10-30-05 - Morning at Kletzch.

The falls at Kletzch - no fish jumping today!

Estabrook Falls - too crowded and nothing on the move here either.

ONE willing biter is all it takes to break a skunk! (Copyright © 2005 Renee)

Renee chases what is probably the same Coho she landed yesterday.

Renee works a deep pool on Oak Creek!

Great fall colors down by the Lake! (Copyright © 2005 Renee)

10-30-05 - Another Crash

Waters Fished: Milwaukee River, Oak Creek
Fish Caught: 1
Outing Date: 10-31-05
Weather: Sunny
Air Temp: rising to 60's
Water Temp: 49F
Water Level: low, 80 CFS or so
Water Color: stained, visibility 1-2'
Fish Species: King Salmon, Coho Salmon
Pattern Fished: various egg patterns
Pattern Color: the usual ;)

Talk about another sad turn of events. I wanted to show Nick and Matt some different water on the Milwaukee. We all kinda slept in a bit...after a day like yesterday what's the big hurry?

Well, first stop was Kletzch. I had hoped that maybe we'd encounter some fish trying to jump the falls. Either we were late and missed it or it wasn't happening at all. From what I could gather while observing from shore, there were definitely more anglers than fish.

On way downstream to Estabrook Falls - here too it seemed there were more anglers than fish. So we went right back where we were the day prior.

Big surprise, unlike our tranquil day on Saturday the river was a relative zoo at 9:00 AM. While chatting with a couple anglers I picked up on the fact that a group of guys had hauled out "30 to 40" kings on stringers.

Well that would account for the bleak conditions. Shortly after we arrived, most of the anglers had left. There really wasn't much to fish for! I do not attribute that entirely to the purported early morning harvest, but it definitely played a part in the reduced fish numbers, if true.

Matt, Nick, Renee and I pretty much all went our separate ways. Throughout the late morning we were definitely chasing INDIVIDUAL fish vs. PODS of fish. I got luck enough to find a willing biter in a Jack King. Otherwise...?

Shortly after noon, Matt and Nick had to take off...it's a long drive back, at least for Nick! After bidding them farewell, Renee and I kinda wondered what to do...

Believe it or not I was kinda feeling "done" with fishing, so we did some errands, a bit of window shopping, and started heading south. We had killed about 2 hours. Awe, what the heck, even though it's dirt low Renee and I should go look at Oak Creek, even if just for a hike more than anything else. Well, before we could fish we needed dinner - we stopped at a local cash-only bar in Oak Creek and got some grub. Honestly it wasn't too bad, but not sure it was good enough to share with all of you!

Oak Creek was indeed LOW. ULTRA LOW. However, it was gorgeous! We did find a pool of agitated fish...mostly Kings but a couple Cohos mixed in. After a bit of fishing and a lost hookup, we continued our hike downstream.

We went all the way to the lake and probably sighted 3 fish the entire time. Upon turning around and heading back upstream, again we found a semi-beat-up king. A few casts produced nothing other than an agitated fish that slinked downstream into the cover of a deep bend. Nothing worth chasing.

We rounded out our day with a few more pictures and some more time on the hole that held fish. Renee had a great fair king that threw the hooks, and that was pretty much IT for action.

I wasn't the least bit disappointed though...it was a stunning day for fall colors.

	The colors made our time here worthwhile.
Another striking view of Oak Creek in the fall.	Yes, more beautiful Oak Creek scenery! (Copyright © 2005 Renee)	Jaw droppingly beautiful! (Copyright © 2005 Renee)

  MP