8/07 - 8/11...Trout Bumming in the "Land of Corn and Bacon"

It's become one of my favorite trips of the entire year , the one that I'm looking forward to six months in advance and that gets me started piling shit in the garage in anticipation before it's really necessary. This will be going on my third year that I've made the trip up North to wander around the small spring creeks the area offers in search of the wild brown trout that call it home. I'm not sure what it is that makes this place so special  to me...I guess it's a combination of the beautiful scenery , numerous spring creeks , wild browns and brookies and lack of fishing pressure that all add up to make a great destination.
This year the usual rif-raf I hang with couldn't make the trip due to work (ugh!!) so I had to seek out another poor soul to spend four days with me chasing trout. A few calls and I was able to convince another buddy that it wouldn't be the worst way he could spend a weeks vacation in August , but it was a tough sell.
I somehow managed to make it into work on Tuesday for a half day , although I didn't impress anyone with my productivity to say the least. By 11:00 I was already sneaking out the back door with one thing on my mind....fishing.
My friend arrived at the house just before noon as planned and after tossing his gear in the truck we headed North for the "land of corn and bacon". With the drive being a little over 8 hours , not including pit-stops , our goal was to make our arrival in time to get camp set up before dark thirty. After an uneventful roadtrip , we pulled into the campground just as the sun was dropping below the surrounding hills. Tents were hurriedly set and the rest of camp laid out for the week. Nothing to do now but sit around a big campfire and make plans for the morning.

With three and a half days of fishing ahead of us the only question was where to start? After looking at the logistics of the streams we wanted to fish it was decided that we'd hit the water farthest from camp on the first day and then work our way back , fishing the streams closer to our campground as each day progressed. Of course if the fishing happened to be better at one location over another all bets were off , in the end we would just start driving in the morning after breakfast and end up wherever the gravel roads took us. Sometimes the best laid plans are no plans at all!


After surviving one of the hottest and driest summers on record around home it was refreshing to be in a place where the grass was still green and the trees still had leaves that weren't yellow and curling from the drought. Hell , I even needed a fleece jacket and a hot cup of coffee to start off the mornings for the first time in a long while.

 That's not to say that this area wasn't feeling some minor effects of the drought as well , while their situation is nothing like ours , the small streams were somewhat lower and seemed to have a lot more vegetation  compared to last year. Luckily for us it didn't seem to affect the fish or their appetites , although it did make it a little more of a challenge for us in some locations.
The beauty of the area and the abundant wildlife you can see while fishing these small spring creeks is a sight for sore eyes. Several times throughout the week I found myself just sitting streamside watching the colorful finches flitting from one perch to another and the numerous hummingbirds that couldn't seem to get enough of the orange bell shaped flowers that grow prolificly along most every stream. It was enough to make you oblivious to the rings of rising trout on the water at your feet....almost.

I could go on and on about the beauty of this place and the fish that inhabit those little gems flowing through the hillsides but I think you probably already know how I feel so I'll just cut to the chase and get to the good stuff...the pictures that prove it all really happened. 
Four nights under the stars sitting around a big campfire , three full days of fishing some of the prettiest little creeks you'll find anywhere and the company of a good friend to share it all with....Life is GOOD!
Hope you enjoy the pics half as much as I enjoyed being there and taking em!


































Until next time......

8/2 - 8/5....Weekend Report / Poor Mans Permit and Farm Pond Panfish

As hard as I tried I just couldn't find anyone willing to make a midweek trip back down to the White River for a couple days of floating this last week. I seriously contemplated going anyway but the wife wasn't really on board   (not that it ever stopped me before!) and the cost of camping  , shuttles and petro to get there seems alot more reasonable when you've got someone to share the burden with you. Regardless of the body of water or species involved I had no intentions of letting my time off go by without picking up a flyrod at least a time or two.
With the extreme heat and drought we're currently experiencing here around home my options have become somewhat limited recently , with surface temps in the mid 90's most species are searching out deeper water and becoming alot less active for sure. 
I still ventured out on Thursday and headed to the local reservoir in search of willing fish roaming the flats.



 It didn't take long to see that I'd made a good choice , while the carp were surprisingly absent, I found good numbers of drum (Poor Mans Permit) cruising around with a healthy appetite. These guys have become one of my favorite species to chase on the fly , no really , I mean that in all honesty. They're readily available , they get BIG , they like to roam shallow flats looking to crush their next meal and best of all they'll put a curve in your flyrod that us trout weenies don't get to see very often (unless I'm trying to dislodge my fly from a tree branch across the river!). I ended up making a total of three short trips during my weekend to chase these guys and caught my largest to date , just over 30 inches and caught more poundage of fish than I have in a long time. Say what you want about "trash fish" and all but I was pretty stoked with the results. While they may be a hoot to catch I realize they're not much to look at and most folks just don't get excited about drum. That being said...here's a few pics anyway!













The second part of the report is from one of my favorite little evening fishing holes. I was lucky enough to spend Friday evening and Sunday afternoon playing around with the big gills and crappie that call this place home. A few beers were drank and fish were caught....not much else to say. Heres a few pics from those outings as well.
Hope you enjoy......