What is it they say, “The best laid plans of mice and men…?” Such was the case during my fall break as my wife, Vickie and I, headed north, way north, to the very upper portion of Wisconsin in search of some big toothy critters, aka…a musky. What I didn’t plan on was the fact that it had been raining for the better part of a week and it rained on us the entire week, non-stop!
So, what to do? Well, fish and do the best you can with the situation at hand. As you will see from the video I wasn’t on various ‘big-musky’ waters like any of the flowages…I decided to make the best of an incredibly beautiful surrounding, along with good company…and hit as many ‘safe’ spots as possible. Safe, because it is hard to fish a river that is in a flood warning!
Being there before was a big help and allowed me to navigate to some smaller lakes and even was able to fish the Namakagon River, the upper portion, and did in fact catch a few nice trout. If you are tuning in looking for me catching some smallies…well, wish I could show you that video, but the odd thing is that the smallmouth migrate and leave the river scene for more calm and subdued lakes. This is still hard for me to believe…even though I know it is true! In fact, to catch smallmouth you need to be in this portion of Wisconsin before about mid-September, after that, poof….they are gone!
If you haven’t been to this part of our great country in the first couple of weeks in October, then you are truly missing out on a color palate that is like no other! I live in southern Indiana and can easily say that upper Wisconsin is the most gorgeous place I have ever seen in the fall. The leaves are in full regalia and this is on its own…worth the trip. I hope you can get a good idea of the beauty as you watch the video.
As for amenities; Hayward is the big city in the area…but even the smaller villages will have most of what you need to get by. We camped at Perch Lake Campground which was part of the national forest. It is primitive camping….but a spectacular primitive!
Hope you enjoy the video and if you have any questions contact me via flyfishingwithjeff@gmail.com and I will do my best to get back to you with an answer.
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