Arrived at my campsite at The US Army Corp of Engineers Blackhawk Campground just north of De Soto, Wisconsin and was set up by around 4 pm. It isn’t the most beautiful campground and my site is not in the best location but it’s fine. The campground has bathrooms and a shower room which helps a lot. I have an electric hookup but do not have city water or a sewer connection. But I have 36 gallons of potable water so I should be good for a long time.
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
This Sunday, May 16 will be the beginning of a 19 day Driftless Area camping/fishing trip. The only people who look at my little site are friends and family so I will give names of campgrounds I camp at and streams I fish. Again, I do this site for me. It’s my digital scrapbook.
For the first two weeks I’ll be camping at the US Army Corps of Engineers Blackhawk Campground on the Mississippi River just north of DeSoto Wisconsin. After the Blackhawk Campground I’ll be staying at Esofea Campground, a Vernon County campground not far west of Viroqua, Wisconsin. After that I’ll be camping at Wyalusing State Park on the Wisconsin River which is as far south as the Driftless Area goes.
Last year’s camping ended with a water leak in my trailer’s kitchen. I’m ready with spare tubing and assorted hose clamps. It will be difficult to get at but the repair will be simple.
This year I have a decent drone so I might be able to post some videos of the areas I’ll be visiting and fishing. The problem may be getting a strong enough internet connection to upload the video files.
Saturday, May 8, 2021
“the grass is always greener”.
I have reservations for western trout fishing trips in June, July, August, and September. Trout fishermen from out west and other parts of the country travel to “The Driftless Area” in southwest Wisconsin for the trout fishing and for the beautiful country.
This morning I made campground reservations for the Driftless Area for three weeks in May. I will probably cancel my June, July, and August western reservations and instead spend three weeks each of those months camping and fishing the Driftless Area which is roughly three hours from home. Better to discover good fishing opportunities close to home. Also I will save a couple of thousand dollars in gasoline. This morning I found two inexpensive campgrounds in the Driftless Area, one a US Army Corp of Engineer Campground on the Mississippi River and the other a state park on the Wisconsin River. Because I have the Lifetime Interagency Senior’s Pass camping at the Corp of Engineers campground is half price, $13 a night, and that includes an electricity hookup. Best deal I’ve ever had.
In September I have two weeks reserved at a campground near the San Juan River in northwest New Mexico. As of now I plan on going on that trip. My time fishing the San Juan almost three years ago is a fond memory.
March 25th, 2021 Summer Trip
In the middle of June I’ll be heading to the Big Horn Mountains for a month of camping and fishing. I’ll go home for a week.
Then to northwest New Mexico to fish the San Juan River for two weeks. I’ll be staying at Cottonwood Campground in Navajo Lake State Park.
After the San Juan River I’ll be heading to Cimarron Canyon State Park close to Taos New Mexico. It’s a beautiful spot with a beautiful small river. I’ll be camped at the state park for 3 days and nights.
Then I’ll be spending two weeks camped at Aspen Glade Campground, a National Forest campground near Antonito Colorado. The plan is to do some day hikes into some trout streams that feed into the Conejos River. I’ll then go home for a couple of weeks.
In the middle of September I’ll be back in northwest New Mexico fishing the SanJuan River for another 10 days.
Friday, November 6, 2020
Last weekend when getting my “house batteries” from my trailer I tweaked my right wrist a little bit. It isn’t a big deal but it is sore enough that I don’t want to try to catch a big fish. It’s too bad cause the weather during the last few days has been beautiful.
Sunday, November 1, 2020
Supposedly there are some steelhead and brown trout in the Milwaukee River. It has been pretty cold the last couple of weeks but is supposed to warm up on Tuesday. Maybe I’ll give it a try a couple of times this week.
During the second week of October, I caught several large salmon in the Milwaukee River about two miles from my home.
The river was and still is loaded with big salmon. They are making their way upstream in an effort to spawn. They are a moving target. At times I could see up to five big fish in front of me. They aren’t eating but they will pick a fly up probably out of habit or irritation. The females, I think they are called “Hens”, are loaded with eggs. An egg fly and a split shot just big enough to get the fly down so it just ticks the bottom is all you need. If you are doing it right you will lose a lot of flies to the bottom and to big fish.
Soon, when the water temperature gets below 50 degrees, steelhead will start their run up the river. I’m looking forward to taking a shot at them.
Thursday, October 1, 2020
I live in Glendale Wisconsin, about a mile from the Milwaukee River. Sometime around the end of September and into October King Salmon (Chinook Salmon ) “run” up Lake Michigan tributaries in an effort to spawn. The Milwaukee River is a Lake Michigan tributary. They don’t spawn but they go through the motions. Sometime in October and into November Steelhead along with Brown Trout and maybe other types of salmon make their “run” up the river. The salmon showed up a week or two ago. I caught a couple of these monsters this week and hope to catch more and get some photos. I’ll take and post some photos of the flies I’ve tied and use.
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Went north a little over an hour into Montana to visit The Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument. They are taking COVOD-19 very seriously. Every other parking space is blocked. There is a sign instructing visitors to wear masks. Of course men were going into the bathroom without masks, tough guys.
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Arrived at Tie Flume Campground in The Big Horn Mountains and Big Horn National Forest. The campground is at 8400 feet. The South Tongue River runs through the campground. It’s a beautiful river full of fish, 4000 to 5000 fish every mile. They are beautiful Brown Trout but almost all are very small, fun for a while.
During my visit I saw three young moose.