A Day With Charlie

Chuck's 26 incher

The first week of August usually means a visit from an old friend Chuck Teasley.  I have been writing this blog since 2008 and the only 2 times we have missed was in 2008, when I was in China and 2011 when my father died.  Other than that, we make a real effort to get together once a year to fish Mille Lacs.  Charlie is an interesting guy, has the biggest chip on his shoulder yet would give it to you in a heartbeat if you needed it.  More time than not we include our friend Dan Hoene, but this year Dan couldn't make it.  Our adventure started Wednesday evening as Chuck met me at the pole shed.  After hooking the boat up we headed north stopping at Bill's to get the latest news on the bite, then heeding his advice and stopped at the Spirit Lake Steakhouse in Wahkon for supper.  All I can say is wow!  The food was absolutely fabulous and my favorite was the walleye strips, totally unbelievable.  Finishing dinner we headed to Fisherman's Wharf to stay at my friend, Mark Applen's estate!  It's pretty nice as Mark has turned an ordinary ice house into a comfortable castle.  The night was clear and the stars were incredible.  After an hour of watching Gator Boys we finally hit the sack for a great nights sleep.    Thursday brought a northwest wind with whitecaps coming into the east side shorelines.  Our strategy was to head to the west side and fish the flat areas including Sherman's, 7-mile, 8-mile, and wherever we could find fish.  In the end it would prove more difficult than we expected. 

Chuck's 23 incher

Our first stop was The Cut on Sherman's Flat.  This is usually my go to area as I start at the inside end of the drop off and work my way up to the tip.  I was marking a ton of fish but nothing was biting.  On my way back down the edge there was a boat working the same break but headed directly for me.  Deciding someone had to give, I moved out of the way and let him pass.  I minute later I got a call from my friend Jon Bathke asking way I almost ran them over.  As a passenger in a Lund, Jon drives a Warrior Boat so I didn't recognize him.  We agreed to keep each other abreast of the current bite and went our own ways.  Next stop was the 7-mile as the west end was perfect for the wind drift.  After 3 hours we still had nothing to show for our efforts.  Time to start lead lining.  After an hour of unproductive trolling Jon called and said they were having some luck at the 8-Mile flat.  We were already heading that way so we decided to simply stay our route.  In the meantime I decided to switch to a #11 Tail Dancer on a planer board.  Still marking fish, they simply weren't biting.  An hour later I decided it was time to move and while reeling in my Tail Dancer a nice 24 inch walleye hit the lure.  Landing it we took a picture however the SD card was locked so no picture.  This was our inspiration to keep trolling and Chuck landed 2 more nice fish, a 26 inch walleye shown above and a 23 incher.  Both were caught on a lead line with a small orange crank bait.  Besides a fish that hit the Tail Dancer again, that was about it.  We hit Indian Point and trolled the length of the reef but no dice, not even a 12 inch smallie.  Heading back to the landing we loaded up and ran into Jon, who had just loaded up themselves.  He did somewhat better with 6 fish landed, still a fairly poor day considering the week before was on fire.  That's fishing.

Saturday I loaded my motorcycle on the trailer, dropped off my wife in Eau Claire and headed south.  After 2 hours of picking blueberries at Blueberry Ridge in Eleva, I unloaded my bike and put on 150 miles riding the beautiful roads of Trempealeau County.  Sunday saw the 2013 inaugural launch of my 14 foot Jon Boat as it made it's maiden voyage on the Mississippi River behind my house with Lory Brasel.  Thinking the fish were shallow, our first mistake, a gentlemen fishing the river gave some advice, fish the deep edges.  Somewhat difficult at first, we decided it was best to come back with a better strategy, maybe jigging the 10 foot holes with a 3/8 oz jig tipped with a crawler might be the ticket.  In other words, we didn't catch a thing!  Never the less it was nice to get out and we do have a plan for the next adventure on the River.  The summer has actually been pretty nice if you like the weather a little cooler.  The water temp on Mille Lacs was 70 degrees F, pretty cool for the first of August.  My tomatoes are begging for warmer, more humid temperatures but it doesn't look promising.  At least it great sleeping weather!

Blueberries and Walleyes, What a Pair!

My 8 pails of fresh picked blueberries

Last year we discovered the joy of picking blueberries at Blueberry Ridge in my home town of Eleva, Wisconsin and according to their website Saturday would be the first official picking day of 2012.  Along with my wife Lyn and neighbor Lory Brasel, we loaded up and headed east on Highway 10 which would take us straight to our destination.  Lory had been to Eleva in the past as he and others came down for my dad's funeral last August.  I suggested that he stop and pick some berries, which they did, and he was looking forward to filling a few buckets to bring home.   I love showing off a few of those out of the way spots that are truly represent what rural Wisconsin is all about.  Our first stop was the Ellsworth Creamery in Ellsworth Wisconsin, home of the worlds best cheese curds.  Everyday at 11:00 AM, the day's cheese curds are brought out from the factory, packaged in one pound bags, and ready for sale.  There was quite a line up waiting to buy which assured that our order would be packed within minutes of hitting the sales floor.  It is hard to describe how delicious fresh cheese curds really are.  Still warm in the bag, once opened the warmth and creaminess are accentuated with the unmistakable squeaks they make as they contact your teeth, a symphony in itself!  And squeak they do.  Within 5 miles we had devoured one bag knowing we need to save some for later.  Next stop was Plum City, Wisconsin to show Lory the beautiful trout pond carved out of a hillside by early settlers in the late 1800's.  The pond is feed by a substantial spring which keeps the water cool and flowing, perfect for the couple

Lory with a nice 26 incher

hundred rainbow trout that live there.  Springs have little dissolved oxygen so they have installed a couple of large aerators to enhance these levels.  The water is crystal clear with trout ranging from 15 to 28 inches.   They even have a vending machine to buy trout pellets for feeding the fish.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera, I should learn by now! It is a neat place to visit, very peaceful and if you enjoy watching fish like I do, a perfect place to spend a few minutes.  Next stop was my friend Kevin's house to pick up a GPS he used during fishing opener.  He warned us that cars were lined up at 6:30 in the morning at Blueberry Ridge and he doubted they would have any berries left.  With that in mind we drove up Mockingbird Hill and over to the blueberry patch where there were plenty of people still picking.  Lory and I had sent Mark and Andrea (Owners of Blueberry Ridge) a 1.75 liter bottle of our homemade Eleva Blueberry Ridge Wine which we we made a few months ago.  It is pretty good if I say so myself, and they were thrilled to receive it.  Mark assured us there were plenty of berries left and he was right, we filled 12 ice cream pails in 2 hours.  Lory took 4 and I took 8, as pictured above.   These blueberries are huge, some as big around as a quarter.   As we hauled our berries back to their new "headquarters" I promised Mark that if he wanted to fish Mille Lacs, I would be more than happy to accommodate him and a guest.  His wife Andrea claims that he would really enjoy that so here's hoping he takes me up on my offer.  We have frozen most of the blueberries by simply putting them on a cookie sheet and freezing them before packing.  Blueberries freeze very well and make an excellent frozen treat in this hot weather.  Of course, more wine is on the menu.  Thanks Mark and Andrea for a great day of picking!  As a side note, last week I posted a picture of my blueberries as they had just started to ripen.  Notice the word HAD.  When I went out to check on them Sunday morning, there wasn't a ripe blueberry left on any of the bushes and none were on the ground.  Monday the mystery was solved as there were 2 hen wild turkeys with about 20 little ones circling my patch, looking for what they might have missed the day before.  I guess we'll just have to go back to Eleva and get more.

Not huge but still nice

Bill had asked if we had a chance to pick a few buckets of blueberries for him, he'd certainly appreciate it. Well, of course we did and with all the work accomplished on Saturday, Lory and I decided to hit Mille Lacs on Sunday afternoon, delivering our fresh picked berries as well, spend some time on the lake.  Not in a big hurry to get there, we left at 2:00 in the afternoon with the plan to be on the lake around 4:00.   Our first stop was to drop off the berries and charged only the price of the berries plus a few dozen crawlers as our picking fee.  My plan was simple, drag crawlers on the edge of the flats until we found some fish, engage my Minnkota I-pilot, and hone our bobber skills.  Like a broken record, our first stop was Sherman's as we dragged rigs for 30 minutes only catching 1 fish.  Deciding to head to 7-mile, we trolled the east side of the flat and again got one nice walleye but that was it.  As we approached the south end of the flat the Lowrance began marking fish more consistently with small pods of fish close together so we engaged the anchor function and brought out the slip bobber rigs.  Within 90 minutes we had over 16 walleyes caught, at least another 8 lost as we attempted to set the hooks early to avoid harming the fish, and put 3 in the livewell.  These were all caught on leeches in 24 feet of water.  As I have done so many times before, the fish bit the best when the radio was tuned to Willie's Roadhouse on my Sirius Radio.  It must be that old country those walleyes love! One thing that I learned about using slips knots as bobber stops is you need to check your depth all the time.  Once you reel a fish in the stops will catch on your rod guides and slide up the line, changing your depth to something more shallow.  I showed Lory how to use the rear depth finder to check your depth by dropping the rig next to the boat and watching it on the screen.  More often than not it was set too shallow, we would reset to about 18 inches off the bottom while watching a fish come into the screen and grab the leech.  We left the lake by 8:30, cleaned the fish and were done by 11:00.  Not a bad weekend at all.

I continue to prepare for Alaska as well watch the Mississippi River level as it's almost back down to where it was 3 weeks ago.  We may go back and get more blueberries, there is a graduation party in the neighborhood on Saturday, and I am chomping to get back on the river.  Seems like there is plenty of things to keep me busy!

Pickin' With Dave

 My weekends are consumed with spending as much time with my dad as possible.  Time is against us so I am making the best of it.  This weekend also marked the opening of Blueberry Ridge Orchard, where you can pick your own blueberry's by the truckload if you so desire.  My brother Steve and mom have been picking here last year and claimed it was pretty easy to fill up a 5 quart ice cream bucket full of beautiful blueberries.  Sunday morning I headed north towards Eau Claire on Hwy 93 to the old Darrell Hageness farm.  When I lived in Eleva and worked for Vic, Darrell was a good friend and a very nice man.  He had suffered quite extensive burns while working at the Paper Mill in Eau Claire and he was going back to school for accounting at the same time I was going there for electronics.  The farm is visible from Hwy 93 and he often had a word cut into the hay field for everyone to read.  Darrell has since passed away however I was delighted to find out that his daughter and family were still on the farm and had started the orchard featuring U-pick blueberries.  And pick there is!  My brother and mom had been there on Saturday morning picking 8 ice cream buckets.  Parking in the field, I was pointed in the right direction and picked 6 ice cream buckets in about an hour.  The berries were huge, some as big around as a quarter.  I have a number of blueberry plants, the same variety but nothing like these.  Sweet and bursting with flavor, I ended up going back in the afternoon to get another 2 buckets worth.  I thought the prices were very reasonable as well.  At $1.85/pound, an ice cream full of berries weighs about 6.5 pounds and cost about $12.00.  Comparing to the bland berries you buy at the store for $3.00 a pint, the equivalent amount would have cost you $30.00.   The picture on the right gives a great example of how loaded the bushes are with berries.  If you are in the area check out Mark and Andrea Nyseth's Orchard and pick a few pails (they freeze really well!).  They are the nicest people and you will leave very satisfied.   You can visit their website at http://www.blueberryridge-orchard.com/

So, weekends back home has left little time for fishing.  With the Mississippi River finally settling down to a manageable level (it is still pretty high and fast), my neighbor Lory and I decided to try out the Jon boat for the first time this year.  Loading up the boat and using my ATV, we simply drove to the neighbors house, through the horse pasture, and used his landing.  This take all but 5 minutes before you're in the water.  With the current still fast and 2 guys in the boat, we hit a whooping 10 mph running upstream.  Zig Zagging the river, looking for holes, our strategy was to run upriver as far as practical, drift back down fishing the rivers edge before anchoring close to the landing and trying for catfish, carp, or whatever enjoys a nice nightcrawler.  About 3 miles up we stopped, put on a couple of artificial lures and started casting.  My first choice was a shallow running Bomber A crankbait in fire tiger.  On the very first cast a small smallmouth bass inhaled it.  A nice start.  3 minutes later and 200 yards downstream I casted in front of a downed tree and this nice 17 incher grabbed the lure and put on an aerial display.  Lory finally got it in the net after about a minute and was taking my picture.  Releasing the fish we proceeded to follow the shore, casting tight and bringing it back.  With the water high and fast current, the fish were hanging tight.  By the time we arrived at our designated catfish hole the total was 6 smallies caught and released.  Not bad!  Our catfish hole was located where a side channel met up with the main river and formed a large current slack.  The edges of these slacks can be super productive.  The hole itself was about 14 feet deep so once anchored I rigged my casting reel with a 3/4 ounce bell sinker, snap, and a 2 foot leader with a circle hook at the end.  A fat and sassy crawler threaded on the hook I casted into the current edge.  It wasn't 5 minutes later when my pole almost went over the side.  Grabbing the rod I could tell it was a nice fish and within a few minutes the catfish showed itself.  After netting, unhooking, and snapping a picture, I released it back to fight again.  Because the line broke at the hook I retied, rebaited, and back out to the current break.  This time I wasn't going to chance losing my prized rod so I hung onto the pole waiting for that tell tale tug.  It wasn't long before something was yanking pretty hard.  The reel was in freespool so I let the fish run about 6 feet before reeling straight in, the proper method for circle hooks.  Well this fish was significantly larger than the first catfish however after about 10 seconds the line broke.  Although I did retie again it was getting late so we left.  The river is an exciting place to be.  We saw 2 immature eagles perch right above our heads while an osprey screeched it displeasure with our presence another half mile down stream.  It a great resource, one that is close to home and provides excellent fishing.

I will be heading back to Eleva this weekend to see dad, pick some more blueberries, and my good friend Rick Semingson from Blue Ridge, Georgia is coming home for a wedding.  Rick was a class mate of mine and I am always excited to see him.  He's lived in the south for over 30 years now and has developed quite a Southern Drawl.  My friend Charlie is suppose to be here for my annual trip with him and as well I am scheduled to go to San Francisco.  It's looking to be a busy next 10 days.