Adventure to Beers Lake

Posted on January 27, 2012 by redriverfly

Ok, everyone.  Sorry I’ve really been slacking.  A lot.  I wrote this post a long time ago, but never posted it.  So here is something to get us through to  next spring.  There will be more to come…soon.  I’ll try and be a little better in the coming months.  I’ve got some fun stuff coming up.

 

Minnesota is blessed with tons of great state parks.  I think there are something like 73 state parks.  Maybe someday I’ll get to visit all of them, but for now I’ll have to settle on the ones close by.  This last weekend Laura and I finally got out fishing together.  It’s crazy, it was almost August and she hadn’t been in my boat for more than a few minutes yet this year.  Sad really.

Maplewood State Park is pretty close to us and we’ve heard it’s a nice park, so we decided to make the trip down there for the day.  We were going to spend some time at the beach but after we got down there we realized it wasn’t all that nice.  A quick dip in the water and it was time to fish.

Beers Lake is a nice little lake inside the park.  It’s supposed to be a good bass and musky lake, perfect for my kind of fishing.  After spending just a little bit of time musky fishing, I decided to bust out the fly rod.  That’s right, the fly rod.  The poor guy has been in the case for far too long.

 

Beers Lake Fly Fishing

The day started off slow, a few small sunnies chasing the streamer, but nothing else.  It didn’t take long before we had to run for shade.  It was so hot out, sitting in the sun was killing me.  I didn’t care if there were fish there.  I just wanted to find shade.  It turned out to be a good move.  It wasn’t too long before I had a decent bass on the line.  A little while later I dropped the fly in the water and I saw it hit.  My first response was “Oh, it’s just a little pike.”  In those words I heard myself fall prey to one of the things that bothers me the most.  I’ve only been musky fishing for a few weeks and I’m already getting that snotty attitude towards pike.  Well, I learned my lesson.  Just a couple seconds later it turned and I realized it wasn’t a pike!  There it was my first musky on the fly!  It wasn’t very big, but it was a musky.

My first thought after that is I needed the net.  Not because it was a big fish, but because I NEEDED a photo.   Laura grabbed the net and we got the fish in.  It was completely ridiculous.  This net is meant for big fish.  A huge musky, and here this little guy is sitting in there.  I looked down and my hook popped out and so did the fish!  The holes in the net were too big for the fish, she just swam right through.  Luckily she didn’t notice she was free and I was able to tail her.  She didn’t even move.  After a few quick photos she was off.  I noticed the little guys are way more feisty.  More like a pike than the other ones I’ve seen.

A little while later, Laura gave up reading and picked up her rod.  Excited to use her new light up reel she fished for a while before hooking her first fish.  Unfortunately it was a long distance release of a decent sized crappie.  That was the only fish of the day for her.  We didn’t really spend a lot more time fishing before she called it a night.

Ryan and Jon had been out fishing for a couple hours already and I met up with them.  After some frustrating night fishing we threw in the towel.  Not a musky in the boat between the three of us.  Until next time…

Categories: Bass, Fly Fishing, Muskies, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Bristol Bay Pebble Mine

Posted on October 10, 2011 by redriverfly

I’ve heard a lot about the pebble mine over the last year or so.  I guess I’ve never really known much about it.  I know that everyone I know or follow in the fishing industry is opposed to it.  So I’ve always assumed it was a bad thing.  It wasn’t till now I’ve really thought much about it.

I found this video posted on Moldy Chum.  It really caught me off guard.  It was a good explanation of what they want to do and why its so very wrong.

 

Now don’t get me wrong.  I understand that, like everyone else in the world, I like “stuff.”   All that “stuff” has to come from somewhere.  And I certainly understand that sometimes, probably more often than we all like to admit, it all comes at a cost.  In this case the “stuff” is gold and copper.  We use these materials in all kinds of places and we will continue to mine for them.  I get that.

I just feel like there has to be a better way.  I wish I knew what it was.  Not only because I’m sure it would make me obscenely rich, but because this place needs to be protected.

 

Categories: Fly Fishing | Leave a comment

a BACKYARD in NOWHERE

Posted on October 6, 2011 by redriverfly

I found this video in the new This is Fly magazine.  First, let me say that this magazine is killer.  This the the first issue I’ve read (let’s be honest….looked at the photos) but I’m a fan already.

 

 

What I wouldn’t give to spend some time on a trip like this.

 

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Returning the favor. More carp on the fly!

Posted on October 5, 2011 by redriverfly

The few times we had been out this year Travis and I always end up talking about carp. After my last trip with Nate I felt I could return the favor and hopefully put Travis on some carp for his first fish. Half the fun of fishing is getting to watch someone accomplish something they’ve wanted to do.Whether it’s landing that big fish or catching their first carp. I was excited to be able to help someone else make that happen.

The only real problem with fishing the Otter Tail is that there can be a crowd of people. Today was one of those days. When we arrived there were a few people fishing in our spot! Ok, I know it’s not my spot, but still. We spent some time fishing elsewhere with limited success until finally the two guys moved on. It was time.

It didn’t take long before we started catching fish. My first fish was a smallie…both in size and stature. It reminded me of my first few fly outings to Cenaiko Lake at the Coon Rapids Dam. We always caught fish, that should probably be described as bait rather than fish. Luckily I kept catching fish, each one a little larger than before.  Eventually I made it back to a respectable size fish.

Travis and I fished for a bit catching a bunch of smallies.  Finally Travis hooked his first carp.  I’m not sure if he had a good time (I’m guessing he did,) but I had a good time watching him.  Like I’ve said before… those fish are tough.  And it was just as much fun to watch someone else fight their first carp as it was for me to catch mine.

Smallmouth on the fly

Smallmouth on the Fly

Carp on the fly

Carp on the Fly

Carp on the Fly

 

After some more fishing, I was able to accomplish another first for me.  I hooked into something that hit the fly like a freight train.  Catching small fish is a treat in the current, but boy, when you hook into a big fish it was a blast!  I got it close to shore a couple times before I got a good look at it.  I originally thought it was a carp.  I saw it come up to the surface and swirl around a few times during the fight.  It wasn’t until I got it actually landed that I realized it was something else.  Travis pointed it out at first.  I had caught a buffalo!  I’m still not sure if it’s a smallmouth or bigmouth buffalo, but I can tell you it was big!  I know these fish get much larger than this one and I can only hope that I get to experience that someday.

Buffalo on the Fly

buffalo on the fly

The day ended with a few more fish for each of us.  My last fish of the day was a nice size small mouth.  It was a great day of fishing and I look forward to a repeat.

Smallmouth on the Fly

 

Categories: Carp, Fly Fishing | Leave a comment

First Carp on the Fly!

Posted on October 4, 2011 by redriverfly

A while ago I found the a blog about fly fishing for carp (and other rough fish). Check out Roughfisher. Like many, growing up I assumed that carp were good for nothing trash fish. I was told by many to just toss them up on the bank (people still tell me this, I’ve never done that). Reading that blog was the start of this whole adventure. After that I started seeing more and more people fly fishing for carp, everyone of them made it sound like a blast.

Fast-forward probably a couple years to this summer. I set myself several fishing goals for this summer, catching a carp was high on the list. It took a while to finally get out and target them, but finally we did it. Fishing the Ottertail a few times this year we always saw them, but couldn’t get them to bite. To be fair, we never really put forth a solid effort. My buddy Nate had been out there a few times before and had some luck, so he took me out to show me the ropes.

I spent a couple hours fishing the river the way I normally do with limited success. After a while Nate decided to head up river a bit and when the bugs got too brutal I decided to follow suit. In the few minutes it took for me to get to him I watched him land two fish. After a brief tutorial I was fishing again. It didn’t take too long before I hooked my first fish. It was exciting. I think the most exciting part is that they lived up to their reputation. It wasn’t a big fish by any means, but it sure put up a fight.

We fished a few more hours with more success. This trip was the first time I’ve ever had to run down the river bank in order to land a fish. A terribly wonderful problem to have. We each caught more carp as well as smallmouth. My two (new) favorite fly rod species. And that is what makes this river so great. You can fish for a few hours and catch sunfish to carp, and just about anything you can imagine in-between.

 

Categories: Carp, Fly Fishing | Leave a comment

Lutsen Fly Fishing 2011

Posted on September 29, 2011 by redriverfly

Every year the family and I head to Lutsen for a long weekend.  This year I was excited to do some fishing.  I’ve only fished up there a little bit in the past, which is a shame if you ask me.

After doing some research on the area I found Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply.  They are a relativity new store that offers a full day of fly fishing.  It seemed like a perfect way to experience the area, so I booked.  And, boy, am I glad I did.

Scott (from Stone Harbor) was my guide for the day. He took me to a local lake, that’s right…a lake. I’ve always assumed that fishing up there meant standing in the streams fishing for trout.  It turns out, that’s not the case.  We were still fishing for trout (Rainbows and Browns) but we were in little pontoon kickboats.  It was a neat way to experience the area.

After some paperwork at the shop and a stop to get our boxed lunches we were on our way.  A quick drive up the trail and we were at the lake.  We set up the gear and I got a quick lesson then I was ready to start fishing.

It was a pretty lake, especially since the leaves had started to change.  The nice part about this lake is that it is carry in only.  It’s a small 18 acre lake, so in a kick boat its easy enough to fish the entire lake.  A few times over.

I had no idea what to expect from the day.  I know that often times with guides people expect to catch tons of fish, like the guide has some control over it.  I tried not to set my hopes too high (numbers wise at least) as to not be disappointed.  It wasn’t too long before I had a hit.  I yelled to Scott ”I think I just missed one”  He quickly responded ”I know you did!”  Good point, there was no fish on my hook, I guess I missed it!  Throughout the day was had a good time joking back and forth.  Shortly after that miss, I had a fish on.  A brief fight and I had my first rainbow trout in several years laying in my net.  A cute little guy, but now I needed more.

I’ve always been told you can’t catch fish without a line in the water.  Truer words have never been spoken, at least in this case.  Scott told me right when I started to always leave my fly in the water when scooting from place to place, but be ready for a fish to smack it.  Luckily for him, he took his own advice.  Shortly after my fish he had a fish of his own.  As I hustled over there I could tell this was a nice size fish.  It took me just a bit to get over there, but it was a fun show on the way.  After a good fight, Scott had his first brown trout (from this lake) in the net.  As a fisherman, I love to watch other people do something like that.  Whether it be someone catching their first fish ever or watching someone who has caught hundreds of fish do something they haven’t done on a lake.  Scott told me there were browns in there, he has had other people catch them and helped folks net them, but just hadn’t got one himself.  Today was the day.

Even after a good fight, this guy was still feisty.  He wouldn’t hold still for any more photos, so we decided to let him go.  :)

After those two fish things really turned on.  I think both Scott and I missed just as many (if not more) fish than we caught.  After some playing around we learned the trick to the day.  A sort of unorthodox method of fly fishing.  We trolled.  Sort of.  Cast some line out there  like normal, kick for a while and let the fly troll, then start stripping.  Worked like a charm, and hey, fly fishing or not, we were catching fish.  Many of the fish had a strange bite, at least in my experience.  Most of the time these fish hit the fly hard, but today I had a lot of fish that acted more like walleyes.  I’d have to let them play with it for a while before they’d actually eat.

Before I knew it it was lunch time.  As we sat lake side eating our boxed lunches from The Java Moose in Grand Marais the fish started going crazy.  Attacking bugs on the surface all over the place.  We had one rainbow come in and swim around by our feet.  We hurried to eat our lunch and get back out there, about the time we did the fish stopped.  They were still biting, but stopped going crazy on the surface.  I guess they just wanted to mess with us.

We spend a few more hours in the afternoon catching fish and I learned another lesson. Scott had told me in the morning that if I see a fish jump or surface, to cast back at them.  I had been doing that with limited success.  I saw a little guy go after a bug just to the side of my pontoon.  I was already in mid cast so I threw the fly that way.  I don’t think it was more that two strips and I had a fish.  It was pretty cool to see it jump and cast at it all in the matter of seconds.  Soon I realized it wasn’t the fish I saw jump.  This one was much bigger.  I was excited to get him in the net.

After that fish, thing started to calm down.  We each caught one or two more and missed a few as well.  As quick as they turned on, they turned back off.  At about 3:30 it was it for the day, we hardly even saw a fish jump.  Our day was done at 4:30, Scott let me keep fishing while he packed most of the stuff up.  I did have a chance at one more fish, but of course, I missed it.  That’s ok, I left him for another day.

Overall this was a great day fishing.  Scott was a great guide and a lot of fun to fish with.  I learned about a different method of fishing.  And now I want my own pontoon.  That will have to wait…

 



Categories: Fly Fishing, Trout | Leave a comment

Lessons Learned

Posted on September 7, 2011 by redriverfly

Last week Jon and I took a trip down to Alexandria to look at a new boat.  A deal came up that he couldn’t refuse and I’m always up for looking at boats.  After a long night of driving and dealing, he headed home with his new rig.

There was no way we weren’t going to go out and test it as soon as we could, so the next day we drove to the lake.  Our plan was mostly to play with the boat but do a little fishing at the same time.  As we got out there and got everything ready to go, Jon looked at me and said “We forgot the net.”  Words I’m sure every fisherman has heard before.  And everyone knows what that means…we were going to catch a fish.  It was a certainty.

The biggest thing on the agenda was to see how fast we could go.  Like a couple of little kids.  Just for your reference we topped out at 42 mph.  Quite the difference from my little 20 hp in which we top out at about 15 mph.  This is going to be a fun boat.

We fished for a little bit, then decided to play for a while again.  After some more flying around on the lake we decided to try a spot that neither of us were all that familiar with.  We spent a few minutes finding the right line and figuring out the structure and Jon looked at me and said, “You think this is a good spot?”  It wasn’t 2 cast later (give or take a couple cast) I had a fish.  My first thought was pike.  Its fairly common we catch pike.  Still, I said fish.  I didn’t even get the word out of my mouth and I realized this was no small pike. FISH, FISH, FISH, FISH…I think that was the next thing to come out of my mouth.  This time, much more serious.  Luckily we realized the guy that he bought the boat from threw in a small cradle type net, so Jon got ready with that.

This time, I was much more with it.  It wasn’t 1:30 in the morning after a long long day of fishing.  I remember actually reeling in this fish.  I was fishing an 8’6″ okuma extra heavy rod with 60lb line on it and this fish was working me.  I never felt like I was going to lose the battle, but he defiantly held his own for a bit.  There was more than one time I had to stop reeling because the fish wouldn’t let me.  What a feeling.

With the fish boatside and the net ready we gave it our best.  Which, let me tell you.  Those cradles are worthless.  At least this one was.  Never the less, after some stellar net acrobatics by Jon we got the fish in the cradle and I got the hook out.  Herein lies the problem.  The cradle had no front on it.  So the fish was in there, no hook and as soon as we spread the cradle she could swim away.  So Jon had to hold it close, which makes it very difficult to grab the fish.  With some finagling I finally had the fish in my hand and we started to lift as the front of the fish came out of the water, the tail was still in.  One quick flip of the tail and the fish, like a rocket, was gone.  I could see her on the top of the water for a few seconds.  I felt like she was staring at me, saying she won.  And she was right.

Why didn’t I take a photo of the fish in the water?  I don’t know.  I guess I was too excited to hold a fish again.  Oh well.  Lesson learned.  And it makes a good story.  Sure, it would have been nice to have a photo, but in the end it doesn’t matter.  It was still a caught fish and more importantly, we slimed the new boat.  I felt bad, I was hoping that Jon would land the first fish.  Not today…but soon.

Categories: Muskies | Leave a comment

Time to reflect

Posted on August 4, 2011 by redriverfly

Over the last couple weeks I’ve had some time to stop and think about my musky.  Just about everyone that I show my fish says “I bet that put up a good fight.”  The truth is.  I don’t know.  I don’t remember much about it.  Maybe it was the 8 hours of straight fishing that had taken its toll on me.  Maybe it was the fact that it was 1:30 in the morning.  Maybe it was the adrenaline flowing through my body.  I don’t know.  What I do know is; I don’t really remember much of what actually happened.

Don’t get me wrong.  I remember the feeling of catching that fish, but a lot of the details are fuzzy.  From the second I said, “Fish!” to the moment I hoisted it out of the water for our brief photo session, most of it is a blur.  It all happened so fast.

This past weekend I got to spend some more time on the water with Ryan.  And like any good fishermen, we relived our night.  Many people might not know this, but fishermen tend to exaggerate a little bit.  It’s a little known fact.  I have been wondering if I was guilty of this very thing when retelling my story.  After reliving it with Ryan this weekend, I’ve realized that I really haven’t been.  It all happened that way, and it was as incredible as it sounds.  There is slim chance that I’ll ever have a night like that again.  Ever.

Just about everyday since that night I relive those few minutes the best I can.  During my daydreams sitting at my desk, I’ve realized one thing.  I’m lucky.  First off, there are plenty of people that spend a year or more before boating their first musky.  One of the guys that is responsible for Ryan becoming a musky fisherman hasn’t ever boated a fish himself.  He’s going on 8 years or something crazy like that.  I talked to someone at the lift the other day who has yet to boat his first fish, everyone else he’s ever taken out has got one, but him.  In 2 years of fishing.  They are called the fish of 10,000 for a reason.  For me, it didn’t take 10,00 cast.  Maybe just 1,000 or so.  Second, I’m lucky that we came out of my first real musky endeavor with three fish in the boat.  That’s a fantastic night by anyone’s standards.  Lastly, my first fish was a 50″!  That’s crazy.  There are people who spend their entire musky fishing careers hoping and praying for their first 50″+ fish.  I got mine.

All I can say is, I’m lucky and certainly grateful that I live so close to such a great fishery, and that there are people in this world kind enough to pay it forward.  Thanks Ryan.  I owe you one.

Just in case you all forgot what the night was like…Check it out.

 

Categories: Muskies | 2 Comments

Lake X Bass

Posted on July 29, 2011 by redriverfly

Normally I’m not a secretive fisherman.  There’s not a lot (if anything) I know about fishing that everyone else doesn’t already know.  But when someone you hardly know offers to take you out on a lake that consistently produces 5lb bass and many even bigger, then in the same sentence says he’ll cut my hands off if I tell anyone…you keep a secret.

For  days this lake had been talked up by a couple people I’ve been fishing with.  Needless to say I was thrilled to make it out there.  Its quite the hike from my house so it won’t be a regular occurrence, but well worth the trip.

After a long drive and a crazy boat landing we were fishing.  We all started fishing with standard tackle rigs at first.  I don’t think it was too long before we had a pike in the boat.  Not really what we were going for but a fish none the less.  Soon after the bass started.  The bite wasn’t as good as it had been for them in the past but I wasn’t complaining.  About two casts after I put on a new bait I had a fish.  And a good one at that.  A fish that is close to my personal best, if not beating it.

As we moved to a new spot on the lake it was time to take out my fly rod.  It’s about time.  It’s been a while since I’ve had it out of the case.  I was excited to give it a work out.  I was also excited to try out my first popper I made.  After at least a week of painting, this thing really needed to catch a fish.  The result didn’t disappoint, although it took a while to get on a fish, the action of the fly was awesome.

redriverfly.com

A lot of times when fishing with people you don’t know (or even some you do) it turns into a competition about who catches more fish or bigger fish.  I’m lucky to be invited to fish with two guys that are so far from that.  I think they both spent more time trying to get me a fish than they did themselves.

MN Fly Fishing

After probably an hour of waiting, and a couple disappointing misses I finally managed to get one in the boat.  This fish was worth the wait.  An explosive blowup and a few hard runs are a good reminder of why bass fishing is so much fun.  I’m not sure who was more excited, me or the other two.

 

Red River Fly

Midwest Fly Fishing Bass

As the fish started to pick up, so did the bugs.  It was time to call it a night and make the long drive back to Fargo.  All in all it was a good night.  Each one of us got a 4lb or more bass with Jon’s probably being the biggest around 5lbs.

Beautiful lake.  Beautiful Fish.  Thanks again TA and Jon for a great night.

Categories: Bass, Fly Fishing | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Gone to Iowa, but not forgotten.

Posted on July 26, 2011 by redriverfly

For the last couple years some of our friends have come up to run the Fargo Marathon. {Check  out Kierstan’s Blog here}  This is a weekend that I look forward to every year.  It usually means a weekend of man games.  Last year it was shooting with a little bit of fishing mixed in and this year it was all fishing.

This year didn’t disappoint.  We woke up and watched Kier run her personal best (at the time, I think) marathon.  3:52 is an impressive run…at least I think so.  Plus we biked about 9 miles watching her run.  That’s impressive for me.

After some celebrating and lunch we headed to the lake.  Last year Nic was able to catch a few fish but this year we did much, much better.  I have been trying to get Nic into fly fishing for a while now, so this weekend we spent some time doing that.  At first we weren’t terribly successful on the the fly rod.  We spent some time using standard spinning gear and things started to pick up.  We both started landing fish.  Mostly crappies and pike.  It was a nice change catching crappies.  Normally I don’t do that on this lake.  I know they are there.  I just don’t target them.

Maia (the dog) did pretty well in the boat for most of the time.  I think it was right after I caught my personal best largemouth things got a little out of hand.  I suppose it was all the commotion in the boat, she got a little riled up.  All of the sudden we heard a splash.  She was in the lake.  We tried calling her back to the boat, but she was heading for shore.  She beat us to shore and I jumped off the boat and started chasing her.  I was concerned.  Normally, Maia is a runner when she’s not a leash.  We got lucky this time.  I called her a few times and Nic directed me from the lake and she came right over to me.  It was a long, muddy walk back to the cabin carrying a soggy dog.

Right before the dog abandoned ship, I landed this pig.  Under the circumstances I didn’t measure the fish, but we did have time to take a photo.  As I go back and calculate length it’s somewhere between 19-20″.  That’s the best I’d done up to that point!

On Sunday we caught a few more fish and Nic decided to follow my PB up and get what, I can only guess, is his PB largemouth.  As well as his first fish on a fly rod!  It was an exciting weekend all around!  Some big fish, a great race by Kierstan, all followed up by some great dinner at Zorbaz.

Over all it was a great weekend that I can’t wait to repeat next year!

Friends Forever…

Categories: Fly Fishing | Tags: , | 1 Comment