Sunday and Monday Report

Sunday and Monday I fished a group trip with Jamie. I guided Frank and Tom and Jamie had Herman and Steve. The bite was great. We found the lowest falling water window on the river and got into loads of fish. The river was a zoo all weekend! Yahoo's everywhere, so it was nice to ease up into the lower water and get away from everyone. The bite was HOT! mostly fishing classic nymph rigs.. two flies and a split shot. An attractor with a soft hackle below it has been killer. As the afternoon went on, we had to chase our water window down river. The key is to stay in front of it. If you let the new water hit you, its hard to ever get back in front of it. Remember if you are not getting down you are not going to catch fish!

McWilliams

Friday and Saturday I had the pleasure of guiding a good client of mine and his family, The McWilliams. Friday morning I fished with Mason and his wife, Lena. They did great. We got to fish a stretch of water that I haven't been able to fish much lately and they hammered them! Lena caught her first Brown Trout which was exciting,as well as a couple of nice chunky rainbows! Saturday morning I fished Mason's parents. It was their first time to fly fish and it was pure magic. I bet we had caught 55 fish by noon. They landed 3 nice browns and had doubles on 8 times! It was just crazy good fun!

Mae Catches a Big Catfish

Mae and Noah get pretty excited about catching this fish! Mae caught the fish all by herself, even casted the pole. By the time I got there with my phone video she had it almost landed!



My kids obviously fish alot, and are learning everything about fish and fishing at a rapid and heart warming pace. But even so I still only take them out fishing for about 10-15 minutes max.

That is the biggest mistake people make when trying to teach their kids to fish or hunt. They take them out for 3-4 hrs or more and expect them to stay entertained. It just doesnt work that way and kids just lose interest.

I take my kids for 10-15 minutes fishing, we catch a couple fish and then we go throw rocks, catch frogs, and swim. Same with hunting, already I take them for very short 'deer' hunting trips through the woods or in the living room. They love it and are counting down the years already to be able to go real hunting with Dad!

They live and breath this stuff and I am doing the best I can to keep them always wanting to catch some fish and get outside! Keep them looking forward to the next trip before the last trip is even over!!

Get 'Em Ready

HOPPERS ENTER FINAL MOLT

Wings Just Around The Corner

invent a double dropper

FISH HERE FOR BIG RAINBOWS

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.. We saw one hopper with wings over the weekend. It was at the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park. We saw quite a few with stubs of developing wings. We saw very many hoppers without wings.

No Wings

.. We saw two kinds of hoppers: gray with dark gray speckled spots about 1/4" long, AND brown with yellow about 3/8" long. Neither sort had fully developed wings. The one with wings was too fast to get a picture of - unless we decided to abandon the rod for the camera.
.. Terrestrial bugs are prolific on the Gallatin River right now. Soon it will be impossible to walk without killing some trout food.

Wings Just Starting

.. The inventive minds in the neighborhood have already prepared an arsenal of double fly rigs for the upcoming shenanigans.
.. The traditional favorite is the widely used "Hopper-Dropper" combination. A big hopper up top with a nymph or emerger of some sort on the point.
.. Coming on strong over the last two years has been the "Hopper-Hopper" rig. Big hopper on top and little hopper on the point. Also being used with some regularity is the "Dropper-Hopper" combination with a small nymph on a short tag, (2") about 14" above the hopper on point.

Armed And Ready

.. The "Bobber-Hopper," "Hopper-Bobber," & "Hopper-Bobber-Dropper" variants have their adherants as well. One thing for sure - it's easy to see the bobber rigs.
.. The trout of the Gallatin River are about to be inundated with food. The PMD's are still working late on cloudy afternoons.
.. Caddis are starting about 1:40 PM. Ants, beetles, spruce moths, hoppers, butterflies, segmented annelids, and neotenous forms of stoneflies are all on the plate.
.. The neighbors are already on the river. The visitors are too. The thistles have grown spines, and are beginning to bloom, (hopper food,) and will soon be a hazard to your waders.
.. If you plan to fish the Gallatin River please carry your bear spray. The lush valley is full of bears. The bear scat is on the trails and in the weeds. Fish with a friend and make some noise as you stroll from giant fish to giant fish.

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THE GATEWAY

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Daiwa...

We have just got in the much awaited shore line shines series these lures have been working very well on the bass. Daiwas sliding Long Cast System provide both casting and optimum lure action even in choppy conditions. The Shoreline Shiner series is the ideal choice for anglers seeking an ultra long distance casting minnow.

SL 17 Laser Spot Sardine. (170mm, 28g, Floating)

R50+ F-G Laser Spot Sardine (120mm, 15.5g, Floating, ultra shallow)

R50 LD F-G Burning Sardine (120mm, 15.5g, slow floating)

SL 12 F-G Laser chart Rainbow. (125mm, 12.8g, Floating)

SL 14 F-G Anchovey Z (140mm, 19.5g, floating)

We have all these lures available in the different colours seen above.

We have also got in some of the very impressive Daiwa Luvias 3000 reels, I know Henry uses one of these reels and likes it a lot the few times I have fished with this reel I have also been very impressed. Check out Henrys write up on the reel below here.

We also have limited stocks of the very popular Daiwa Branzino 80ml and the Daiwa Ardito 7ft and 8ft. Call the shop if your interested for more info.

Tight lines,

James.

independence grove summer bass

a decent independence grove bass

The recent rain over the past week has completely wreaked havoc on the local river systems in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. The weather has stabilized and is now back to its normal hot and muggy mid summer pattern, but it has left behind overflowing banks on most if not all of our local rivers. I have to admit, this last year I have really become quite the river snob. There is something magical about fishing the flows and river fishing has captured my interest in a big way. Locating fish on a body of water that spans thirty miles isn’t the easiest thing to jump into but once you start to pattern the fish, it’s a super rewarding feeling. Even though I have a new found romance with the local rivers, I’m no glutton for punishment. I know when to fold a loosing hand and given the adverse conditions in the rivers, there was only one thing left to do… fish a lake!

neal with a decent independence grove bass

I have hardly paid Independence Grove enough attention for the last couple years. It wasn’t long ago that this was my go to spot when I wanted to catch a lot of bass in a short period of time. This was the type of place I would go when I needed a confidence booster during the hot dog days of summer. Time to rekindle that old flame. Neal and I geared up with drop shot rigs and an assortment of finesse plastics, my preferred method for fishing the steep drop offs found in these quarry lakes. We got an early start to the day and really pounded the deep water structure found throughout this entire body of water. Deep timber, weedline drop offs, and sunken humps were all winning tickets that produced us some fish. We fished hard all morning and it wasn’t till just around lunch that we were chased off the water by the overbearing sun. We fished for less than four hours but landed right around twenty fish, all largemouths and just one rouge walleye. I've lost a few fish over the years there that clearly would have been my biggest bass ever and I’m always looking for that next big bite opportunity while fishing there. No donkeys today, but we did catch a few respectable northern Illinois largemouth bass. Thought I would share some of our morning drop shot shenanigans with you all. Tight lines and stay cool.

independence grove walleye

my best independence grove bass today

Youth International 2011, Lake of Menteith

I would never have dreamed that one day I would be representing my country at fishing, but last year I managed to qualify for the England Youth Team. One year on, and I have just returned from the Lake of Menteith in Scotland representing England in the Youth International.

After a nine hour car journey, we arrived at Menteith, a very picturesque venue in the Trossachs, and met up with the rest of the team, Carl, our coach and Phil, the manager. Some of our lads had fished the day before and despite the bright, hot conditions (hardly what we were expecting in Scotland), they'd caught quite a few. After a team talk and discussion of tactics to fish the following day, we and the other nations were welcomed by the Scottish Youth Team President and the Mayor of Stirling at dinner in our hotel, The Rob Roy. Then it was off to the pool table for countless games of Killer!

The next morning we were up bright and early for my first practice session. I was partnered with Ryan Worker, our team's captain, who had fished the day before too. I fished a slow glass line and he used a midge tip, both trying various different flies trying to work out what the fish wanted. Covering different areas across the lake, by the end of the day we'd boated 11 fish on booby variants, buzzers and diawl bachs. But most of my fish were caught on a fly my Dad ties, which works well for me on other venues - the team nicknamed it 'The Thing'! Ryan also had a Pike about 3lb and a double hookup of small Perch! We had a great day out with plenty of action - cheers Ryan! The important thing was that the team had a rough idea where the fish were located, how deep they were and what flies they were taking. We packed up about 5pm and after another team discussion and dinner, it was time for more Killer!

For the second practice session I was partnered with Oliver Avis and Phil Longstaff (the team manager), who was our boatman. Today would be about fine-tuning methods and catching a few fish to boost the team's confidence even more. We caught 9 between us in a 4 hour morning session, on similar tactics to what we'd used on the previous day. We had a really nice fish each, which Phil reckons were both getting on for 5lbs. My fish had actually ended up taking the top dropper whilst my point fly was hooked in a reed! We packed up early to give ourselves time to tie leaders and flies, get tackle ready and chill out before the match the following day.

That evening we were presented with our England Caps, roses, badges and ties by Phil and the committee - a really proud moment! The boat draw also took place and I had been picked to fish with Patrick McKenna of Ireland. After one quick game of Killer it was off to bed for some rest.

Match day arrived. All kitted up and raring to go, we got on the team minibus straight after breakfast and headed for the Port of Menteith. After setting up our tackle in the boats, we lined up alphabetically in our squads and paraded behind a bagpiper which led the teams down to the shore of the lake. We were surrounded by hundreds of people cheering their countries on, clapping and flying flags from all the nations - an experience I will never forget!



Team photographs were taken and then everybody boarded their boats ready for the starting whistle. Once Patrick and my boatman were aboard we pushed off. Soon the sound of 32 outboard engines roared as the starting whistle blew - the match was on!


Along with Ryan Worker aboard another boat, I'd been asked to try the Malling Shore first before heading off elsewhere - an area where I'd caught from the day before. I'd set up with a midge tip and had a pull on my first cast on the hang, but after nearly an hour we both decided to zoom off to Gateside and the Cages where most of the activity was taking place. At 11.30, I got my first trout in the boat on a sparse blob fished on the hang.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky and temperatures were pushing 30°C, with NO wind - the lake was like a giant mirror. My impression was that the fish would go deeper. The sport began to dry up for the fleet, but I found that fishing a buzzer on the midge helped me catch. With no wind, it allowed me to hang my team of flies vertically below the boat after each cast for as long as 2 or 3 minutes, without getting slack line - I think I was probably hanging them in about 25ft of water. The bites were awesome - the rod just bent over and locked up!

The match finished at 5pm and I'd had 6 fish and lost one. They were all caught on buzzers apart from one which I caught on 'The Thing', from the Rookery, Gateside and the Cages. After a long, tense weigh in we heard the disappointing news that we'd only come 3rd with 41 fish, but well done to Scotland for hosting the event and getting their tactics spot on, winning with 68. Wales were 2nd with a great performance catching 48 and Ireland came 4th with 29. It was great meeting the other teams. Well done to Oliver Avis from our team for getting top rod with 8 fish and to Fen for catching the biggest fish! We all fished our hearts out and I'm proud to be in a team with such a great bunch of lads. Thanks very much to Phil and Carl for all the hard work they put in. Also, a big thank you to Bobbie and everybody on the Committee. Well done to Ryan too, who had his last year in the team, and who we all thought was an excellent captain.

After the match we were all presented with our medals and others with their trophies. After a big meal the banter went on well in to the night and we had a great laugh with the other teams.

The next day, after saying goodbye to everyone, my Dad and I fished an afternoon for Pike on the fly. We'd heard of so many being caught accidentally during practice, it had whet our appetite too much. The weather completely contrasted the day before, with rain and cloud. Covering many different spots we caught 41 Pike and 2 Perch between us. It was great watching the Pike fly out from the reeds and whack our flies! I've never caught so many in an afternoon!

Well, although it wasn't the result our squad had hoped for, it was an awesome experience I'll never forget. Now I can't wait for Ireland next year!

See more photographs on my flickr album by clicking here: More photos from the Youth International