Prizefighters

The grind has got me like a noose.  The real world has taken priority position over fishing as of late, but it's all good.  Mother Nature has been feeding us a steady diet of record-low temps and ridiculous wind storms, so I haven't missed much.  I expect the fishing will ramp up into overdrive in about three weeks, however.

Zombie Muskie Carcass

The past couple of weeks have afforded some tiger muskie recon (they're still not quite on the feed) and a "long lunch" outing on a local river.

I searched for carp on the flats today, but back-to-back cold fronts have pushed them down into the deep. Instead, I threw crawdad and bugger patterns across rockpiles to target smallies.

It was good to get out, if only for a little while. An hour or two on the river is always good for the head.

Just before my lunch outing came to a close, I watched a large bronze blaze inhale my crawdad pattern and I prepared to battle a massive bass.  My huge smallie, however, soon revealed itself to be a large post-spawn male rainbow trout.

Accidental Lunker

This is ironic, as I specifically chose to fish a big river today to avoid disturbing 'bows in the spawning tribs.

This guy was chillin' on a rockpile with a few smallies in about 10 feet of water.  He was healthy and wicked strong.

Normally, I'd feel great about landing a beautiful two-foot 'bow, but not today.

Given the timing, it just didn't feel right.