Back in Musky Country!

Whew!

What an adventure it has been since the last post Sportsfans!!

I finally made it back to Musky Country...basically in one piece after a coast to coast road trip with the Fly Fishing Film Tour in March and April. Penny and I got our feet wet in the Pacific and the Atlantic...and got to do all kinds of fishing and fun related stuff in between.

Touring around showing off Musky Country - Zero 2 Hero to fly fishing crowds from California up the coast to Oregon and then across Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois before getting back into Wisco. was really a dream come true.

I have always been a big time Steinbeck fan and his book Travels with Charlie Across America inspired me to dream about seeing the country in an epic road trip on day...well I got my opportunity finally this off-season.

There are so many stories to tell and people to thank and photos to edit and share that I hardly know where to begin...hopefully I'll be able to share some of those people, places and things here...and hopefully this latest adventure will be the beginning of a pattern of off-season travel and networking for your old pal Afton Angler. Because it is in my blood!

THANK YOU to everyone along the way who opened up their lives and shared the spirit of the road with Penny and me! The American Dream is still alive and well out there as well as back in Musky Country folks.

You just have to reach out for it and give yourself permission to follow your own version...

Speaking of Musky Country - getting home to Boulder Lodge saw some changes since I last rested my head here.

Boulder Lodge now has a new hood ornament as well as new ownership. It was really refreshing to get back to some familiar landmarks!

ROCK SOLID

HOME STREET

The Musky Lab wintered well...


Opening Night at Boulder under new owners Terry and Michelle Conroy had new faces as well as old friends...and it felt great to be back amongst em all...


Of course weather in Northern Wisconsin at the beginning of May can be any ones guess...and one minute it is springtime and the next it is still winter! But you learn to roll with the punches and make the most of what the day throws across your bow in this place I love so much.


The general fishing opener had to wait a week after I arrived back so I went way up north and met up with Lucky and another guide buddy Blake for some lakerun action on the Bois Brule...
Lucky Porter swings for spring steel...
Blake gets bent as Lucky watches intently
A decent Lake Superior steelbow goes back to the Brule

Opening Weekend found me haunting a favorite place - Seeley, WI! This little place on the banks of the Namekagon will have plenty of airtime on this blog in 2011. Coming up shortly will be the Fly Fishing Film Tour at the Freight Station Theater on Friday, May 27th on the eve of the Musky Opener! Followed by a very cool event MCO is hosting for the Wounded Warriors in Action in late June. Remember the 2010 Musky Ball? Well the Sawmill Saloon and the Freight Station Theater will be the host for the 2nd Annual Musky Ball on October 28th-30th, 2011!
Sawmill Saloon and Freight Station Theater in Seeley, WI
The Lenroot Lodge on the banks of the Namekagon River.

Spring does have a way of...well, Springing up...
When I see these I know the Hendrickson mayflies are hatching...

So I go here...


With her...


And pull out these...


I have been so focused on musky fly fishing the past couple of seasons that I sort of lost my roots - that being 'something_for_every_season'. It is the philosophy I grew up with...you know taking advantage of the best that Nature puts in front of you each and every day. It is a balance that has provided me great comfort and pleasure in my life and I aim to get back to that more in 2011!

Decisions, decisions...old school or high tech?
Dusting off the light trout kit(I did not even fish for trout in Wisconsin in 2010 -gasp!)I waver on what to wield...

Gotta love a custom made graphite and tricky little light reel


But the classic Norling Cane given as a gift by the maker wins out...I'm sentimental and traditional at heart I am!





I love cane rods with agate strippers and English Blue reels!

Well, the trout and the Hendricksons in early May up here in Musky Country provied some of my favorite troutin' of all time. Seriously, I lived in Montana and got to fish the best water all over the West...but I have yet to find an equal to a brown trout born and bred on the Namekagon. Seriously.

Getting bent like this gets into ones blood it does...




I love to call up on friends and invite them to share in some dry fly action...
Musky Addict Derek introduces his son Elliot to the Ways of the Trout!

Fat Namekagon browns are tough customers to fool but wow what specimens. A solid week of trouting restores my balance and now I am open to what else the Universe has in store for Afton Angler in 2011!





Whats on the Horizon?

Still have plenty of Premium Tail to work with...


A new pastime I discovered in Hayward with some friends...
Throwing Tomahawks!





Trapping minnows to monitor whats going on in the predator/prey chain...
Good minnow trapping grounds
A bit of a slow start on the first check...
Things get better as it heats up!
The traps provide clues as to what we should be tying at the bench and using on our fly rods...


And of course we have the warm water stuff to look forward to. Ran the first drift boat trip of the season on the Chippewa with old friend Marv and new friend Nate...it was GREAT to be back at it and the smallmouth were fat with pre-spawn and hungry for out flies!



Don't forget this is Musky Country!
Tim Fischer with our first 2011 musky release...from North Carolina...but that is another story!

Till next time...
See Ya