It is good to have a partner along on the water and even better when that person is someone you really like. My good friend Duane has now got the bug, the fly fishing bug. Many of you out there can relate to this illness; for at some point in your fly fishing career it hit you as well! Duane is picking up on things quickly and on this day he was able to compete with the wind to catch four nice smallmouth bass.
Between the 90 plus degree day (which really shouldn’t happen here in northern Wisconsin in mid May) the tons of bugs that were a bother and a persistent 20 mph wind …. well, it was a day that at times was a tough one. The biggest proponent to keep me going was the many fish on the other end of my pucker-lip popper.
I have said this a few times before and for sure mean it 100% … but there is no way to efficiently fish a river like the St Croix without a float boat like we are using. There were many occasions that we had to stop, hop up from our seat and stand mid-stream to make accurate casts, especially with the upstream and highly annoying breeze. By using my kick fins I was also able to have both hands free at all times to cast and could make long, accurate casts without having to worry about drift or grabbing the oars for an adjustment.
Now if you listen closely you might just hear my frustration with the many pike that were competing with the desired smallmouth bass for my fly … and even worse is their sharp teeth that chewed off two of my good flies on the day.
Anyway, getting out on the St Croix River at any point is a great day and to do so in mid May and catch loads of fish is about as good as it gets. I hope you enjoy the video and remember to leave a comment below or you can reach me via email at flyfishingwithjeff@gmail.com and I will do my best to get back to you in a timely manner.
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