Sunday, October 11, 2009
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Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Trout Fishing Part 4
After a quick stop to eat lunch and grab the 4 wheelers we were off to find our next creek. This time we wanted to find a place to ride the 4 wheelers and fish.
The three of us stopped at Buck’s in Grand Marais. Gary stared talking to one of the guys that worked there and asked him a good spot to go catch trout. At first he suggested this one spot I can’t even remember where it was, but he made the mistake of mentioning his secret spot. Well after all three of us talking him into it he finally spilled the beans. It just happened that this spot was also great to ride the 4 wheelers to. After a few small purchases we were on the road to one of the best brook trout spots.
It was maybe about a half hour drive up to the point where we unloaded the wheelers, and packed all of our fishing gear on them. Maps in hand we took off down the forest road. It was a beautiful ride with perfect weather.
Along the way we saw a short trail leading to a small lake. We went down the trail and found a nice little campground and a great little lake. We didn’t stay for long because we had other things in mind, like finding the secret trout spot.
We came to a fork in the road and with the maps not being the greatest and having to remember our directions we went straight and it happened to be the wrong way. It was actually a nice little two mile ride.
Once we got back on track we kept driving and driving a lot longer than I had anticipated. We came to another fork in the road. After stopping the four wheelers and having a short discussion we all decided to go to the right. It was a great decision and it brought us to the unnamed secret spot.
The closer we got to the creek the smaller the trails got.
I grabbed my gear and started to fish. Cast one trout, cast two trout, cast three trout, you get the picture. I’m not sure how many casts I made and caught fish, but I know it was more than any other place we had fished so far.
Down stream look at the spot
The fishing was the same as most other spots we leapfrogged each other up stream. This spot was quite a bit harder to get to the shore and get good casts with out getting snagged in a tree or falling in the water. As any fisher person will attest if you want to fish it you will find a way.
We saw a bunch of moose tracks along the edges of the stream, and at one point I swear I heard a cow moose blaring off in the distance. We saw a beaver busily working on his dam. What a beautiful place this was. I was having so much fun I didn’t even care that my line kept tangling in trees, and I was loosing lures.
Up stream look at the spot
Gary ended up catching the only two keepers that afternoon. One of them was a very nice 14 inch fish. George and I didn’t care because we caught so many fish that day it felt like we were in trout heaven.
A short 45 minute ride back to the truck and we were done with another fine day of fishing. We went back to the cabin to relax and eat some fish.
One quick note on the drive back to the cabin George said that this was one of the best fishing trips he had ever been on and we weren’t even done with it yet.
Fish tally 8 Keepers Gary 6 Ben 2 George 0
We ate good this night!
Other related links
Trout fishing Part 1
Trout Fishing Part 2
Trout fishing Part 3
Trout Fishing Part 5 (Final)
Friday, October 2, 2009
MyBuckStory.com
One day I received an e-mail from Andy at MyBuckStory.com he asked me to go and check it out. I was a little apprehensive at first. I was also very curious, so I went over to their site and checked it out. My first thought was wow this is a good concept. I decide it would be a good idea to become a member and create a profile. I am glad I did too because MyBuckStory.com has a great community of members.
I was fortunate enough to meet Adam (another one of the founders) a few days ago and he and I had a great conversation. Adam and I thought it would be a good idea to forge a relationship for the benefit of both of our sites. So here I am writing a post about this great site (Believe me if I didn’t like the site and the folks I’ve been in contact with I wouldn’t work with them).
OK, so on to the whole concept behind MyBuckStoy.com. It is a social networking site that combines a place where you can share your hunting and fishing adventures (stories) with the world, Photo sharing, Outdoor News, Outdoor Events and online gaming. It’s kind of like a one stop online source for all your hunting and fishing needs. I don’t want to forget to mention all of the links they have to valuable resource. Like links on the bottom of the page to your local DNR web site and other recommended sites.
The story sharing part of MyBuckStory.com is great for someone who doesn’t want to commit all the time and energy into creating their own blog. The text editor is very easy to use. Posing your story on the site allows you to get feed back from other hunters & fishing men/women about your hunting & fishing outings. Heck some members may even offer up some tips on how you could have done something better out in the field.
The news and Press Release section is updated daily and keeps you up to date with everything going on in the hunting and fishing world. In the gaming section they offer four games for you to play Bust Up, Disco Balls, Mooble, and Big Bomb Blackjack. All four games are great for killing time.
MyBuckStory.com it a great site and I suggest you check it out they already have 450+ members and are growing each and every day. Don’t miss out on this A+ site it is poised to be one of the best on the web for the outdoor community.
On last thing I would like to mention currently they are running a contest at MyBuckStory.com where you could win up to 500 bucks (lol) just for becoming a member and submitting your story. Click here for the details or click here One Down & More to Follow to check out my story then, become a member and vote for it and all the others.
Thanks.
Ben G.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Trout fishing Part 3
Our second day started off with a quick breakfast, and a little chatting. After we ate we loaded up the truck. We asked the owner of the Thomsonite Beach Inn. & Suites, (the cabin the three of us stayed in) if she knew of any good spots to go trout fishing. Lee pointed us to a spot she had seen others fish quite often.
Our first stop that morning was the ranger station in Grand Maris. We wanted to get some good maps for four wheeler trails and of trout streams. The folks at the ranger station were very helpful and they had more maps than I think I have ever seen in one place.
We decided to leave the four wheelers this morning because we were going to do a quick stop and only fish for a couple of hours. We did stop where Lee had said she saw people fishing. We all felt like it may have been over fished, especially because of how easy it was to find and get too.
We opted to keep driving and look for a different spot.
I had one of our many maps and navigated the way. We found a couple of small creeks and tried to fish at one of them with not much luck at all. Then after driving for a short while after the last creek, Gary decides to drive down a 4x4 trail. What a great decision Gary made driving down that little path.
The small 4x4 path
We drove a ways down the path and decided to hop out of the truck and walk because the trail was getting smaller and smaller. We didn’t have to walk very far to find a sweet fishing spot. The three of us scouted around looking for good places to fish from shore. There were plenty of them all around.
This is what we saw when we walked up to the river
The up stream side to the first pool we saw
We got gear and started to fish. It wasn’t long before we started catching fish they were nothing to brag about, but our luck would start to change. Gary caught a very nice brook trout, and then we decided to keep working our way up the river.
It was a ton of work to keep walking along the shore of the Cascade River, thick trees, tall grass, and big holes you couldn’t see. After a while we gave in, and just started walking in the river in our shoes. That is when we started to catch a lot of trout. We would walk cast a few times then walk further up stream and cast in another promising spot.
walking up stream
after the fog rolled in it was eerily quietShortly after we started fishing this way I caught my first keeper. I was so pumped and ready to catch more. I kept working my way up stream until I finely got to a spot where the cascade and a different creek merged together. Every cast I would catch a fish for about six casts I had one big one on but I lost it just as I pulled it out of the water. Instantly after that the spot was dead.
I headed back to get George or Gary, so we try and catch more fish in that spot. George was close to me and I told him to follow me to this sweet spot. He did and we both started casting in the hole I found. I thought it looked nice on the other side, so I waded through almost waste deep water so we could both fish the same spot from different sides.
Shortly after I got to the other side George had a big fish on his line. He got it just out of the water when it flew back in. This could have been the biggest fish on our trip. The bite seemed to die down a bit after that, but we both kept fishing. Here and there we would catch a fish nothing huge. Then I caught a nice size keeper. Number two for the trip and the river.
After walking up stream a bit more the hunger bug finally got the best of us, and we headed back to the truck. Gary had caught one more keeper while George and I were up stream. We ate lunch and headed back to the cabin to get the four wheelers.
Fish tally so far 6 keepers, we have enough for a meal tonight.
Ben G.
Related posts
Trout fishing trip on the horizon
Other adventure posts
Turkey Hunting Addiction (Part 1)
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Trout Fishing Part 2
After lunch we headed up the road a way to our next fishing destination. It was at the Ludsen Ski resort on the poplar river. I didn’t know what I was in for when they said that this river was a bit harder to fish than the cross River.
After we parked the truck we grabbed all of our gear and headed to the river. Once we got to a bridge we stopped and looked over the edge. I was thinking to myself “this can’t be the river we are fishing. How can we even get to it without killing ourselves on the rocks?”
Once we got down the rocks to the fist pool the humidity seemed to jump up 100% on this already 80+ degree day. It was what I would imagine a rain forest to feel like. Already sweating like crazy I casted my spinner into the fast moving current thinking again to myself “no way I’ll ever catch any fish in this river.”
Rock climbing and fishing our way down the river it was about twenty minutes before anyone caught a fish. I was so surprised when George held up a trout he had caught I didn’t know weather to jump for joy or throw my line in. Not much after that Gary caught a nice keeper size trout. It was the fist keeper of the trip and it looked pretty tasty to me.
George right before he caught the first Trout
After what seemed like only about an hour of fishing (actually almost four) we decided it was time to get back to the truck and eat some supper. I was beat and ready to get to the cabin, shower, eat and relax.
We checked into the cabin showered, ate some chili, and watched a movie before we went to bed. The first day was a blast and I couldn’t wait for day two.
We only had two fish from day one of fishing. That just meant we were that much closer to a trout supper.
After we parked the truck we grabbed all of our gear and headed to the river. Once we got to a bridge we stopped and looked over the edge. I was thinking to myself “this can’t be the river we are fishing. How can we even get to it without killing ourselves on the rocks?”
This picture and the next give you an idea of the size of the rocks we were climbing
To my surprise Gary and George said lets go fishing and we were off the trail and through the trees to the first giant rock we had to climb down. I didn’t even see any places to fish on this river with the water moving so fast there was no way any fish would be here.
Once we got down the rocks to the fist pool the humidity seemed to jump up 100% on this already 80+ degree day. It was what I would imagine a rain forest to feel like. Already sweating like crazy I casted my spinner into the fast moving current thinking again to myself “no way I’ll ever catch any fish in this river.”
Rock climbing and fishing our way down the river it was about twenty minutes before anyone caught a fish. I was so surprised when George held up a trout he had caught I didn’t know weather to jump for joy or throw my line in. Not much after that Gary caught a nice keeper size trout. It was the fist keeper of the trip and it looked pretty tasty to me.
George right before he caught the first TroutGary fishing in one of the pools on the river
It was a while before I caught my fist trout on this crazy rock climbing adventure, but once I caught one I had it figured out. I never caught a keeper on this river, but it was still a blast. Gary ended up catching two keepers. George did have one, but after I pulled it off his line it flopped out of my hands and back into the river.
Looking down stream
After what seemed like only about an hour of fishing (actually almost four) we decided it was time to get back to the truck and eat some supper. I was beat and ready to get to the cabin, shower, eat and relax.
I forgot the walk back to the truck was going to be up hill the whole way. I remembered fairly quickly when we got out of the woods and on to the ski hill. I looked up the hill it looks a lot bigger from the bottom then when we drove past on the top. What a long and never ending walk it was. Soon enough we were back to the truck and on our way to the cabin.
We checked into the cabin showered, ate some chili, and watched a movie before we went to bed. The first day was a blast and I couldn’t wait for day two.
We only had two fish from day one of fishing. That just meant we were that much closer to a trout supper.
Gary's fish day one
Ben G.
Related Posts
Friday, September 18, 2009
Advertising with Ben G. Outdoors
If you would like to advertise with us here at Ben G. Outdoors Please feel free to contact me @ benjogustafson@gmail.com and we can discuss the options I have for ad placement and my prices.
Thanks
Ben G.
Thanks
Ben G.
Trout fishing Part 1
As you probably already know last weekend I went on a trout fishing trip. This trip was way more fun than I imagined it would be, so here is a bit about the first part of our trip. Hope you enjoy.
We started out early Saturday morning. I was up at four and George picked me up around 4:30AM. Then we headed over to Gary’s. When we arrived we put all of our stuff in the suburban and were off on our six hour drive to the north shore. It was a pretty uneventful drive Gary brought along some magazines for us to read, we talked a bunch, and I think George took a snooze.
Our first stop was the cross river. My guess was that Gary and George had fished this river before, because they knew right where to go. After we parked I packed up my backpack with all my new fishing stuff, changed my shoes, and grabbed the camera. We were off on my fist Minnesota trout fishing trip.
We walked down a short trail, over a bridge and then down to the river bank. We started fishing almost right away. Fallowing Gary and George I watched them as the hopped from rock to rock. We stopped not far up the river when Gary said, “Ben cast in the small eddies and you will catch fish because that is where they are hiding.” So the next eddy I saw that looked promising I casted my spinner out into, and wouldn’t you know I caught a little brook trout. At that moment I knew this was going to be a good trip.
The three of us kept leapfrogging each other up the river catching small rainbow trout all the way. Just as we arrived at the fist big pool I realized I was missing the top portion of my new fishing rod (which was in my backpack). I did a bit of backtracking and couldn’t find it any where. Being the fishing was so good I decided I would look for it on our way back down the river so I could keep fishing.
Right when I got back to the pond Gary and George were fishing George caught a very nice rainbow. It was too bad he couldn’t keep it. In Minnesota you can only keep the stocked rainbow trout (you can tell because they have a clipped fin).
George's Rainbow Trout
We kept on going up the river catching a trout here and their mostly rainbows. We finally ended up at a spot where we couldn’t get any further up river. Instead of turning around we decided to see if we could get around the clifs blocking our way, but after walking for about 20 min. we decided it was best to just go back and eat lunch.We did a little fishing on the way back down the river but didn’t catch too much. I never did find the top half of my new pole, but that is ok I sill had my ultra light.
We went back up the trail and to the truck. By this time we were all pretty warm, and decided it would be a good idea to hop in the truck and find a shady spot to eat lunch. We found one and ate our sandwiches in the shade. After lunch we were off to the next river.
PS I have more pictures of the next river.
Ben G.
Related Posts
Trout Fishing Part 2
Trout Fishing Part 3
Trout Fishing Part 4
Trout Fishing Part 5 (Final)
Good Reading
Valley Creek Tenkara
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