Coho Salmon Fishing Along the Chicago Shoreline

Hi folks, I'm back!  I had the rod and reels hung up for far too long and the urge to wet a line finally burned it's way to the surface.  Coho are definitely in thick up and down the shoreline this week.

After some recon pier walks late in the week I picked a spot, picked up long time Chicago Fishing comrade Mike, and we hit the pier.  We ran two power lines and casted crank baits and spoons.  The morning started slow, Mike hit a couple with a orange and gold K/O wobbler, from then on out it was steady action on the power lines.  We limited out just before we had to be back to the car.  First ever coho limit for both of us.  Just a wonderful spring day of Chicago fishing.

The Steelhead run has come and nearly gone and I will miss it this year almost entirely.  Reports have been mixed, but it sounds like if you put in the time to fish any river with a reasonable flow you'll likely find a dance partner.  It just may take some time and you will most certainly need to cover some water to find one.

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.

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.

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.

Wild Weather Soaks Chicago's Lakefront

Yesterday I watched as waves built and wind speeds rose, finally things looked like they were going to peak and a couple of friends and I hopped in the car and headed into the gale.  We arrived at a parking lot, only to be steered away by police who said the waves were too big and that we would not be allowed to leave the parking lot with our cameras.  We scouted several other harbors, all of which had their token police cruiser.  Finally we found a spot to slide past the patrols (who were certainly doing their job, which I can not blame them for).  We hiked a few blocks and across a wide field through storm force winds and snow drifts finally to find ourselves standing in awe at Lake Michigan in the darkness.  Tremendous waves were rolling in on the backs of one another, crushing the seawall and throwing water in excess of 50 feet into the air.  The gale and freezing temperatures would instantly turn much of the spray into snow, where it was whipped away from vision into the blizzard.

At peak there were waves in the 25 foot class in Indiana.

At long last we couldn't handle the wind chill and we retreated to the car.  I readied my camera and set the alarm for an hour before sunrise.  I picked up my photographic counter-part, Matt Messner, and we headed again into the white.  We were not impeded by police this morning and arrived at Belmont Harbor just before sunrise.  As we set up the waves were crashing in with just as much force as the night before.  All told we spent about 45 minutes getting coated in freezing spray, our cameras were fogged, iced, and every other undesirable thing that could happen to a camera.  Tripods did little while perched on ice in 25 mph sustained winds, but we made the best out of what we had.

Matt cautiously waiting for a particularly crushing wave to finish breaking, shielding his lens from the spray.

 Enjoy the images, and please go out to the lake to see just how amazing this lake can be, even if from the safty and warmth of your car.  The waves should be good until the end of the day.

 

These are the current observed wave conditions.  Still very impressive.

Milwaukee Area Brown Trout Report : Thanksgiving Weekend

I am lucky enough to find a fishing report in my inbox every now and again submitted from you, the reader.

This one comes from a fellow I met one night after a banner day of Salmon fishing in Milwaukee.  He sent the following:

"I only got out once this week, but it was sure a nice day. Browns are in nicely with some late cohos.  I landed 3 browns, 2 cohos, and missed just as many of both in 4.5 hours of fishing. Didn't see any chrome, but I'm sure they're in there.  Get out while its good!"

Thanks Ying for the great report!  I wish I could get out, I'm burried in work and catching up with things around the apartment after my great western vacation.

Here is Ying and 1 of 5 photos of brown trout he sent me!  Way to go!

Big Sur River, Clear Water and Trout

 I parked the car, shut the door, and hobbled to the river's edge where a flood of clear-water memories washed right over me.  I have forgotten what it is like to fish clear, clean, cool, spring fed rivers.  As I towed my understanding girlfriend upstream (upstream mind you, not downstream, I am a trout fisherman after all), I ambled over gravel and boulders to spy into pools that I thought might just hold trout.  They did, it was beautiful. Being in California visiting my girlfriend for Thanksgiving, I had no pole and no time to fish, but just being there filled me with a sense of belonging.  I love the Milwaukee River, Oak Creek, the Root River and Pike Creek but friend... If we had rivers that ran deep and clear and cold like these, I might just find myself out of a job and firmly planted to the river bottom (not really, but my spare minutes would all be accounted for, that's for sure).

Enjoy the images, I had no tripod so I found photographing the water tough to say the least, as the sun was low and the valley was only filled with very cool, bounced light from the hills above.

 

 Trout live here.  At least a couple do, I could see them as I crouched over the top of the boulder on the left there.

The Steelhead Season opens in 2 days on this river.

Thanksgiving, Rivers Rise, Steelhead and Brown Trout to Follow

We finally got what we had been waiting for, a real rainstorm.  In the desert that has been south-eastern wisconsin a good downpour is more than welcome.

In chicago here I drove home from my shoot today through swamped streets and flooded intersections, all the while thinking about trout after trout turning nose from the harbor to the mouths of the river, many will make the surge tonight and tomorrow.  Look for thanksgiving weekend to be great.

Remember small tributaries like Oak Creek and Pike Creek will shoot up extremely fast, but subside almost equally as fast.  Big water like the Milwaukee river will spike and then slowly arc down over several days.  If you need to get out in the next 2 or 3 days, I'd choose oak creek followed by the root river.  The Milwaukee river should be shaping up in time for Black Friday.

Yes, that is what it looks like when the river spikes from 1 (ONE!!!) cubic foot per second to 200 in a few minutes!

As temps drop, put away the streamers and tie up nymphs and egg patterns fly fishermen, once these fish get holding you'll have to coax them gently during daylight hours.

A few Coho should still be around, but targeting big Brown Trout and feisty Steelhead will probably be your best bet!  As for me, I'm off to San Francisco tomorrow to visit my lovely girlfriend.  I will be out of touch with the Great Lakes for a few days but I will be taking in some Point Lobos, Big Sur, ocean views!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Fishing Headquarters Magazine : Volume 1 : Issue 1,View Here!

Open publication - Free publishing - More wisconsin

Take a look a the whole magazine here, but be sure to visit fishing headquarters to see it in it's full glory!

Fishing Headquarters Magazine : Volume 1 : Issue 1

I've featured many magazines and e-magazines here in the past such as This is Fly, Catch, and Fish Can't Read.  Finally I have one to feature that not only comes from close to home, not only is it published by friend and fishing companion Andrew Ragas, but it contains a couple dozen pages of photos by yours truly and some text from right here at Great Lakes Angler.

You all have homework over thanksgiving, you need to read this thing cover to cover.  If you read this blog every page of information in this thing comes from waters out your front door.  Muskies, Lake Trout, Salmon, Steelhead, Brown Trout, Pike, Crappies, Fall Fishing, Local Spots... it's all in here guys.

I'm especially proud of pages 48-63, most of the images were taken by me and given to Andrew to help get his magazine rolling and I must say, he did a great job of presenting them to the world through his magazine.

Andrew thanks, what an exciting project and I can't wait to be a part of more issues in the future.

Now go everyone!  Time to read!

Click this link to go view the magazine online!