10-22-05 - Quick Trip
Waters Fished: Milwaukee River
Fish Caught: 2 personally
Outing Date: 10-22-05
Weather: Drizzle
Air Temp: 50's
Water Temp: 52F
Water Level: low (100 cfs at most)
Water Color: Brown, visibility around 1'
Fish Species: King Salmon
Pattern Fished: Small Egg Patterns
Pattern Color: Red patterns worked again.
Wow, um, yeah. The "Peak" of the King
run was definitely right on time DESPITE low water conditions in
the area. Definitely, last week, and maybe the first couple days
of this week...that was DEFINITELY the PEAK. We're on the backside
of the hill now.
Renee and I slept in for a change (neither of us
have gotten a full 8 hours in two weeks at least). I must admit
I wasn't in any big hurry - kinda fished out after a full week during
the PEAK. Also kinda bummed because once again, the camera is out
for repairs. Renee volunteered her Rebel for today and we did take
some, but they'll come down the line.
Meanwhile the majority of my angling buddies hit
the tribs around 6:45 AM and had fished all the way through noon.
Reports were "mixed" - some complained about black fish
while others said "well, yeah, there are black fish, but there's
also a bunch of fresh fish running around". Having kinda mixed
feeling but also knowing that the Kings come but once a year, we
made the drive and arrived around 1:30 PM at the Milwaukee.
3 other anglers were out. Otherwise the place was
DESERTED - most of my buddies had called it a day or headed south
on a whim. I heard tails of GOOD fish from the AM (Jim, congrats
on that COHO). However, I have to say the day kinda wound up being
more like the "bad" reports I got.
There were definitely fish everywhere - I was glad
Renee got to see that (so now she knows I'm not lying). Heck, some
were even willing bitters - with the clouds, drizzle and dirty water
they were anything but spooked. I must say we didn't see ANYTHING
except for kings, although there was ONE TINY HEN redding that *might*
have been a Coho. Can't say for certain though, so I'll put this
one down as KINGS ONLY! Rumors and 2nd hand accounts just don't
cut it.
I managed 2 smaller fish - definitely got the skunk
off. Meanwhile, Renee wasn't having such good luck so I put her
on a hen I spotted and well, 5 drifts later she hooked up with the
LARGEST fish for the day. Still relatively fresh and probably 15-18
lbs and FAT.
We plied the water a bit longer but honestly, it
was kinda disappointing. Pretty much EVERY fish we saw was on the
decline. White patches on pretty much all of them. Erroded tails,
raw jaws, ragged fins and for the most part, dishrag fights. Yeah,
I COULD have stayed and gotten my goal of FIVE but I found myself
asking, "is it really worth it"?
Well, here's to hoping for a good rain and a quick
repair of the camera - we have out of town friends coming in next
week and I really want them to get into some FRESH COHOS ;)
MP

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