Memorial Day Musky

I was lucky this weekend.  Lucky to have been able to flee Chicago to head north for a couple of days.  Lucky to get to see the northern lights after helping my girlfriends father land an 8 pound walleye.  Lucky to see a black bear with three bear cubs. But most of all, lucky to put a hook in my first musky that pushed fifty inches.

It was a glass calm May 29th and friend Tyler and I had been casting, trolling, jigging, and doing just about everything we could to land a bass or walleye.  I fired up the motor and decided to cut across the 2000 acre lake to a good backwater bass spot.  On the way across the lake I remembered a sunken island that sits 12 feet under water, dropping off to sixty feet or so on all sides.  I coasted up on the reef and watched the depth finder hit 35, jump to 20, then slide right up to 11 or 12 feet.  I cut the motor and we silently drifted onto the center of the island.  Rattle traps, and crank baits were casted to no avail, I suggested my accomplice take the musky rod he had sitting next to him and give the big daredevil a few throws.  Within 5 minutes of him picking up the rod he gasped a big sigh and said "come on!". I turned and asked him what had happened.  He said a "big one just came right to the boat and turned and swam off".  The third musky he had raised that weekend.  I flipped open my tackle box with haste. The last thing I had thrown in there before leaving the dock was a bigger, double bladed, hand twisted Sims Spinner.  I did the photography of the entire product line for Dan Sims, who ties them  with his business partner and sells them to local bait shops.  I had told him I needed something big for aggressive northerns in Yellow/White and he had given me a spinner to test for him.  I tested it alright.

Five casts in I set the hook quickly and hard.  Musky.

After the fish took its first run and I had it under control I flipped open my bag and turned on my GoPro camera, tossed it to Tyler and asked if he would keep it on the fish.

After about 8 minutes of delicate fighting on 12 pound test braid, with no leader mind you, I had the fish in hand next to the boat.  I grabbed pliers and popped the one hook out of the corner of his mouth.  A 50" musky was in my hand, the fish of a lifetime.

I hefted it out of the water for 2 quick photographs and put it back down before it put up a fight.  I let it rest boatside for 2 minutes before he kicked and I let him swim back to the reef he came from.

Take a look at the footage.  You'll see the musky swim by with the Sims Spinner in it's mouth, you'll see some good runs and a beautiful release to the depths.

Wisconsin Trout Streams and Ice Sheets

Today it felt like spring may be on the horizon in an impossibly long winter.  I haven't any fishing to report, so here are a few images from Wisconsin.  Ice blue, clean water with trout in sight, and those wonderful air bubbles locked in ice we have all pressed our noses against the ice to see.

Hoar Frost and Trout Streams

On the drive back from Hudson, Wisconsin to Chicago yesterday I stopped the car a dozen times to check out snow covered fields, farm houses, water towers, cemeteries and other Wisconsin delights.  None of them compared in uniqueness and complexity to the thousands of hoar frost crystal clusters that covered the ice on a favorite trout stream of mine in Wisconsin.  

Incredible.

Milwaukee Area Steelhead Report : Early April 2010

As the days get longer and the water warms we must unfortunately bid farewell to what has been an amazing spring steelhead season, while there is still a couple weeks left of good fishing and possibly a week or so more of leftovers we have to be thankful that we had such a banner spring. I remember last year freezing my knuckles and bearing into the wind while trying to throw casts into stained, turbulent waters from a string of massive March rains. This year I broke sweat in my tee shirt more than once. I casted to clear pools swirling with silver, hard hitting fish while the sun rose and the air temperatures broke sixty before I could see my shadow finding its way along the stones by the river bed.

While large rivers are likely to be blown out by this string of vicious storms we had this week look for the small tributaries to pay dividends in the last late runner steelhead to make their short shots up into the rapids to spawn. Suckers should be mixed in now from every stream from the state line, well north of Milwaukee.

I have recently neglected to write about my fishing experience I had with two fine gentlemen who I have only recently had the privilege of knowing, and today I intend to share our story.. I took co-worker Scott and his son Ryan, who happens to be my age, up to Milwaukee for a day of river hopping and casting.

We started out at a spot that is secret to a friend or two that showed it to me; so to them I am bound not to divulge it's whereabouts, I will tell you its pools were packed with eager fish that dropped back to larger, deeper, darker pools as dawn turned into mid-morning. At first light I managed a lovely hen from an eddy behind a large boulder in a deep pool. I tightly swung leech is all it took to start the tango.

Ryan (left) and myself (right) with my first hen of the day. What a gorgeous fish.

Ryan (who I should mention casts like silk, Ryan is a trout fisherman and has never Steelhead fished before, or used an eight weight) proudly banked this mean looking male Steelhead from a small but deep pool near where I picked mine off. The fish fought hard and was bound and determined to put its nose into the opposite bank, as we were releasing this fish we thought it would be advantageous to the well being of the fish for me to assist in a quick net job. The fish posed kindly for a photo or two and took a dip into the rapids where it recovered quickly. Nice work Ryan.

Scott standing proud with Ryan and his first Steelhead, and its a large one to boot!

From that first spot we found ourself on the banks of the Menominee, where Scott tagged his first Steelhead ever, only to have it give the hook back to him after a few seconds of fight, many of us have danced that short dance before and I'm sure all of you out there can feel Scott's pain when he saw the mammoth trout spit the hook back in his direction after such a short fight.

Ryan and I, upstream of Scott found a pod of no less than two to three hundred suckers... It was like nothing I've ever seen so we edited our presentations for some fun in the sun with suckers, we rolled the smallest nymphs I had in my steelhead box along the bottom with split shot above to keep it below the downward facing mouths of the Suckers. we landed something like 13 of these 1-3 pound fish who I must say are a blast on the fly rod. They are hard fighting little monsters. All were of course released after a short fight.

From here we moved on to the big, hard flowing Milwaukee. I hooked what would be the biggest Steelhead of the day, a dime bright fish I would put somewhere near 12 pounds. It jumped no less than two feet out of the water in the huge run I was fighting her, when she jumped I saw my egg pattern zip out of her mouth and I nearly took it in the face, fortunately I ducked just in time and it flew by my head. Oh well. I promptly hooked and landed a disappointing sucker upstream and called my Milwaukee River experience finished.

From Milwaukee we took a ride down to Oak Creek where, to my surprise, we found very few people, and quite a few fish! I bagged a large, bright red with a nice green back, male fish who ran me all over 2 pools and the rapids in between before I unhooked him near the bank. He jumped 5 times, uncharacteristic of a spring steelhead, lots of fun. I later hooked a female who I lost after a minute or two. Finally at the end of the day while Ryan and I were working a pod of fish in a deeper, we hooked a female, brought her to the bank, she was loosing eggs as we unhooked her so we decided a photo was not as important as letting her get back to it.

All in all, 4 locations, all with at least one fish of one species or another landed by at least one angler. We fished for 12 hours straight and had some sun on our arms and faces to show for it. Not bad. Not bad at all.

I think I may have converted a couple of trout fisherman to Steelhead fishermen that day. Although I should use a different word than converted because they, as I, certainly enjoy a wily trout on the end of my line any day.

Great to fish with you guys, I can't wait to take you out for another day of Steelhead fishing in Wisconsin.

White House Summit to Discuss Asian Carp Crisis

From the Toledo Blade

Article published February 01, 2010
White House to host Asian carp talks
BLADE STAFF
The Obama Administration said it will host a White House summit on Feb. 8 to discuss the Asian carp crisis with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. The 2:30 p.m. meeting, which the administration has closed to the public, will include Nancy Sutley, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Coast Guard. The participants are trying to settle on how to keep the voracious carp from destroying the Great Lakes fishery, valued at $7 billion. The greatest potential value of controlling the carp is in western Lake Erie, the most biologically productive part of the Great Lakes. Lake Erie holds more fish than the other four Great Lakes combined. Officials have been hoping to diversify the region's sagging economy by promoting fishing - especially in Lake Erie's western basin. DNA evidence shows Asian carp, nonnatives introduced to North America via Arkansas fish hatcheries, have breached a $9 million electrical barrier the Corps built southwest of Chicago in hopes of keeping the fish from reaching Lake Michigan. They have been swimming up the Mississippi River for years.

Michigan is one of the nation's leaders in registered boaters. It has more Great Lakes shoreline than any other state.

Ms. Granholm and Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, with support from Ohio and other Great Lakes states, have sought to have two locks between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi closed at least temporarily to keep the invasive fish out. Illinois officials have resisted, citing a loss of shipping revenue. The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear a case Mr. Cox filed against the state of Illinois, saying he should have filed it against the Corps. - Tom Henry

A Lake Winnebago Sturgeon Blog : 2010 Season

A good friend of mine from my years as a photography student at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee is doing her thesis this semester on a topic that she and her family has been involved with for quite a number of years now. She has created a blog doccumenting Sturgeon spearing on Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin. Steph has "been around sturgeon spearing since [she] was born" and as a photographer who I have a good deal of respect for I expect great things from this project.

Have a look at what has started out to be a promising project, and as the season begins get ready for some great photography. You can check out her blog here : Winnebago Lake Sturgeon.

Google Life Collection : Great Lakes Angler

Tonight I made a bit of discovery using google image search. If you type into the search bar : source:life "xxxxxx" anything you want, it will search their newly scanned archives of all of the Life Magazine articles and feed you the images associated with the articles it finds.

Thus a search of "source:life greatlakes" will get you images of the great lakes from articles from decades ago, which makes for some great images that you have likely never seen.

I naturally tried "source:life wisconsin" and found this beautiful trout stream image.

Here is another from "source:life greatlakes"

Finally this great image of "the Swanson family" on Oak Street Pier with a trot line out for yellow perch. This image was taken in 1950.

Have a look yourself, you might enjoy it.

St. Croix River, Bayport Power Plant : Photography

I had the wish to photograph the Bayport Power Plant in Minnesota from across the river in the darkness on black Friday. I set out in search of a proper spot along the bluff across the river to capture this steam expelling stack that I used as a compass throughout my childhood, as it could often be located through the trees of even the denser woods of my home town.

I started off in North Hudson and captured it from an angle I wasn't pleased with, but it was a good warm up.

I then made my way to an abandoned rest stop, pulled the car far off the road, and hiked to the edge of the bluff. I had a friend with me and after a minute of conversing and shining a headlight into the brambles at our feet we decided this wasn't the spot. I then unfolded my tripod for a quick capture with my Nikon and realized that this actually was the perfect spot and that we would have to make it down the bluff to the water's edge.

It was maybe 100 vertical feet down a leaf covered decline. After a few minutes of slipping and tangoing with burrs we found ourself standing on the stones at the foot of the St. Croix river.

After making a few images and completing a panoramic it was time to go. Having little feeling left in my hands I slung my tripod onto my shoulder and called for my friend Doug to follow me up the hill. As I made my way over the fragile piles of drift wood I reached my foot out for a board, an even surface to find a footing.

As I soon found out this board had a series of 3" long nails sticking out of it's surface and the ball of my toes found it's way to the point of one of these rusty spikes. I felt pressure as the nail punctured my shoe and my thick wool sock like they were butter, I instantly reeled and rocked back to my other foot, careful not to fall. I felt a pang of pain shoot into my foot as I lifted the 8 foot long 2x4 clear from the ground, hanging from my foot. I shook it loose and consulted with my friend. We decided to high tail it up the bluff and investigate in the car.

Upon reaching the top of the slope we entered the car, turned on the lights, and I took off my shoe. To my surprise the nail hit a callas and was stopped before entering my bloodstream. A half an inch either way and it would have stuck straight into my foot. A Tetanus shot was narrowly avoided and I was thrilled for the rest of the evening. The adventure, the cool crisp air, the time with a friend, and the images were worth a Tetanus shot in my mind but I'm happy to be without one as well.

Portland Oregon this week for work, back to fishing this weekend as soon as I can. Seeforellen Brown Trout are invading the harbors and rivers, and last weeks rain and snow pushed clean Steelhead into all my favorite holes.

Black River Falls Dam : Photography

I took a slight detour today on the way home from Hudson, Wisconsin. The Black River looked beautiful from the I-94 bridge and before I knew it my turn signal was on and my car was leaving the fleet of angry post-thanksgiving drivers.

I was pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the the river, the dam, the swinging rope bridge that connects it to the adjacent plant on the river, and the quality of the pools below the dam.

There was one orange clad fisherman shooting sweeping casts out well below the falls, and I hear the river is a good fishery when it comes to walleye, musky, and bass. If I had a rod and a box of spinners with me I would have given it a chance to be sure.

I love Wisconsin, and the whole Great Lakes region, but I am still falling deeper in love with these places as I find more and more perfect spots. It seems that over every one of Wisconsin's rolling hills there is a spot more beautiful than the last.

Wisconsin Heat Wave : It's (not) beginning to look a lot like Chirstmas

70 degree weather and sunny skies over lower Lake Michigan this weekend threw a wrench in the gears of harbor fishermen in Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Racine.

The bright sun, high pressure, and mild weather took the chill out of the air and sent fresh trout packing for cooler, deeper, darker lies beyond the reach of shore fishermen. King salmon are still around in handfuls but targeting these fish is almost unsportsmanlike, considering they are literally floating in their own deathbed at this point. Look for cooler weather to bring these hard hitting hard fighting trout back to the reach of your spawn sack or spinner.

River fisherman reported a mix of triumph and failure with the fly rod this weekend. I suspect the early morning hours have produced more fish than high noon. A day on the water with weather like we had this weekend... and in November... worth it even if you don't find a hungry migratory trout to take you for a spin.

I postponed my return to the harbors until next Sunday, when I will cross my fingers for a repeat performance of the victory I saw last weekend.

If you had success this weekend, weather that means catching fish or just some sun rays, write me an email at greatlakesangler@gmail.com and I'll post your photos or reports here for the rest of us to read.

See ya out there.

Willow River State Park : Fall 2009

The trout fishing season is over, but it is easy to see why this river is so good for trout year round. I'd recommend grabbing the fly rod (or spinning reel) and heading out for the barbless catch and release season that happens before stocking. It is, in my opinion, the best time of the year to hit the willow river.

Thanks for letting me borrow the photograph Alex.

Fields of Gold

This last weekend I took the Amtrak home from Milwaukee. Between Milwaukee and Chicago I took a few photographs while speeding through the beautiful golden fields of South-Eastern Wisconsin.

Soon the rivers of Milwaukee river be blanketed in golden leaves and the salmon will be golden to match them.

It's beautiful here.

Wisconsin Salmon Fishing Report : Late September

Finally, the rain has started to fall. Last night we got a better than forecasted downpour of rain. This new flow of cool water out of South-Eastern Wisconsin tributaries will push staging salmon up the rivers.

Salmon feed heavily the first 8-12 hours they enter rivers so directly after rain the lower sections of the Root, Pike, Oak, Milwaukee, and Menominee rivers are sure bets for fresh from the lake Salmon.

Drifting spawn, casting spinners, spoons, and crank baits in deeper pools will all take Salmon in these stretches.

If you can find a spot where a river empties onto a beach instead of into a harbor that would be a perfect location to surf fish for staging salmon. My friend Keith landed this nice little 4 pound King from a beach in Wisconsin just this weekend. Way to go Keith!

This should be the whistle that starts the yearly salmon run. The next 5 or 6 weeks should sport rivers bulging with fresh (followed by not so fresh) King Salmon. They will fight their way upstream until they find a suitable spot to spawn (or hit a dead end) they will then spawn and pass away.

I'm planning a great trip to Kenosha and on up to Milwaukee this weekend. There will be photographs and stories here. Thanks for reading and if you are able to get out and fish in the southern harbors tonight, I would highly suggest it.

See ya out there!

-Tom Harris