Trip Reports | Wildwood Float Trips

Driftless with Grace.

Posted in Trip Reports on March 30th, 2009 by Kip – Be the first to comment

Well here is the first post on the new format and I believe for 2009. Grace and I decided to sneak away last weekend. We were in need of some serious father /daughter time. I called my friend Steve at the Mayfly Lodge to see if he had a last minute opening. He did and we packed up and headed down to one of my favorite area in the country, the driftless. We were greeted by Steve and his gracious wife Deb at the Mayfly. It was everything that we wanted. Grace fell in love with the place. The hosts made sure we were well taken care of. We originally were only staying the one night, but we had such a wonderful day on Saturday that we stayed Saturday night also. The view and accomodations are outstanding and did I mention the trout stream running next to it.

The highlight of course for the weekend was Grace catching her first Brown trout all by herself. Her casting was as good as she has ever done. The light definitely went on for here. Many thanks to all the fine casting instructors that have working with her the last few years.(Joseph Meyer, Tom Andersen and others I’m forgetting) I wish I was a better writer cause my words can’t describe what a feeling I had when I saw that indicator jump and Grace lift on that fish. All the struggles and tears that she has had over the years finally payed off for her. You can tell in the picture how proud she was. What you can’t see is the fat bald guy who is taking her picture. I know my smile was just as big if not bigger. These are the moments that God has blessed me with fatherhood for. Shame on any father who doesn’t take the time and spend time with their children. You will never now the feeling I have had, and that to me is a tragedy. I’m not saying I’m the father of the year, but it is these moments that will live in Grace’s memory long after I’m dead and gone. Isn’t that what parenting is all about? Building good memories that our children can hold on to and our love along with it. Thanks, for listening to my rant and let me know your thought.

God Bless,

Kip

2008 a look back

Posted in Trip Reports on January 12th, 2009 by Kip – Be the first to comment

What a great year 2008 was! We caught a lot of real trophy fish this last year and had a great time doing so. I’m really looking forward to 2009 and spending some more time on the great water we have in this neck of the woods. I continue to learn more about these great fisheries and how good they really are.

God has blessed me with great clients and great resources to use. 2009 might have a different look to it. I continue to struggle on how to make this thing a permanent job. With the tough economic times and jobs getting harder to find things might be a bit different. I will still guide this summer but it might be scaled back just a bit. I have been fostering other guides to work for Wildwood and believe I now have some of the best rivers guides you can find. As I watch the snow fall I keep thinking about high water for the spring and all those smallmouth sitting tight to the bank for the taking.

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas holiday and that the Lord has blessed you! Please continue to keep me in your prayers and I can’t wait to see what God has for me and Wildwood Float Trips in 2009.

New for this year I am offering Fly tying and fly casting class through the Edina Community Education program. Please visit their site for details.

Tying Class starts February 10th and meet Tuesdays nights until March 10th

Fly Casting Classes will again meet on Tuesday nights form April 14th – May 12th

Appearances for 2009

St. Paul Fly Tyers February 5th

Badger Fly Fishers Show Madison WI February 7th

Great Waters Chicago February 20th-22nd

We are taking booking for 2009 so if you need a date please contact us.

Thanks to everyone that has touched my life in such a positive way. Here is to a great God and big fish filled 2009.

Kip

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

Were did the time go?

Posted in Trip Reports on December 26th, 2007 by Kip – Be the first to comment

Here are some of the highlights to the season that was 2007. The first picture is Joseph Meyer from One More Cast In Chicago with probably the nicest fish of the year. 5+ lbs. The picture doesn’t do the fish justice. The second is my son Truman with his first true fish on the fly rod. The last to are a couple of Musky that were boated during the “Trip from Hell.”

I can’t believe it is the day after Christmas! I see that my last post was late August. I’m sorry for not doing a better job of keeping everyone up to date. I will try harder this coming year. When the season is rolling and it is one trip after another, post on a blog is not number 1 on the to do list. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and the celebration of our Saviors birth was a blessed one.

Well show season starts in just over a month. Thoughts of the summer to come will begin to creep into our minds and the hope that it will bring another fabulous summer of fishing. This last season was one of the better I can remember. We landed many nice fish and shared wonderful hours on the river with each other.

I am busy starting to tie some flys, looking for that magic bug that will drive the fish crazy. Tying is not one of my favorite past times but it keeps me out of trouble and thinking of different ways to fish and present fly in a more effective manner.

The boy from Tight Lines and I held our annual meeting on Christmas Eve Morning. This has become a bit of a tradition and I really look forward to it each year. We sit around drinking coffee and swapping stories from the past year. We did come up with the dates for the Smallmouth trip From Hell you have heard me talk about. This years trip is June 18 thru the 21st. We will start in Green Bay and work our way west. Four of the best smallmouth rivers in the country in four days. If you are interested in this trip let me know. We are only taking a max of four boats. Spots will not last long.

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year and stop by and see us at the shows.

Welcome Back Gary!!!

Posted in Trip Reports on August 31st, 2007 by Kip – Be the first to comment

One of my very good and dear friends made it back! It was a joy to have Gary back in the boat after some heart trouble earlier this year. We weren’t ten minutes into the trip and Gary had his first fish on a black popper. I think the Lord was saying to both of us that it would be a great day to be alive and he didn’t disappoint. Here’s to many more trips Gary and more large smallmouth.

The bass are really going strong and with September here tomorrow it will only get better. The big boys are going to start their fall feed bag soon and if you want to be apart of it there are still a few choice dates left.

Joseph Meyer from One More Cast in Chicago land with a 20 inch, 5 1/2 lb giant. More fish like this are going to be eating this fall.

Trico Time and a day off!

Posted in Trip Reports on August 9th, 2007 by Kip – 3 Comments

Well I had a cancellation yesterday. This gave me a chance for me to do some fishing. I headed east to the Rush River to enjoy a morning of Trico fishing. I sometimes forget in the heat of the smallmouth season what a great resource we have in our Western Wisconsin Spring Creeks. I had the whole river to myself and the bugs were coming of in droves. It was truly a beautiful morning to be alive in God’s creation. I worked pod after pod of rising fish. Once I got into trout mode things began to click. It takes me a good half hour to get used to casting those delicate Trico patterns to smaller fish than I’m used to. To go from a size 2 streamer to a size 22 Trico spinner pattern is quit the culture shook for me this time of year. If you have a chance to get over and enjoy some early mornings on these great rivers i would recommend it. Don’t forget the bass. They are really going strong and it is the heart of the season now!! They are really eating and some big fish are being taken.

Keep casting and God Bless,

Kip

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