Here is a better picture

of that little flathead I caught the other night.

Now I've just got to locate his great grandfather.

One of these fish is not like the others

Can you tell which one? It's the mottled looking character to the left--a flathead.

I caught all four fish from River John's dock last night. The flathead, while quite small, was extremely fiesty.

That was the first time I caught a flathead about the Falls.

City fish, city fishing

The channel cats of the Mississippi have been easy to catch the last few days. I haven't hooked into any of the big 'uns, but the fiddlers are biting strong.

And they've got gumption, as you can see from this fiesty fellow.

(And, yup, that's the Minneapolis skyline--looking dinky-- in the background).

From the Gone Fishing Archives: In praise of Pool 2, part II

Another great thing about Pool 2: laying into a school of white or yellow bass when they've strapped on the feed bag.

I can't tell from this vintage pic whether the fish was a white bass or a yellow bass. Looks yellow to me. I do remember I caught it using a little Mepps spinner and that action was fast and furious.

Now that I fish above St. Anthony Falls, I don't get the variety in my catch that I did in the Pool 2 days. I miss that.

From the Gone Fishing Archives: In praise of Pool 2

PK landed this respectable flathead one evening several years ago while we were drift casting along the stretch of Pool 2 just south of Minnehaha Creek.

It was nearing dusk. PK was throwing a Mepps spinner on light gear because we'd been targetting smallies and walleyes. As you can imagine, it took him a good long time to get this big girl boatside.

That's the great thing about Pool 2--you never know what's going to hit.

As I recall, It was a glorious evening on the water. I caught a 26 inch walleye, a photo of which I will post soon.

Consolation prize

I spent a couple days at Cass Lake, visiting my brother and his family who were up from Texas. Yesterday, I snuck out for a couple hours of muskie fishing in Allens Bay.

I threw bucktails and deep running crank baits. No response from the big girls.

I did manage to snare this little northern with a pearl Shad Rap. She was swimming along a deep weed edge near Big Potato Island and, as my lure passed into her field of vision, was seized by an impulse she came to regret.

What lurks beneath

I'm afraid there was a bleeder amongst the five cats I detained at John's last night.

The usual suspects

In the last week, I've become tired of chasing smallmouth. It's not that I don't appreciate smallies. They are game. But I need variety.

So I'm sitting around the pad this morning, wrestling with a nasty summer cold, and Peterson calls. He says he's over on Pacific Avenue, hanging on the river's edge just south of the Lowry Bridge. I tell him I'll boat over.

I find him skipping rocks, with his heavyweight Joey A. and another dude whose name I never learned. All three piled into the Jennifer V--600 plus pounds, at least--and I gave them a slow tour of the upper harbor.

Below the Camden Bridge I noticed a plastic Aquafina bottle drifting at a weird speed. Then the bottle jerked and disappeared below the surface. I boated over. When the bottle popped back up, I grabbed it. There was about a 14 inch channel cat on the end of it.

As I removed the hook, I examined the fish. It was sleek and muscular. I tossed the back in the water and thought: J's out of town, I should go catting tonight.

After sunset, I fished from River John's dock for about an hour and a half. I caught six kitties on chicken livers. Only five agreed to pose for this photo.

What the duck?

I didn't get much fishing done at Cass Lake last week but I did go swimming with Dad.

As you can see, Dad loves his rubber Shakespeare duck.

I finally found my dream home

The other day, Melissa S. and I boated down the Sip from Hidden Falls to downtown St. Paul. Then, like a dream, there she was: the finest of shacks, with a regal perch atop the Great Western lift bridge.

Sure, it's small but the views are splendid and, because it sits upon a lift bridge, constantly changing.

I'm not sure how old this dwelling is, but the bridge itself was erected in 1913.

A tropical observer

Knowing that I will be out of town for a spell, I had to sneak out on the Sip for some evening fishing. It was my third outing of the day.

While Tropical Bill (pictured in his customary shirtless state) and I discussed the troubles of the world, I boated two chunky smallies--one on the local rocks, the other by the sewer outlet south of the blue condos.

Both hit a shallow running shad rap. The twister tail didn't raise squat.

Smallies fight like game dogs this time of year.

From the Gone Fishing Archives: Oh, yeah!

I dug into the Gone Fishing vaults and pulled out this happy shot from August 22, 2005.

Why? Because I caught that mighty pig on the St. Louis River, which is where I'll be fishing come next Saturday.

Smallie on crank

Crank bait that is.

I detained this character after I located him lurking near a submerged rock island by Edwater Park on the 'Sip.

Naive dude was fooled by a shallow running Shad Rap

An unlikely snake

I figured there would be a decent bite on the Sip today. It was overcast, as the awful heat of the last week gave way to clouds and cool, light drizzle.

Normally, I don't catch northerns on this stretch of river, probably because there are not enough backwaters between St. Anthony Falls and Coon Rapids to suit their spawning needs.

I ran into this unlikely snake on the sunken rock island directly out from the River Ranch. He hit a shallow running, grey and white Shad Rap. A skinny fellow, he didn't put up as much fight as the smallmouth that were on the prowl.

There is hardly anyone on the river today. The locks are closed because of the 1 35 bridge collapse and barge traffic has come to a complete halt. The pleasure boaters? They seem to be seeking pleasure elsewhere.