31 inch, 15lb Channel Cat!

On a trip to the Little Miami in early June, I was trying to catch any straggling white bass in the river. I did catch a few small ones no bigger than 8 or ten inches but it was obvious that the run was over. I did however see lots of gar surfacing. These prehistoric looking fish come to the surface for air so if you are still enough, you can see them break the surface. I can always seem to hook into them or at least get them to chase but keeping a hook set into their boney thin mouths is tough. In fact, I've only done it once. They are frustrating and a major tease.

After catching the small white bass, I walked further downstream because the water level was a little lower than it had been and it was deeper down past Bass Island. I had been trying spinners, rooster tails, and rapalas but decided in this deeper water I would try to drift a grub. I put a bright green two inch twister tail onto a eighth once jig head and started to let it drift along the bottom of a deep hole that I was standing along side. Instantly, on the second cast, I felt a huge resistance. There was no noticeable strike but instead just a large wieght on the end of my line. After a short tug, I felt massive head shakes and rolls. I got excited hoping for a big bass. I fought it in the deep for quite a while without even seeing it surface once. Finally though I saw its massive head and was instantly disappointed when I thought I saw a big carp. I wasn't that happy because carp taste like mud. It wasn't until I nearly had it netted that I saw the whiskers and its scaleless skin and realized that I had a big cat fish. Whew! Something to take home! This was the biggest fish I have ever caught and it was eadible! I was excited.

I walked back to the car after gathering my pole and net up. Everyone walking or driving past gawked at my fish and commented on not realizing the river held fish like this. I threw it in my small Igloo cooler by nearly folding it in half because I had only hoped to be bringing home white bass. I now bring what I call my ambitious cooler whenever I go (it's the biggest one I have).

When I came home, I told Sara that I had caught a small fish and brought it home. She was happy with just that much. She and the kids were amazed when I took out the 31 inch, 15lb cat fish. Sara didn't know they were even in the river. I then gutted and filleted the fish to the best of my ability (big fish are tough to fillet up I found) and we had it for dinner that night. I breaded it and pan fried all of it. It was enough to feed our family twice. Everyone loved it, even Lilly!

Little Miami in May

For years I have been wanting to hit the Little Miami in April and May for white bass but for whatever reason I haven't been able to. This year was no different. It rained a LOT. The river was near record levels consistently. I didn't get out until late May. The river was down enough at Bass Island in Newtown by then to wade to the better spots.

First thing I noticed when I got there was how many long nosed gar there were! They were everywhere and they were surfacing constantly. I was able to get them to bite and chase but setting a hook into a real narrow mouth that is boney and full of teeth is hard to do. I had one on that looked like it belonged in a tank at Bass Pro shop or Cabelas. It must have been 3.5 to 4 feet long. Like many other gar over the years, it followed the spinner and nipped at it but as soon as I though I had him, he saw my legs and bolted. This happens almost every time I go out on the Little Miami even though I am usually never targeting them. I was however targeting white bass. Using white rooster tails and silver spinners, I waould cast along the banks near the sides of currents and under trees and root systems. There seemed to be a descent number of smaller white bass in the river that I could see. I caught a couple that were just under 14 inch regulation. I also caught a few that were only about 10 inches.

I did however cast under a particular small tree right in a small back eddy that looked promising. Right when I started retrieving, I saw a flash of silver that must have been 20 inches long! He bolted out into the current and bounced on the line for a few seconds before he was gone. How disappointing. I could have cried. I decided to keep at this particular spot. I few minutes later I hooked another one that wasn't quite as big as the first. He too though was off almost as fast as he was on. I was very disappointed because not only did I miss two great fish but the spring run was virtually over and I was realizing what I had missed this year. I can't wait to try white bass again next year, in fact I think I'll try it on a fly next year.

Maumee River Walleye Run

This past weekend Leah's boysfriend John had me up to his place to take advantage of a somewhat local event........the Maumee River Walleye Run. This river is in the Toledo Area and really is only a fishable river in the spring and summer. The water level drops and the river turns into a trickling creek in the fall. This time of year though the river is high an d full of spawning walleye. I spent friday, Saturday, and Sunday up with him while he showed me the ropes with catching these big guys. I have only caught 1 walleye before this and it was by accident and not very big.

Friday John snagged a desent fish but had to release it because the hook was caught on its neck. This river is patrolled heavily by park rangers and others handing out fines to those who kept snagged walleye. This was a new topic for me, snagging fish. Very rarely have I ever snagged or "foul-hooked" a fish and never have I had to be told about it happening a lot. The fact is that this is a spawning place for so many fish that they try very hard to protect them. The daily bag limit is only 4 where as typically it is 6 in the summer.

We were using simple grubs on a floating jig head held down by a .5 oz weight. This carolina rig was needed to get down to the bottom where the fish were. The water was really murky and dirty so we used bright colors like pink, orange, bright yellows, and white. I found that the yellow grub on a orange and pink jig head was the ticket.

I caught a real nice 22 incher on Saturday that I ended up bringing home. This was my first REAL walleye. I found that even though these are BIG fish, they are tired out by the time they reach the spawning grounds so much that they don't fight much. In fact, they feel like drift wood. People were also catching sucker fish and carp. I saw one person take a BIG carp home. This is wierd to me because I heard that they taste like mud. They are fun to land though just because they are huge.

Sunday morning I had the rush and diappointment of a lifetime all at once. I pulled in a HUGE walleye. I couldn't even hold it properly because how long and fat it was. People all around were ooing and ahhing over it. The catch.........the hook was actually 2 inches outside his mouth, a clear violation and you could be fined for keeping them out of the water too long. People couldn't beleive it when I held this thing up just to let it slide away. At least I have John to vouch for me. This thing was FAT and long! A real shame, fun never the less. I caught other small one that didn't meet the 15inch minimum.

A small note, I saved John's life. He slipped in the river and went down face first. He laid there unable to get up until I pulled him up. He told me he was in shock from the cold and the waders were filled up instantly with water. Scary! The water was only 45 degrees. He had a crowd too. The banks were packed with fisherman all 5 ft apart for miles. It's amazing any fish make it through.

Smokey Mountain Getaway. . . . Day 2

Day 2 breakfast was another hot bowl of oat meat and a hot cup of tea. I decided to break camp that morning so I wouldn't have to come back later. I decided to hit a river that ran along the main road through the park. One in particular runs off the main road and toward a small university building. I decided to drive along this road and fish the pull outs. I didn't even have to dawn waders. I didn't find much action to speak of in most places. I did however have one spot in particular where the water ran between two large boulders and into a large pool. There was even a tree growing along the bank that had a root system that opened into the river. I tied on the same pheasant tail and a hairs ear that worked the day before. The first drift through yielded a strike but the rainbow got off shortly after. I drifted a few more through and didn't have any more strikes. I thought maybe that first strike scared off the rest. I decided to try a streamer. I tied on a yellow and brown clauser minnow. I threw it in right under the over hanging roots. I stripped it in slowly and a large brown trout zipped out and grabbed it. I couldn't believe this thing was under there! It was tearing through the pool desperately trying to free itself. I had him on for about a minute before it just threw the hook. I was very very bummed. I would bet that it was 18 inches at least. . . . a monster for the area. I decided to try another spot and come back for this one a little later. I tried a few spots with no luck. I came back two hours later to try my luck at this brown again. I threw everything in my fly box at him but couldn't get him to come out again. Oh well, I half expected this. These wild fish haven't survived in these small rivers by making mistakes twice.

I drove out of the park and stopped at Little Pigeon River Fly Shop to ask some questions. They thought my fishing experience was a great one, especially since I saw one of the few large browns in the park. This made my happy. The owner told me about a few places outside the park that I could try. I bought a green weenie and some other local flies to try. I had no luck but enjoyed every minute of it. I decided to leave so I could get home at a decent hour. I stopped by bass pro shop to look around. I talked to the guy in the fly shop and he said all the action in Tennessee was on the Holston River right below the dam. I have heard this more than once. I definitely need to look into this place in the future. I got home around 10:30 in time to visit with my wife before bed.

Smokey Mountain getaway........Day 1

Earlier in November, I got a little restless and my wonderful wife allowed me to get away for a couple days to do some fishing. I have heard of some really nice places to catch big fish including Lake Erie Stealhead or big rainbows and browns on the Holston River in Eastern Tennessee. I only had two days off so I chose a place that I know really well and have always wanted to try fishing. . . . . . the Great Smokey Mountains. I read that the best place to catch bigger rainbows and browns in the park is Abrams Creek in the Cade's Cove, one of my favorite places on Earth. This seemed to be the perfect place to go for my retreat.

I left work early on Tuesday so I could get a jump on the trip. I was packed and on the road by two in the afternoon. I arrived in Cade's Cove, by a new route by the way, and had a campsite chosen by 7. My biggest trouble was erecting my new tent that I received for my birthday. It took an hour but I got it up all by myself in the dark. It was chilly at night (35 degrees) so I stayed in my tent to rig up my fly rod for the next morning. I put on a bead head phesant tail nymph and a bead head hair's ear nymph. I was in my mummy bag on my cot by 11:30 knowing I wanted to get up early the next day.

After oatmeal and toasted pop tarts on the coleman stove with a cup of hot tea, I headed out. Abrams Creek is half way through the Cade's Cove loop. I must have seen a dozen BIG bucks strutting around on my way. It was their rutting season. They are majeestic creatures. I was the first car in the pullout at 7:30. This is important because these trout are wild and skiddish so being the first fisherman to try them is important. The hike to Abram's Falls is 2.5 miles along Abram's Creek. There are a few times the rive strays away from the trail but being by myself I decided to stay near the trail.

Right away I was fishing amongst wild turkey and bucks. I caught a few 4 to 5 inch bows and was encouraged when I landed a 8 inch rainbow. I did find that the fishing was very different from the western style fly fishing I was used to. Instead of long casts and backcasts, there was a lot of roll casts and dipping . The river ran down a mountain and because of hot springs the ph level was very high in the river so it was super slippery. I fell often. The temp did reach 76 that day so no harm done there. It was a struggle to say the least to fish this creek though. It was shallow and full of obsticles. I caught a few fish in this size range that day and after a luch of beef stew on my sterno stove I carried in my pack, I wanted to try a spot that I hooked a bigger one but lost. After a few drifts further out in the stream, I tried one closer to me and took a nice rainbow, 10 inches. It wasn't the one I was after but exciting none-the-less. At this point in the day there was a lot of trail traffic that made me want to leave. I hiked back to the car, a good two miles. It is a gorgeous hike but I recommend doing it without neoprene waders.

I finished the scenic loop road and arrived back at camp for dinner. I had clam chowder followed by canned pears. Sara even made some homemade candy bars for my desert. I made some hot chocolate and watched the sun set on Cades Cove. I really enjoy watching sunsets in foriegn places. I stayed up for another cup of hot cocoa and sat in my camping chair with a down blanket to look at the stars. Other than the hundreds of squirrels in the campground I was nearly alone and loved every minute of it.

The Green River introduction

Howard has been to the Green River Flaming Gorge area many times, with all his kids in fact. He added another trip with me this year. We drove out on a Monday and arrived in time to view the area and see the cabin. The cabin had two bedrooms with two bunk beds in each room and a futon in the living room. It was very nice. He purchased a deal that included a guided tour, a night in the cabin, and three meals. In comparison to the guided trip in Wyoming, this was a bargain. That first night was absolutely beautiful. There was a full moon and all the stars in the sky were visible.

The next day we ate our breakfast and headed down to the river to scope it out. Our guided trip didn't start til noon. After a nice lunch of fried steak, we met Roger Trout in the parking lot. That's right. Our guide's name was Roger Trout. Anyway, our trip started out slowly. It took Roger quite a long time to set us up with nymphing rigs. This is where Howard first started using the system that he prefers to use. the weight is on the bottom with two separate lines above with the nymphs. We had wd40's and zebra midges on. We saw tons of fish, just none on our lines. Eventually Howard and I turned to dry flies. After awhile I had some luck.

Now it was VERY windy that day. We struggled to keep our lines from tangling and to get a drag-free drift. I first put on a fly Roger had never used before. It was a regular house fly. I was a little skeptical. We were casting to the shores where we saw the fish. This was exciting and the first time I dry fly fished. After a while I cast right to one and he took it. It fought differently than a rainbow. It just plain started to dog down deep and not come up. Eventually it did though and I had myself a nice brownie.

A few minutes later I threw a perfect cast right into some rocks and the trout rose beautifully. I set the hook timely and fought this guy in. He was another fine brown trout. I was thrilled because I haven't caught many of these yet. They sure are pretty.

We had a hot meal for dinner and while Roger cooked our Philly steaks I wondered away to find some good photos. It's not hard to do there. The sheer cliffs on both sides of the canyon are all red rock and full of characteristics. The river is clear and green and the flora is beautiful amongst the red rock. After the great dinner, the wind picked up even more.

Howard caught a couple after dinner, all brownies. Roger had us fishing the banks only. Howard and I both saw some opportunistic areas that we missed because we focused on the banks only. We tried steamers on the last stretch but without any luck. Overall we caught only a few fish the whole day. At least we weren't skunked.

We ended up camping out that night. It got a little chilly but was really a perfect night. It didn't even dew overnight. It is a beautiful area to not only fish but to visit and experience.

The next morning we fished the area where we took out the day before. We had little luck. Howard had some takes but none landed. I caught 12 fish but they were all small. I did actually catch two fish on the same line. That was a first. I did hook into some larger ones but they got away. I think a fought them too hard.

We tried down near the launch one time before leaving. This was a bad idea as the strong wind slammed the back door shut on Howard's pole. It was a devastating blow that snapped the rod. He decided he wanted to use his spinner rod anyway. I again got into two fish, both were rainbows but I lost them both. I was quite frustrated with all the lost fish. I decided I didn't let them run enough and give them enough respect. We left for home after that small hike back up to the car. We took some snap shots though on the way out. I later learned that there are many dinosaur fossils found in the are and the reservoir above the river held world record class lake trout and brown trout. It gets really deep. I really enjoyed the entire area. It was a lot more than what I expected.

Sooooo close.

The day after our float I suggested that we start our day early at Lusby where we had such good luck the day before. We had the same set up as the day before, red midge, red san juan, and a brown leach. Right away we were into fish. We caught about 20 fish between the two of us. Both of us caught some near 20 inchers.

Eventually I did land one. He was 21 and a half inches long. He took me down stream a bit too, all the way down to the end of the hole and beyond as a matter of fact. It's amazing how you can feel the size of the fish once it starts to fight. They fight in such an intelligent manner. They know to take out as much line as possible and to jump often. He did too. this one was the biggest fish I've caught. He didn't even fit into my net. I thought I would lose him trying to net him. Unfortunately my camera water on the lens and all my pictures have water spots. I've got great memories though.

Right after I caught this guy I was fishing the bottom of the hole again. Right away I got another hit. This one paused for a time and took off as fast as I've seen a fish move. I was on the end of a long drift when he struck so a lot of line was out in front of me and at my legs. Before I could realize this, he was pulling away at it so quickly that it wrapped around my real. I managed to get it unhooked but before I could I saw this Goliath jump out of the water down river. It was a huge brown! I bet it measured in the upper 20's. I was shocked but couldn't stand still long because it was off down river again. By the time it slowed down I was into my backing! I've never had this happen before, not even with the 21.5 incher moments before. Then, without warning, it leaped into the air, cleared the water, and was lost. There was so much line out that I'm sure it landed on the line that was still taught in the water and broke it off. I lost my whole rig, all three flies and sinkers. I slapped the water with my rod and couldn't believe it. It all happened so quickly and it all seemed completely out of my control, like I was at the fish's mercy. I guess I was. I know this could have been the trout of my life and it felt like I had no control. I remember feeling like I wasn't prepared to fight like that. I realize now that you always have to be ready for the one because there isn't any time to think and there is no room for error.

Well anyway, I caught about a half dozen more good ones by the end of the morning and enjoyed every minute of it. Howard caught a few more too and at the top of the hole he hooked into one that started acting like a big one. He fought all the way down the stretch too and he was able to land his. With this fish he jumped out ahead of my 21 and a half inch fish with this 23 inch fatty. It was the biggest trout of his life. I'm glad he was able to pull it off. We both managed this goal of catching the biggest fish of our lives on this trip. What more can you ask for.