Northern WI

[Botanophilia]

Just got back from a very short 2 days in the far north.  We were supposed to be back this coming Saturday, but nearly an inch of rain forecast tonight, another half tomorrow, and another quarter Friday sent us home.  Tents and t storms don't mix.

Finding bass was a bit rough this year, but I managed a few smaller fish; biggest was 17".  All largemouth.  Missed a single smallie; or more correctly it missed my frog.  Looked to be upper teens.  Surprisingly, pike were also tough to find.  I got a single 8" runt on one of Partycrasher's crappie spinners.  Panfish on the other hand were in abundance. Lots of huge gills, 10"+ (and smaller ones too of course).  Even managed a few crappies on the evening bite last night; smallest was 11".  Lost one that pushed 15", dropped off as I was hoisting it into the canoe.  And of course, all of my fishing trips this year have started with rock bass.  They were big, feisty, and fun.  Also a nuisance when you're set up for big crappie.  Spotted some walleye, but just like last year we couldn't entice them. 

[efishnc]

Just got back from a very short 2 days in the far north.  We were supposed to be back this coming Saturday, but nearly an inch of rain forecast tonight, another half tomorrow, and another quarter Friday sent us home.  Tents and t storms don't mix.

I know what you are saying as my musky trips are all about tent camping; and I don't take chances either when sparks are flying in the sky.  However, once I'm there, I'm pot committed and I don't think any amount of rain will deter me... at least I have not encountered it yet.   I have slept in the reclined position in my truck more than one night with particularly bad storms.  I have tipped the tent forward (downhill) to pour the standing water out the door of the tent on some of my excessively rainy trips; and I can recall three trips with more than 2 inches of rain over a couple days, but luckily these are only about one out of ten years.

Sleeping dry at night and wearing a good rain suit during the day can make all the difference between a completely wasted trip and one that can be salvaged.  The biggest "trip-savers" for me have been a full size inflatable air mattresses (which keep me and my bag off of the floor) and an oversized tent so nothing touches the walls to wick moisture in.  Add a spare rain suit to the equation (I bring two on every trip), and I will fish 'til fatigue!

[Botanophilia]

The amount of rain forecast meant a lot of downtime.  Neither of us want to fish in a 1"/hour rain event, especially in a canoe.  It didn't seem worth staying for 3 of those events over 3 days.  1 night? Absolutely!  Light rain? No problem!  But 3? Nope.  Better things to do with our anniversary vacation than be wet and miserable!  Weather is nicer here, plenty of fishing opportunity locally.  Leaving in a few for one of the small lakes.

[efishnc]

I can fish a lot of rain if I'm standing (to let the majority of it run right off) and able to minimize the water getting into tackle boxes (either from directly going in the top or from seeping in the bottom).  A canoe would definitely not be the boat to have here... I would want to be in a bigger boat to make a serious go of it when fishing in heavy rains.