though not comparable to a 23”, almost 6 pound LMB caught 2 years prior. Areas just outside the weedlines, in about 4 feet of water seemed to be the key location.

Over our 3 days, fishing proved very slow with the Northerns being no shows. The salvation was a great deal of fun with bluegills and crappies hitting #12 and #14 Royal Wulffs and poppers. Several of these pan fish proved worthy of the frying pan.

The morale of this saga – my brother who has scoffed at fly fishing for many years is starting to become a believer. He even asked me to start teaching him a bit about casting and maybe will want to give it a try next year. Now, that will be another tale.

Steve Osterhaus
July 12-14, 2005

Bluegills in Sylvania

2005-07-22T11:32:00.000-05:00

Dear friends--

Probably some folks who read this might wave it off as an aberration. After all, bluegills are sunfish, quite suitable for beginners, but not headliners like trout or bonefish. But in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, bluegills are taken seriously. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Sylvania Tract, a preserve whose clear lakes are home to smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, lake trout, northern pike, walleyed pike in places, and bluegills--big bluegills.

Now, "big" is a hard word, especially as it applies to bluegills. For our purposes I declare and affirm that a big bluegill is at least 9 1/2 inches long. Ten inches is probably more appropriate, and a bluegill over 11 inches is a real trophy--a once-or twice-in-a-lifetime event unless you re devoted to fishing 'gills and not much else.

When Mike Senn and I met in Watersmeet, the temperatures had been in the 90s, and we were soon to see the effects, especially the absence of spawning bluegills on the beds, even the deeper ones. We had hopes of finding a fish or two on the beds, but they were gone, so we had to scrounge a lot of water to find them.

We spent most of our time in Helen Lake, where the bluegills are big and difficult. We caught--or, more accurately, Mike caught--several nice ones in the late afternoon, and I caught a couple too. We used popping bugs for the most part--poppers big enough to be used for bass--to minimize hookups from smaller fish. The next day we paddled through Crooked Lake and hiked in to Corey Lake--disappointing, a hard push with the paddles for minimal gain, but it was a pretty trip in through Crooked Lake. We got a much needed rain that night.

We did better as fish moved in from deep water to rocky shallows as dark descended--bigger fish too, along with a few bass. Our third and last day we were back at Helen Lake, and it was my turn to catch a few big ones, including one that fell just 1/16th of an inch short of the 10-inch threshold. All the bluegills we caught were handsomely marked, because of the clear water and bright bottom. Mike knew the good places well, so we didn't waste much time on unproductive water. We focused on transition zones where the weedline ended and on deep water beds where the bigger fish had spawned.

When I go back to Sylvania I'll try to get there earlier, and maybe try an intermediate line as well. A crawfish pattern will be in the mix too--Mike caught several big bluegills while prospecting with spinning tackle and a small plug that looked a lot like a crawfish.

Good things sometimes come in small packages.

--Don Larmouth

Florida Report from Don Larmouth June 2005

2005-07-08T09:38:00.000-05:00

Dear friends--

Here is another report from south Florida and five days of fishing with Capt. Rob Fordyce. We were limited (if that's the word) to tarpon and permit fishing near Islamorada and in Biscayne Bay because of heavy rains in the Everglades. As it was, we lost very little fishing time. Tim Landwehr was my companion again this year and he picked up where we left off last year--confident casting, good vision, better retrieves--all in readiness to boat a tarpon. But there were some obstacles still in the way.

The first day we saw very few tarpon, and Tim got a few follows a la muskie fishing but no eaters despite a good sales job. We were all surprised at the tentativeness of the tarpon. But there were some good lessons, e. g., "Drop that!" meams 'Don't shoot any more line." The next day was spent in Biscayne Bay with much the same result--several fish turning away at the last moment after very good casts and retrieves.

The third day was a crucial one. Tim hooked up twice (Yay!), lost the first after a too-gentle strike and a few jumps, lost the second when the fly line broke (that's right, the fly line, my fly line). We motored in to Ocean Reef to buy a new fly line, but saw no more eaters that day. Rob's comment to Tim: "You are one snake-bit dude." Moral: replace your fly line regularly, especially in salt water, check for nicks every day, and carry at least one spare. This time there were no nicks--just age.

If not Wednesday, then why not Thursday? We saw several tarpon, including two very big ones. Tim hooked up an 80-pounder, fought it about fifteen minutes. The tarpon was just about ready to grab when the shock tippet wore through. Two or three more minutes and it would have been a caught fish. But it was not to be.

I took over the rod at Tim's insistence, had four or five good shots, two speed-up-and-turn-away follows, but no hookups. Late in the afternoon we began to look for permit, and your obedient servant managed to catch and release a 20-lb. permit on a crab to end the day.

On the last day Rob and I saw two schools and a pair of tarpon, along with several fast-moving sharks, at least one of which was chasing tarpon. Tim was winging his way back to Green Bay when Rob hooked a 40 lb. tarpon and had it boatside in ten minutes--on 8 lb. test spinning line and no help at all from me. I goofed up my new camera and didn't get a decent picture before Rob broke the fish off at boatside, leader in hand. We experimented with different arrangements of cooler, fly line tamer, and angler to see if I could find a comfortable setup.

With the sharks and all, we saw very little the rest of the morning, fished hard all afternoon, then decided to look for permit again. (Note: you might want to sit down when you read what happened next.) Poling along a channel edge, Rob saw a permit, made a cast, and hooked up. With the fish on and running, Rob directed my cast to another permit. That one stole my crab, so Rob, still with pushpole and permit to control, reached into the bait well, caught another crab, hooked it up, directed my cast to another permit, and we had a double. We boated one, then the other, after several long runs. When we got a double on permit last year I couldn't hold up both at once for a picture, but this time I did--two splendid permit, 16 lbs. and 20 lbs. With thunderstorms threatening on all sides, we lit out for home at top speed, hitting rain just before reaching the marina. My comment to Rob was an understatement: "You, sir, are one helluva fishing guide."

-- Don Larmouth

NE Minnesota trout report - Don Larmouth

2005-07-08T09:36:00.000-05:00

Just got back to Green Bay after three weeks in northeastern Minnesota. Cold, high water, strong winds and late hatches pretty well sum up conditions, at least half the time, but I got in a few hours on nine occasions. Best fish were rainbows, holdovers from last year's stocking, between 16" and 17", but caught only three of this size. The remaining 91 rainbows were fairly recent planters and smaller holdover fish 10-14 inches. Lost one very heavy fish, probably a brown trout of three pounds or so--never got a look, just a heavy pull, boring for the weeds and broke off. I intended to fish more of the brook trout lakes but weather put a damper on that. Smallmouth bass reports were fair to good but wind made it difficult for me.

I had pretty good luck with tandem rigs (not legal in some lakes), especially a #8 Carey Special trailed by a #14 Chironomid or small nymphs, sizes #14 and #16. The big fly was taken about 20% of the time. Most strikes came on the small trailer fly--18 to 24 inches of 4X or 5X, probably Callibaetis nymphs.. There was a lot of chironomid activity--caught 14 rainbows between 11 and 14 inches on #14 Bead-head Chironomids. If they rose within range and if I cast fairly close, I had a hookup just about every time. Adult damsels and dragonflies brought a few fish up for a big, splashy rise.

Important rule changes--several lakes are now designated catch and release only, single hook fly or lure, limited or no motor traffic on several of the "vegetable lakes" (Turnip, Tomato, etc. Efforts are afoot to make the area of vegetable lakes more remote by closing already marginal forest roads. Local uproar as usual, but the effort is to establish the notion of C&R, trophy fishing for big brook trout and brown trout. I hope it succeeds, though I'm not sure the reduction of access will be supported.

Best flies were: Big bugs (olive Carey Special, Canadian Brown Leech, Black/copper Woolly Bugger, Experimental Dragon Nymph); and small bugs (Pheasant Tail, tan Hare's Ear Nymph, and White bead-head Chan Chironomid (black + red rib)).

Much of July will be devoted to cabin repairs; last week in June I'll be in Florida for tarpon and ????

Small Lakes by John Gremmer

2005-06-19T11:33:00.000-05:00

Fish fascinate me. So do clear water lakes, trout streams, small
boats, flies, and fly fishing. Put them all together and you have the
ingredients of a peak experience. Last night I took my kayak over to
a lake near Waupaca and had one. It’s a lake with no development. The
DNR owns it and it’s the headwaters of a pristine trout stream(as
pristine as they can be these days). One part of the lake is very
deep, but on most of the lake you can see the bottom. You can also
see the fish. It is like fishing in an aquarium. Bluegills, Rock
Bass, Perch, Largemouth Bass are all very visible. Lots of lush
vegetation lines the bottom.

In a kayak you are very close to the water and your low profile doesn’t
seem to spook the fish. I carry two rods. A six weight for bass and a
five weight for panfish. I tie a thing called a Bully Bugger from the
book Bluegill, Fly Fishing & Flies by Terry and Roxanne Wilson. It is
very effective below the surface. It has rubber legs and with lead in
its butt it drops slowly waving those rubber legs. You can strip it in
too. Bluegills are all too easy with this fly. For Perch I use a
white Angel Fly with an oversized bead head and lots of lead. It goes
down to the bottom real fast and then you can jig it and watch the
perch dart in and grab it. Every time I caught a perch I looked at it
and thought about how expensive they are in the stores now and how good
they taste. The Whitlock Floating Sheep Minnow is my favorite top
water Largemouth Bass fly and it took about 15 bass last night. None
were giants, but they attacked the fly like they were. All the bass
were caught in the last hour of the day. I used barbless hooks and
released everything. But, I think next time I will bring a stringer
and bring some Perch home.

Living in Wisconsin we have a lot of fishing choices. Fishing panfish
and bass on a beautiful small lake might be the best.

Dragonfly season in on

2005-06-15T11:17:00.000-05:00

Several varieties of dragonflies are now out in full force. This means great top-water opportunity for LM and SM bass. I fished with my brothers at two lakes in Forest County over the weekend and had bass coming up from 6-8 feet to nail our flies.

Don't worry too much about trying to match the color and size of the bug - this time of year the cruising bass are known to hit anything that resembles the natural. I was using Bob Arwine's BA spider in yellow and a foam bug (seagull). Also, they will hit anywhere near shore rather than up-close to shore (for largemouth). Very slow stripping to attract attention is all that is needed.

John Cantwell

From John Gremmer

2005-06-05T09:12:00.000-05:00

While fishing for Smallies off the mouth of a U.P. Lake Michigan tributary, I saw tailing Carp about 200 feet off shore. I was using a six weight and tied on a Bill Sherer designed crayfish pattern. I cast to one tail and another fish grabbed it. It was gold in color and it had the scale pattern of an expensive Japanese Koi. Is this scale pattern common?

I hooked two more Carp and landed one. It was green and fully scaled. This gold Carp was the best fish I've caught all Spring. A nice tussle.

Geezer Flies

2005-05-24T13:51:00.000-05:00

by Don "No Eyes" Larmouth

Tiers of dry flies use subtle coloring to give the impression of life. Unfortunately, aging eyesight often makes such dry flies very hard to see. Optical and surgical techniques have come a long way, but for many of us spectacles and granny glasses are the only viable choice.

So, how do we cope with this? Perhaps we should look again at the flies we are using. Pat Barnes was a guide and shop owner in West Yellowstone. One of his guides was Ray Champlin, who guided me in 1975, 1977, and 1982. I had lots of flies, but floating or wade-fishing the Madison and the Yellowstone, we used only two dry flies--the Hairwing Variant, sizes #12, #14, and #16 with a divided upright mayfly shape, and the Red Trude sizes #12 and #16 with a downwing caddis or stonefly shape.

Ray said the silhouette was the key--the fly's appearance as seen from beneath, backlighted by the sky. Merton Parks over in Gardiner had much the same idea using the Hairwing Coachman Trude, tying some as large as size #4 to suggest stoneflies. Ray and I did well, and I've had good success since.

Hairwing Variant
Hook: TMC 100, sizes #12-#16
Tail: white calf tail, sparse
Body: peacock herl, fuzz erased on abdomen, thorax herl intact
Ribbing: fine gold wire
Wing: white calf tail, upright and divided
Hackle: furnace/brown

HW Coachman Trude
Hook: TMC 100, sizes #12 and #16
Tail: red hackle fibers
Body: peacock herl
Wing: white calf tail, downwing, slightly longer than hook bend
Hackle: brown, a bit soft

Note: a size #16 should be significantly smaller than a size #12.

There are conditions in which no fly is easy to see, but I've found these patterns work quite well in freestone streams.

From Jim Faugust

2005-05-23T19:34:00.000-05:00

Pet Fish Story

A Florida game warden sees a man walking back to his camp at a State park with a bucket full of live fish. He stops the man and asks if the man has a fishing license to keep the fish. The man answers the warden that these fish are his 'pet' fish. The man says that every day he takes them in the evening down to the lake, throws them in and that when he whistles the fish will return and jump back in the bucket.

The warden tells him that that's a bunch of boloney and reaches for his citation booklet, intending to write the man a citation for a fish and game violation. The man insists that the warden follow him back to the lakes edge and he will show him.

As they get to the water the man dumps the fish into the lake. He then turns around and starts to walk away. The warden, who by this time is quite fascinated, asks the man 'when he will whistle'. The man asks him "Who he's supposed to whistle to? " The warden says, "For the fish." The man says "What fish?"

Report From Mink and more ...

2005-05-23T10:16:00.000-05:00

Went out to the Mink last Tuesday, but didn't have any action. Couple of live bait guys had been up the river and said they caught 4 small ones, but indicated that the fish have not moved down yet. Did not see any fish in the area nor had any beds been worked on. Water was still quite cold. Hopefully, I'll try later this afternoon on the Mink. As I looked over my logs from last year, we had a fish here and there in mid May, but until early June it was hit and miss.

Went up to the Pike River on Wednesday PM and Thursday AM -- few small browns and brookies on Wednesday and nothing much Thursday.

Stopped at Stiles and fished the Oconto -- cold and raining but caught a couple of Browns (only had my 4 and 5 wts with me and regular flys/nymphs) on a nymph dropper off a Royal Wulff. Pretty slow, though several Spey casters picked up a few Browns and a Steelhead or two I believe.

Steve Osterhaus

From John Gremmer

2005-05-20T17:53:00.000-05:00

Fishing report:

I just completed three days of fly fishing in SW WI. I stayed at the campground in Avalanche and spent my evenings helping kids from an alternative H.S. in Madison learn how to trout fish. The first night I took out two girls, one had blue hair and was afraid to touch fish. The other loved to fish but had never fly fished. Both could cast well enough to get the fly out in the water.

I started them with nymphs and strike indicators. Guess who caught all the fish? The girl with the blue hair. An 18 inch Brown grabbed the pink squirrel and started to run around the pool. She had no idea what to do next. I told her to lift the rod up. She did---so hard and fast that the 6 lb. tippet snapped. Fish were rising all around us, but they weren't taking what we were offering. It started raining. I asked if they wanted to go back to camp. No! They didn't mind the rain. It stopped raining. I tied on a size 20 BWO, quill body, parachute. I handed the rod to the blue haired girl (her name was Estelle).

The other girl (De De) needed help with a snag. I spent some time with her. I looked back at Estelle and she had what I thought was a snag too. I tied on a size 18 Elk Hair Caddis for De De. She hooked a nice Brown in fast water. It got off. Looking back at Estelle, she was still standing there with what looked like a snag. De De asked me if I was going to help Estelle get her fish off. I then realized that Estelle wasn't snagged up, but that she had had fish on. A fish caught on a size 20 BWO dry fly. She had stood there for 15 minutes with that 14 inch fish on. I went down and netted it. Both girls were excited. I was excited. Estelle still didn't want to touch the fish. De De set it free.

That night we all shared hot dogs, salad, toasted cheese sandwiches and assorted junk food in the club house. Tom Young, John Gribb, Jeff Preiss, Rich Mlodzik and others helped with the project. I must say the kids weren't anything like I thought they would be. They were respectful and cooperative with their teachers, fly fishing instructors, and each other. I liked these kids that can't fit in at traditional schools. The next day the kids were helping Rodger Widner build lunker structures for Bishops Branch.

During the mornings and afternoons we fished the WF of the Kickapoo and other nearby streams. Fish were rising all day. Catching them was not easy. Small flies ruled. Midges and BWO's were best. I fished dries almost exclusively. You could do better with nymphs and streamers. When I see rising fish I have to catch them on the surface. This often can lead to some frustration before you have some success. It's not that I'm a snob about dry flies, its just that I love seeing the little buggers come up and slam flies on the surface.

The fish are running bigger and stronger this year. They really fight. The best time to catch fish is the last hour of the day. The light levels are down and fish become less timid. What the fish won't take at 6:30 p.m. they will take at 7:30 p.m. I even stayed out after dark and dragged a mouse over the surface of some pools. This works too.

From Steve Osterhaus

2005-05-17T15:49:00.000-05:00

Hit the Timber Coulee over in the SW part of the state for a couple of hours Saturday and about 4 hours Sunday. Caught a nice fat 11 1/2" brown and had a number of strikes but until I got down to a size 20 (or a small 18 midge) no hookups. Different fishing in those small and narrow coulees, but enjoyable. The 7 1/2' -- 4 wt. I made was just right and did a great job casting and landing. Learned a lot about fishing the spring creeks in that short time, so hopefully the next visit will lead to more hookups.

I am going out to the Mink tonight and see what is up. My buddy has, and still is out-of-town, so have no reports. As cold as it has been, the smallies may be slow, though last year they were starting to hit. Will keep you posted.

Arwine Fishing Report

2005-05-16T08:08:00.000-05:00

Bob Arwine reported no Smallies caught Sunday at Sturgeon Bay. The big bass tournament was held last weekend.

Classic Anglers On-line newsletter

2005-05-13T13:26:00.000-05:00

This is our new WebLog. It's free. We can use it for:

1. Meeting and programs, announcements and locations
2. Stories from members
3. Fishing reports
4. Member lists
5. Banquet news
6. All other pertinent stuff.

Each new submission will appear as a "posting" that will go to the top of the list and push down the previous one. Posting can be edited and/or deleted. We will tell members the address regularly so all can go in anytime for news and updates.

John C. has created the Blog and volunteers to maintain it and act as editor. He will not write many articles but encourage members to contribute stories and news. No contributions, no newsletter! Please keep them 300 words or less.