Windy Fishing

The yak- fully loaded
with 3 rod-holders, depth finder, PFD, and tons of gear

After an intense day at work, I decided to get the kayak out and hit some water. Who am I joking; my day at work had nothing to do with it, I just wanted to go kayaking! I was originally going to go on Monday, but 30 mph had me thinking otherwise. Glad I hit the Salt instead; that fish I saw for a split second has been fueling fish fantasies about that little body of water...

It was still windy last night, but for whatever reason I went anyway.

Got to Mallard, parked the car, unloaded the kayak; Mallard is a bit strange in that they allow boating, but it's a "carry-in" only lake. Meaning if you want to boat there, you've got to get the Dupage county boat license and you've got to carry your boat to the water.

That's part of why I love kayaking- it's a boat, it will get you around any lake just fine, but it's light and human-powered. I can launch from anywhere, paddle in 6" of water, and leave no gas fumes or anything else in my wake. I must say, however, carrying the kayak on one shoulder and carrying my depth finder*, rod holders, water bottle, ropes, and other stuff in my other hand is something of a workout. But take that with a grain of salt, since I'm a guy who doesn't exactly "work out."

* My buddy Sam reminded me that it's not a "fish finder" but a depth finder. It doesn't find fish for you. Agreed!

Where I launched I saw tons of little bluegill in the water. I thought that might be a good sign. Once I pushed off into the lake, I realized it was going to be one of those outings. The wind, ferociously wipping past my ears in a deafening roar, quickly pushed me to the opposite shore. To say there was a chop on the water would be a huge understatement. It was more like 1' waves crashing into my boat. I kept thinking "I want to kayak on Lake Michigan, I better get used to it." I've never gotten so wet from waves alone! It was incredibly intense.

I paddled around, struggling against the wind; when I paddled directly into the wind I felt like I was dragging the lake bottom behind me, my arms burned and my midsection worked to give me torque. I had no idea how to fish a situation like this. Where would the fish go when it was this crazy at the surface?

I tried jigging some jigs and spinners, throwing some deep-diving crankbaits; I even busted out my 3/4oz casting spoon I assembled the other day, complete with a treble hook hand-dressed with bucktail. It cast like a bullet, sank quickly, but did not entice any fish.

Exploring the lake, fighting the wind, I was doing a lot of corrective paddling and not a lot of fishing. Eventually I found a spot near a quick dropoff- 4' to 25' over the course of about 20'- where I could "park" my kayak in the bullrushes and cast into the dropoff. All I caught were weeds, although I was convinced there would be fish there.

I saw some interesting structure on the bottom of the lake, in the middle of a 30' deep hole- it looked like a big tree trunk laying at a 45° angle. My depth finder told me there were tons of fish around it. My lures dropped down as close to the spot as I could manage told me otherwise.

The wind was relentless. Just when I found a good spot, I'd cast, and in a matter of moments I found myself fifty feet downwind. What calm areas I found seemed to be devoid of life, although they gave me a respite from the intense paddling.

Mallard is quite a pretty lake

Finally I decided to head to shore, maybe do some shore fishing, give my arms a break. I saw a bunch of guys fishing, throwing giant crankbaits and topwaters, doing figure-8's in the water. Fishing for pike? Musky? Maybe they should fish Salt Creek...

I beached the kayak and threw out a bobber while I cast with some cranks and spoons. I'm liking this spoon thing. It casts super far, even into the wind, and wobbles like nobody's business. I could have sworn I got a few follows retrieving it quickly just a few inches under the surface, but didn't connect with anything.

Once it got dark, a big bullfrog hopped on the shore just a few feet from me. Eager to learn more about these animals- in case I do actually go hunting for frogs- I struggled to find my headlamp in my bag. Spinner hooks and stray jigs dug into my hand; I stifled my sighs of pain so I wouldn't startle the frog.

I put the headlamp on my head, turned it on, and shined it directly on the bullfrog.

It froze; as I approached, it made no sign of moving. I slowly reached down and grabbed it- it was in my hand! It made no struggle, it was simply frozen.

As soon as I shined the light somewhere else, it jumped away with it's powerful legs into the water. To test this whole "frogs freeze when you shine light on them" thing, I shined it again. Again it froze, again I picked it up. Then I set him (her?) down on the shore, still shining the light, and it didn't move at all. As soon as the light went elsewhere, the giant bullfrog scampered away. Interesting!

The sun set, and I continued fishing.. for fish. Some bass took a few swipes at a Heddon torpedo, and while it was nice to get some action, it would have been nicer to get a fish or two. But it didn't matter too much- it was a pretty but windy evening, had a little adventure, and caught a bullfrog with my bare hands. Not bad for a Tuesday!

Chris & Claire go fishing

I think I have time to get out a quick post...

Lately my time has been spent making lures, fishing, and working on my upcoming dub album. If you want to hear a few of the tracks, head on over to my tumblr. Once I'm done with all the tracks, I'll post the whole thing on music.chrisbeckstrom.com where you can stream it and download it for free. I'm pretty excited about it- I've been working on it for quite some time, and got some of my buddies to play on it, and they are awesome.

Most of last week I worked outside- my new job is remote, meaning I can pretty much work anywhere there's an internet connection. I work from home, so I've been taking advantage of the patio. Walter loves it, because he gets to hang out with me outside all day. Here's my "office" as of late:

"Please, step into my office. Watch out for the grill"

It's an amazing thing to head out of the "office" over to the grill for my lunch hour to enjoy some delicious grilled meat.

I've been turning out an average of a lure a day, some days three. My carving, sanding, painting, and hardware-adding is getting better and more predictable. I start with 2x4s, cut out the shapes I want, carve them with a little hobby knife, sand them down (sometimes not so well), paint with spray paint, acrylic, and nail polish, and add hardware. Recently I've made a few emulating some vintage lures I've seen- the whole white body red head thing is pretty awesome.

Topwater torpedo-style lure

This one started as a jitterbug clone, but I added a tail
and two propellors for good measure
I'm calling it mousie

..and this one looks pretty nice, but
is a complete failure in the water...
back to the drawing board

This weekend Claire and I did a lot of fishing together. We went to Blackwell Forest Preserve (Silver Lake) for the first time, and really liked it. Very pretty, big hills, awesome. We fished along the shore, then somehow we decided we should keep on walking and continue around the whole shore. Halfway through we realized what a huge distance it was and how we would have to scale an almost vertical path into the woods if we wanted to continue... We turned around and retraced our steps back to the boat launch.

There was a goose standing in the road like a moron, and when a car came up to it the driver honked profusely and yelled "Get off the road a$$&*#!" without a hint of sarcasm.

We went to check out a dog park, and noticed it was very close to the Dupage river. We decided to go and check it out, as neither one of us had ever been to that particular body of water. My first time wet-wading (wading without waders) and I loved it. The cool water was a welcome respite from the 95°F air.

The water was only about a foot deep, and looking at the stretch I guessed if there were fish, they would be hanging out under the bridge where it might be a little deeper and shaded. Turns out I was right! Claire and I fished some brush piles, rocks, and the bridge itself for about an hour. My wife, as I found out, is quite an angler. She caught her first smallie right there under the bridge- and then proceeded to catch 6 more! (Maybe it was 5, don't remember.. I was trying so hard to catch my own smallies, unsuccessfully, I was distracted.)

A nice smallie for a kick-ass wife

I managed to catch 4-5 green sunfish. Claire had the magical touch; she kept pulling out smallie after smallie while I struggled to entice a handful of 3" green sunfish. It was awesome- the water was incredibly clear; even in the dark under the bridge, we could make out every pebble of gravel on the bottom. I saw some crawfish scurry away, which was perhaps another reason the fish were there. Although I didn't do so well in terms of fish caught, it was some of the best fishing ever. Great weather, great company, just super great all around.

The next day, in an effort to avenge my dismal numbers (and explore the lake more fully) we headed back to Silver Lake with our kayaks. After about half an hour of waiting in line, waiting for somebody to come break our $50 bills, and $70 later we had Dupage county boat licenses and were ready to launch.

Almost immediately I got a little largemouth bass on a twister tail; he was hanging out with some bluegill under the shade of some trees in very shallow water. I wondered if he was eating bluegill eggs/fry.

Baby bass

The water was ridiculously clear; we could see very far down into the water. I wondered if that has to do with the lake's beginning as a quarry, or the types of weeds in it, or lack of mud, or what. Earlier in the day I installed a third rod-holder in my kayak, as well as a strap to hold my new fish finder. It was great- paddling around, armed to the teeth with fishing gear, seeing fish hanging out on all the dropoffs- just where I thought they would be.

Couldn't catch any more though; Claire on the other hand was slay'in'em, catching her first two crappies (and first fish in the kayak too!)

Claire's serious angler pose

We're both super impressed with Silver Lake and the whole preserve. It's a bit of a hike for us, but it's worth it. There seem to be a fair amount of fish in it, even if we couldn't catch too many of them. The shockingly clear water is a revelation to me, I can't wait to go back. I know clear water doesn't necessarily equate to clean water, but I think I might come back and do some bluegill fishing. I've got a filet knife that's never seen a fish, and would like to change that sooner than later. Great times with the wife, awesome times exploring new waters.

99 Fishing Trips

I go fishing a lot. Every trip used to be a huge adventure; setting foot into the outdoors was a major production because of my unfamiliarity of it. Going to Busse and exploring the Amazon had a lot more in common to me than improvising over the chord changes to Cherokee at 300 beats per minute. That I could do. Since then, I've spent a great deal of my time outside. Many weeks I'll go fishing every day, sometimes more than once per day. A lot of these trips are quick and to the point, without much adventure or story to relate... But I do want to record some of the highlights of the past week or two- the parts I haven't yet posted. Here goes...

Claire and I went fishing on Lake Pleasant in Michigan (near Hillsdale); I caught a bunch of little bass, and hooked into one on her "last cast" real close to shore, but it threw the hook.

Walter and me on the way to Lake Pleasant

My father in law let me tag along with him to his golf club- while he golfed, I caught 10 awesome largemouth bass out of some golf course ponds. My first time fishing a golf course (with permission or otherwise)! 9 of the bass came on a Heddon Torpedo I found floating at Busse a while back. It was amazing; a landscaper driving by on a riding lawnmower gave me a tip to use something that floats and makes a lot of noise to land fish there, he'd been fishing there for many years. I tied on the Torpedo, cast it out, and the bass took swipes at it. I didn't even have to move it much, once it landed on the water usually three or four bass would come investigate, eventually smashing into the lure like a ton of bricks.

This one apparently swallowed a little animal...
Mouse? Muscrat? I'd never seen that before!

Probably the biggest of the day.. I don't usually put fish
on the ground, but this one fell. It was probably
a safer way to remove the treble hooks too

I've been looking for new ponds to fish; my go-to retention pond is almost entirely filled with weeds and a thick floating scum. The fish are still there, and they're still biting, but sometimes I want to use a crankbait! I "discovered" a new, tiny pond next to an office building. Surprisingly, it doesn't say "No Fishing." I pulled some fairly big green sunfish out of there on my trusty jig and twister.

Big ol' green sunfish- hit like a bass!

I went night fishing the other day, hoping to catch another one of the retention pond catfish. Something possessed me to use hotdogs as bait. The internet says you can do that, so I did. After tremendous difficulty casting without tossed the hotdogs off the hook and into the water, I finally managed to get a line in the water with a hotdog on it. While that stewed I tossed out some topwaters for bass, which got hits every so often. Nobody connected though; it wasn't all bad, as I got to watch the almost-full moon rise and try out my new headlamp with a red LED. Pretty sweet. When I was packing up, around 12:15am, when I went to reel in my hotdog line there was something connected- something big! After a pretty awesome but short fight, I saw exactly what I hoped to see. A big old (channel?) cat.

23" (channel) cat caught on hotdog!

I recently started a new job; it's fast-paced and exciting, I'm really enjoying it, and because I'm working from home my commute is substantially shorter. For the most part, when I close up shop in the "office" I head out for some fishing. Much of it has been local, especially in the morning and at lunch. When I'm not fishing, I've been making lures. I think I'm getting the hang of it now; I've probably made 15-20 wooden lures now. Some of them work great, some are complete failures.. but I learn from each one and use that experience on the next.

My copycat of a Heddon Torpedo, made out of cedar
This one got a lot of hits at night at the pond

Glow-in-the-dark firetiger crank made of balsa

That firetiger crankbait, which glows in the dark because I mixed green, yellow, and glow paint together, might be my most successful crank yet. I made a little video (and the music) of the lure in action.

And then yesterday morning, I caught a fish on it!

I carved it, painted it, fished it, and caught this fish with it

This one dives medium deep and has a nice wobble. So far
one fish has taken a swipe at it

Oh yeah, and I got a fish finder! It's a Hummingbird Piranhamax 160. So far I've taken it out twice, and I love it. It's great to find out what's beneath me. I took it on the yak to Busse, found some fish in some deep holes, but couldn't get them to connect. I also took it to a big local retention pond (not the retention pond) and discovered the whole pond is about 2-3 feet deep with a thick mud bottom.

Yesterday I hit the local pond with my new fly rod for about 10 minutes and saw tons of little bluegill hanging out in very shallow water. I caught about 5 or 6 of them in rapid succession; one I didn't even know I hooked and ended up back-casting it 20 feet away from the pond! It seemed fine when it swam away.

Last night I kayaked the big retention pond; didn't catch any fish but I did catch two bullfrogs mostly by accident. It seems they'll take anything! I considered keeping it after reading Dan the Impractical Fisherman's post about bullfrog legs, but read the season for them doesn't open until June 15. When the season opens, might I keep a frog or two and try some wild-caught frog legs? When the zombie apocalypse happens I might need to...

Whew, that was a lot of fishing trips. Last night marked my 99th fishing trip of the year. I've caught 111 fish of 13 different species in two different states while kayaking, wading, shore fishing, still fishing, and fly fishing, at pretty much all times of day, on live bait, grocery store items, and lures both store-bought and homemade.

I caught my first walleye a couple weeks ago. I even almost caught a fish with my bare hands! I think I've had a great fishing year so far; I've learned a whole lot, spent a bunch of time outside, and generally had a great time doing it.

Although I've learned a huge amount about fishing, the primary thing I've discovered out of all these trips is how much I like the outdoors. I like catching fish, but if I had to be inside to do it, I doubt I would have gone fishing 99 times this year.

Big Busse Bass

Thanks to NATO, I ended up enjoying a four day weekend. Friday and Monday work was closed due to the big hullabaloo, which gave me plenty of time for fishing. Friday I hit a variety of waters, Saturday and Sunday we camped (and I caught that giant 28"+ drum) and Monday I had a hankering for some kayak fishing. Exhausted from camping and hiking, Claire and I both were asleep before our heads hit the pillows Sunday night... but my alarm was set for 4:30 am.

°°°

When I wake up at 4, usually it takes about 30 seconds for me to remember why the hell I'm awake at 4 in the freaking morning... Then I remember, run downstairs to make coffee, then head back upstairs to get dressed. Yes, that's right, I make coffee before I put clothes on. Priorities.

I loaded the kayak, waders, wading boots, paddles, rods, and all other gear in record time. (Keep in mind it takes me at least one full cup of coffee to be coherent at all, so I always have to allow time for that to happen.) I arrived at Busse at exactly 5:23am, sipping my coffee and pleasantly surprised to see the gate open. I rolled in, unpacked, loaded the yak, and was in the water in a few short minutes.

The kayak

Why did I choose Busse, the water that keeps skunking? I suppose I could have kayaked the Fox, or some other body of water, but I really like kayaking at Busse. In some ways I know that water the best, I've fished it more than any other (except maybe the retention pond), and I have a special love/hate relationship with it.

In the past, I usually fished my usual spots when I was in the kayak. This time, I decided to fish primarily spots that are inaccessible to shore fishing, capitalizing on the fact I was in a kayak. As I began paddling, the sun began to rise and I noticed the water was extremely clear. Usually there is only a few inches of visibility in this water, but today I could see almost to the bottom. I don't know what caused the drastic change, but I sure enjoyed it.

I paddled, fished, paddled, fished some more, every now and then drinking my coffee and eating trail mix. The other reason I chose Busse is because I really wanted to go kayaking, the fishing was only something to do while kayaking. It didn't really matter if I caught any fish, and I didn't really expect to.

I worked my way along shorelines, throwing many different lures. Being able to see the bottom, the weeds, the structure; it was amazing. Usually Busse's water is like chocolate milk, but today it was more like lemonade. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement, got out of the kayak to fish (I was wearing waders) and was soon surrounded by tons of little bluegill. None of them would bite, and neither would any bass hiding nearby hoping for a bluegill snack.

I kept moving, following the shoreline. All of the sudden I noticed there was a steep dropoff, many weeds, and suddenly a giant bass calmly swam under my kayak headed for deeper water. Whoa! I cast out my 3" tan tube jig in it's general direction, and immediately the bass swallowed it up. Fish on!

This was my second largemouth bass in the kayak, and it was a big one. It fought me with pure force. Headshakes, topwater splashes; it tried to swim under my kayak. Somehow I managed to keep it hooked and bring it close to the kayak where I could lip it. Filled with adrenaline and excitement, I quickly took a few pictures and placed it back in the water. With a powerful tail thrust it covered me in water. Serves me right!

Busse bass!

That was awesome. It was the first largemouth I'd successfully landed in the kayak- the other one (at Busse a few months ago) threw the hook when I couldn't keep the tension.

Then I saw a school, more like a swarm of little tiny fish slowly swimming in a circle. I'd google image searched this before, I was pretty sure it was a bunch of fry (baby fish). Suddenly I felt horrible; did I catch the mom bass while she was supposed to be watching the kids?

But wait, I thought the males guarded the nests... And the little fish didn't really look like bass at all. Either way, I was happy the big female got away perfectly fine. Only out of the water for about a minute, she swam away immediately.

I let the wind push me along the shore, my polarized sunglasses revealing all kinds of cool stuff in the water. The normally hidden branches, weeds, holes, dropoffs. rocks, moss, and even tons of little bluegill were easily visible to me. Then I noticed what I was positive were spawning beds. I'm not entirely sure what they look like, but they were clearly areas where something had cleared away debris and made little round indentations in the gravel and sand.

Reading reports lately, there seems to be some disagreement on whether one should fish bass beds or not. Obviously, messing with the females- the ones in charge of making the eggs- could be detrimental to the bass population. On the other hand, I've had a very hard time getting them to bite the few times I've seen them literally on their beds. I decided to keep fishing, although perhaps I'll be scorned by other fishermen...

Soon after the first, I hooked into another beast! This one was even bigger, even stronger, and went straight for deep water. That helped my hookset tremendously, and I carefully brought her aboard and admired the fine specimen of a bass.

Number 2! I guessed around 20 inches, at least

I thought of all those times I'd been to Busse and left without even a bite... when all along, these fish are in there. Big bass; big, fickle bass. Maybe it's the kayak, maybe most largemouth anglers don't throw tubes, maybe it's because I was way off the beaten path. Either way, I was having a thoroughly fun Monday morning.

Almost immediately I hooked into another one, about the same size. I got it to the boat, and noticed the hook was barely in the lip. As I reached over to lip her, the bass exerted her considerable strength and threw the hook. Fair enough, I'm still going to count it as "caught." I'll just call it a "self-release" a la Ken G.

I kept fishing, kept watching the water, kept learning about what's under the surface at Busse. It was amazing. I didn't know how long the clear water would last, but I wanted to get everything I could out of it before it went back to chocolate milk. I found an area close to shore where there must have been fifty bluegill darting around. None of them looked particularly big, but it certainly looked like they were on spawning beds. I didn't know whose beds though... were the bluegill raiding bass beds? Were the bluegill themselves spawning? I didn't know. Still don't know. Need to learn more.

Spawning beds?

Nothing very interesting happened after that... I found some lures. Cleaned up some fishing line and trash. I saw a dead crappie, which was sad to see but enlightening, as I'd never caught a crappie at Busse before. Apparently they're in there. Farther down the shore I saw a dead carp. Neither fish had any obvious wounds, I wondered how they kicked the bucket.

After a really great time on the water with some fish I can definitely be proud of, I headed back to shore. In a few short minutes the boat was back on my car, my gear in the trunk, and I was on the way to lunch with the wife. A great Monday morning.

Adventures in Kayaking on the Fox River

loaded up and ready to go

After a great and incredibly informative outing with Sam Bennett the day before, I headed back out to the river. This time, my kayak was strapped to my roof, and my car was chock full of gear. The only time I'd kayaked the Fox was in the fall, right at I-90. At the time there was almost no current and I didn't manage to land a single fish.... But after many trips to the river, I had more experience and a better idea where to find them. Hanging out with Sam certainly didn't hurt my understanding of the river either.

I figured I'd launch near my usual stretch of the river, and paddle around looking for good spots. Although I've caught smallies holding close to shore in practically no current, most of them have come from seams, relating to the current. Seams, I'm fairly positive, are the things between two different currents; the area where a faster current and a slower current meet. It seems to me smallies like to hang out on either side of a seam, perhaps catching a quick bite as the conveyor-belt-like current delivers snacks to their mouths. I had a fairly good idea where to find them; now the task was to locate these places in the kayak and fish them.

I managed to bring my kayak and all my gear to the river in two short trips from my car. My kayak is light enough I can carry it on one shoulder, so I can fill my other arm with paddles, rods, and even my anchor. Looking at my watch I noticed I was in the water, in the kayak, exactly one hour after leaving my driveway in Itasca. That's pretty good! Only took me about 15 minutes to get the kayak off my car, take it to the water, rig up the rod holders, paddle, rods, tackle backpack, anchor, and then suit in my waders.

my kayak, fully loaded and ready to do some fishing

Immediately I realized this wouldn't be as easy as I'd been imagining; most of my kayaking has been done in little or no current. As soon as I paddled out into the river, the relentless current began to push me downstream. I paddled furiously, but watching the trees on the bank stand motionless, I realized I wasn't actually going anywhere. I looked down and saw the bottom of the river about a foot under the water. Instead of paddling like a madman against the current, I just hopped out of the kayak. I tied a line to the aft of the yak, and clipped it to my vest. Although the current pushed the kayak downstream, my body weight kept it from getting away from me.

I had visions of the clip snapping and watching my prized boat quickly float down the river away from me. I wondered if I'd run after it. I wondered if I would eventually find it at the bottom of a dam farther downstream...

I worked my way upstream, trying out a variety of lu res. This time I brought three rods with me- my kayak was like a fancy rod holder, holding all my gear so I didn't have to wear it all. One on I snapped crankbaits onto a swivel snap; one I tied on jigs (twister tails and tubes); and on the third I rigged a slip bobber with a 1" gulp alive minnow. I've been hearing great things about these little minnows, so earlier in the day I picked some up at Dick's. It was so great to be able to quickly try out a different lure without having to retie.

I made my way close to the first spot Sam and I visited the day before. This time I could work the eddy from the opposite side- standing in the water I seemed to have a much better angle of attack. With a white twister, I cast right into the seam about 5 feet from the bank of a little island. Immediately I got a small hit, but my hook set launched the jig out of the water instead of into the fish.

Well at least I found some fish!

I keep thinking about something I've read repeatedly- 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water. Who knows if this is true, it did come from the internet after all. But based on my limited experience, this absolutely seems to be true. It makes me all the more prouder when out of the entire river at my disposal, I manage to find that 10% where there are actually fish. I didn't give myself a pat on the back though, since I'd missed that fish.

No matter what I did, I couldn't get it to give me a second chance for a picture of the two of us. I slowly waded toward the eddy, towing my kayak behind me.

I noticed a few people fly fishing across the river. They were talking very loudly (something I didn't think fly fishermen did) but they were having a good time.

I waded through the eddy, trying to get some more fish to bite. Nobody wanted my gulp minnow under a slip bobber, something I was pretty disappointed about. I'd have to try it at the pond later... [I actually did try it later that night, and I watched bluegill come up and stare at it. The same thing happened a few weeks ago after a cold front- it's one thing to read about cold front fishing on the internet, another to see a bluegill refuse some delicious bait.]

Confident there were no fish to be had in the immediate area, I hopped into my kayak and started to paddle upstream. Difficult does not even begin to describe how it was trying to paddle upstream through a small break in two little islands. The current was so strong, my weak kayaking arms were no match. And then, paying attention to the various currents and seams, I managed to move the kayak into an area of slightly slower current. Slowly but surely, I was gaining inches against the river! After a few minutes I made it past the current and eddy, and was on the other side.

I fished for a moment before I realized the current was taking me back where I had just been! Quickly paddling, I made my way to a little gravel bar and "parked" the kayak on the rocks.

Nothing there, I continued paddling upstream. I was now in an area I think might be called "flats"- a large area without much current or change in depth. And then BAM! BAMBAM! I ran right into a giant boulder. My kayak tipped, the current trying to convince it to capsize, a stream of profanity came from my mouth. I got the boat level, and tried to paddle around the rock.

Losing the battle, I decided to step out of the kayak and tow it upstream instead, as I had done earlier. As soon as I tried getting out, one leg in the water and one in the kayak, the current ripped the kayak downstream, and I started to do the splits in the river. I grabbed a rope I'd tied to the stern, bringing the boat closer and easing my burning thighs. Finally I got my other foot out of the yak, and was standing in the flats.

I saw what I guessed was a carp swimming around; I was pretty sure carp like to hang out in shallow flats like this. Later in my nonstop internet fishing research I read walleyes also like to hang out in flats at dawn and dusk- I'd have to remember this spot.

As I slowly waded upstream, I cast a bit but didn't expect much. There wasn't much cover or current, I doubted there would be any smallies here. Although I really want to catch a carp, I wasn't sure how to approach it with the selection of lures I had with me. I noticed the sky was now dark and ominous; actually it had been getting darker all along, but I'd been too busy almost flipping my kayak to notice.

I saw a few sprinkles come down, and then more, and then it was outright raining. No thunder though, so I figured I'd be fine. Then it started to REALLY rain. Heavy, cold raindrops falling straight down into my open kayak, onto my flannel fleece and Bell's Two-Hearted Ale hat. For whatever reason, I decided perhaps I should head closer to the shore, maybe even downstream closer to my car... Just in case I wanted to quickly exit the river.

It's amazing how quickly one can move with the current downstream in a river, especially after fighting the current the whole way upstream. It's also amazing how easy it is to miss boulders in the water, even though normally I scour for them because fish hang out around them. Paddling down the river full speed, I see the boulder a few microseconds before my kayak and I ram into it with the full force and speed of the river.

kaBAM! BAMABMAB!

Once again I almost found myself in the river proper, but thanks to my durable kayak and questionable paddling skills, I managed to stay afloat and in the boat. I seem to remember a particular curse word coming out of my mouth repeatedly as I sped toward the rock, but that didn't stop my kayak from ramming the boulder. I was glad to have the kayak I had, and not a more fragile fiberglass one that might have just shattered on that rock.

I continued downstream as the rain picked up even more. It's a very interesting sound, surrounded by water as the rain falls- it would have been more pleasing if I hadn't been getting soaked and carefully watching for more boulders as I sped down the river. I quickly passed the two fly fisher-people (a man and a lady) who were huddled under an overhanging tree. As the rain pelted the top of my kayak loudly, I decided it would be a good idea to find some shelter under some trees as well.

I found an area with overhanging trees that happened to be full of rocks that seemed to be close to deeper water. Seemed like a spot I'd be in if I were a fish- I figured the rain might knock bugs off the trees into the water, not to mention the near safety of deeper water and possible crayfish in the rocks.

First cast with the white twister, right into some submerged branches, and I'd hooked into my first kayak bass!

Although I've caught bluegill, perch, and even catfish in the yak, I had yet to catch a bass. I did hook into a real nice one at Busse, but I couldn't maintain the tension and it threw the hook at the last moment.

This time was different- this smallie was clearly a little lethargic, and quickly tired out. It ran a few times, but I managed to keep him on the little hook. Excited, overjoyed, I hauled in my scrappy catch over the side and into the kayak. I caught a fish!

the single fish of the day.. a beauty

Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing wrong; I commonly read of 5-10 fish caught per outing, even in this cold weather... And I'm lucky to tangle with even one. I chalk it up to lack of experience and technique- I hope someday to make multiple-fish outings a regular occurrence.

But when I looked at this fish, this beautifully patterned smallmouth bass, it was all good. I coaxed him out of hiding, tricked him into thinking my little bit of metal and plastic was food. Out of the 90% of water where there probably weren't any fish, I somehow fished the 10% where they were. Success! It certainly doesn't hurt to have people like Sam giving me tips.

I worked that spot for at least 45 minutes after that fish, the rain collecting in the trees and falling into the river in much bigger drops. Falling onto my head too. I paddled to a few other spots, I found a trench where walleye might hide (?) and made a mental note of it for later. The other anglers told me they pulled 4 smallies out of the rocky area where I got the one- later I wondered if I should have downsized my presentation to get more fish...

I was completely soaked, there was a growing pool of water in my kayak, and the rain showed no signs of stopping. I made the call to call it a day. It was only when I took off my various layers of soaking wet outwear I realized how wet I had gotten! My baseball cap weighed at least 20 pounds due to all the water; I could barely lift up my flannel. All in all a great outing, very instructive, and perhaps a nice story too.

the two of us together
(notice the rain-soaked flannel)

Saturday on the creek

The view from the water
This is why I go outside!

It was Saturday, and it wasn't a blizzard or thunderstorm, so I went out fishing.

Sometimes can't figure out how I choose where to go. This morning was no different- somehow the idea of wading Salt Creek near my house popped into my head. So I got suited up and headed to a spot where I could get in the water.

After my first cast, I realized I wouldn't be satisfied with this... At this stretch, the creek was mostly about a foot deep, and there was next to no structure. Just muddy flats. Since my kayak happened to be strapped to my car, parked a short walk away, the choice was obvious.

I paid no attention to the strange looks I got from local residents as I took my kayak down and got it ready to go. I quickly carried it to the creek, slid down the steep grassy bank, and was back in the water. I carefully pulled the kayak down, easing it next to me in the water.

My new plan was to kayak up to Busse (Busse, the skunk that keeps on skunking me) and fish the Arlington pool. Supposedly there were pike and walleye in there, which just so happened to be on my fishing "to do" list. I hopped in the kayak and started paddling. Only recently have I started kayaking wearing my waders, and I have to say it's simply amazing. Paddle, stop, wade, fish, paddle some more, wade; it's just great.

Salt Creek @ Arlington Heights Road
(All I could think of was the musky caught here a while ago...)

I slowly made my way up to Arlington Heights road, passing a variety of interesting things. There seemed to be at least ten baseball games going on on the east bank, and there was a baseball floating in the water. I picked it up and plopped it in my yak. Lately trash and debris have really been bothering me. I'm not sure what exactly got me this way; perhaps spending a lot of time on the Fox and other mostly pristine areas makes me hyper-sensitive to trash where I'm fishing. I don't just like fishing, I like fish and birds and otters and beavers and all the other creatures that live around water; I want to catch fish, but I also want these animals to have a nice place to live. Sometimes I wonder how certain trash got in the water (a giant beach ball I found today and somehow stuck in my kayak) and other times I know (fishing line caught in trees near fishy-looking spots).

The other day at the pond, I spent a little while cleaning up a ton of trash. I just got tired of it sitting there, and thought I should do something about it since there's a good chance I use the pond more than anybody else. To my dismay, most of the trash was fishing-related stuff; discarded line, hook packages, and the most offensive to me, a six pack of empty beer cans just thrown into the weeds. What the hell, people.

But I digress... Back to the paddle: At one point something was swimming along next to my kayak, just below the surface. At first I thought it might be an otter, but I watched and it never surfaced for air. It didn't seem like a carp, and all I could think of is it was the elusive Salt Creek muskie. Probably not, but that's what stuck in my head.

Finally I made it to Busse, and there must have been 15 people standing on the east shore, fishing. This was one of those moments when I loved kayak fishing. The west side of the pool is relatively hard to access, and I had it all to myself. I pulled out a rope, tied it to a stump, and started fishing.

I noticed a dead fish floating near some downed branches and fishing line. Not having any luck fishing, I decided to investigate. It was a walleye! And a nice sized one too. There was a ton of monofilament fishing line everywhere, and a couple of heavy jigs caught in the branches. I wondered if these had caused the death of this fine specimen of a fish. It ocurred to me I would be beside myself if I caught a walleye that size. At least this confirms they do in fact inhabit these waters...

Fairly positive it's a walleye...
Not sure what killed it, but the fishing line everywhere doesn't help

Then I got upset, and noticed the jungle of fishing line that was covering branches everywhere. I remembered a previous trip to this pool where I found a dead goose wrapped in a mess of fishing line. I decided to do something about it. I went branch to branch, untangling as much line as I could. Some of the line was too high for me to reach, but much of it was kayak-level. After about a half hour, I had rid the whole area of most of the unsightly and dangerous (to animals) fishing line.

That's a lot of line

And not only that, but I found a ton of lures in the process!

I find a lot of lures while fishing...
...Then again, I also lose a lot of lures

I'm particularly interested in this yellow one. I did some googling, and I think it might be a Hellin Flatfish. It looks almost handmade. Either that, or really old. Regardless, I like it! It has a nice wobble to it in the water.

I don't have any lures like this one

A shore fisherman mentioned to me he got some bites on leeches, which got me back to fishing. I didn't have any leeches, but I did have a leech-like worm I texas-rigged. No takers. I decided to head back downstream.

I saw a bunch of little fish eating caddis flies (I think that's what they are) on the surface of the water. The other day on the Fox there were about a million of these little tiny moths everywhere. I tied on a little jig'n'twister to see if I could catch one, whatever they were. I got tons of little hits, but no commitments. Based on what I've been reading, I thought they might be creek chubs.

As I paddled down the river, I got perplexed looks from people doing yard work in their yards, which of course backed up to the creek. I said "Hello," and they stared back looking at me strangely. When I passed under another bridge, some high school girls saw me and thought it was hilarious I'd be fishing in the creek. I'm not sure what's so hilarious... don't they know there might be a muskie in there!!??

Although I didn't catch any fish, it was a great paddle- it turned out to be a beautiful day, I helped clean up some trash, and got some awesome new lures!

Busse strikes again

This late afternoon I decided to head back out. I guess the decision wasn't that hard, considering my recent fishing activity. I've been trying to find some more good water close to home, and picking apart the area via google earth, I realized the east branch of the Dupage River was about 20 minutes south of my house. There are smallies in the Dupage. I suppose I could have driven further south, but I really wanted to find a spot closer to my house where I could catch fish while wading.

East Branch of the Dupage River near Glendale Heights

I drove to a spot, waders on, walked to the river, walked in, and sunk down into muck. The river there was about 10' wide, 2' deep, and the bottom was pure mud and muck. As I stood there, I sunk down deeper as if I were in quicksand. There was no way I could wade this, and I doubted there would be fish in this stretch. I cut my losses and decided to head somewhere else. I still had my waders on, after all.

Why did I choose Busse? Busse, the lake that skunks me again and again, and only rarely gives me a fish or two? I'm not sure, even now. I like Busse, and I don't know why. Maybe I had hope from recent fishing reports of some people having luck there. I strapped the kayak to my roof, and was in the Busse's south pool in a matter of minutes.

As I was loading up the yak, somehow my pliers fell out of an open pocket in my fishing vest and sunk to the bottom of the lake. There was no way I could get them back in the 10'+ chocolate milk-like water.

I did a slow paddle around the big island in the south pool, and spent a long time trying to find a deep hole I've seen from depth maps. I threw crankbaits, wacky worms, rat-l-traps, and variety of other lures, but in classic Busse fashion, no takers. By the time I reached south shore, the clouds had intensified, and the temperature had come down a little. It was downright cold!

One of the nice things about being in a kayak is animals generally don't realize I'm there until I'm very close. This gives me the chance to see a lot of things up close and personal, like this duck that was about 10' from my kayak.

Busse duck, very close to my kayak

I worked the shoreline, following the island's shore before I paddled back to the boat launch. Occasionally I saw tell-tale mud clouds in the water, meaning I probably scared a bunch of carp as I paddled by. I'll definitely have to do some carp fishing at Busse... There are so many of them! I saw a bunch of other people fishing, but couldn't tell if they were catching anything. I half expected to be skunked at Busse, but it was ok. I really like kayaking, and if I'm going to kayak I might as well fish.

Kayak wading Salt Creek

I'm going to attempt a short post.

I realize I often write and write and write, probably to the point of rambling. I'm going to try a new thing here, and write a short, succinct post. This trip is a good candidate for that, since not much happened.

Even though there was a cold front coming through (I was in a kayak in Beck Lake when it happened, and let me tell you it was definitely cold) I had to get out and do some more exploring. My kayak was already strapped to my car, and my waders were already in the trunk, so I headed out. I stopped by Salt Creek a few days ago to check it out, but had a hard time getting into the water. I figured I'd take the kayak out, and if I found some fishy spots I could get out and wade.

While I unloaded the kayak, a forest preserve officer in a truck watched me. I wondered if I was doing something wrong and was about to get a ticket or something. Once I got the kayak to the water, he moved along. Got the yak in the creek, two rods in the rod holders, waders on, fishing vest stuffed with gear, and off I went.

Kayakin' the Salt

This was the first time I've kayaked with waders, and I love it. I got out of the yak about 15 times to fish promising spots, but didn't get even a hit. I'm sure the cold front doesn't help. I've heard of pike, musky, and even smallies in the creek, but I've only caught panfish and tiny largemouth bass in it so far. I threw some inline spinners (I love how they look in current), jigs and twisters, tubes, cranks, but nothing.

It was a nice paddle up the creek, and it was fun to float back, casting the whole way. A lot of the creek where I was had a very rocky bottom, which is very different from the bottom farther north. Where I usually fish it it's a mucky mud bottom. The water down here was also much clearer, about a foot of visibility. Although residential areas surround the creek, at times I felt like I was much farther away from civilization. Except for the jumbo jets flying overhead every five minutes on their way to O'hare, the busiest airport in the world, a few miles to the east.

I spent about two hours in the creek, and it was a very enjoyable experience. I saw plenty of baitfish, so I'm sure there are gamefish around. I found the baitfish by trying to read the water, to figure out where fish might be... And at least as far as baitfish are concerned, I found them! Now I just have to find whoever is eating the baitfish. I'd love to catch some nice bass wading in a stream 15 minutes from my house.... I'll definitely be back.

I hit the retention pond on the way home, and nada there too. Oh well, the season is just starting, and I'm getting tons of casting practice.

Skunked, skunked, and skunked again

In an effort to take advantage of the amazing temperatures we were having, I've been fishing like a madman. Unfortunately, I don't have much to show for it in terms of fish caught. Reading reports on Windy City Fishing leads me to believe I might be the only one not catching huge numbers of fish! Alas, I figure the more I fish, the better I'll get, and eventually I'll be able to land many fish per outing.

On the other hand, because I seem to get skunked so often, it's incredibly exciting for me to land even one fish! I'm still very new to fishing, and I still get a huge thrill landing even the dinkiest baby of a fish.

Since I haven't been catching much, I decided to condense all my recent trips into one post. Here goes...

WEDNESDAY 3-21-2012 - The Pond

the pond at night

I decided to try night fishing the pond, I wondered if the higher-than-normal daytime temperatures might entice a bite out of the bass there. I read some reports of other fisherman having nighttime success, so I headed out to the pond. Long story short, nada. It was a great time, a very nice air temperature, and it was very relaxing to cast in the dark. There were a few splashes near me, but the bass weren't interested.

Every now and then I heard a very strange sound, and I listened carefully to figure out what it was. Eventually I realized it was a bug zapper at a house across the pond. ZAP! ZAPZAPZAP! Some bugs were meeting their maker.

I also heard (and saw glimpses of) bats flying around the pond, probably enjoying a feast of newly hatched bugs. I definitely appreciated their handiwork, since I wasn't being bothered by any bugs whatsoever. It's very cool to hear bats chirping as they fly through the darkness; as they flew around me their chirps were moved across my stereo image (it's an audio thing) which was very interesting!

THURSDAY 3-22-2012 - Salt Creek

Three herons (I think)

The next day I had some time on my way home from work, and I decided to check out a new stretch of Salt Creek. The creek runs north to south near my house; I think Busse was created by damming it up. The creek flows from Busse down through a variety of industrial and residential areas, before eventually meeting up with the Desplaines River (I think, I'm still mapping it in Google Earth). I saw a huge number of minnows (maybe some were tadpoles?) and found a very nice kayak/canoe launch. Will definitely have to kayak from here sometime.

Stood on the bank for about an hour, throwing a variety of lures with no takers. Up closer to Busse, the creek definitely seems like a creek.. But down here, it is a little wider, and seems like a small river. I'm sure there are game fish in this stretch, just have to figure out how to catch them...

FRIDAY 3-23-2012 - Busse Lake


Had some time after work, so I headed to Busse for about an hour. On my way I stopped at Dick's to pick up some stuff, including a red craw-pattern rat-L-trap, which has been killing it in the area on bass.

Second cast, I hook the craw on a rock, and somehow manage to break my braided line. What the hell, Busse!? Well that's $5 I'll never get back. I need to figure out how to make rat L traps.

There were two guys fishing right on the dam on the main pool side; I couldn't quite figure out what they were going for. It looked like they were casting right into the pool under the small dam, but they didn't seem to be catching anything. I wondered if any fish were gathering under the dam.

the north pool dam at Busse

Saw another guy shore fishing in one of my favorite spots, and he was getting bite after bite on a worm/salamander/creature softbait. It was great to see someone getting action at Busse! He managed to catch at least one when I was there.

After a while I had to go, but I'd be back... I wanted in on the action.

SATURDAY 3-24-2012 - Busse Lake

it was foggy

I've been eager to get the kayak out since January. Finally the time had come! Friday night I loaded up the kayak on my car, went to Dick's and got some supplies for my fishing vest. I used the vest wading for steelhead in Michigan a couple weeks ago (or was it last weekend?) but I just put my lures loose in the pockets. That resulted in a few small holes in the pockets, and a few larger holes in my hands. Apparently people use small tackle boxes in the pockets. Who knew!?

So I put together an assortment of lures in a few small tackle boxes, filling my fishing vest with everything I'd need. I had a soft plastics tackle box with tubes, worms, creatures, bullet weights, and hooks; I had a jig box with twister tails, grubs, and jigs of all sizes; then I had a crankbait box with a selection of my favorite crankbaits, including some handmade ones from Mike Muston of Flushing, Michigan, Their action is incredible!

Got up extra early saturday morning, ate some oatmeal, drank some (not enough) coffee, and set out in the dark... for Busse Lake. Why did I choose Busse, where I've been skunked so many times before? Reading reports, it seemed many people have been KILLING it at Busse. I wanted in on the action! I still have never caught a bass in the kayak.

I drove to Busse, noticing that all the entrances were closed except the one I wanted to enter- the Higgins road entrance near 290. I arrived just about at sunrise, and there were already about 15 cars parked inside the preserve. Wow, I guess I wasn't the only one trying to get out today. I quickly unloaded the kayak, parked my car, and was in the water in about 10 minutes.

I caught this deep diving crankbait
on a texas-rigged plastic worm

The fog was incredible- the air temperature was rather cold, but the water was warm. I think that situation will cause fog every time- but I don't really know science. It was great fun paddling through the dense fog, only being able to see a little bit in front of me. It was like a tylenol commercial for baby boomers. Not sure why I thought that...

I worked the shoreline with a variety of lures, nothing. I trolled a crankbait, nothing. I worked the channel near the boat launch, some shallow areas that seemed like nice spawning grounds, and even some downed timber where that guy had success the night before, and nothing. I did however manage to catch a new lure, looks like a deep diving crankbait. Nice! I've found so many nice pieces of gear at Busse, it lessens the blow of the almost expected skunk. It was a great outing in terms of kayaking, but alas I went home without any fish pictures.

SATURDAY - part 2 - Salt Creek


I decided to head back to Salt Creek again, this time with my waders. I got there about an hour before sunset, and was really hoping for some bites. I put my waders on, threw on my fishing vest (which by the way is an awesome way to carry tackle! So convenient, and I can travel lighter. No big tackle box needed... Just grab what I need from my pockets. I love it!)

I stepped into the water, and that's when the problems started. First of all, the water was extremely muddy, flowing quickly, and filled with big rocks. I didn't have my wading staff. As I attempted to enter the water, every move was stopped by a huge rock I couldn't seem to get around. Finally, I was able to get around the rock, but then suddenly discovered there was a two foot dropoff just on the other side! I almost ended up swimming in the creek instead of wading. I tried to find some other spot to enter, but nothing. All along the banks it seemed the creek got very deep, very quickly. There seemed to be no easy way to enter the water.

I tried hiking up a path, looking for another entrance. I found a bridge which looked promising. I was about to step in the water, when it occurred to me I'd better check the depth. I stuck my rod in the water, tip down, to get a sense of the depth. Almost the whole rod went in the water- vertically- and it was clear that this spot had a four foot dropoff. Not a good idea to step in!

Discouraged, I fished a bit from the bridge. Scanning the water, trying to remember everything I've read about river fishing, I tried to make sense of what I saw. Which ones were riffles, which ones were pools? I found an area where the water flowed in a circle, and the current seemed much weaker. It was also under some bushes. Sure enough, when I cast my jig n twister, I got some bites! Unfortunately I couldn't get anybody to commit, and once again ended up leaving empty handed so to speak.

This guy grabbed my lure and shoved it into his mouth
Then he spit it out for me. Thanks frog!

I did end up hooking a frog accidentally with a white jig n twister. He grabbed it with his hand and shoved it into his mouth! I didn't know frogs did that. I tugged on the line and he quickly spat it out. I'm glad I didn't hurt him, I like frogs.

It's always great to get out, and I like exploring new areas, even if I'm skunked. I'll definitely have to come back here with a kayak, and see if I can find one of those elusive Salt Creek muskies.

2012: The Year of the Skunk?

The pond

It was recently brought to my attention I haven't been blogging much lately... It's not that I haven't been fishing, or cooking (I finally made a roux!), or making music (working on a dub album right now)... Or playing video games! (Minecraft is a seriously amazing game.) But for some reason, it hasn't seemed like any of these specific activities warranted a full blog post. Since this is primarily a fishing blog, I suppose I'd be remiss if I didn't share my most recent fishing adventures.

Of course, I use that term very lightly. My fishing lately has been less adventure and more casting practice.

Since January 1, I've gotten out on the water about 15 times (might be higher, I haven't been keeping track). So far this year I've hit up Salt Creek a bunch of times, Busse (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment), Belmont Harbor, Diversey Harbor; and once the ice went away, my local honey-hole retention pond.

My first few outings were difficult, to say the least. Every other cast I would tangle my line. I felt like the total noob fisherman I was a year ago. Not that I'm not still a noob, but in October I could handle a fishing rod pretty well. So far this year I'm definitely out of practice, and it shows!

Every few days I get the urge to wet a line, and head out with the hopes of landing even a single fish. Even a tiny fish would be nice, just a fish. On some of the nice weekends we've been having (winter? what winter?) I've spent a good portion of my Saturdays and Sundays standing on a bank somewhere, casting like a madman. And yet, so far, I have only caught the SKUNK! (With the exception of an outing in early January, where I landed a few TINY sunfish and a shiner.)

It's been great to see familiar landscapes changed by the seasons. Until last year, I didn't really go outdoors too much. It was mostly moving from one indoors to another indoors- just this place I have to go in between being inside. Anything I saw outside was just a backdrop to my trip. Since I've been obsessed with fishing (and of course kayaking) the outdoors is pretty much where I want to be as much as possible. It's not that I want to date Mother Nature or anything, or go chain myself to trees about to be cut down; I just really like being outside. I love seeing animals (particularly fish on the end of my line, but herons and deer will suffice), I like the infinite nature of being outside (the ceiling is very very high), and I like what it sounds like when there's nothing but nature for a few hundred yards.

Belmont Harbor

Standing on the bank of a body of water there aren't really reverb reflections, and often the only sound is the sound of moving water. Or loud, obnoxious geese. (By the way, when a hundred squawking, pooping, splashing geese descend from the sky on my pond, destroying the wonderful water-soundscape and possibly scaring all the already skiddish fish, I have an incredibly strong urge to take up goose hunting. How can they be so loud, and poop so much? Why don't they migrate somewhere already?? Would it be strange to bring a shotgun when I go pond fishing?)

The lower water levels have given me some insight into what's really beneath the surface of the water- certain fishing spots I frequent have been giving up some secrets lately. I can better see the structure, where there should be some fish hiding. Come spring, I hope to take advantage of that valuable information.

In all my time spent inside this winter, I've been planning my 2012 fishing season. Last year my life's mission was to catch a smallmouth bass- and I finally did in September on the amazing Fox River. This year, I want to expand my species list and land a walleye and a pike. Just one of each, that would do it for me! My internet history is bulging at the seams with google searches like "walleye lures" "walleye techniques" "early spring pike" s"why are walleye so elusive?" "salt creek muskie" and things like that.

Salt Creek

This has been a strange "winter"- I thought I might get to experience ice fishing, but so far there hasn't been too much ice. I never thought I'd get to fish open water in January or February, but I have- not much to show for it though. My dreams are filled with long paddles in the kayak, catching bass after bass, using my (not yet purchased) fish finder to locate and slay pure hogs; hopping into my waders and spending as much time as possible up to my waist in river water... I've been seriously contemplating taking my yak out to the pond; however my always reasonable wife convinced me that would be ridiculous. Perhaps...

Bottom line: can't wait for spring, can't wait for the fish to start biting again, can't wait for all this indoors stuff to be done with.

PS: Walleyes and pikes: I'm coming for you!

Frustrating morning at Busse

Waking up, my last fishing outing a complete bust, I was determined to prove my angling ability and catch some fish. I ate some cap'n crunch (he's a captain, right? couldn't hurt) drank some coffee, packed my gear, sprayed down with bug spray, and was off.

I got to Busse at 5:52am expecting to wait in line for the park ranger to open the gate, but to my surprise the gate was open. I headed in, seemingly the only car int he place. I made a beeline for the boat launch, and quickly unloaded, moved my car to a non-trailer parking space, and was in the water in 10 short minutes. The water was COVERED with geese, I mean every square yard of lake had a goose on it! It was pretty crazy.

As I was unloading, two pickups with small boats arrived and began their own unloading process. I talked fishing with one of the guys, who was clearly after some fish- he said he was going to be fishing for bass. From our conversation I wasn't sure if he fished Busse often, so I told him where I'd been catching bass and what I had been using.

I slid into the water, and the geese complained and grumbled like old guys who hadn't had their coffee yet. Or like me before my coffee. I was already around the bend, line in the water, before the other boats had even launched. It would be great to have a bass boat, but for now, I'm pretty satisfied with my quick-unloading and quick-launching S.S. Silent But Deadly.

I started working some downed timber just east of the boat launch with nightcrawlers and tubes. The second boat, a husband and wife, slowly made their way around the bend. I knew there *should* be fish in this wood, I just hoped the fish knew that.

Sure enough, it didn't take long to get a nice-looking but small bluegill in the boat. Hooray, I beat the skunk! I am a real fisherman after all! Hey, it's just a tiny gill, but a tiny gill at Busse is better than no fish on the Fox.

Not 50 yards from me, I hear a splash, and see that the man in the boat has a fish on. A nice big fish. He pulls it toward the boat, his wife gets the camera ready, and I hear him say "walleye." Walleye!!??? What!!?? The elusive walleye, one of the many species I've never caught, and this guy gets one RIGHT where I was JUST fishing, on his first cast there!!?? At BUSSE!!???!!??

I congratulate him, and ask him what he was using- he says a jointed rapala. I don't have one like that, so I bust out a shallow-diving crankbait, and cast in the area he caught the eye. (He and his wife had moved on by this point, so I wasn't fishing right where he was!)

After many hangups and treble hooks full of weeds, I decided to move on. I paddle accross the lake to some more sunken trees. I catch a few more little bluegill. I read a DNR report the other day about the numbers of bluegill in Busse; there are TONS of them, but very few are over 8" - which is the minimum size. The DNR people theorized that most people fishing for bluegill keep any over 8" and that accounts for the lack of larger bluegill. Seems fair to speculate that many bluegill under 8" are also kept.

At this point, I don't feel redeemed as a fisherman... Sure I can catch tiny bluegill, and yes it's great to catch fish, in a kayak no less, but let's get into some bigger fish please. I work my way along the shoreline, slowly paddling toward the Higgins Road bridge. I know it's deep in the middle there, and have heard recent reports of walleye being caught there. I lusted after some walleye. I was so jealous of that guy and his wife and their walleye.

I stop behind an island where the water is still and there are lots of weeds. This is exactly the kind of place where I caught some nice bluegill and those perch last weekend. I proceeded to catch more tiny bluegill. I did find a pretty awesome new lure though- a Hedon Torpedo, which will be nice addition to my tackle box, once I figure out how to fish it.

There were lots of birds in these trees

I fish the Higgins bridge channel for a while, throwing crankbaits, tubes, senkos, nightcrawlers, and nothing. Nothing except for more hangups. At this point I'm seriously frustrated. The wind was also picking me, making it more difficult to stay in one place in the yak. I know that's part of the whole kayak-fishing deal, but it was still frustrating.

I need to catch a nice fish. Even a nice sized bluegill, just something to redeem myself after the skunk-fest I had yesterday. I paddle over to the north dam, a place I've had a lot of luck this year.

Biggest landed fish of the AM...

Catching a few bluegill in the weeds, I hear a little kid talking non-stop across the bay. Looks like his dad is on the point, fishing for carp or catfish, getting his ear talked off. I think about how annoying that must be, he's trying to concentrate and catch some fish, but his kid is going on and on... I also think how nice it is he took his son fishing, and how much the son must love it to be talking this much. Fishing isn't just about catching fish, I tell myself, it's about the experience, and nature, and relaxation, and bonding... But seriously, the kid was talking a lot. I wondered if I eventually have a little kid and take him fishing, how I would deal with the rambling. But hey, he's just a kid! It's great he's so into it. Just because I'm super frustrated doesn't mean the kid isn't having a great time fishing!

Working my way around the shore, catching a few small bluegill, I head closer to the dam. The kid sees me, and heads toward me. With a nightcrawler, hoping for a fair-sized gill, I cast toward the shore. The kid casts about 3 feet to the left of my line. It's ok, he doesn't know any better... 

and then WHAM! Fish on! Something came up and engulfed my worm, and was now going crazy! This was a bigger fish than I'd been catching. I caught a glimpse near the surface, it was a largemouth. Hooray! Fish on!!

After a short fight, I worked him over to the kayak. Using my very bad estimation skills, I guessed he was about 12-14" long, and relatively chunky. A nice bass for anywhere, but especially Busse where skunk rules supreme! Awesome. This was great, I was going to land my first bass in the kayak, take a great picture, it would be my new facebook profile pic, I could share it all on the blog, and then PLOP.

He unhooked himself and swam back into the deep.

A foot from the kayak.

@&%$*@!!! Are you KIDDING me!!? In all my fishing inexperience, I haven't lost too many fish I've hooked- I like to think I'm pretty good at landing them once I've got'em... But this was a dark hour for me. It was hard to keep the tension as he was swimming toward the kayak, and it was a powerful tail movement that set him free. If only he had known I was going to set him free anyway! Maybe he would have obliged a quick photo.

I shouted (not profanity, mind you) and looked at the kid, who watched the whole thing. "Did you see that!!??" I asked. "yeah," he said. "Where did you get him?" I told him, and he immediately cast right there, about 10 feet in front of me.

As I was dealing with my intense grief of loosing such a nice fish, playing it over in my head, thinking what a great picture that would have made, that's when he started talking.

Again, I totally understand he's just a kid, and it's cool he's so into fishing (it's actually very cool), and I appreciate completely his desire to catch a big fish like the one I just lost... But at that moment, it was difficult for me to think of those things. All I could think of was the skunk fest I was deep into, and the very nice fish that I unintentionally released.

I answered his questions as calmly as I could, and tried my best to continue fishing and avoid crossing lines with the kid. I wanted that bass back. Real bad. I was on a mission- I didn't want to move, there was a big bass under the water somewhere right around here! The kid moved closer and closer to the kayak, until he was casting 3 feet away from the boat. I wondered how I could explain to him fishing etiquette, and how fishing right where somebody was isn't the best thing to do... But I didn't want to diminish his excitement for fishing by giving him a bunch of rules, so I didn't say anything.

A duck

After about a half hour, I wasn't going to catch my lost bass. I lost a few lures and hooks on the rocks and tree branches, and was getting more and more frustrated. I felt the way I used to feel on every fishing trip last summer, inept and inexperienced, unable to keep my line untangled, unable to keep a lure on for more then 3 or 4 casts. As much as I appreciated the kid's enthusiasm, I had to get out of there. I bid him farewell, and headed up the shoreline to another spot I knew to sometimes hold bass.

Turns out, that would be my one and only bass hookup for the day. I wondered if it "counted" to just hook into a beast, but I kept thinking "if there's no picture, it doesn't count." Then I thought, "if there's no picture, I can make it as big as I want!" That made me feel a little better. But seriously, blog reader, it was definitely at least 13", I promise. Or maybe it was closer to 22", about 4 pounds, probably more like that. It might have been a muskie. Yup, that's what it was.

On my way back to the boat launch, saw what looked like a white crappie floating at the top of the water. I got closer, and it looked alive. I picked it up, and righted it in the water. I moved it through the water to get some water through its gills, and it seemed to revive. Awesome! It swam down a little, but then quickly floated back to the top on its side. I felt bad, I wanted to help, but it seemed pretty messed up.

I paddled back, and found another lure- this one looked really cool and seemed like a deep-diving crankbait, which I didn't have yet. Cool! As I made my way, I thought of the day, and really was happy I at least caught some fish. And almost caught a monster bass. It wasn't so bad- I was outside, on the lake, in a kayak, on a beautiful day, enjoying the scenery and getting exercise, and was about to head home to my lovely wife and awesome dog. Not bad! Can't really complain.

Except about the one that got away, I could certainly complain about that, and unfortunately, my wife would have to listen to it.

I caught this hog this spring, t not far from where I lost the bass today...
I'll just assume the one I lost was at least as big