My best day Northern Pike fishing ever, at least for numbers of fish. I released at least thirty Pike. No monsters, but three over 30" with two of them on back to back casts!!!

Back

To Back

They would come out of nowhere and T Bone my fly.

Otherwise they were sitting shallow and you could cast right to them. I like this guy, he looks goofy.

Can you see it? This pike smashed my fly off the bottom after I laid it right in front of him!

I had to operate on most to get my fly back.

Speaking of flies, here it is. Rainbow Deceiver. Fish would stop hitting it once the eyes fell off. I did mess around with other patterns, but this one is mostly hook which is a good thing!

This is my biggest Pike this year. 35" out of Harvey Gap.

I'm pretty sure this is my biggest Pike... no measurement.

This one made it into the Umpqua catalog.

BONUS another Tiger Musky. Thanks for reading.

Quasimodo

Feeling pretty good about this one, my first Clear Creek Reservoir Tiger Muskie. 

I've tried over a dozen times to catch one of these guys. Fitting that this fish has a hump, not necessarily like a snow hill, but I was definitely getting Ahab crazy.

Yes, on the fly!!! The fish hit boat side as Muskies do. Pretty awesome to watch. 

Here it is. Black EP Fiber and Red Krystal Flash. Thanks Ed Walzer.

My Crew, Ishmael and Queequeg

Video of my hand grab. Thanks

Personal Best Lake Trout

With all the pressure the Eagle River has been getting I decided to isolate myself on the ice, and I'm glad I did! The day started out tough, but I persevered with a personal best Lake Trout. Filled with adversity, making modifications, and a straight up love of fishing made it a memorable catch. Here"s how it went down.

Today's angling adventure started horribly... missing strikes. First drop my bait was stolen. Then I missed a few strikes. After that, upon hooking into a nice one, somehow the knot slid through a gap in the eye of the hook! Crazy Weird Bad Luck. Time to go home right? No way, lets make some halftime adjustments! To catch Lake Trout cut bait is king, and I knew my pieces were cut too big. Go big or go home right! To fix the problem I tied on a new jig with a stinger hook to stop the bait stealing. Then It happened, Bang I set the hook on a good one. It's hard to explain, but anyone that fishes needs to be an optimist. This time there was no bluffing.

To start the battle this fish just sat there like a log... making me think I had a log. Then it just slowly wandered off like "hey, party's over". That's when I said "nope, you haven't danced with me yet"! Applying more pressure and adjusting drag,  my opponent made several runs causing line to scream off the reel. When bubbles started coming through the hole I knew I was slowly gaining an edge, all the while praying my hooks would hold. Upon seeing leader it was time for me to seal the deal, trying to get a 36" fish through a 6" hole. Lord have mercy the lake just gave birth to my second child! After snapping a couple pics, dunking the fish back in the water in between, I sent that baby back to the bottom of the lake.

Pictures never do justice, besides my camera man had his hands full.

The stinger hook saved the day, just barely!

I also soak my cut bait in HOT SAUCE!!!
Cha Ching... Free Bee

Oh yeah, then there was this guy!
Thanks for reading. Have a great day.

My Personal Best

Fun Family Float Turns Into My PBBT.

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Ice Movie

Another Dad Movie!!!
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Spring Break 2020!

Party Time!

Except where is the party?

It was a hike to get there too.

Fresh tracks for the way down, but I'd rather party. Dang you Coronavirus

Big Red's First Time Ice Fishing

I took my friend Jeremy (aka Red), ice fishing for the first time. Red is really into fly fishing, but had never been on the ice. After several attempts he finally took the plunge, or should I say drilled the hole.

I love when people auger through the ice for the first time. It's not easy as Red quickly finds out.

On to the action, or lack there of. Things started slow, and I was worried Red's first ice trip was going to be a bust. Then after two beers it happened.  My wife's rod started jumping, but she was at the truck getting more White Claws leaving Jeremy at the helm. Red set the hook and after a decent battle landed this 21 inch Lake Trout. 

That I ate!

Social Distancing Forever

I've been social distancing before social distancing was cool. Sure, you may have seen me in a crowd once or twice, but I've been seeking far off spots away from people for a long time. Here is how you do it.

Take a long walk along a river with your dog.

Dogs like this.

Then catch a fish.

Don't forget to hug your dog.

Marlee is in the "fishing isn't cool stage" so she went jogging. I think she might be the first person to jog from State Bridge to Rancho del Rio.  Floating from Rancho to State Bridge is the norm. Followed closely by cattle drives and hula hooping hippies.

So if you need some help social distancing ask somebody else because I will most likely still be Far Far Away!