My usual approach in these blog posts is to describe my experiences in a typical, Hayward Lakes-type recreational activity. So far, I’ve covered fat biking and trail running. This week I decided to try my hand on a stand-up paddleboard.
One of the really special aspects to early summer fishing is how visual it can be. There’s something very thrilling about seeing a school of big crappie, or a chunky cruising smallmouth bass and then trying to tempt them to bite. Situations where you can see the fish are also highly engaging for young anglers. Just knowing there’s a big pike within casting distance will get those little hearts pumping!
With summer well underway, we’re at the three-way intersection of tick season, mosquito season, and deer fly season. Add in heat and humidity, and it’s a perfect time to get out and run area trails. Yesterday I hopped in the truck, drove out to Hatchery Creek County Park, and ran my old reliable 8-miler: up the Birkie Trail to Mosquito Brook Road, and back.
It’s Friday night in Wisconsin…what is the first thing that comes to mind? A fish-fry of course! For as long as I can remember, the Friday night Fish Fry has been as synonymous with Wisconsin as Brandy Old Fashions and cheese curds. While there are countless options for Fish Frys in the Hayward area, sometimes it is fun to mix it up a bit and go catch your own bounty to fry up!
This time of year, when the snow is starting to melt and anglers are itching to get on the water, is a perfect time to brush up on your fundamentals or better yet, get a young person interested in fishing even before it is time to get in the boat. Practice makes perfect, even when angling, and having good fundamentals can make a difference in the number of fish you can catch!
As you may have guessed, I am working my way through all of the outdoor sports that the Hayward Lakes area has to offer: trail running, fat tire biking, paddle boarding, and today, four-wheeling! Not the traditional Hayward kind, where I take my ‘98 Dodge Ram out in the middle of the woods, get it stuck, and call my wife to drive my Chevy out to pull it out. No, this was me and the indomitable Don Mrotek cruising the Seeley/Cable area in a Polaris Razor, courtesy of Hayward Power Sports.
As the days get shorter and the nights grow cooler, nature goes to work to reveal the true personalities of the trees. The bright yellow, orange, and red colors of autumn are a once-a-year show that never disappoints.
Last week I got the bright idea of calling New Moon Ski & Bike and asking Chris, “If I write a blog entry about my maiden voyage on a fat bike and give you guys a plug, could I get a free day’s use of a rental?” “Sure,” said Chris. He asked me how tall I was, if I had my own helmet, and a couple of questions about my biking experience. Some relevant background: I’m 59 and I’ve been a distance runner for 43 years. I’m a decent mountain biker, a terrible skier, and I can swim well enough to get back to a boat if I fall overboard.
It is a brisk February morning with a light dusting of fresh powdery snow covering the lake. We’ve cemented our plans the night before in anticipation for perfect riding conditions today. The weather is calling for bright sunshine, bluebird skies, and a high temperature of 18° for the day. We are meeting our good friends on the lake in front of their house for a 10:00AM “wheels up” takeoff.
