10-22-05 - already tied up with a king. (Copyright © 2005 Renee)

Time to put some pressure on that fish! (Copyright © 2005 Renee)

My skunk is off! (Copyright © 2005 Renee)

Back at it again.. (Copyright © 2005 Renee)

Another runner.. (Copyright © 2005 Renee)

King #2. (Copyright © 2005 Renee)

Renee landed this awesome fresh king in a tiny back channel - sweet!

One last look at the Milwaukee.

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