Our Outdoors: Duality
By Nick Simonson
Second perhaps to the day after New Years, the Sunday following the Fourth of July is one of my most dreaded days of the year. I know it’s just a number, and I know that health and fitness overall is more than the red-line numerals on the readout in the dim light of my bathroom on that inevitable morning; but man is it disappointing to see where a holiday week’s worth of bratwursts, chips, snacks, parade candy, and less than healthy beverage choices have put me when it comes to that weigh-in.
However, I also find that same Sunday to be one of the most optimistic of the year as well. With the completion of the holiday, summer’s unofficial midpoint has come and gone and that means without regret, those of us eyeing up bird counts, awaiting a deer license in the mail, and firing off salvos of arrows at the foam block in the back yard, can begin thinking of the hunting seasons to come. The first of which being the early Canada goose management take in mid-August, is really just four weeks away, with dove opener being a couple weeks after that on Sept. 1. Then grouse, and pheasants, and then deer. And then the holiday eating season begins. And I’m back where I began, staring at the red numbers on the display on January 2.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, as usual.
The combination of disappointment and optimism at this point in the calendar actually works to my advantage, and to that of many hunters. It’s a great time to reset and see what is needed, physically and otherwise, to prepare for the upcoming fall. Looking across the region, things are setting up for a stronger upland season, which means being able to hike through the hills and over long distances of prairie will be important. For those waterfowlers too, Canada geese are as numerous as they’ve ever been, and duck populations saw a slight increase this spring as well in the breeding counts, meaning multiple hauls of the decoys from field to trailer will make for a pre-dawn workout on many occasions this autumn. No matter how you do it – bow, rifle or muzzleloader – deer hunting is always made better by a hike into the hills or out to the stand and being fit for that walk or even just a sit on high, is always to your advantage.
So with the idea that all of these great opportunities sit before us and that no matter what shape we’re in after joining Joey Chestnut in a record-breaking hot dog eating extravaganza yet again, we’re ready to work toward those goals. Whether they’re just easy strolls behind an older hunting dog, or a dead sprint after a pup on his first running rooster, now is the time for the preparation that pays off in just a few weeks. The nice part of wanting to drop a couple pounds, or a few seconds off a mile time, or some extra kilometers in a running journal is that doing so will make you a better hunter, but the best part is that you can do it any way you choose, and at any fitness level.
Simply walking around the block, on a nearby nature trail, or around a local track is a great way to start getting more active, but don’t stop there! Outdoor-focused activities like hikes through the wilderness, or paddling a kayak or canoe, burn calories and help you get to fun, fishable places that integrate the back half of summer’s best recreational activity with some physical activity as well. Don’t overlook weight training either. Pumping iron helps burn fat over the long haul as muscle gets added, and making sure not to skip leg day and work in a quick shot of abs will have your lower section ready to charge up that favorite hill which holds grouse and partridge, or plow through that deep slough to pheasant nirvana with ease. Additionally, the added strength makes setting up that new ladder stand for archery season a whole lot easier.
By the time Labor Day weekend rolls around, with a few steps in the right direction, those numbers on the scale will have faded from memory and you’ll be ready to make some far better ones this autumn. Work walks, runs, and weightlifting in, along with those workouts in the outdoors which may be less monotonous and more adventurous, and you’ll be all set to get to those places where birds and deer are found and set yourself up for better health, fitness and ultimately more success…in our outdoors.
Our Outdoors: A Parade of Progeny
Our Outdoors: A Parade of Progeny
By Nick Simonson
There was almost an air of concern in my mom’s voice as I wandered back in from my morning stroll to the end of the dock to watch the sunrise and inspect the shallows. A few quick casts of the neon green fly line sporting a beadhead pheasant tail nymph connected with a handful of small bluegills, but before long it was time to refill my coffee cup, walk the dog and get on with the day.
“Have you seen the ducklings yet,” she inquired from her early morning post at the table on the wooden deck, adding “I’ve seen the hen but no babies so far.”
I assured her that my wife and I had seen a set of nine baby mallards in tow behind the beige bird shortly after our arrival at the cabin for the holiday weekend and that they’d likely be along soon as the morning got moving. Through the whisk and snap of the screen door, I went in and refilled my cup, leashed my mom’s lab, and headed out the back way, the first morning calls from a cardinal greeting us as we hit the blacktop and began our trek through the nearby neighborhood on the south side of the lake. At the first intersection, a whitetail doe and her fawn caught sight of us and were quickly into the woods without so much as a twig snapping.
Squirrels of all shades, including a couple of the areas notable black hued ones were foraging. Chipmunks skittered amidst the leaf litter, and red squirrels chattered out a warning as we traversed the paved edge of their territory. Wrapping up where we started, a pair of boisterous crows cawed loudly, and their developing young gave a half-hearted response from their concealed position somewhere in the trees along the house. The heat and humidity of the first day of July was building already and a seat near the water was a welcome end to the walk as the sun started to rise through the trees.
No sooner did I make my way out to the front deck when the hen mallard appeared with her young, about a third of the way grown so far, swimming along the sandy shoreline. Alerting my mom, we watched as the birds drifted under the dock and out of view. The sighting seemed to bring for her a sense of relief that indeed the natural world was proceeding as planned this season, and that likely with nine babies under her care, a good crop of ducks would be coming up.
A few moments later, about 10 yards further out, a pair of Canada geese guided their four offspring along, this time out and around the end of the dock. While they’re certainly not rare on our side of the lake, with its development, dogs and all sorts of water activity throughout the summer, we usually only see them in the early stretches of the day, when things are calmer, and they were likely right on the edge of that window, adding a welcome surprise to the tally of young birds we were quickly putting together. But the next set of visitors would blow them all away in terms of count and uniqueness.
Like a floating carpet of black and white, led by an extended reddish-brown head, a group of more than 20 puffballs came floating in just moments after the geese had passed, as if on cue for some sort of grand entrance. Unable to clearly figure out what kind of mother was leading this set of young – which I had never seen before on our shores, perhaps a function of timing in the past or seasonal shifts this year – I picked up my phone and reluctantly unlocked the screen to get a digital field guide in front of me. It was a common merganser, and by the time I had identified the piscivorous water bird, the lot of youngsters and their mother had taken a spot occupying about half the length of the foam swimming pad attached to our dock.
We watched in silence as the little ones waddled about, sat down, dried off and the mother bird preened from her spot between the babies and the shoreline, a certain display that across the board baby birds were exactly where they were supposed to be this season. It was if in the last 15 minutes of early morning, before the first water skiers, wakeboarders and jetski pilots got up and on the lake that all of the birds in residence – some common and some less familiar –knew it was their time for a parade of their progeny and a showcase of the generation to come…in our outdoors.
Our Outdoors: Low Water Angle
Our Outdoors: Low Water Angle
By Nick Simonson
Scattered below the bass tube dragging slowly just beneath the surface of the gin clear water was a herd of fish in every shape and size the small water could offer up. From my view in the seat of my kayak, I watched the lead bluegills eye up the remaining undulating tentacles of the soft plastic, while the bigger bulls lagged behind, letting the younger year classes do the reconnaissance for the greater school. Behind them, a couple handfuls of crappies tailed the amassing squad of intrigued fish, each speckle-sided panfish getting larger and larger, until at the back of the pack one of the bigger ones I had seen on the lake in recent years sparked my interest in perhaps coming back that evening with a few flashy jigs and some light tackle in tow.
Interspersed with the panfish, the black triangle tails of smaller largemouth bass flickered in the morning’s growing light and the shadows of larger ones looming off a few feet away from the integrated school brought me back to my purpose on the small water a short hop from my in-laws’ house. I lifted the lure from the water and the school scattered and sunk. The bluegills headed to the shallows, the crappies retreated to the growing weedline, and the bass swam around, a bit confused and perhaps regretful that what appeared to be an easy morsel had suddenly disappeared. I turned the 10-foot kayak which I had purchased at a discount at the end of last summer and made my way around the dock that had produced a nice pair of 16-inch largemouth prior to my pause to observe the fish around me.
That perhaps is the most enjoyable part of kayak fishing, being so close to the water and what lies beneath the surface. While certainly the view from the casting deck of any boat provides a wider take on what’s below, being on the surface, a few inches from the fish and in something a bit smaller, seems to make it feel more like a one-on-one experience. Perhaps too, the fish don’t seem to be as disturbed as I coast in toward a target dock or a prime stretch of angling area, such as a reed bed or a set of lily pads, and set up to zip off a silent cast ahead into those bass-holding locations.
Cruising away from the final dock in the stretch of cabins which leads to an area of state-owned shoreline, I stared out over the shallows and watched the form of a big largemouth bass slowly finning its way along the break between the reed-covered natural bank and the emerging weedline. I loaded the rod and flipped the tube to a point about 15 feet in front of the fish and clicked the bail closed. I didn’t have to wait long to watch the gray Fireline pop on the surface of the lake and see it tighten from the other end. Setting the hook hard, the kayak lurched forward, and the bass broke the surface, mouth agape as it tailwalked and slammed down, digging toward the shallows. Bulldogging through the leafy greens below and into the first few reeds, it powered back up and splashed around, all the while pulling the front of the kayak with it.
I’ve decided that my second favorite part of kayak fishing – especially with the super light model I came into last summer – is the ability of any fish of two pounds or more to move the bow of the boat a bit with a hard run. It certainly adds to the excitement of the man versus fish contest that makes angling so much fun. For some reason, I couldn’t help but think what it would be like to hook a 60-inch sturgeon in a kayak and get towed around Lake of the Woods. Meanwhile, the big bucketmouth was giving me all I could handle in the moment.
A few hard charges and some redirecting eventually brought the largemouth to hand for a quick photo and a release into the shallows alongside my craft, the nose of which was by then firmly planted in the shoreline and the sides were shrouded with the green stems of pencil reeds, as if I had parked to it remain camouflaged from prying eyes. With my whooping and hollering, and discussing with the fish during the fight, however, I was certain that anyone else on the little lake was likely to have heard me and could have easily picked out my location simply by listening.
With so many ways to fish and having done so from boats both large and small, in canoes and waders, in rushing streams with the fly and on quiet ponds with light tackle, adding kayak angling to the mix has provided a new perspective on my oldest favorite pastime. From all that can be seen from the low water angle to the personal connection I feel when I’m so close to the action, time spent with rod in hand, paddle balanced across my lap, and enjoying a whole new take on fishing has been a fortunate find…in our outdoors.
Our Outdoors: Fly Fishing Not All About Trout
Our Outdoors: Fly Fishing Not All About Trout
By Nick Simonson
With the heat of summer finally settling into the region, those cold-water loving trout which were stocked in area lakes and reservoirs are seeking out the depths, and aside from some cooler hours in the morning and evening, are a bit tougher to target on the fly rod and likely will remain that way until early fall. Luckily, around the upper Midwest, there are plenty of other fish to take their place on the long rod and many ways to catch them. What follows are five warm water species to take on with a fly box in tow, hone those fly fishing skills and have a blast all summer long, until things cool down in autumn and trout rise back up into the shallows.
Panfish Plan
No summer would be complete without a warm afternoon in the shallows chasing bluegills, and these feisty panfish give every fly angler a reward for their cast, whether curled tight and well-practiced, or a little shaky when just starting out. Work the inside edge of weedlines, especially those in shallow bays or along warm sandy beaches that can easily be waded, or cast parallel to them from a boat on the outer edge. Watch for rising fish that are snapping at whatever’s hatching, but don’t be worried about matching those little bugs. Bluegills will take all sorts of flies from complex dries to basic nymphs to simple foam bugs, but favorites include beetles and rubber-legged spider patterns.
Brown Bombers
For a summertime fight, nothing puts forth its best effort like a smallmouth bass; now double that intensity level if they’ve been hooked on the fly rod. Their acrobatic leaps and hard runs after splashdown will test drag and line management and teach the art of bowing – that is, lowering the tip of the rod to a jumping fish – to prevent them from slingshotting the hook loose from their jaws. While most active in the early morning and late evening light on shallow rock bars, gravel shoals and sandy stretches of the lakes and streams where they reside, these brown bass can be encountered any time of day along these structures and others. Offer up large baitfish patterns that can be ripped past them and trigger a reaction strike, like Lefty’s Deceiver or toss a crayfish-colored Clouser minnow out there and bump it along the bottom for a solid take.
Specks of Summer
In a lake loaded with crappies, those low light conditions at the end of the day are the best bet for hooking a series of slabs on the fly rod. During the day though, crappies can be found along weed edges and may require a sinking style line, such as a Type III, to get down to them. With their quick inhale of any fly, slabs can test the focus of even the most attentive fly angler, so watch that line carefully for a slight twitch or jump to signal a take by a crappie on the feed. As night approaches, look for crappies to rise in the column – sometimes to just below the surface – to snack on whatever imitation you have to throw at them. Anything that looks like a minnow will work, including Clousers, white, silver, or other flashy woolly buggers, and even crazy Charlie streamers.
White Lightning
A school of white bass is a summertime treasure as these silver-sided fish swarm and smash just about anything pulled in their direction. Look for splashing along the surface for active fish and get as close as possible without spooking the school. Drop a cast just beyond the group and strip a streamer of any sort directly through them – but hold on! The jarring take from a white bass can rip a five-weight from even the tightest grip. With their sprints and circular runs, white bass will put it to any angler’s drag and help teach a whole new level of line management. Look for those lakes where current year classes are topping 15 inches for some of the most exciting and consistent adventures with the fly rod. Bucktail streamers like the Thunder Creek work well when white bass are up top, and any pattern with a little weight to it, like the Half-and-Half will get down to a school when they’re feeding deeper.
Rough ‘Em Up
Carp get a bad rap among anglers until they hook one on the fly rod. Then it’s fifteen minutes of a doubled-over five weight trying to steer thirty inches of scales and stink into the shallows for a slimy photo opportunity, grinning ear-to-ear with a bested “golden bonefish.” Where these rough fish abound, so do some of the most exciting and prolonged flyfishing events of the summer. Look for carp that are slurping the surface and lay out a cast and get ready for a fun fight on the fly rod but be sure to keep your distance to avoid spooking them. Offer up small nymph patterns or woolly buggers to connect, and in those areas where mulberries make their way into the water along the shore at midsummer, add a few purple foam patterns to the fly box to tangle with the region’s swimming garbage can that’ll eat just about anything from top to bottom in the water column.
Just because you don’t have a mountain stream nearby, and the region’s stocked trout have taken to the depths, doesn’t mean fly fishing season is over. Use the options around you to sharpen those skills – whether newly-acquired or long-held – and heat things up with these great warm water species to catch on the fly…in our outdoors.