Posts

Posted on

Saturday, June 19, 2021

A friend of mine I went to college with from 1970 through 1972 was playing with his band at Rock Island Resort which is a few miles north of Merrill, Wisconsin so I made a stop there the first stop of this trip. I camped at Council Grounds State Park. The park is two miles north of Merrill and Rock Island Resort is two miles north of the park. Turns out it’s a biker bar which was ok with me.

Before I post the photos I should say…

I did NOT vote for Trump and never would, not an insult

My friend is on the right playing the guitar

I did NOT vote for Trump and never would, not an insult

Almost everyone was outside until dark. Just before dark I went inside to watch the end of the Bucks game. By the time the game was over it was dark and everyone was inside the bar. Got a little crazy but not too crazy. It was a good night.

Posted on

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Heading “up north” at around 2 pm to Council Grounds State Park campground. Tonight an old friend and his band will be playing at a bar a few miles from my campsite. I went to college with him fifty years ago. Tomorrow I’ll head to a National Forest campground close to the Mackinac Bridge.

Posted on

Friday, June 11, 2021

This morning I made all the reservations including museum reservations. Before going on to museums I’ll first spend a couple of nights camped about twenty minutes from the Mackinac Bridge. From there I’ll visit Walloon Lake where Hemingway’s family had a cottage when he was young and where he married his first wife. I’ll be going to Lake Michigan beaches looking for Petosky Stones and Charlevoix Stones. I’m going to that area to look for the stones and Walloon Lake happens to be in the area. I wouldn’t drive very far to go to Walloon Lake. Then I’ll be visiting the; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Football Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan. I’ll be heading out next Saturday the 19th of June.

Posted on

Thursday, June 10, 2021

I’m still considering a Baseball Hall of Fame trip. My drive to Cooperstown would take me close to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton. Manhattan and its art museums are not far from Cooperstown. We shall see.

Posted on

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Didn’t fish this morning. A couple of weeks ago I got a pretty good sunburn fishing the Timber Coulee. My arms have been peeling for a few days and yesterday I got a little bit of a burn again. I’ll probably fish at sunset maybe on Coon Creek. It looks ok but it isn’t very big.

Esofea-Rentz Campground and my site. The North Branch of the Broad Axe River flows through the campground. It’s pretty small but fishable.

Posted on

Monday, June 7, 2021

Second day of a four day Driftless Area fishing trip. I’m staying at Esofea-Rentz county park campground, a Vernon County park. Woke at four am and got on the water by seven am. Fished mostly dry flies. There was a midge hatch but very few rises. I had no luck with conventional dry flies such as mayfly, caddis, and midges but started catching fish when I switched to terrestrials; ants, beetles, and grasshoppers. Didn’t count fish today but it was more than ten.

View from my truck to the Timber Coulee. You climb over the miniature ladder on the right
If I keep flying like this I won’t have a drone for long
This is where I’ve been fishing on the Timber-Coulee. The water is so clear I could use the drone to locate fish, but I won’t
Posted on

Friday, June 4, 2021

Sunday around noon I’ll be heading back to The Driftless Area for four days of camping at a Vernon County campground. It will be hot, close to a high of 90 all four days.

Posted on

Thursday, May 27, 2021

On Tuesday I stopped by to see two old friends from the mid 70s. A couple of months ago I realized that they had retired to Viola, Wisconsin about 10 miles from where I usually camp in the Driftless Area. They weren’t married when I knew them. He and I were roommates for a few years. Quite a coincidence that he ended up being a tool and die mold guy like me.

Horrible weather and it’s not looking a lot better so I’m heading home now.

I think I figured out what the problem was with my blog’s photos and videos, a bad plugin.

Posted on

Monday, May 24, 2021

Fished the Timber Coulee again this morning after almost a week of off and on rain. Fished from 8 am til noon and got a pretty good sunburn. Wasn’t expecting a sunburn on a May morning. Used my new and inexpensive 3 weight outfit. I really like it. It’s delicate and casts well fishing dry flies and gets the job done fishing nymphs with an indicator.

The section of the Timber Coulee I’ve been fishing

Caught 19 brown trout, and terrorized many more fish. I caught several around 10 to 12 inches but caught one brown that was 15 to 16 inches and one 13 to 14 inches. They were beautiful. They weren’t real picky. They liked an old standard, the “pheasant tail”, and an “orange scud”. The biggest fish were caught on the pheasant tail but it’s just the fly I had on at the time.