Well it's finally summer and the water is warming. I've been out in the Jackson Kayak Big Tuna catching Largemouth Bass and lots of pan fish including some nice Bluegill, Black Crappie, and Pumpkinseed. This Kayak has been awesome for poling around the shallows to sneak up on schools of fish. The stability of this boat makes it so easy to stand and fish while drifting with the wind or when fishing with Andi on the front and myself on the paddles. We are definitely looking forward to getting this boat out on the Lower Wisconsin River to hammer some Smallmouth in the coming months.

March 3rd

If your like me, a fly-fisherman living in SW Wisconsin, you undoubtedly are looking forward to this coming Saturday. That is the day that our department of natural resources says we can trout fish again on inland streams. After the doldrums of winter slowly come to an end, most of us will hit the streams again, hoping that we will be the only one that knows about the special spot where we saw that really big fish. If we are lucky, another fisherman will not be eyeing that whole when you get out in the morning. If your really lucky, that same big fish, or another will be sitting in that likely lie, waiting for a meal to swing by. Chances are though, you won't be alone, and an even larger chance exists that that big fish has found another less likely lie that is providing it more cover. There is always the reality and the unreal situation that exists in fishing. A better fisherman than me once said, "it's not the fish we are chasing, it's the unknown". So I tip my hat to all of you who are as excited as I am about the possibilities that come with opening day of early catch and release season. I hope to run into none of you, yet if our paths cross, I'll understand. It's going to be a great season.

Fall 2011 Musky on the Fly

It had been a long day of throwing huge flies at these fish, I was glad to finally hook up at the takeout.

Spring Pike

Up until two weeks ago the water temps had been too cold to get hopes of getting into some decent size pike. The spawn is well over but the sun has not been shining enough to bring these larger fish out of their post orgasm lull. The first week of May changed that. A friend of mine and I took to a bay in Lake Wausau  for some spring Pike action. We hit the water around 4:30,  Eric lamenting that the 5:00 bite should be good. I just wasn't prepared for 4 Pike in an hour good. The first two were smallish  but after I got those   hammer handles out of their ambush site I was able to land two nice fish both over 30 inches.

Sometimes You Just Gotta Get Out Of Dodge

Sometimes you just got to get the hell out of wherever you are and go someplace else for a change. Andi and I flew into Denver and spent a week out in the Gunnison/CB area.
Skiing was awesome and as always the snow was fantastic. We drove through Monarch Pass in one of the worst snowstorms I have ever drove through. Surely my Wisconsin upbringing enabled me to navigate the fast accumulating snow and whiteout conditions. Yet, once we awoke in the loft the next morning everything in the mountains was covered in beautiful white powder.  Thanks to all the AK West crew who put us up and helped to make sure we had a fantastic time. I can't wait to get out to the mountains this fall so we can experience everything this great part of the country has to offer throughout the seasons. On our way out we drove through the mountains following the Arkansas  River through the canyons. What an absolutely beautiful river (wish I had packed that fly rod). It was a great trip and Andi and I both look forward to getting back out to the Rockies.

Super Bowl Champs

YEEEEEEHHHHAAAAAAA WOOOOOOHHHHHOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!

The Lombardi Trophy is back in Titletown USA!

Green Bay Packers are Superbowl Champs!

if you did not know, up here in Sconie nation, it just got a whole lot warmer.

To all those I encountered last year...I told You So!
Pack is back and they are ready to roll right on down to the Super Bowl!
Go Packers! oh yeah and the Bears still suck!

Ice Fichin'

Well it's January in North central Wisconsin and Lake Wausau has 18" of ice on it. The temps are in the single digit but that did not stop us from heading out to the lake to set some tip-ups and see if we could not tie into some Pike. As a flyrodder it's hard for me to get excited about jigging a foot and a half long pole up and down waiting for a bluegill or perch to take the waxy off my hook, so I tried using a series of weighted wet flies and caddis pupae imitations instead but as we would find out in practice and from talking to an adjacent group of hardwater fisherman "the pan fish just aint bitin' " They of course knew this because in their arsenal of jigging rods and tip-ups they also carry a small neutrally buoyant underwater camera that gives them the advantage over the fish. The information obtained from this camera was that the panfish just were not biting. We knew this because in four hours of jigging, we had only caught one bluegill. Advantage fish!
In the end it was a great day, Josh landed a Northern Pike at 32" and my girlfriend Andi landed a 31 inch northern. I guess it was just a day for the Sommerfeldt's. I was too busy finding out if the pan fish were biting.

This little guy was spotted on the new critter cam.

A nice Dolly

Just a nice Dolly I thought I would throw up here. I missed out on catching one of those really clowned up Dollies that look like a Brook Trout wearing drag.

Well this was a fun night. We have been having really warm weather for a Wisconsin October. My buddy and I went out and after a few hours of no action the bass just started hitting poppers. The action was almost every cast! Here is Smanz with a nice little Large Mouth.

My girlfriend Andi and I Headed Up to Hayward, WI to fly fish for Muskies. She hooked into the first Musky right at the put in and had it up against the boat but it would seem our guide did a poor job of having the net ready...pretty basic if you ask me. We had 7 follows a few strikes but went home only landing one pike. Oh well thats Musky fishing.

Lake Notagonnatellya Pike

Took the float tube out on a spring fed lake I like. Got into a nice pike using an EP fly. These fish really get my heart pumping. I was alone and on the float tube so the photo sucks. I am working on my camera skills....it's a work in progress.

More AK Pics

Just thought I would post some more pics from Alaska.

too long

Well i am back. It's been a long 3 months in bush Alaska but the trip paid off. Internet connectivity was sketchy so I have not been able to post for the past month or so. We had a limited amount of data usage so uploading photos was not an option anymore.
Fishing was great. I caught lots of silvers and loaded up on all 5 species of pacific salmon. Char were plentyful and always eager to bite and the rainbow fishing was nothing short of awesome.

take down of camp was smooth and I had a blast cooking for 6 guys including the 3 rafters who ended their trip short due to "bad weather" ok so it was not that bad but these guys just could not handle it....it really blew their minds to be rafting for 4 days eating dehydrated meals and then saunter into our camp only to be treated to a steak and salmon dinner complete with fresh vegies.

Our flight out of Quinhagak was a little behind schedule as the driving winds decided to really pick it up the morning of the 7th. I can't even describe the feeling as our caravan soared into the low cloud ceiling andI knew I was on my way home to the great state of Wisconsin, to family, and loved ones.

hear from you soon!

News From Lake Kagati

Well I have not been all the way up to the lake yet but last night I went up to the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge for the first time. We drove up river and floated down. I got into three rainbows all of decent size for these parts, but back home these things would classify as trophies.
Saw my first bear up close in personal a few nights ago. It was me, Mike, and a guide named Whitney. We were floating down hammerfing big bows on mice and as we pulled up to a gravel bar a 600-700 lb bear wandered out onto the gravel one bar below ours. From a distance of roughly 50 yard he did not seem overly large but when sized up to the surrounding bushes, it was a large critter and made fishing mice through the bush only that more intense.

Throwing mice is no easy chore and much harder I am finding to throwing a large bass bug.
These large wind resistant flies with trailing hooks don't take kindly to be hurled through the air in the first place and then the minute they hit the water the current rips them into snags and the technique to getting a real "natural" mouse presentation is something I have not mastered yet.
I did manage to move a few fish and hook into one nice one.

Well I also came upo here with the intention of checking a few species off my list. I have since been into a nice Dolly or two, a bunch of Grayling, Sockeye, Pink Salmon, King Salmon, and Dog Salmon.

Hope you all are well and fishing hard.
Don't worry about me up here as things are good, the work is tough, but the fishing is good. Hope to have more pics up soon. Here is to screaming reels.

cin cin,

Rainbow

It was a rainy evening and as the sun went down and I had just got back from plugging for some Kings. Lucky I had my camera at the ready.

Alaskan Cherry

So I landed my first Adult King Salmon the other day and a Chum Salmon. It was an awesome night, the river warmed up during the day and the fish were holding in the slews. I went out with a guide named Justin and after losing my first King that I hooked ( a larger one maybe in the 25-30 lb range) I landed this jack and the Chum seen here. The river is coming down now and clearing slowly. Will share some more pics soon. Enjoy!

Collage

Here is a little collage of photos from week one of AK West, the pictures in the mountains are from Hatchers Pass near Wasilla.

Not too many fish in river yet and the water is still in the low fourties, but lots of fish porn to some soon.

Enjoy.

Rob

Kepler Bradley Lakes

It was another overcast day and rained off and on all day. I was not just going to sit around and wait to get to work so I decided I better head off to the Three Rivers Fly Shop in Wasilla to get the low down on the local fishing. I am always hesitant to ask fishing advice when I go to a fly shop, I liken it to walking into a mechanics shop and asking a vague question about what is wrong with my car and getting an equally vague answer from a guy who could just as easily tell me I need to replace my "watcha-ma-call-it valve". But the folks in this shop seem eager to help and don't seem to expect you to buy things first before they open up the valves of local fishing knowledge.

The word today was that I had better hit the run of the kings before they closed down the fishing on the local rivers. Seeing as I would certainly get my share of fishing for these prized fish I figured I could hold off on that and asked where I could fish for some bows or even grayling. The young lady helping me sent me off to the Kepler Bradley Recreation Area.

Turned out to be a series of roads that take you to some lakes with good access for fishing. My only two regrets are that I did not have my float tube with and I was not driving a four-wheel drive vehicle with some clearance. It seems if you want to get to the really good fishing you need both of these. All in all I caught a few fish from the two lakes I fished, nothing but small rainbows, but I enjoyed the time there. It was a great way to kill a few hours and be outdoors in the rain breathing the Alaska air.

I am not sure but maybe I should have taken the advice and headed for the bigger rivers to swing for some Kings, I guess I will never know, for my money though it was still a great day. Oh yeah, note to self....bring bug dope next time.