The Osprey had more fish-catching success than we did

The surface of the water and the air show above were reason enough to appreciate a great fishing trip even if that bird caught one more fish than Ron and I did. The osprey got one on its first cast into the lake.

As for Ron and I, we casted hundreds of times on our musky search adventure on Monday. We were on a lake not far from Oshaukuta that has some nice muskies in it according to some information I had received. Those bits of data proved to be true before out adventure was over but —- we didn’t catch the fish that really wanted to eat the Hula Dancer lure attached to the business end of my outfit but I was able to get a good look at.

After our week-long musky fishing trip to Sawyer County the two of us decided to spend the day of the full moon on a lake closer than a five-hour drive and maybe get a fish of 10,000 casts. After all, after a summer’s worth of casting into the Wisconsin River and a week’s worth of casting into Lost Land Lake and Teal Lake I had to be getting close to ten grand. I believe the saying goes that you only catch one musky per 10,000 casts but you might have one on but lose the battle and you might also have one follow your offerings all the way to the side of the boat only to disappear into the depths.

Ron had announced that he’d pick me up between 7:30 am and 8:00 am Monday morning. I was just about ready when he beat the clock by about ten minutes. I finished up packing my Pike Chain of Lakes canvas tackle bag, grabbed my inflatable life vest, two rods, my Frogg Toggs because rain was in the forecast and we casted off for the boat launch at “Ugly Duckling Pond.”

There were just two vehicles with empty boat trailers in the parking area and ours made for a third one. We got going and with the aid of a lake map and a conversation I had with Patrick Kingsland about the lake we felt we had a chance at getting a musky. When a person thinks about 10,000 casts to catch a musky, patience is certainly a virtue. As we were launching Ron’s boat fish were jumping out of the water everywhere. I’d seen this phenomenon the past two years this time of the year. The jumping fish are carp. We motored our way to our first “map waypoint”. Before I could launch my first cast of the day a huge carped went airborne right next to me before splashing back into the cool, clear water. Carp were putting on a show all around us.

As I retrieved a couple of big lures I had some bumps and ticks at the end of the that proved to be false leads. I’m pretty sure that I was bumping against carp as I made all those retrieves. I was somewhat surprised that none of my hooks revealed a carp scale after several of those bumps.

The map pf “Ugly Duckling Pond” indicates that there are nine “musky hot-spots” on the lake. After my scouting trip one evening last week I added a tenth spot. We fished them in a random order rather than sequential.

After nearly four hours of pounding the water with our baits we had just moved to one of the final random spots and were nearly to end of that spot when a fella in a high-powered boat raced past us and to the end of the lake. He made a wide sweeping turn as I was watching him. I was trying to figure out why he was going so fast in that shallow water. About the time he got his speedboat straightened out it was about time to finish the retrieve I was cranking the reel handle on. I looked down to check my Big Brook Baits Hula Dancer’s return. I had given up on doing the one thing that the experts tell everyone to do.

A figure eight is pretty easy to understand even for a non-fishing person. However, the fishing figure eight is done latterly instead of top to bottom as you look at it. When the bait gets close to the angler the thing to do is to start moving your rod to the right or left to start making an imaginary number 8. Some anglers go clockwise but most go counter clockwise. I’m a counter clock wise kind of guy.

On the cast I am describing there would be no figure 8 because my mind was on how noisy and wild that fella in the speed boat was. I just wanted to get the bait back and heave it back out there.

As I looked down at the Hula Dancer my gaze coincided with my lifting action to get the bait out of the water. That very moment was the moment when I saw two things at the same time same time. I saw my Hula Dancer break free of the water at the same time a mid-40s musky wanted to eat that Hawaiian morsel.

A better musky fisherman than me would have 1) not failed to work on his figure eight technique and 2) even after failing the most important part of the end of a retrieve and seeing a fish that wanted to eat would have plunged the end of his rod with the lure hanging there back in the water and start making series of “eights” in hopes that the fish was so disappointed in losing out on a meal that it was still hanging around.

If you think that does not happen I suggest you watch a few YouTube videos. Check out “Burnin’ Eight” or Todays’ Angler to begin with. Watch enough of them until you see Mike or Robbie or Lee catch a musky after doing seven or eight figure eights next to the boat. It really does happen.

It didn’t happen Monday for Ron and I though because I was not “in the moment” which caused my frustration.

Ron may not go back but rest assured “Ugly Duckling Pond” will host my rig plenty more times yet this autumn.

Even on a fishless day the adventure was a success though. That osprey had winged its way right over tip of us about half way through our adventure. To me it appeared to be really hungry as it intently searched the lake’s surface for an unsuspecting fish. As it circled off to my right I tossed my white swim bait in the bird’s direction to see if the bird would think my bait was actually it’s lunch. After about ten or twelve fast cranks the bird actually turned and followed my retrieve or so it seemed to me. I didn’t want any part of having a bird of prey at the end of my line for more than one reason so I stopped reeling and allowed the weighted lure to sink deeper than an osprey would ever do a power dive to catch. The bird flapped off to the north and disappeared from sight behind the oak trees that line the shoreline. About half a minute later I was looking that direction when that osprey was on a power dive coming right toward us. “Ron, look at this osprey now! He’s going to hit the water for one.”

The bird’s descent was fast and it splashed down and for a moment was completely submerged before reappearing on the surface with its wings working diligently. As it quickly rose off the surface a fish was in its talons. Lunch for the bird and for us as Ron then offered me a granola bar a few minutes later.

We also saw bald eagles, geese, some ducks, and rain clouds that forced me to hurriedly donn my new Frogg Toggs. The rain last about five minutes but without our rain top we’d have been soaked.

If you are looking for adventure let me know. I will be needing someone to do the net work soon. For one of these trips will end in fishing success. I have the net if you have the technique. If you do not have that just ask for help. I’ll teach you. If you don’t want to fish while you join up with me, bring a book, a camera, or do some fishing yourself. I’d be your host. I have enough gear to get your lure in the water and I’d write a story about it.

Have a great day and make it an outdoor day.

Bob

Pileated woodpeckers, angry dragons, and bald eagles kept me thinking and made for a great river trip

I hadn’t been there long when I heard the call of a pileated woodpecker.

There was a time when pileated woodpeckers lived north of Highway 64 in Wisconsin. After all according to the DNR that’s where the north begins in this Badger State and not in Portage. Pileated woodpeckers didn’t live in Portage either in the first half of my life. They started showing up here in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

I well remember hearing one in our back yard as it called out then drummed on the trunk of a huge dead white pine that my father-in-law had planted back in the 1940s. I quickly went and got him so he could hear it and see it.

On Wednesday morning I decided to go fishing. My back had been bothering me more than it had since my extreme back issues of 2019. Perhaps it was from seven consecutive days of tossing musky baits in the northwoods (where I heard or saw no pileated woodpeckers in the Lost Land Lake area). My solunar tables app told me that my chances of success on the day were just 18% with a major activity period mid-morning. I punched two more holes in my belt, laced that piece of leather through the loops and cinched it up after I had pulled the waistband of my cargo shorts just above my Illiac Crest.

That worked and I headed for the Dekorra landing on the Wisconsin River. I’d check the river levels the evening before and figured I’d have no trouble getting to the Baraboo, Jackfish Slough and Two Bobs Slough if I chose to do that. 

The parking lot at the landing was unusually totally empty when I arrived. I hustled around to get things ready to launch after a phone conversation had interrupted my preparation to launch. Once has to be cognizant of all the things that must be done to put a boat in the water. It was just about five weeks ago when I was forced to go for an unplanned swing because I rushed. Rushing causes panic or vice versa and those two things lead to failure. It’s one of my teaching/coaching axioms and I had broken it that day. My message goes like this “Don’t panic because it leads to rush and rush leads to failure. You should never be rushin’ unless you are actually a Russian and if you are a Russian then don’t hurry.”

The water was smooth as I headed up stream. I made it to the mouth of Duck Creek, turned off my outboard and let the boat coast to a stop while I readied by first set up. I got my trolling motor ready and started making some offerings. I’d been gifted a couple baits the afternoon before and wanted to try them out. Elijah Keller is a former student of mine and a good fisherman. We had a great conversation where I showed him some of the plugs I’ve made and caught fish with.e two baits he gave me are made by TNT tackle and are called Angry Dragon. I tossed one of the likenesses of those mythical beasts toward a pile or log rubble and started cranking. It’s a chatter bait with some great wobble. I’d like to be underwater to listen to how it sounds chugging through the depths. On about the 10^th cast or so either a hungry pike or an angry pike struck that Angry Dragon but let it go about 10 feet from the boat. Wow! The day was already a great one but about five minutes later I tossed that critter between two trees up the creek about 50 yards from my first strike and POW! pike that was about 24” long chose to fight with the dragon on the end of my line. I got it to the boat, grabbed it with my fish grabber and raised it up next to the gunwale where I say hello to it and assure it that it was not going to become one of my meals. First of all, the size limit is 26 inches and the secondly, I don’t keep any fish I catch. Once hearing me chat with it the fish calmed down a bit and I got it unhooked without removing any of its slime. It dropped into the water and darted for cover.

About the time I caught the second pike the pileated woodpecker let the world know it was looking for lunch. That’s when I started thinking about woodpeckers. It’s neat to see those huge birds that Woody Woodpecker is derived from but on the other side of the coin are the red headed woodpeckers. I haven’t seen a red headed woodpecker for a long, long time. About a week ago somebody else I was chatting with asked if I’d seen any red headed woodpeckers lately. After thinking about it I told him, “You know I haven’t and not for a long time.” Do you suppose they and the pileated do not like each other?

I headed for the Baraboo and then to Jackfish Slough where I could not get into the honey hole because the sand flat has completely plugged what little space there was go get into it so chose to go to Two Bobs Slough.

I’ve written many times about the bald eagles that hang around the area where Two Bobs Slough is. Wednesday was no exception. As I slowed down my craft and killed the engine the cry of the eagle was heard. One of the mature ones was perched high in a tree a bit downstream from Two Bobs. I said hello and as he flew off I figured he had been waiting for my greeting and once received went to do some fishing of its own.

As I entered Two Bobs Slough I was met with an unexpected surprise. The river was higher than normal but the water in the slough was so churned up from something that it looked like my father’s coffee after he’d poured milk and sugar it. The color was a sandy brown and I caught nothing but didn’t say long.

It’s about a 12-minute trip for me downriver from Two Bobs slough and by the time I started my 25 HP Yamaha it was 11:30. I’d be back home by noon for a sandwich of left over rotisserie chicken drumstick and thigh.

It was a four pike day and one that presented some questions. It was also very peaceful as no other fisherman were on the river while I was up there. On the way back I met my friend Derek from Cincinnati who is at his cottage for the week. He reported a good week of fishing. We chatted for a couple of minutes before casting off and heading our separate way.

I was back on the river again today doing a bit of reconnaissance for future forays on the river. I caught no fish today – but who cares?

I spent the part of the rest of day and evening building a new frog bait for Elijah. It’s a weedless frog that I hollowed out, added three BBs to make it rattle and got things rolling. It needs a good coating of two-part epoxy to protect it and make it shine.

Have a great day!

Bob

We Found Lost Land Lake, but we only found one interested musky

The Wisconsin State Fish that live in Lost Land Lake are supposed to be common and many informational resources say they are plentiful. The literature does not mention that they play a tough game of hide and seek.

Three years ago I started fishing for muskies with Ron Buzzell in Northern Wisconsin. The first two years we fished on the Pike Chain of Lakes in Bayfield County just south of the village of Iron River. We didn’t catch any muskies in 2018 but we did see some and we caught a few members of two different species. In 2019 we didn’t do well until the “two-minute” drill started as it was my final day there. That’s when Ron lit into a nice fish of 10,000 casts in the 40+ inch range. It topped off a great week of fishing, telling stories, sharing time with our wives and Ron’s sister Penny and her husband Kevin. Last year we did not make the trip north to meet up with Ron and Karen due to COVD-19. Ron didn’t catch a musky last year so this year we looked for an alternate spot. Ron heard about a lake named Lost Land Lake, named that due to the fact that the lake was missing from early logging maps.

Lost Land Lake and its sister lake, Teal Lake (connected by a narrow channel of the Teal River) are about 14 miles northwest of Hayward just north of Hwy. 77 and not far from the world famous Chippewa Flowage. As a matter of fact, the Teal River, after leaving Teal Lake flows under Hwy. 77 and eventually winds up in the flowage named here-to-fore. Karol and I missed the first road to Lost Land Lake Lodge off Hwy. 77 where we would be calling home for seven days but found a sign east on 77 a bit farther and located the Lodge and all the cabins (now owned by private parties). Ron hit the jackpot when he booked the Lagoon cabin. Originally built in the 30s or 40s Lagoon cabin has been remodeled spectacularly and is the kind that a person would want to return to if the muskies had been more cooperative. However, it surely was not the fault of the cabin or the hospitality we discovered inside. The place was well stocked with spices, seasonings, WIFI, three TVs all capable of getting lots of channels via Sling TV on the Roku (but we never turned on a single one because we had fun without that amenity), Swiss Miss and hot chocolate, fishing worms in the fridge (we didn’t use them however), Weber grill and lighter fluid and boxes of tissues in every room, paper plates and more. Perhaps other patrons had left some of that stuff we thought, so we left our leftover charcoal. It was surely a pleasant, wonderful week.

Ron and I fished hard Saturday through Friday but failed to get a fish into the net. On Wednesday we traveled west on Hwy. 77 toward Hayward for a stop at the Twin Lakes Tap and Bobber Down Bait & Tackle to say hello to my friend Dan Palmer who owns the businesses there. Inside the bait shop Ron and I met Roy who was the bait shop attendant and as we learned a resident musky expert. Roy told us that he guided fisherman for 16 years on the average of 160 trips a year. He gave us some tips to perhaps get some action from the fish of 10,000 casts. Soon after arriving and about the time we were going to head back to our cabin for more fishing Dan arrived for the 3 pm opening of Twin Lakes Tap. While I chatted with a good friend whom I met through fastpitch softball, Ron continued to chat with Roy back at the bait shop. Roy thinks out of the box and makes his own fishing lures. He has one he calls the Hula Dancer and actually gave one to Ron to use up here. It has two silver blades that spin as it gets pulled back to the rod and has a hula skirt on the distal end.

We headed back out for another three or four hours of fishing. Ron tossed and retrieved the Hula Dancer for the first couple of yours then handed off the baton to me to finish the race as he was a bit tuckered out. I started throwing it and retrieving it with little success until suddenly a fish attacked the Hawaiian dancer-like bait and headed west. “Ron, I have a fish on,” I yelled. As I fought the creature of the deep Ron headed for the net. About the time he was going to grab it the fish swam straight at me and before I could tighten the braided line on my reel the fish turned sideways showing us it’s beautiful self then sent the Hula Dancer at the boat where it clanged off the side — it had disappeared and gone back to the deep.

I was heart-broken. Not so much for myself but for Ron as well. It had been a tough four days of fishing and we just wanted to get a musky in the net. Those who have ever lost a huge fish know the feeling. A person plays and replays the entire scenario over and over again. “What could I have done differently to have had a more pleasant ending? Would a treble hook at the end of that lure been better than the single hook that Roy had built it with? Should I have stood up in the front of the boat instead of remaining seated?” were questions I asked myself. That would have been tough as the windy evening had riled up the surface, so standing on the deck of Ron’s craft had proven to be an adventure in itself. It was more than a bit treacherous. I felt like a batter who had just taken a called third strike on a pitch they should have hit out of the park to end a ball game. Once it’s over — it’s over. There is no getting that chance back. The feeling of letting the entire team down sort of takes the wind out of one’s journey. Later in the evening Ron had what he thinks may have been a couple of strikes but no hook sets. I did catch a small pike on Wednesday evening (you can read about that in the previous essay).

All-in-all, I am confident that you understand that it has been a great week in the northern third of Wisconsin. My allergies were non-existent, our neighbors, Tammy and Kurt in the cabin next door were great (although they did out-fish us in the number of fish caught including Tammy’s 34” musky – her first-ever musky).

One comical highlight of the week was feeding the young mallard hens peanut butter cookie crumbs, dog food crumbs and a mess of oyster crackers. Karol and I both had one eating out of our hands on the final day. Eagles, loons and gulls put on some airshows while the loons of Lost Land Lake can hold their breath underwater for about 50 seconds while covering about 75 yards. Some amazing sunrises and sunsets were highlights as well.

We fished hard on Friday morning with no action and chose to call that trip our final one of the week. Ron took Karen for a tour of the lake. After their return we relaxed back at the cabin and engaged in great conversation with Karen and Karol.

Just before leaving Ron told me this, “There are only four guys that I would ever fish with and you are one of them.”  That was like adding sprinkles to the top of a great cake with frosting.

So we found Lost Land Lake to be an interesting one and the narrow, shallow river channel to Teal Lake allowed for about ten minutes of conversation and reflection. All-in-all, finding the lake was easier than finding more than one musky to take a chance on our offerings. Thanks to Ron and Karen for allowing us to share the week with them.

Have a great day and may more and more of your days be outdoor days – mine will.

Bob

Some Go Fishing To Catch Fish, I Go To Catch The Anticipation

It’s the build-up to what might be a fantastic story to be told well into the future.

Outdoor writer Corey Ford once said, “The past never changes. You leave it and go on to the present, but it is still there, waiting for you to come back to it.”

This trip to the north country is a prime example of Ford’s quote. I was full of anticipation as this trip got closer and closer. The final week found me in my lure making shop busily putting the finishing touches on about half a dozen lures. I wanted to watch them swim back at me after splashing down following and got them ready for their maiden voyage. a very long flight between the end of my rod and the lake. I puttered and sprayed, added some hook hangers and hooks.

Once on the waters of Sawyer county I started switching baits often. I just wanted to see how all my hand-made plugs would behave on the trip back to the boat. If a fish were to strike before the trip was complete that would be like sprinkles on the top of a well baked and frosted cake.

The trip up here took longer than I had anticipated as the winding forest roads of the Chippewa Flowage area slowed me down. I wanted to to arrive and “get after it.” We were on the water soon thereafter. The fishing success that I had looked forward to didn’t meet my anticipation level which was chronicled in the previous story. However my level of anticipation had not waned. Each cast includes anticipation. One never knows when a fish might strike so you must always be ready to set the hook.

Last night I was able to satisfy some of my anticipation. I caught our first fish when a “hammer-handle” pike attacked my spinner bait. Now I anticipate next which we hope to be a fish of 10,000 casts.

Yesterday as Ron and I stood on the dock two people in a large boat eased past us on their way to the boat landing. The young lad in the front told us, “I almost caught a 36 inch northern.” I looked at Ron after the fellas in the boat were far enough away so they might not hear me and said, “Every time I cast and retrieve with no strike I like to believe that I almost caught one too.” We fished in earnest this morning but we had to settle for lunch and anticipation of what Teal Lake might provide us this evening. I bet the lady in the cabin next to us is also anticipating a fifth fish in her trip here. After all, to stay at least three fish ahead of Ron and I she too must be filled with what this essay is all about.

I’ll catch you up tomorrow.

Have a great day.

Bob

Little plugs caught big fish, big lures caught no fish

The lady in the boat had a proud smile on her face as the craft she was riding in passed our dock here at the cabin on the lake up here in northern Wisconsin where we are 257 miles from our front door at Oshaukuta.

“I just caught my first musky,” she proudly proclaimed.

Muskies are what Ron and I are after up up here but after our first two trips we were zero for two.

For some unexplainable reason, she just just didn’t look to be touting the kind of tackle that the average woman out fishing would be using to tackle the fish of 10,000 casts ,so I asked, “What were you using?”

A little spinner kind of bait was what I think she told me before I asked, Were you really fishing for bass?”

Here answer was in the affirmative so I was happy for her and feeling better about not even seeing a fish in two trips on the water. See, in a real musky fisherman’s world, catching a musky while fishing for smaller trophies is like a blind squirrel finding a nut. It’s purely coincidental. It’s more blind luck than skill in landing a targeted species.

None the less, as I sit her tonight thinking about what she told us upon her second return from the lake, I am beginning to wonder if I should alter my approach in order to get a musky into Ron’s net. After all, my longtime fastpitch friend who now owns the Twin Lakes Tap and Bobber Down Bait/Liquor store on Hwy. 77 just west of here told me to use smaller baits than normal on these two connected lakes, “like what you’d use to normally target bass,” were his exact words. Of course the die-hard musky hunter in me sort of scoffed at that idea. After all, I’ve spent the better part of two summers building and painting my own rendition of several longtime and newly designed, and expensive musky plugs. When the lady returned from her second trip on the water I again was on the dock. I spread my arms wide when they approached using fisherman sign language to silently ask, “Did you get a big one this time” as I spread my arms as wide as I could get them. She shook her head side-to-side and returned a sign that indicated smaller fish, then said. “just two bass and a couple of northern pike.”

Ron and I went back out on the water later in the afternoon and spent another three hours learning the second lake up here but did not raise any fish. However my handmade creations are behaving as I had planned that they would. Now the deal is all in the presentation and finding a hungry fish or one that becomes unnerved by the size and and sounds of the Oshaukuta Creations I have in in my plastic boxes. There have been some highlights after two days up here though. A day fishing is better than a day not fishing. Chasing fish that can reach 50 inches in length with a good friend is quality time. Spending time with great people and seeing family members we see just once a year is a highlight up here. Celebrating two recent birthdays and one coming soon with cake was nice. So is feeding the somewhat wild mallards peanut butter cookie crumbs and small pieces of a dog biscuit.This evening’s trip produced no action but we have learned a bit more about the lakes and found some spots that we will attack tomorrow. I will mix in a variety of plugs like usual but will use a few more smaller, bass-type plugs in addition to the magnum sized handmade ones I brought along.

The evening outing produced several rainbows off to our northeast, each getting brighter than the the one before it. The air is crisp and cool and my fall allergies never cause me issues up here in the north land. The cabin we have rented is an original 1930s or early 1940s resort cabin that has been refurbished to meet the needs of modern times. We have wifi here so I can post some stories for your reading pleasure. There is running water and some comforts of home yet it’s still a getaway destination where we can spend time fishing, working on various puzzles, feed the ducks and try to catch a large, green, toothy fish or two.

Have a great final day of your Labor Day weekend.

Bob – (Karol, Ron and Karen)