Holiday Steelheading Pays Off

Went steelheading one more time today. It started out with a bang ... I had 2 in the net by 8:00 a.m. Then lost a nice brown at about 10:30. I fished until 2:30 and did not have another bite. There was a lot of ice in the river today after the cold weather from yesterday. It appears long rodding is coming to an end. Here are a few pics from the week:

So long, old friends!

Laid this pair of old wading boots to rest today. So long, boys! We spent some awesome time together in the lakes and streams!

BIG FISH 365 to air on January 8th.

Big Fish 365 will air for the first time on Sunday, January 8th, at 7:30 a.m. (Central). Check out their website too at Big Fish 365. Some really cool stuff on there!

Steelies of Winter

Not quite as dramatic, but a really nice fish none the less! The video starts near the end of the fight.

Powerful Winter Steelhead

This one was a SCREAMER! Turn your volume up! I was by myself so the video quality is lacking. If only I had 3 hands. :)

Not what I wanted, but ...

After reading numerous reports about the great Brown bite going on in Milwaukee and being in need of Brown eggs ... I drove over this morning to fish a few hours. Most of the gates were locked at McKinley but I was able to sneak onto one set. Got a buck Steelie at 6:30 a.m. and then did not have another bite until about 10:30 ... when I got a twin to the first fish. And that was it. No Browns, no eggs. Hopefully that will all change next week.

You've got to love winter steelheading!

Man ... I hope it NEVER freezes over this winter!

All on eggs cured in Fire Brine:

Know it or not ... you NEED this stuff!

You can get Fire Brine at Lake Michigan Angler. They have it in the store now and it will be available online in about a week

They like Fire Brine!

Fished for about 6 hours yesterday ... went 7 for 9. It didn't matter what color of sacks I used ... they ate them! The only "unfortunate" part was ... they bit so well I just kept fishing the same run all day and didn't do any exploring. Now I'll have to do it once the ice forms.

Little fishy ... I have candy for you little fishy!!!!!!

1/32 oz rabbit fur jig with a 3" Power Bait trout worm trailer. Yum, yum!

"Cold Water Release"

Photo from December 10th outing. Taken with an iPhone4.

"Open Ice" Steelheading

Determined to find some open water I scouted around enough yesterday to find a few holes in the marina and one in the river. Went 5 for 7 in the two spots. Pretty unique fishing ... tossing floats into open holes in the ice.

These guys are having some serious fun!

Last trip with the long rods?

Fished in the rain all morning Saturday in a new spot. I had never been their before and needed to do some exploring, but it was WELL worth the time and effort. Found 3 holes and a pile of fish! Went 3 for 7 with about 15 to 18 take downs. The steelies were all chrome ... looked like they came straight from the lake that morning. They had to be hauling ... I was a long way from the lake!

Curing single eggs

Here's a great article on curing single eggs using Pautzke's new Fire Brine. Single eggs are not a bad idea on those days when the fish are extremely finicky. Here's a link: Pautzke's Fire Brine

Back to the Future

Heading back to an old stomping grounds on Saturday. Can't wait to find some fresh fish and solitude. This is a crazy time of year at work. Some peace and quiet with a fishing pole sounds really good right now.

New Bloggers Forum

My buddy Blake Hamilton has created a new bloggers forum. You can find it HERE. Nice work, Blake!

This is why I LOVE Black Friday!

To be unleashed this Friday ....

OK ... use your imagination ...

How would you use one of these? I know what I'm planning to do with them!

Update from the Weekend ...

Sorry I'm falling behind on reports. It's the busy season at work right now!

Here's a few pics from Saturday. Salmon seem to be about done. Browns and Steelies are coming in strong! Had a hard time keeping the pike off the hook as well.

HELLLLLP! I NEED VOTES! :)

My photo is up for "Photo of the Month" on this facebook page.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be sure to "like" the page as well!

One more time out in the boat ...

I'll be heading out on Saturday with Collin Venn. Rumor has it the Coho aren't quite done and the browns are coming in in numbers. Hopefully some steel shows up by then too!

Oh, boy ... this has me thinking!

This rig just won the FLW bass tourney at Guntersville, AL. It WILL be in the news. My question is ... are there trolling applications for this rig in the Great Lakes? Walleyes? Coho? Steelhead?

Great way to end "Fishing Vacation".

What a great day on the water! We caught 2 kings, 5 coho, 1 brown, and a pike. As a bonus ... a number of the fish were females. We are LOADED with eggs for now!

One more time ...

Tied over 170 spawn sacks today thanks to a very generous Coho hen I caught last week. Tomorrow we will pound the marina looking for a few Browns. If they won't eat fresh Coho sacks ... they probably won't eat anything!

This could be the greatest thing since sliced bread!

Fall Fishing Vacation - Day 2

Fished today with friends Earl and Collin. Word for the day was .... SLOOOOOOW! We worked our butts off today and ended up with two brownettes (about 8" each), a pike, and a 15" coho. Saw fish in the river and marina but the vast majority had lockjaw. We had a few hits we didn't convert on, but ...

We need this wind to blow its way out of here ASAP! Hope to get out Friday again and maybe Sunday, but things are going to have to pick up on Friday before I drive down again. We're just in this tough transition period. The salmon are upstream and dying ... the browns are starting to move in ... and the steelies are nowhere in sight.

Photo of the Week!

Made the "Photo of the Week" on the Get Reeled facebook page ... and I didn't even know they had one. :) Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/gettrout

Fall Fishing Vacation - Day 1

My fishing vacation started a little slow today ... Fished with my friend Damien, caught a couple of kings and lost a few other fish, including one brown trout. Clear, cold, and windy was not the weather condition I was hoping for, and it proved to lead to a difficult bite. Saw very few fish surfacing. It appears the king salmon run is 90% complete, and those fish that are still "catchable" are nearing the spawn and the ensuing death that is imminent.

I'll be back at it tomorrow, hoping to chase down some browns. They appear to be moving into the marinas as I saw them in numerous locations today following crank baits. A slight weather change is being predicted, including rain in the afternoon ... and rain certainly can't hurt at this point.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock ...

In 24 hours I go on vacation for a week. The forecast calls for overnight lows in the low 40's. I'm guessing my sleeping bag and a pillow are all I'll need to stay comfortable in the boat overnight.

'Record' salmon pulled | Fishhound.com - Fishing Reports

Follow this link: 'Record' salmon pulled | Fishhound.com - Fishing Reports

Tying Up Some Trout Candy!

One of the Coho’s I caught over the weekend had loose spawn. Tonight I started tying that spawn up into sacks. I tied some of it in pink mesh and some in orange. Both were then cured with the corresponding color of Borx O Fire. Normally I would not tie up pink sacs but with the Coho’s still around I’ll make sure I have some available for them.

This is a bit of a cross-over time as the fish will some be transitioning from a skein bite to a spawn bite. I’d really encourage you to be prepared and make sure you have both with.

I Got a Loose Ho!

No ... I did not get spammed! That's trib slang for a female Coho with loose eggs. A real GEM this time of year. Of course that means ... tomorrow night I'm tying up sacks! Tying sacks and watching the Brewers take a two games lead. Does it get any better than that?

Three Run Homer!

I was a steelhead away from the Great Lakes Grand Slam today. The bite was hot until about 10:00 a.m. ... when the weather got hot and the bite slowed considerably. Special thanks to Joe and Collin for letting the old guy take most of the fish today! We ended up with 6 ... 2 Kings, 3 Coho, and a Brown.

Time to Chase Some Hos!

No, not that kind! Word is that there might be a bit of a Coho bite going on. I'll be dragging the boat over tomorrow for a day of trolling, casting, and soaking. Hopefully I'll have a few pics to post tomorrow night!

Looking for Salmon or Trout Stuff You Can't find?

You need to do yourself a favor and check these guys out. Rob Wendell does a great job down there! Follow this link to get there!

Or visit them at:

Lake Michigan Angler
1038 Sheridan Rd
Winthrop Harbor, IL 60096