Jump to content

North West Outing on April 21st from Cherry Valley


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 51
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

FYI we’re looking into the calendar issue and hope to have it fixed soon, looks like last nigh’s storm didn’t raise the water levels too much which bodes well for Saturday’s float ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes the gages remained relatively unchanged after yesterday's precipitation. Snow is better than rain as it melts off slowly and is easily absorbed by the ground. All branches of the Kish can be in play if anyone has preferences. Mostly sunny and increasing temperatures going into the outing should make for good pre-spawn bass fishing. Many techniques could work like jerkbaits or swimjigs. along with the consistent plastics bite. I don't think it will be topwater time yet. Perhaps those still fishing later in the day might want to give it a try..

Water temps are still cold so I recommend bringing an extra set of dry cloths in case of a mishap..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It looks like we will be invading the Kish with a decent sized armada. So far its is me, Paul T Sr, Norm, Frank, JCarrol & a buddy, Jake B & a buddy, Eric, and solid maybe from Joe R, and Jude has been all over this post but at no point was there commitment to attend. Either way it looks like good participation for what should turn out to be a nice spring day. The river is  flowing at a perfect level to float and as clear as you'll ever see it in the spring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a large group. This might help....

 

The orange (Appleton to Cherry Valley) area is an all day (6 - 8 hours) trip and could have some down falls to portage from last weeks wind storm.

The green (Cherry Valley to Kish F.P.) area half day (4 - 6 hours) and is the most used route

The purple area (Oak Ridge to Kish F.P.) is a half day (4 - 6 hours). This is the south branch flowing into the main branch, and is about the same distance as the green area. Could have down falls to portage.

The blue area (Kish F.P. to Atwood) has slower moving water, islands to beach and wade and may take just a little bit longer than the green area to fish. 3/4 day trip, 4 - 7 hours. Note: the canoe launch at Atwood is kind of a steep drop. Careful as you get out. 

The red area (Atwood to Hinchliff F.P.) slower moving water, a tad deeper than the average, connects to the Rock.  Note: the canoe launch at Atwood is kind of a steep drop. Careful as you get  in. The bad thing...... There is quite a bit of a hill at the take out to carry your boat up to the parking lot.

 

You boys have fun. I wish I could take part. Maybe I'll try to slip in for breakfast.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for everyone that showed up for the NW Region's first outing. We had a good sized group show up to the Cherry Valley Café to talk fishing and get fueled up for our float trips.

DSCF0401.jpg

We had Paul T Sr., Jake B, his friend Ethan, John C, Frank, Eric, Jude, Mike and I attended. We hit 3 different sections of the Kish and helped each other with shuttles. Unfortunately we were greeted with a pretty steady rain and cooler temps than what was originally forecasted.

My fishing  group consisted of me, my father, Jake and Ethan. We got into fish right away as I caught 2 while watching the gear when the rest of the crew worked out the shuttle. Ethan caught one on his 2nd cast in the kayak. From there it got a little bit tougher as we had to work for our fish. There were some occasional flurries and my father and I had 3 doubles. The average size of our fish was pretty good as most of the fish were between 13" - 16". Everyone in our group caught at least 10 and at least a 17". We estimated our group caught 50-60 smallmouth and 1 white bass. Most of our fish came on ned rig type setups or suspending jerkbaits. The fish seemed to bite best during a light rain. Here are some pics of some of the better catches.

DSCF0405.jpg

Here was my dad with a decent smallmouth caught on a jerkbait. Is it really my dad or could it be Obi Wan Kenobi?

DSCF0406.jpg

This was my best fish of the day, an 18" caught on a ned rig.

DSCF0407.jpg

Jake caught a 17" with some shoulders on a ned rig type set up.

DSCF0411.jpg

Ethan had the fish of the day. A 19+" smallmouth caught on a larger X-rap. Unfortunately my lenses were fogging up which didn't do this tank of a smallmouth justice. Jake took some pics on his phone, so perhaps they turned out better.

How did the rest of the floatilla do?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We did not catch a fish in our group. Our float did not start out well at all. Pour Mike and Jude both flipped the kayaks with in 100 yards of our put in. John and I finished the day with nothing to show for our efforts. I tried the Ned Rig , jerk baits and paddle tail swim jigs. First time shut out on the Kish! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Frank said:

We did not catch a fish in our group. Our float did not start out well at all. Pour Mike and Jude both flipped the kayaks with in 100 yards of our put in. John and I finished the day with nothing to show for our efforts. I tried the Ned Rig , jerk baits and paddle tail swim jigs. First time shut out on the Kish! 

Oh my.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Frank said:

We did not catch a fish in our group. Our float did not start out well at all. Pour Mike and Jude both flipped the kayaks with in 100 yards of our put in. John and I finished the day with nothing to show for our efforts. I tried the Ned Rig , jerk baits and paddle tail swim jigs. First time shut out on the Kish! 

Losing your guide and expert in that section didn't help. I'm kind of surprised one section significantly out produced other sections. That was all good water by summer and most springs but this cold late spring has changed the dynamics of spring fishing 2018. I didn't want to scare you guys off our section but there is a 100+ yard uphill carry at the end and there is no way to sugar coat that. Jake was kind enough to help me carry my canoe back to my car which me and my 70+ year old father really appreciate. If it was just me and my father, I don't know if I would have picked that section.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Such a long winter, cabin fever had me feeling like Jack Nicholson in the shining......

After a great breakfast at Cherry Valley we split up to attack different sections of the river, I was excited, first time on the Kish.

Once we got on the water the spring fever broke, just couldn't help myself so I bailed off the kayak and went for a swim.  Jude saw me go and caught the enthusiasm and joined me.  Water was a little chilly, not too bad for a Minnesota boy.  After swimming around for a bit we decided to call it a day and let the others have the river.

Next time out I'll try to contain myself and fish the river instead of swimming it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Paul Trybul said:

I didn't want to scare you guys off our section but there is a 100+ yard uphill carry at the end and there is no way to sugar coat that. Jake was kind enough to help me carry my canoe back to my car which me and my 70+ year old father really appreciate. If it was just me and my father, I don't know if I would have picked that section.

Please! I knew you were going to fish that section before you did.

Not sure why you didn't have your 70+ year old dad use "The Force" to get that canoe up the hill.

Glad to hear that Jude and Mike are alright. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...