Oh Well... Get Em Next Year

Hola Amigos -

Well my Brew Crew has fallen 4-2 in the NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals (aka the Darth Vader of the National League). Great season for the Brewers needed a bit more pitching and a few more timely hits down the stretch. I can now turn my attention to some Steelhead and Salmon fishing. Maybe a fall Musky. Once again I will be living at the corner of faith and hope. Never gets old.

Tight lines,
Trout Buddha

The Name Of The Band Is?

OK, very little blogging of late. I'm sure I have upset both of my fans! However, the past 10 days has seen two noteworthy events for the Trout Buddha: 1) a wonderful trip to the Sheboygan River in search of the elusive steelhead and 2) a trip to the Majestic Theater in Madison for my first ever Cowboy Mouth show.

First the fishing. Water flows continue to be low on the Sheboygan but all in all there was plenty of holding water. Saw lots of Kings heading upstream to do their thing. Fished some holes but did not move any big browns or steelhead. Manged to annoy two nice Kings onto a hook and even landed one (~33 inches by the distance from the handle to the stripping guide). A fun catch and nice photo opp. I will post sometime after my buddy gets the film developed - old school. I am beginning to get the steelhead fever. Lots of rain lately and some colder weather coming - I think you need to pay some dues in the elements for these fish...

On to the music. A friend gathered a group of us last Thursday to see Cowboy Mouth at the Majestic Theater in Madison. Wow, think the Clash meets New Orleans hip. Clever, loud, old fashioned rock and roll. Props to any band with a woman who rocks the bass. Front man and drummer Fred LeBlanc can only be experienced - description would fall short. Manic in the most wonderful of ways. Their cover of Springsteen's Born to Run for the encore was unexpected fun. Do yourself a favor and catch this band; a good time had by all. The quote below is a touch over the top but not too far off.

"...on a bad night they'll tear the roof off the joint and on a good night, they'll save your soul." — Cake Magazine

Hmm, well maybe if I could catch a steelie AND see a show in the same week - now THAT would save my soul.

Tight lines amigos,
Trout Buddha

5 Things...

Five things I love about fishing in the fall...

1. A river full of salmon. I know their days are numbered but there is a whole “circle of life” Lion King feel to the process.
   
2. The drive to the Sheboygan. Quality time in the car, good CDs, often company for conversation, and most of all the anticipation of a day of fishing.
   
3. Battling the elements. Deep down, steelhead and salmon fishermen love the fact that they sometimes have to shake the ice off the guides, fight some rain, and freeze their ass in the pursuit of their “biggest fish of the year”. I mean really, anyone can go out on a nice summer day - this takes some "want to".
   
4. Steelhead hopes. Swinging a streamer through a good looking hole or run - nuff said.
   
5. Playing hooky from work. Well heck, who wants to battle a weekend crowd?

Speaking of steelhead fishing, check out the nice video from livingstondaily.com on late season fishing on the Pere Marquette. Naturally the hard working Marshall Cutchin at MidCurrent beat me to the punch. In keeping with the theme, the video below is from Patagonia (2007); the Great Lakes Steelhead Chronicles. Jerry Darkes provides an overview of the developing fishery for this great fish through the eyes of local (Michigan) fly fishing guides and outfitters.

Final thought: show your colors and support a cause!

Support wild steelhead with a T-shirt purchase from Patagonia. $5.00 from every purchase goes to support wild steelhead populations as part of Patagonia's World Trout® program.

Faith Rewarded!

Today is usually a sad day on the calendar for the Trout Buddha. The first day of October marks the close of the trout season here in Wisconsin. The usually melancholy that accompanies the end of the season is replaced this year with the gift of a playoff series that includes our home team - the Milwaukee Brewers. In my last post I discussed the faith, hope, and optimism required to root for a baseball team and how my fishing sometimes feels the same way. Every once in a while our faith and hope are rewarded in the most unexpected of ways. The pitching in thin and offense hot and cold but its like dragging a streamer through a deep hole - anything can happen and it just might be wonderful.

October also brings cooler temps, a bit of rain, an another reason for hope - steelhead. I hear they may be running off lake Michigan. Hmm, keep hope alive! Always keep hope alive.

Trout Buddha

PS - October 1 is also the birthday for Richard W. Winterstein, Daniel R. Winterstein, and Luc Messmer. My pop is 75 years young, brother Dan - 49? and nephew Luc is 16! Best wishes to all.