Archive for 2008

A Rum Punch and more smallie cocktails

Posted in Trip Reports on August 2nd, 2008 by Kip – Be the first to comment

Well it has been a great fishing season thus far. The bass are really heating up and the rivers are in great shape. We had an outstanding day on the Rum River this week. It is a hidden gem in all the great smallmouth waters that surround the Twin Cities. We took several 18″ fish and had one over 19″. The last couple of summers the water had been extremely low, making it hard to float. This year the water levels are up and the fishing has been very good from all reports. The Mississippi and the St. Croix continue to produce as they usually do. The fish are now relating to more mid river structure and bars. Start to fish the drops and mid river boulders and you should find the fish. Still have a couple of dates in August and September if you are looking to still get out. Hope everyone is having a great season and we’ll see you on the rivers.

Trip from Hell and More !

Posted in Trip Reports on June 25th, 2008 by Kip – Be the first to comment

Well we made it through another “Smallmouth Trip from Hell.” This trip just gets better every year. The fishing this year was outstanding. All the rivers fished great including the St. Croix. According to the boys from Tight Lines in Green Bay the St. Croix is hell on earth. It seems every time they come this way the winds blow and the river proves to them who the real boss is. Not this year. The weather was outstanding and the fishing was off the hook. Top water all day with several large fish taken including one over 20″. This trip is the highlight of my summer. Everyone is really into it and we all feed off of each other. I want to thank all the guys that went along for the ride and I know you’ll be back next year.

Fishing has been pretty good so far this summer. We have had many great days on the water already. Things are starting to finally settle down and the fish have been responding. The top water bite has been fairly strong all year, with the old reliable minnow patterns proving once again to be a go to fly.

Still some open dates but they are filling fast. Give us a call if you would like to experience the greatest smallmouth fisheries in the world!

Bass season has officially kicked off!!

Posted in Trip Reports on June 1st, 2008 by Kip – Be the first to comment

Well it is finally here. Bass season is in full bloom. The last two weekends have been a very busy time for me. Memorial Day weekend I had the pleasure of fishing the Menominee River in Northeast Wisconsin with Bart and Matt from the Tight Lines crew. What a great river loaded with quality smallmouth. We always have a great time when all the guides get together for a day on the water. I think they are some of my most cherished days of the year. We all get a chance to fish and to rib each other. It’s great fun. My niece graduated that weekend also so we had the pleasure of spending some time with my family also.
This weekend found me on my home water the Mighty Mississippi. Fishing was pretty good. The water is high and dirty and with all these fronts rolling through the fish seemed a little moody. We still managed to catch quite a few and boy did it feel great to be on the water again. The rowers seat is my second home and it felt great. It’s is going to be a great year and I’m really looking forward to it.

If you wold like to book a date please do so soon the calender is getting pretty crowed. If your interested in the smallmouth trip from hell there is some room available.

Please call or e-mail if you have any questions.

Looking forward to a great 2008.
God Bless!

Kip

We are spoiled!!!

Posted in Trip Reports on April 13th, 2008 by Kip – Be the first to comment

We’ll we got back form the Bighorn river last Monday night. We had a great time despite the 50mph winds and the 3,000 people that also thought it would be a great weekend to fish. Not many fish were caught, and Grace didn’t get one either. She is however hooked for life. She got to sample Montana and the West. I think she fell in love with it. I told her if she had a great time on this trip she’ll really love when the weather is better and the fish are a bit more willing to play. She toughed out the worst conditions that I’ve fished in for some time and was willing to keep at it. She proved her salt and is welcome on any trip.
The experience really got me thinking. Man do I have it good here in the Upper Midwest. There are hardly any crowds on the rivers I fish and the fishing really is world class. If I see one or two boats on the water during the day I wonder what is going on. I know that this is going to start happening more and more as people learn how good we have it, but I can never see it as bad as I did this last weekend. There were at least three people in each hole and I bet we saw at least 100 boats on Sunday.
I encourage everyone to step back a little and look what we have right in front of us. The fishing here is as good as anywhere. It might not be trout but I’ll take a 18″ smallmouth over a 18″ trout any day of the week. We are blessed to live in such a great area that is basically unknown.

Get out and enjoy it!!!!

Kip

Is it the trip or is it planning and Packing?

Posted in Trip Reports on March 30th, 2008 by Kip – Be the first to comment

A big Bighorn River Rainbow from a few years back. Hopefully to be repeated this year.

In three days my daughter Grace, friend Jim(I use that word loosely) and I are head the the Bighorn River in Montana for a long weekend trout excursion. This will be Grace’s first big fishing trip and I’m praying that it goes well. All I’m asking for is that she catch just one nice trout (16″+) on her own. Hopefully this isn’t to tall of an order.

This brings me back to my title of this post. Is it the planning or is it the trip? I’m one of those guys that takes almost more pleasure in the planning stage. Don’t get me wrong, I love the trip part too, but I think it is the planning and anticipation that I get a bigger kick out. Maybe it has something to do with Grace going along, but this trip really has me giddy. I have been tying flys, ordering things I don’t really need, checking the boat at least once a day, and driving my wife a little nuts.

My friend Jim will show up at the house the night we leave with his stuff and we’ll leave. That’s it, he’ll just be glad to be out of the office for a few days. I on the other hand am to busy getting everything just so before the trip. I think he knows there’s not to much to worry about because I have that handled for everyone involved. I have been lying awake at night thinking about what flys to use, what holes to fish, and what to do if someone beats us to them. I shouldn’t do this because usually a trip never matches ones anticipation.

Please post comments on what your thoughts are on the question.

I would love to get others ideas.

I’ll let you all know how it goes on a post when we get back.

There is still plenty of room for our spring creek trip on April 17th thru the 20th. Give me a call if you are interested.

I also one spot to fill on the smallmouth trip from hell.

Give us a call on booking days and we’ll be happy to speak with you about the up coming seasons dates.

Kip