Chicago Blizzard 2011 Photographs and Video

This week Chicago got more than 20 inches of snow accompanied by driving winds with gusts up to 70 miles per hour.  I spent a good portion of it out in the snow and wind with my camera making what I could.  I have always been one to make the best out of a great storm and I feel content knowing that I didn't waste a minute of the blizzard.

Here you can see the storm's progression at my front door.

The Louis Sullivan Church at Leavitt and Haddon near my house.  A favorite of mine, my camera can't stay away from it.  Captured here at dawn and again in the early afternoon.

This is a good friend of mine, Matt Messner who I do much of my photography with.  We hiked the neighborhoods together in the worst of it and made a video which I will embed below.

Lake Michigan Hits Eighty Degrees : One Away From All Time High Temperature

A buoy in the middle of Lake Michigan hit 80 degrees last week; the first time it's hit that mark since 2001.  The warmest it's ever been was in 1995, it hit 81 degrees.  Warm water means more plankton and faster growth rates for your favorite species of fish.  This may mean some big perch coming to the end of your line next year, and even bigger salmon and trout in the years to come as well.

Here's a great article from the Journal Sentinel that goes into greater depth about the matter.

A look at temperatures in our end of the lake.

The Re-writing of Your Famous Fishing Hole or, The Great Milwaukee Flood of July 2009

Dear friends and followers, it has been long since I've posted anything.  My days are long and my nights short, time for fishing is scarce, and time for blogging is more rare even than fishing time.  Tonight, however, I find myself in South-Carolina after 13 hours on shoot, we're photographing a major bank headquarters in Charlotte NC this week.

Tonight I need to bring you some photographs (not mine unfortunately) of my beloved Milwaukee area.  Shorewood (where I spent 4 years of college) got 11.6 inches of rain yesterday and flooded out not only the Milwaukee river, but the streets, yards, and basements no doubt of many of my former streets and apartments.

First for the fishy stuff.  The Milwaukee River bursted its banks to over 16000 cfs.... I've never seen anything like that, not even in the mid-June flood of 2008.

Secondly my favorite tributary, Oak Creek, every year my gravel runs and boulder spots are a little different, I have a big feeling this year is going to be something extraordinarily different.

If you plan on hitting your spots for Skamania strain Steelhead anytime soon, I would highly recommend getting in a good scouting session as soon as the water gets low to figure out the new bends (or lack of bends) in the rivers.

Here are some photographs from various photographers in Milwaukee who submitted photographs to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and others.

This is at Oakland and Edgewood, just a few blocks from where I used to live.  When I lived in Milwaukee I would bike through this intersection with my salmon rod in my backpack to fish  the Milwaukee River. Thise are the tops of cars you are seeing in the foreground, that middle car is floating...

If I had my kayak in Milwaukee you know I would be out exploiting nature for some fun in the flood.

Finally, this is an image my friend Steph made in the UWM union parking garage.  I worked just behind where she is standing during the making of this photograph.

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I need to share some of my recent stories with the blog and I promise to soon.  Maybe tomorrow night I will have a bit of energy left in me.  Until then, nice to be back hitting some keys.

Tom

Wisconsin Tributaries on the Rise

As forecast, we got hit with some sustained rain showers last night, and rivers and streams in the south-eastern Wisconsin area are on the rise as a result. The rivers have taken a hit, and are still rising, but not as much as I had feared. Rivers may return to fishable levels by Sunday (depending on when flows turn around).

Remember, just because your rivers are bursting at the seems doesn't mean there aren't fish to be caught in other spots.

The pipes in Kenosha will start flowing today and Browns and Coho may be found in front of the flow.

The grates across from Alterra on the lakefront in Milwaukee are undoubtedly flowing this morning as well. I'd grab a float and some skein and be prepared to hold onto my rod as there are still Kings in front of those grates in Milwaukee in a big way.

In Wisconsin in the fall, rain or shine, there is always a place to find your favorite Salmonid.

Milwaukee Area River Fishing Report : 10/29/2009

The Milwaukee River and Root River remain high from saturating rains. We have had rain almost 2/3 days this month and there are no signs of the weather letting up. In fact severe thunder storms are expected this evening.

Tonight and tomorrow's storms are on the way.

Oak Creek and the Pike River remain the best Salmon and Trout fishing options at this time. Remember that smaller water sheds mean a fast spike in flow, followed by a fast withdrawal.

The King Salmon run is drawing to a close, but Coho are showing up in these rivers in small force and Brown Trout as well as a fleet of Rainbow Trout are on their way into the rivers as well. These fish are hard fighting, high flying lake run mammoths that are a blast on the fly or float rod.

Get out there and get them, rain or shine.

See ya out there.

Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha Salmon Fishing Forecast : October 1st

October is upon us, and things are looking up. Rain that will start later today and extend until the weekend should push a heavy load of King Salmon, Steelhead, a few Coho Salmon, and maybe some Brown Trout up into the Milwaukee River, the Kinnickinnic River, the Menominee River, the Root River, the Pike River, and Oak Creek.

It may be tough fishing in the rain, but when the flow goes down afterward and thing settle out, fishing should be amazing.