Harvest Moon Harvesting

Last Sunday's full moon is known as the Harvest Moon. This bright moon is defined as the full moon closest to the autumn equinox which occurs around September 22th each year. It's name derives from the fact that the bright full moon would help farmers continue to harvest their crops well into the evening with the additional light it provides. Harvest Moons occur in October once every four years with the latest being October 13th. Well, the 2009 Harvest Moon did not let me down. My neighbor Tom loves the full moon bite and asked weeks in advance to reserve a seat in the boat. He is as crazy as I and with the ability to put up with my nuances, makes a fine fishing partner.

Our strategy was to launch out of the east side and fish our favorite perch hole first, checking to see if they have moved in shallow before heading out to our evening destination. Checking the wind forecast showed a predicted 5 - 7 mph blow from the NW. Not enough to change our plans we first stopped at Cedar Creek Public Landing. Well, the forecast lied. As one suggested, you are suppose to add the 5 and the 7 to get the real number. It was a strong 15 mph wind out of the NW and the rollers were a pushing 3 feet plus as they had the whole lake to work themselves up. Deciding that it would be too much work to land the boat at the access we headed to Mac's Twin Bay. They have a nice deep protected harbor and the $10 to launch is cheap insurance. Heading east to the perch hole wasn't too bad and we arrived fighting the wind for position. Not wanting to anchor, we drifted around a few boats and caught a number of small 6 - 7 inch perch. Not enough to keep our interest and understanding the pounding ride ahead of us, we decided to head straight to the reef. From our position it was straight into the wind for 7 miles. Nasty ride!! Arriving at our final destination 35 minutes later, the waves were literally breaking over the shallow rocks as if an angry ocean. Of course the good news was the wind guaranteed a perfect drift over the reef. The other interesting thing was the water temperature. Last Sunday it was a balmy 65 degrees as opposed to this Sunday's reading of 52. It had dropped a whooping 13 degrees in 7 days. Looking at the forecast for the next week, it could be in the low 40's soon. At 52 degrees the walleyes should be literally jumping in the boat!

Well, 2 hours of casting shad raps and rouges produced 1 - 13 inch walleye and a 14" smallie. Pretty paltry if you ask me. Standing on the bow, running the trolling motor in the big swells takes it's toll on an old man. At 7:30 I decided to start trolling, a less stressful endeavor. The wind had started to relent for the evening which set us up for what was to come. In the next 90 minutes we caught 14 walleye or 1 about every 6 minutes. They ranged from 12 inches on the short side to the fattest 27.50 incher I have ever seen. What ever it was the old favorite bait, the Rattlin' Rouge proved deadly. Tom's fished the fire tiger pattern and I stuck with my all time favorite, the tiger minnow. My 115 Suzuki trolls down like a dream and with a subtle pumping action, really triggered these fish. The fish were all caught in the 5 to 10 foot range with a surprisingly good number at 7 feet and deeper. We put 8 in the box, the first time I have completed a full boat limit this year. The keepers were very nice ranging from 14 to 17.75 inches, perfect eating size.

What I found very interesting was the amount of minnows that were present in the stomachs of the fish as we cleaned them. Each fish had at least 1 large minnow and most had 2 with some as high as 4. These fish were stuffed like a Norwegian at Thanksgiving! It is no wonder the bite has been tough of late. Certainly the cooler weather has triggered the fish to put on the feedbag. I am not sure where they could have fit anymore fish in their already stuffed stomachs but what the heck, they were biting. My last picture is one of the minnows we extracted from a fish. It was at least 5 inches long and looks like a young tullibee, which is reported in the lake at record numbers. They are predicting a high of 39 with occasional snow showers this weekend. I had better bring the winter gear as I sure could have used it on Sunday. At least we are catching fish!

The Second, My Brother-in-Law Jeeb

Jeeb isn't his real name, it's actually Mike, until someone corrected me .......it was John Jr. Too late, he was always Jeeb to me. Mike passed away last Tuesday after a 5 year courageous battle with kidney cancer. He was 53, a year younger than I. Mike was my wife's only brother and my favorite brother-in-law. Living on Paradise Lane in Galesville Wisconsin, his hobby farm of 120 acres sat at the end of a beautiful valley in God's Country. Here Mike is standing in a very nice field of clover he had planted. He was very proud of that clover indeed, as well he should have been!

Because Mike and I both loved to hunt and fish, we got along pretty well. Being a Norwegian from Eleva and he of Polish descent in Independence WI, it took us a while to actually get to know each other. Once established out friendship would carry on to the end. One of the first things we did together was snagging salmon in the Lake Michigan harbors and tributaries. Since Pacific Salmon were introduced into the Great Lakes, the annual spawning run occurred in late September. Using large lead cast treble hooks we would cast into the harbors and streams, working it back in long steady sweeps until the hook hit a fish and the battle was on. It was a free for all in those early years as it was a perfect solution to all those fish dying, going to waste. We definitely put them to good use (never mind they were pretty dark as they turned to their spawning stage), and of course the sport was fabulous. Catching 20 - 30 pound fish all day was something you didn't experience much in Trempealeau County! The picture on the right is of Billy Borgwardt on the left and Mike on the right holding up 5 nice salmon and 2 large brown trout we caught during one of our trips. My guess is that mess of fish went over 100 pounds. We liked salmon fishing so much that in September of 1976, Mike's now brother-in-law was getting married and at the wedding dance we decided that it would be a great time to head 6 hours east to Algoma WI and try our luck. Mike and myself rounded up my brother Steve, who had a station wagon, and another guy from the wedding, Dave Wolfe and off we went. Needless to say our wives were not very happy but I had a great excuse.............I was with your brother. Unfortunately we were pretty hung over when we got to Algoma and simply turned around and came home.

Mike taught me how to make venison bologna. This was a yearly ritual and I got pretty good at it. Being from Independence, he was a master at grinding, stuffing, and smoking nice big rings of bologna. This was handed down for generations. Well, if I was going to get into it serious I would need a sausage stuffer. Mike knew someone in Winona and one night we headed over to see if he had any. Entering the house he did the formal introductions and the customary, having a beer first, the owner of the house pulled open a trap door in the kitchen to reveal an almost straight down stairway into the cellar below. There among the cobwebs and dirt floor were a number of items including an old Enterprise brand sausage stuffer. "Well, it only has one stuffing tube and the press liner was bent but other than that it's in pretty good shape" stated our host. When asked how much, "$25" was the answer. I wasn't sure what to expect however it seemed reasonable. Today I wish I had bought every one he had as they are collectors items. It is still in mint condition today and I carry on the traditions that Mike had taught me.

Mike worked as the head foreman at the TRW plant in Galesville where they made complicated automotive switches primarily for heater controls. He was a genius when it came to plastic molding. One of the guys he worked with held an annual sheephead fishing contest. Sheephead is a common name for the freshwater drum and are extremely plentiful in the Mississippi River at Trempealeau WI. I had asked a number of times to be invited and finally in 2005 was given the chance. Joe was the coordinator of the tourney which was usually on the first Saturday in July, from Noon to 3:00. Prizes were awarded for the largest fish, the most total weight, and one for the smallest fish. Mike fished with Jake Jacobs (Highpockets) so I enlisted my friend Eric Hayes to be my partner. Eric and I are pretty good fisherman and felt we had more than a good chance to win. Heading down stream we caught a number of nice sheephead, maybe a half a 5 gallon pail, and felt pretty good. Well Mike and Highpockets unloaded their catch, 3 - 5 gallon pails of Sheephead!!!! Both Eric and I were humbled to say the least. Mike really knew how to put those fish in the boat.

The third picture is one of Mike on the last fishing trip we took together. We were on the Mississippi River and had met my good friend Kevin, who was anchored in this spot. Kevin invited us where to anchor across the same channel and we hammered the smallies. This is just one of many Mike had landed. We had a great time however by now his treatments were beginning to take a toll. Cancer is a terrible disease, one that Mike fought hard against. It was a battle that he simply could not win. I have a great friend Mark Applen who lost his son Eric by cancer at the age of 17. I am reminded of his motto: Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow. That is the courage that Mike showed, and one that I will remember for the rest of my life. Jeeb, may your long journey end in peace my friend.