Run to Hayward
Its been a busy year so far around here...so when I got word from my guide friend Erik Huber that he had a couple days to kill, fishing was hot, and we could row some great water.....it took less than a moment to confirm and get my gear ready for a trip to the Northwoods.
Getting a late start, most of the drive up was in the dark. Good tunes, truck full of gear, and hwy 53 north can only put you in a good mood, so rolling into camp late felt good, albeit a bit blurry. Erik had given me instructions to meet him at the end of the road, as I likely wouldn't have found the cabin on my own. Turns out that was a good idea...
After catching up and a few hours sleep, it was off for a big breakfast and to meet Stu at the put-in. Turns out..Stu couldn't make it. Sitting at the put-in with one truck and no shuttle there was only one choice...launch the boat and let the day happen.
We were floating new water for me, so I was pretty stoked. There's so much great water in the Hayward area, I love it all. Every time I'm on a new stretch it adds to that list of favorite water. We were armed for smallies and musky....starting off with musky, as we figured it was best for things to warm up a bit before we tried to hammer on a topwater smallie bite. Thirty minutes in...had a nice musky come and ghost on the fly, then come back after a several figure eights, and then was gone again. Felt good to get some action right out of the gate...plus I hadn't seen a musky for months. In the game!
Not more than an hour later....it was on. The grab was light, first thought was "hey, think its a nice smallie". Until the fish cleared the water. I gave Erik that "holy shit" look and tried to get a solid strip set as the fish had been coming at the boat. Tenuously hooked and in decent current, there is nothing more you want then to get this kind of fish in the net. I'm proud to say we broke in Erik's new Frabill.
That sure takes the edge off the trip. Have I mentioned I love muskies?
We switched off rowing and fishing for awhile...looking for more musky, but in that time had a few smallies grab topwater. Topwater smallies are about as fun as it gets for a gamefish in WI. The topwater bite was slow to start up there, but today turned into "the day". One of those "anchor the boat in the rain, switch between IPA's and casting, taking turns landing as many fish as you want" kind of times.
We caught a bunch of these....
And a few of these...
Action stayed fierce all afternoon despite clouds, rain, and cool temps. There also may or may not have been about a million dragonflies around...so that never hurts the fish wanting to look up.
I usually fish up there in the fall...so its nice change to have the longer days, esp. when we still had a few miles to go and it was pushing 7pm. Oh, and the no shuttle thing. There was still that. Finally the text went through to Stu, and he agreed to come get us at the landing...which would be a perfect opportunity to rub in the days success...ad get us back to the truck without a long walk or thumbing it.
After a couple post-fishing donuts (kwik trip donuts are lucky musky donuts, don't tell anyone), it was off to Anglers for a deluxe 'za, a couple beers and hit the sack for another day.
The next day, Stu was on board. With high optimism..it was breakfast, drive, launch, shuttle, and back at it..this time on some more familiar water for me. We fished hard. Beers were consumed. Many laughs. Fish didn't quite cooperate as much as we would have liked...but sometimes, nay..most of the time, that doesn't really matter.
Its always a pleasure to get up to that neck of the woods and fish. Sometimes I think I'd stay there if I could. Sharing the boat with Erik or Stu is always about as much fun as you can have in a drift boat..and being able to get out with both of them is a bonus. Good times were had by all. Till next time...
Erik Huber and Stu Neville are guides out of Hayward Fly Fishing Company in Hayward. A couple of the best guides in the area...give them a call.
http://haywardflyfishingcompany.com/
