Back To Being A Metalhead

As I sit here and stare at this computer, I wonder what my week holds. Will it be less stressful than the previous one? Will I get outdoors? Will I even be alive? Who knows. I don't, but I can tell you that I am going back to being a metalhead! That's right boys and girls a metalhead and I'm not talking about music either.

I have been sitting and listening to people talk about turkey hunting. Right now I can only dream of doing that because my tag isn't good til May. Coyote season is quickly drawing to a close. So I sat and wondered what I was gonna be able to do. Uh yeah hello, go and chase the silver torpedo's, chromers, go steelhead fishing!

I love to be in the stream and hook into these fish. There is something about the way these fish fight with such aggression, that makes me get amped up. It is really hard to explain to someone that has never fished for or caught this species how much fun they are. You are really lucky if you can land over 20%. They will break you mentally. They make you fish in conditions that most sane people would be at home. Then when you finally land that steely, you remember why you fish for these gorgeous fish.

Steelhead are a lake run rainbow trout. They get big and enter the river system in the fall behind the salmon. They stay in the river throughout the winter and spawn in the spring. The longer they are in the system the darker they become. Going from silver to a grey color.

So this week I will make the trek to my favorite river that holds these fish. Taking my metalhead friend Art with me. I will fish all day and most of the night. I will sleep in the truck when we get tired and get back to it when we wake. I will be a bum, a metalhead and enjoy every minute of it. If you have a chance to ever chase these fish do so. If you are fortunate enough to have fished for them, then go get after them again and take someone with you.

So until my next blog, be safe, appreciate what you have and get into the great outdoors.

Spring Fever. Perch Fishing With Drake

Well the weather had gotten up into the upper 60's and brought with it my urge to go perch fishing in the small cuts coming off the big water. I ususally only fish for perch at this time of the year because it is the best time to get them for me. Year after year UNJ staff member Art Lopez and I hit it after ice goes out. This year would be different though. The first trip would be with my son Drake.

I only get my little man every other weekend and two days during each week now. So I have to make the most of each opportunity. He is two and a half so I figured since he went on his first deer hunt this past season he is more than ready to fish for perch.

Off we went Wednesday morning after he came over. The place we fish is roughly an hour from my house so we started on our way. We make the stop at the bait store and man did he love getting the minnows. Then he says "Daddy I have to show you sumpin" thats code for I want something. Then he shows me his bag of Cheeto's and to the register we go. After he said goodbye to the employees we were on our way to the fishing destination.

We arrive and pick out our spot we get rigged up to fish. He grabs the rod and starts reeling it in after I set it up. "Daddy theres no fish." I explain how we have to wait til the big fish bite the hook. Now he is ready. Fish on! He reels in his first ever perch. He was excited and I was proud. He fished for a while threw rocks in the water for a while and just really had a good time. Then I noticed a perch flying by my head. I looked and he says "Daddy have to throw them back. It's fun." Well there went dinner. It didn't matter though as we were having fun enjoying the day together.

It was time to go and he didn't wanna leave. "Daddy let's go to another spot." Man was I excited. We went to another spot and nothing was happening so we went home. He made sure though that we would go out the following day. "I wanna go fishing tomorrow." Thats all I needed to here We went and caught our fish and had a blast.

I ended up going with Art Friday and Mike, Mikey, and Kevin joined us Saturday. What a great week and fun times but none as fun or special as the two days Drake and I spent fishing.

So until next time be safe, appreciate what you have and get out into the great outdoors.

Walleye on Soft Water

It is getting close to spring. With it comes the loosening grip of 'ol man winter. No more ice covered rivers. No more snow storms. (I hope) Just the remaing week and a half before the walleye season shuts down.

I had the opportunity to go out this past Sunday with Dave Hagan another Up North Journal staff member. We decided when I got back from my coyote
trip we would go get us some "Marble Eyes." Well I got back home late Saturday and got a good night sleep and was determined to be ready for the following day.

Sunday came and with it brought a beautiful sunny day and balmy upper 40 temps. We made it out on the water around 2:30. In the river we went with our favorite walleye rods and armed with an arsenal of different color jig heads in different weights. We were going to be drifting while vertical jigging. We would be using shiners on this trip.

It wasn't 5 minutes and I had the first one on. After 20 minutes I had hooked 3 and got one to the boat. The walley were starting the migration up stream to get to the spawing areas and I was glad to be there to greet some of them and invite them over for dinner. Our buddy Chad showed up and we went to shore to pick him up much to our displeasure because as soon as we left the run we were fishing a dozen boats moved in. Grrr.

After picking him up we jumped into the fray and started consistently catching fish, and a lot of them. We caught a bunch of walleye and Chad and I even caught a couple nice catfish. Chad even caught a sucker and a smallmouth bass. It was a great day and we had a great time.

A side note never let someone tell you that the trolling motor is good to go. If you do this make sure you have 2 paddles and not just 1. Make sure the paddles you have arent cracked either! Dave's motor died just as we were heading back and Chad ended up having to row with one oar back to shore. Another adventure was had that we all enjoyed.

So until next time, be safe, appreciate what you have and get into the great outdoors.

Getting Started Choosing Your Fly Rod

Getting started I will let you know that this will be for people who are thinking about or just getting started fly fishing. This will be a series that I will do that will cover getting started in the sport. I will try to get you geared up and give you the foundation so that you will feel a little bit more comfortable. Hopefully this will help get you out on the water and enjoy what may be a new way to catch fish. I want to stress I am not implying I am an expert and a no it all but can get you started in a sport I enjoy. So with that being said let's get to it.

Getyting started in fly fishing you will need the basics. Fly rod, backing, leaders, tippet, fly line and flies. Depending on what type of species you are gonna chase, you may want to add some extra gear such as waders, boots, jacket, hemostats, thermometer, vest, net and floatant. There are many gadgets that you can buy but these are the basics.

First things first, let's get started with a rod. The main thing when looking at a rod you will notice that it has a line weight. This means that you will match that rod up with the same weight fly line. They come in different lengths and come usually in two sections or four sections. In spinning rods we associate the rod with Ultra Light through Heavy action. With a fly rod it is 0 thru fifteen. Zero being the Ultra Light and fifteen being the saltwater species rod. So for panfish you would use say a 0-4 for trout 4-6 etc.

Depending on where you will be fishing you will want to consider whether you want a two piece or a four piece rod. With the way rods are made now, I pesonally feel you do not loose sensitivity in a four piece versus a two piece. So look at it as a convenience or transportation factor. Your four piece will obviously break down smaller than a two piece and thus make it a little easier to pack and take with you on your fishing trips. It also makes it easier if you have to hike to where you are gonna be fishing. The two piece usually cost a few dollars more but are worth it in my opinion.

Generally speaking rods are anywhere from seven to ten feet long. There are also rods called spey rods that are longer but since this is for the beginner crowd we will save that for another day. The longer the rod is the better control you have of your line generally speaking. It makes what is called loading a bit easier. That is when you swing your line behind you and your rod bends backward before bringing it forward. Think about where you will be using this rod at. I fish in some pretty heavy cover and when on these streams I use a shorter rod. You may also have to cast differently than if you are in a wide open area. A roll cast works well in this situation.

Remember starting out you do not have to spend a fortune. There are many good beginner setups out there and available. Some come in species specific packages with everything you need to get started. Some even have flies. The better you get and the more you like it then you can start mortgaging the house! The reality is that some gear is very expensive. I have always told people that the fish don't know whether the rod is a Sage rod or a combo package rod. If the fly is presented to them right they will take it. Use your local fly shop to get all your questions answered. You will find that they are usually very eager to help and talk about the sport they love.

I will be going over fly line in the next part of this series. After that I will go over the knots and how to set up your fly rod to get it ready to fish. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email me.

So until next time, be safe, appreciate what you have and get into the great outdoors.

Good Friends Good Times Few Fish

Well here I am sitting at the keyboard again. I figured that I haven't wrote much about my outdoor experiences lately, with all that's going on in my life. So here I go.

I had the pleasure of being part of the "IceOut 2010" this past weekend. We were headed up to Houghton Lake in the northern Michigan. Joining us would be quite a few members from the UNJ team as well as some great friends from down south. Not southern Michigan but Alabama, Kentucky and Indiana. Boy were they in for a treat.

We arrived at our destination and unloaded our gear onto a trailer. It was going to be towed out to our home for the weekend. Yeah buddy we were sleeping out on the ice in a sleeper shanty. Once we got to our "home", I walked in and realized that my bed didn't have any cushion other than the extremely soft particle board! Yeah brother Mike forgot to tell me about that one. So I throw my sleeping bag on the top bunk and stake claim quickly. Heat rises you know and since it was going to drop down to 15 degrees I needed all the heat I could get. We had a propane heater but lets just say that there was a few drafts.

Once settled, on went the stove and the chili was on. Man were we hungry. It didn't take long before it was ready. Then there was a knock on the door. None other than Hunt Master himself. For those reading this that don't know his real name is Robert Householder and is the founder of the great forum Talk Hunting. We exchanged stories about his trip up and threw down on some of the venison chili. When we were done we had a few more visitors. Mike from Indiana, Jody and Ron from Kentucky. We all sat around told stories and laughed for hours. Man did I need that.

Time for bed. Well kinda. I fell out at about 12:30 but back up at 3:00 to use the facilities. Man it was all of 15 degrees out! For some reason the shanty doesn't feel so warm anymore. Well thank God heat rises.

Morning comes and so does the realization that the heater was accidently turned on low when everyone was over for a visit. Thanks Jody! I think he was playing a joke to see if we could take it. Out came the stove and I got to cooking some breakfast burritos for the crew. After breakfast we all set out to get us some fish.

With about 20 plus people now here we split up and go separate ways to find fish. It didn't take long to realize we were in for some tough fishing. The crew I was with did manage to catch 3 pike and a perch. The others caught a rock bass and some other pan fish. Not much to show for our effort.

Evening came and with it came the get together at the southern boys cabin. We had more jokes and laughs and a couple younger members got some new mustaches (Sharpies do wonders). Not to mention some great venison stew and some wild hog BBQ. Man was that food great. I was glad to be the official taste tester. Then it was off to bed to get a good nights sleep. With the heater on high I was actually able to sleep with my sleeping bag open.

Morning came and we packed up to head for breakfast with he crew. Once again we had a great time and enjoyed each others company. Unfortunately we all had to head back home and get back to reality. We said our goodbyes and off we went.

Looking back on the trip, it was said that it was "the best time fishing without catching a lot of fish." The reality is we had all met on the Talk Hunting website and had we not met there we would have not shared each others company at the "IceOut 2010." I feel fortunate to have met these people and was able to share the ice fishing experience with them. I look forward to to our next outdoor adventure together and hope it happens sooner rather than later. It just goes to show that you don't always have to catch a limit to have a good time.

Sorry for not having pictures. I was just lazy and enjoying not having to worry about it.

So until next time, be safe, appreciate what you have and get into the great outdoors.

My How Time Flies

Well I really don't know what else to say. The last month has been a whirl wind. At times I felt like a dog chasing it's own tail. First off to Columbus to check out the ATA show. Then to the Benefit 4 Kids banquet. Throw in the filming and editing of the latest Beyond the Wild episode. As well as finally getting out on the hard water for some walleye fishing. Oh yeah all while having a phone stuck to my ear.



Well let's start with the ATA show. Man all I can say is that I have never seen so many great products as well as meeting some great people. The UNJ crew spent all three days checking out the latest and greatest that manufacturer's had to offer. There was some pretty cool things to see. One of the coolest things that I saw for archery was the DragonFire Thermo Grip. For you archers that hunt when it's cold, you definitely need to check it out. Definitely something you want to seriously consider. Then there was finally the unveiling of the Mossy Oak Break Up Infinity pattern. I had been able to see this a while before the show and couldn't wait to see it on fabric. It was just as great as I expected it to be. (OK maybe a little biased but I'm being very honest here) America's Best Bowstrings definitely showed that you can still get some pride and high quality in bowstrings today. The G5 booth was one I wanted to check out for sure. I used the Tekan broadheads this year with great results and wanted to see the new T3. Very nice. Dead Down Wind came out with some great products this year. A Waterless Hand Sanitizer that's totally odorless in seconds. Which is great hunting as well as fishing. Totally Odorless Hand & Body Lotion which took them 2 years in formulation and testing to get it to market. A Camo Color Wheel with the only colorants that meet both FDA and EU requirements. Another cool product came out of the Quaker Boy booth. It is one of the most functional turkey vests I have ever seen with a built in guille system.



Now for the Benefit 4 Kids dinner and auction. Let me start by saying that the people involved with this orginization are top notch caring people. They deserve so much credit for all the good they do. My hat goes off to them. They put their heart and soul into this event and it showed. The stories that were told of some of the children they have helped, made you realize just how fortunate you are. When the stories were being shared there wasn't a dry eye in the place. This is definitely a benefit that I will have penciled in my planner for as long as they have it.



On to the latest episode of Beyond the Wild. It started as a crazy idea of mine to do something we haven't done in any of our previous episodes. After bribing Mike to let me put my neck on the line and try it, the plan was put in motion. After talking and bouncing ideas of each other we set the date to shoot the footage. Well I didn't pick the warmest day for sure. We woke up to it being a balmy 9 degrees out! We started filming at about seven in the morning and didn't wrap up filming until 10:48 that evening. We had a blast like always with everyone being a comedian throughout the day. It wasn't until we were at the house and started filming the cooking segment that I really felt the pressure. I came to the realization that I hope they like what I was cooking or we could be in trouble. Thankfully it went over well since there wasn't any left. Whew!



I then got to try my hand in the editing arena. Grrrr! It was a Saturday and we were supposed to go hunt some devil dogs. Unfortunately I woke up and got Mike on the phone and well let's just say I was sick and went back to bed. I was a bit disappointed since I was given some great new 'yote calls and wanted to put em to work in the feild. (Keep looking I will talk about them in the not to distant future) I finally drug myself out of bed and made my way to Mike's editing "palace". Well it only took over fourteen and a half hours and Mike still ended up needing another six more! I don't think that I wanna do that again. I will leave that to the professionals. I will however sit in when the pizza is delivered.



Finally I was able to get out with my buddy Art for some river walleye relaxation time. We hadn't been out together for a while and it was nice to just relax and hang out without a camera. We caught up on each others lives and solved the worlds problems. (Man do I wish I could solve my own) We caught some fish and enjoyed being out in the outdoors. It's funny how just getting out can totally recharge your battery.



Speaking of battery....stay tuned for the reason why I had a phone stuck in my ear in my future blog.



So until next time, be safe, appreciate what you have and get into the great outdoors.

This Is Public Property Right?

So as I sit and reflect on some experiences this year, I keep coming back to the same situations. It is happening so much more frequently and is starting to irritate me to no end. I have had the same issues now happen more than a few times and thought I would bring it to light.



Have you noticed that more and more so called "sportsman" are trying to act as though "public" "state owned property" is their own. I have had several encounters this year with this type of "sportsman".



The first one happened to be on a river at a very busy section. I was there with a friend and we got ready stream side and watched a guy bring to shore a nice walleye. After about 20 minutes of him playing on shore with his walleye, i ventured out in the vicinity of where he was at. I said hello to the gentleman next to me and he just gave a blank stare. Oh well first cast. As I made my second I noticed this gentleman staring at me. I turned to him again and he sternly explained, "see that guy there?"



"Yeah sure the one who caught the walleye 20 minutes ago?"



"Yeah well he is fishing this spot."



"Oh really? So you made reservations for this spot right here? Can you tell me where I can make these reservations? Because I would love to reserve this whole public river for myself next weekend."



He didn't really like that. Since this is a public waterway we were fishing. I hollered back to my friend who was still on shore 5 feet from the guy who was still messing with his walleye. And asked him if he knew that we could make reservations for a stretch of river. With an odd look he said no and I walked over to him and explained that these two guys had done so and we couldn't fish it. The guy on the bank quickly went out next to his buddy who was a little upset because I called him out in front of all those fishing.



These people should be called out in these instances. Right wrong or indifferent I will not let this slide anymore. I am not saying I want to fight people but I will remind them that it is a public waterway and then move on.



Then this past week I heard the same comments from another kid. Who was upset that his buddy had invited us to fish and we fished the same spot he did the day before. Can you believe this. He was upset that we were fishing in "HIS" spot. Never mind the 20 or so guys in shanties all around us. This kid not only felt that we shouldn't be there but then got jealous when people in our group started to catch fish and he wasn't. The fish hoarder got so upset at this he took his toys and went home because he just couldn't take the fact that others were catching fish and he wasn't.



These people should not be tolerated. If you are on a public piece of property you have just as much right to be there as anyone else. I am not saying go cuddle up next to someone while hunting or fishing, but I am saying that with common sense you can use the same piece of land or water. Know your rights and never be intimidated by these people. Ask them the question,

"This is Public Property Right?"

So until next time, be safe, appreciate what you have and get into the great outdoors.