Kankakee & continued hope.

Few days ago, I went out to Kankakee River for an afternoon. I have a history with Kankakee… a history of tough fishing days. This day proved to be tough as well, and the water flow was very low. Still, I have hope that one day, it will prove that fishing can be great here. I read the fishing reports and people seem to be catching good fish here – in particular the small mouths. I caught a lot of baby fish of all sorts, and I’m going to continue to hope that I’ll meet their older buddies one of these days. The biggest fish of the day was a creek chub, and on this day this felt like a giant fish. Parts of the Kankakee Rock Creek looks like you're in a whole different part of the world, beautiful – and that’s nice considering that it’s less than an hour away from Chicago. I will continue to hope.

The short weekend trip with family:

I went to see lenok with my family past weekend. It was a little hard with the rain and strong wind, but I was able to catch a few. Along the way, I also met a beautiful Korean native Jindo-dog which originated from far southern island called “Jindo.”

The fish cookie:

Here in Korea, when fall wind is start, street vendors bring out this fish shaped cookie made out of flower filled with black sweet bean. You can bring this home and eat, but it is more fun to enjoy while you are on the street.

Good friends + Lenok = Great time.

Some recent photos from our friends in the mountain creeks in KangWonDo, South Korea. Lenok & Cherry trout, separated by the TaeBaek Mountain ridges.

A thing to do in our lifetime.

I hope that one day my fishing journey will lead me to a fantastic opportunity like this. The video is amazing.

Tapâm - a flyfishing journey from tapamthemovie on Vimeo.

a fish called “holy sh#t!”

On the way home from work, I swung by the Grove to cast a lure on spin rod. 30minutes of casting and nothing, not even a nibble. Just as I was wrapping up and threw out the last cast, something heavy gave a slight tug. I thought it was weeds and started to reel in, then an explosion at the end of the line. I nearly crap in my pants ...then the sound of line being pulled out of the drag. Heart pumping, drag screaming, and soon I saw the fish in front of me. Not bad for a 30 visit to a local lake. I drove home like nothing happened … but I still have the smile on my face.

I am going to think of this as a sign of good things to come.
Is this a pike or a muskie?

Up in the North Woods....

"The Au Sable Riverboat was originally built in the 1870's. They were developed as a flat bottom craft that allowed the lumber companies to move tools and equipment up and down the river system. Without a keel, the craft was pushed by a pole from the stern, sat high on the water and was an excellent means of seeing the land from the "inside out" for timbering purposes. Boats were typically built out of cedar and white pine planks, weighed 300 to 400 hundred pounds and were a very stable craft for transportation purposes.The original designs were 24 feet long and (2 ½ feet wide) with a pointed bow and stern. The Rube Babbitt family modified the design in the 1880's to accommodate fishing by adding a live-box.This original design remains unchanged today offering a comfortable and pleasant fly-fishing experience away from busy public access sites."

I had the opportunity to fish "the holy waters" of the Au Sable river with friends. The river is famous for many reasons; The birth places of the Adams dry fly and Trout Unlimited. the Hexagenia mayfly. The fishing can be tough but the scenery and camaraderie is awesome.... Some pics from the North Woods....

On The Creek

I had an opportunity to visit & fish with Nick Volk from On The Creek fly shop (http://www.onthecreekflyshop.com/) in Cross Plains, WI. Let me start by saying that it always makes a big difference to go out fishing with the pros. Nick is a Orvis Endorsed Guide who has extensive guiding experience all over the US, including West Coast & Alaska. He is a native to the Midwest region and knows each of the creeks up here like the back of his hand. I first heard of Nick through our friend Lee. The shop is relatively new but is very well organized & a rich source for information on the best local waters. They guide in trout fishing throughout the regular season, but also Steelheads, Small mouth, and Muskie trips are available.














I assumed Nick would get me onto some good fish, but I quickly sensed that it will be a GREAT day when Nick had me onto a good sized rainbow after a 5 min walk from the truck. He guided me through several different sections of the river, and with each section, I was happy to find different type of water & fishing. By noon, I had plenty of fish hooked and most of them landed … the rest of the afternoon was simply a bonus in terms of catching more fish. We took it easy, fishing casually, enjoying a smoke on the banks of the river. Nick is a soft spoken character, down to earth, and an excellent company to spend the day with.














I’ve visited some of the creeks in this region before, but Nick got me onto bigger & more fish than I have ever caught up here. The region is beautiful and surrounded with a refreshing scent, which I soon found out was the scent of the wild mint growing all around us. I was able to learn a few tricks from Nick on how to fish stained water. In fact, some staining of the water made it easier for us to sneak up to fish, and the fishing was even better. On this day, I was introduced to John Bethke’s pink squirrel fly , a favorite of the locals here. This fantastic bead head nymph fly worked like magic all day, in many different types of waters. I wanted to buy some but they were completely sold out, so I had to confiscate a few from Nick’s private stock. This is a must have fly for Midwestern waters.

This was one of those relaxing days where that distinctive smile appears on your face during the drive back home… you know, the same smile that shows up again just before you fall asleep. I know that each of our club friends have a lot of responsibilities to fulfill, work to deal with, and serious life things to worry about… and I have my share. All I can say is, I hope each of us are able find some time to go stand in the creeks, and worry about the not so serious things in life. Life is better with fishing.

Nick - Thank you for a great day, see you again soon.
Lee – Thanks for the intro to Nick. We should go up together next time.

James Card on Tenkara.

A recent (September 15, 2010) New York Times article from our friend James Card (http://jamescard.net/) on Tenkara fishing style growing popular in the US. See article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/sports/16tenkara.html?_r=2

Also for a list of articles from James, see it here: http://jamescard.net/writing/archives/

* Hope all is well James! I’ve fallen in full love with the Brown Trout in your hometown region this season. They asked me to say hello to you ;-)