4-26-03 - Starting back upstream I got a shot at a lone fish, but other than that there was nothing here.

Don't go immediately looking at this image; step back for a second. The enhancing brought out the outlines of the suckers...they are EVERYWHERE and in some spots, even thicker than this.

Checked out another section of stream that I haven't spent much time on before; this stretch was devoid of sightable fish as well, only 3 suckers in a 1/2 mile walk.

The scenery IS gorgeous however. It made for quite a nice hike.

The trees are flowering; in another couple weeks we'll have TONS of fresh green.

Annuals and perennials aren't the only plants with beautiful and intriguing flowers.

DOA...steelhead are starting to show up like this folks. Despite not being alive, this must have been a stunning buck.

Sighted a fish or two at the base of the Kenosha Country Club along with some uncommon smaller ducks.

4-26-03 - Saturday was for the birds!

Rivers Fished: Pike River, Root River
Fish Caught: 0
Outing Date: 4-26-03
Weather: Sunny
Air Temp: 60's
Water Temp: ?? Lost the Lanyard!
Water Level: low
Water Color: Clear (Greenish Clear on the Root)
Fish Species: Steelhead
Pattern Fished: various speys
Pattern Color: assorted
Fishing Quality: fair

Knowing that I have NEVER hooked up on a fish fair in the morning, always in the evening, I skipped out on early AM fishing and arrived at around noon back at the Pike. After sight-fishing the only fish I found upstream (which was spooked, NOT BY ME but by other outdoor phenomenon) I moved even further upstream to check out a "pod of fish" that had been sighted.

So this guy thought they were carp; however the first fish I saw was a chrome Steelhead on a stringer. However, that would be the only Steelhead up here; those fish weren't carp but were SUCKERS, and man were they EVERYWHERE! The bottom of the Pike was TILED in suckers, especially in the slack water. They were in greater concentrations in the rivers...in all fairness the numbers probably haven't changed, they've just grouped up.

So I 1:30 I started heading downstream. I hiked a section of the Pike that I had only checked out once before; only sighted 3 suckers. Got a lot of nice hiking in; the scenery was spectacular. The birds are really making for an interesting day out; I spotted all sorts of birds from Vultures, Red-tailed Hawks, and even a CRANE to little things you often overlook (like these little shorebirds; I think they were plovers and numerous kingfishers).

After a nice 1/2 hour walk, I headed back to good 'ole A & 13th. Made my way up towards the country club; at the base I came across (and almost overlooked) a steelie holding under the 2nd bridge. I tried for her a lot, got a couple looks but not much else. During this time an old buck came rippin through; heading downstream in a hurry. He wasn't stopping for nothing; I guess the healthy steelies are dropping back at this point. I left at about 3:15 to head for the Root and meet up with Chromeseeker; along the way had another lucky bird sighting; a nice male Cooper's Hawk!

My first drop in was at Brose Park; spent 45 minutes here but only got into the smolts. So I met up with CS upstream in Lincoln; where he was fishing and had just lost one. They had spotted one female who wasn't visible when holding, but periodically jumped. I went at it, throwing everything at her, or more precisely BEHIND her. My first hookup on the Root came somewhere around 5:30, with a male who was sitting behind the female. He took MP's Black-Laced Spey (in Chartreuse)! Unfortunately it was one of those all-too-brief encounters.

At 6:00 I headed back upstream to retry the sighted fish on the Pike. In this time I managed 2 lost hookups; a smaller male was giving chase but often stopping short, although I did have him on twice during this time. Most of the other Steelhead sighted looked like they had the "Shimmy's"; kinda wobbly in the water and generally just not looking very healthy; instead mostly lethargic. I kinda think the Pike run is done...as of 7:45 the steelies slowly made their way upstream and guess who showed up? The CARPETING of SUCKERS! They started moving out of the pools and sliding one by one through the riffles on their mass migration back to the lake. It was kinda strange how they almost appeared like ghosts out of nowhere...kinda sliding along the head of the riffles until they found their spot (which they went down backwards!).

So Saturday I was feeling kinda dejected, having had better luck sighting rare birds! There's still another day in the weekend!

  MP