Straight Up or On The Rocks

Hi, we are the Riverbums, and we are addicts. No, not the kind that meets once a week for therapy. Although, you could argue that our addiction is a form of therapy. I think it goes without saying what we are addicted too. But, it is not so much our addiction we want to talk about, but more the enablers of our addiction. Yes, that is a big word for a Bum, but don’t forget, we have English degrees.

You know what we’re talking about. That little voice in the back of your head that says “Come on, do it. You know you want to take that 1968 red and black firebird out of the garage that Dad says he loves more than you and joy ride around the city. He’s not home, no one is watching. Just do it…” That is the enabler. Yes, my friends, our enablers sit perched atop our casting arms whispering sweet somethings in our ears. Telling us where to cast next, hinting at a hiding lunker, illuminating the possibilities that we otherwise wouldn’t have thought of. They are our motivators that guide us in catching fish. Without our enablers, we would be clean, stripped of our obsession. Cap’n Jack Sparrow, out of rum. How mortifying to be without addiction. Because without it we would be like those people who get lots of things done on the weekend, catch up on sleep, and visit the mall like all the other lemmings. The thought is terrifying.

But, don’t get us wrong (or is it too late for that?), we aren’t saying that all addictions are good. Oh no, even ours can become a problem. Don’t believe us? Well, let’s just say, without going into much detail, that the last time Dad watched Antiques Road show and a painting of a river came up, he pointed to a spot where he thought the bass would be hiding. Addicted! And when AC saw the recent Lawless movie and the river scene came up. She leaned over to her friend and said, “Those stickups are great coverage for a northern.” Addicted! Yes, Kyle, we aware that the last intervention didn’t work. 3rd time’s the charm.

Ok, so we admit we have a problem. But, we can’t help it. Our enablers put us up too it. When we tie on our lures and wade into the water, our enablers are there, surveying the river. Looking for the perfect spots, picking and choosing which cast to use. Side arm, overhand, back hand, figure 8? How much force we must use when casting the lure, monitoring the timing between the release and the stop as our finger lightly grazes the spool waiting to clamp down on the perfect moment.

Which brings us to the theme of this week’s blog…Straight up or on the rocks. Which do you prefer to enable your addiction? Just as Bond is given his choice of shaken or stirred, we must decide between two paths as well. The straight path is a cast in open water, free of obstacles which usually includes a glassy surface most the time between 2 boulders where a deep pool lies. But the rocky path is the path less traveled. Yes, for it requires master skills and the ultimate force control. Use the force you must (sorry, couldn’t help the Yoda reference, but I think that should hold us over until next month). The act of placing a lure beside a boulder, letting it drop to the deep all the while avoiding any stickups or obstacles and then reeling it in is one of pure holiness. Precise timing, adept intuition, and a keen hand are the key elements of “on the rocks” casting.

But, it is the pure enjoyment of watching your line fly across river and your lure land off a boulder and dive into the doused abyss that is even better than the act of hooking the fish. Of course, that’s nice too. However, there have been many a times that a RiverBum has found himself (or herself) stop to watch the other at their “on the rocks” cast and stare in awe. It is like walking down Michigan Avenue on a freezing December night and all you can think about is getting to the train as you trudge through snow and ice ridden sidewalks with your boots. Suddenly, a cute pair of red Gucci shoes catches your eye and you instantly stop to marvel into the window. Although your nose is icicled, your toes paralyzed, and your body shaking, you cannot pull away from the beauty of the scene. That is how it feels my friends to see an “on the rocks” cast. The whip of the rod, the sound of the lure grazing the stone, and the all around 10 point landing into an impossibly difficult area to access where inevitably the largest fish of all time waits for the perfect meal, and then you reel. Go ahead, you can exhale now, the moment has passed.

Lunker #1

No, you're not seeing things. That is AC sans her lucky green fishing hat, sporting a new bandana as requested by some fans. It's the latest fashion among all the elite riverbum gals. Upon application, Dad was sure to expel his usual fatherly ridicule as he nicknamed her Hilton for the day. But, the joke was on Dad after AC landed this lunker on her 3rd cast in their favorite river up North. And as fate would have it, her casting streak continued as she outfished dad with some of the biggest bass of the summer. But, don't worry, she left some little ones for Dad...

Trying to release a smallie smallie before AC took a picture :)

Lunker #2

Lunker #3

Finally, we were getting worried...



Lunker #4

AC's favorite shot of the day...Dad had this one in an amazing fight as the bass swam inbetween boulders, jumped over a log and even tried to hide behind his leg until he netted it!

Lunker #5

Can't take the girl out of the Riverbum...

Beautiful example of late summer coloring

Lunker #6

Caught in the weeds

Last of the Menominee...

Ok, he might have gotten 2...but that was it for the lunkers

Lunker #7

Proof that the Menominee Mitawin Society still occupy the forest and river

Like we said, the force is strong in us...

Caught in a pool between flats and the banks

Sulking because it's not as big as the last millionth she caught...

Caught along Bear Alley...an area of the river where black bears are frequently spotted

Off the rocks on the rocks cast...Priceless

Great example of straight up possibility cast...smooth surface and deep pool off the banks.

Couldn't leave the hat behind as AC ended the weekend with this beauty of a lunker

So, whether your choice of drink is a juice box or a shot of 100% pure tequila, remember to toast to your enablers. Well, at least the good ones. For they know what is best for us and are sure to be there every step (no pun intended) of the addicted way. So, after AC's insane day of lunkers and Dad's successful bounty of the most smallie smallies caught in a single day (seriously, he had about 50) we packed up with 80 fish under our wader belts with some major toasting to do.

Until next time, we'll see ya on the other side of the river...

Cast Away,

AC & Dad

Live to Fish, Fish to Live

If you look up Bum in the dictionary, you will see the definition: “good-for-nothing: somebody regarded as irresponsible or worthless.” Oops, sorry, wrong definition. Skip down a few lines, there we are… “devotee; somebody who is excessively devoted to a particular activity or place.”  Devotion is like obtaining a fresh rose in a garden. First, the rose lures you in with it’s vibrant bait that says “yes, I am the symbol of all that is romantic and seductive, and you must have me”. Then, as you reach for it, you try ever so strategically to avoid the sharp pricks on the stem. Dodging and ducking in and out of other stems, working to stay out of the red zone. But, one sudden pinch of the finger stuns you and you are compelled to grab hold of that obsessive flower and keep it in your hands. Ignoring your throbbing finger and blind to your threshold of affliction as all that clouds your judgment is the act of possession. All caution is thrown to the wind as your heart falls in its predestined pit of the despair and demise known as devotion. Oh, devotion, how cleverly cruel you are.

Lost on the Rez

 But now you have the rose and it embeds itself so comfortably into your hand, familiarizing with your every move, thought, and desire. So that all you eat, drink, sleep, and breath is that devotion. That devotion. So, it is with our rods held high that we proudly carry the name as Riverbums. Destined to devote ourselves to the sport nay the ritual of hope, faith, and hook. Where every river carries a locket of our wade, where every fish carries a symbol of our cast, and where every witness carries an image of actionable true love. For we truly love to fish, to wade, to walk, and to cast where only our devotion holds us like the hand and the rose. 

The only decent sized bass caught on Sunday- slow day due to dropped temps over night...

But, where there is devotion, sorrow is close behind. You can see it on the face of the old man standing in front of his wife’s coffin or in the eyes of an Olympian when she misses the hurdle. Call it loss, let down or just pure deny of destiny. Devotion comes with its pitfalls and it is not for the faint of heart. To be devoted is to be insane. For only the insane choose to dedicate their time (busy or free), their sleep, their social life, and blood/sweat/tears(not the band) to something that may only bring an increment of happiness once and a while. Mark our words, you better be sure, (and we mean blood test, background check, the whole nine yards) SURE, before you devote yourself to a person, place, or hobby. Cause, we guarantee you one thing, it’ll slowly kill ya. But hey, at least it’ll feel good as you go… 

Fortunately, the Riverbums have had more than a few “once and a while” happy moments. Honestly, we’ve had a bunch. But, that’s because we devoted ourselves to fishing and not some woman who promises to try new things and watch baseball games with you when really she forces you to cut your hair and spend all Saturday night with very berry mojitos as you finish off all 9 seasons of Dawson’s Creek. Ok, seriously, you need to get out of that one! Save yourself man, save yourself. Yes, my friends, we live to fish and fish to live. 

So, we devoted our weekend to reeling in the smallmouth bass on our favorite reservation in Northern Wisconsin where we used nothing but yellow twisty tails (2 inch tail) and round green jig heads. Yes the ************ river was more than generous. But first, a new segment of the blog that was suggested to us by many of our readers...

Angling T-Shirts

Style mustn't be spared while fishing and that's why we wear nothing but the most recent and high end class of fashions under our waders...

The Devil Fishes Too...

(One of AC's favorite bands, she got this T at her first ever punk rock Irish concert)

A Pure Geek Moment...

(Like what you see? Let us know and we will order you one too, for a discount!)

We stopped for gas and AC spotted this beauty of a truck that this guy parked right next to us. After she spent a good latter half of an hour goggling over it, she grabbed a business card and said "You will be hearing from me!"

AC's new love... A Vintage Logging Truck (40's or 50's)!She is determined to buy it for her Montana home. Of course after she buys that as well :)

A special dedication to the TreeBum, first person she thought of when AC saw this logging machine! 

AC's first smallie of the day...and sure NOT to be her last

She just had to smile...

A wicked fight in the shallows

AC's quote when she climbed up, "Dad, look I'm on a boulder." Yes you are!

Perfect display of the net...at least a nine in the style section

Her 40th of the day...or so

Dad's black bass caught in another shallow pool

Catch and Release...That's how we rollcast (see what we did there?)

Oh the Squat and Net...works everytime

Caught 2 bass at once...Dad lifted his for the shot

A total of 80 small mouth bass, caught and released over a span of 10 hours. Sporadic white fluffy clouds and a high of 75 made this one of, if not the best day on the ************ river (sorry, would have to kill ya) this summer.

Ah, Devotion...

Just so we're clear, we never said we were sane, reasonable or always completely honest. But, you knew about the honest part already, after all, we are fishermen. And if there is one constant (besides devotion) amongst true fishermen, it is that we are liars. No, we're just kidding, we're not liars...or are we?

So whether you are devoted to fishing, your wife, or even gambling remember to stop every once and while and enjoy that allegiance of interest. Dwell in the obsession of dedication. And revel in your idolization. Because there isn't much time, life is running out and if you don't devote it to something,  then grab a rod, follow us up current and we will have you devoted in no time!

Until next time, we'll see ya on the other side of the river...

Cast Away,

AC & Dad