Monthly Archives: July 2011

Jeanne asked if I wanted to get some exercise and explore some stretches of river that we haven’t paddled before. Yes was my answer and we put the W’s in the truck and headed off for more exploration. This was just intended to be a touring trip but I always seem to take one fishing rod along, I can’t help it.
It was a stretch of the Fox river that I figured would be scenic but not hold many game fish.
The water was very stained as I predicted and I spotted many carp moving about. We approached a bridge and I couldn’t resist putting the paddle down and fishing the current break with my jointed Rapala. As I retrieved my lure near the boat I was startled by a set of jaws almost jumping into my W and grabbing my lure! I could not see what grabbed it because of the splash and because I almost jumped up in the air seeing jaws appearing last second out of the stained water! Much to my surprise it was a frisky Catfish. It was a first for me, catfish on a floating minnow bait and first cat in the W. I still had hope for maybe a bass or pike in this dark water. Then we spotted some back water that seemed to be blocked by brush and tree branches. I figured it is time to take advantage of the W’s ability to climb over obstacles. Bingo, it paid off again, getting into tough spots with the W. I found an area holding Largemouth bass and had fun catching them on the surface. What a blast! Continue reading →