My brother Todd and I went fishing on the Milwaukee River at the end of October 2009 and had an amazing time.  We caught a lot of fish and had a great time watching the spawning salmon swim up the river.

Prior to my trip, I stopped at Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters and Jon Uhlenhop and Patrick (who studied at Montana State University!) hooked me up with some egg patterns and streamers to use (which, by the way, working amazingly!).

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It was cold, rainy and a little bit foggy the first day we fished.  I wore an old pair of Patagonia Midweight Capilene baselayers, a pair of soft shell pants, a Sol Patrol shirt, Patagonia waders and boots and the Ascensionist jacket.  I was extremely impressed with the jacket.  It kept me completely dry and breathed very well.  I also did not notice any difference between the rubber soled boots and my old felt ones.  (I work at the Patagonia store in Chicago and this trip was a great opportunity to put some gear to work.)

Todd had already scouted some places to fish the day before I arrived.  He said he had seen people catching a bunch of fish and I could hardly even believe him.  That obviously changed after about the third cast.

Jessica and Juli, our 14-week old Greater Swiss Mountain Dog puppy, also made the trip to Milwaukee.  Jessica brought Juli to the river each day and she had a great time exploring.  Maybe by next summer she will be big enough to stand in the river with me.

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I used Todd’s 8# fly rod with a Spey VersiLeader and primarily threw a Nuclear Egg pattern.  I caught both of my browns using a streamer pattern.  Todd used a spinning rod, red colored hooks and spawn sacks.

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Todd and I safely released all of the fish that we caught.  Each picture below (besides the photos of us releasing fish) is of a different fish.

Enjoy!

Woo-hoo!

Milwaukee River.  Monday, October 26, 2009.

More pictures to come…

Engadin

Ein schoenes Foto (Surlej, Engadin) von meiner Gastmutter aus der Schweiz.

My mom and brother came out to Chicago for the weekend to help me celebrate my birthday.  We ate great food, saw a few must-see sites in the city and played a lot with Juli.  Here are a few photos from the weekend:

We had lunch at the Vienna Beef Factory Store and Café and it was awesome!

Here are some photos from a family trip to Glacier National Park on September 12, 2009.

Jessica and I were in Montana from Chicago, as was Todd visiting from Milwaukee.  We had to drive two separate vehicles so that we could all fit (7 Schocks+Jessica).

We drove the Going-to-the-Sun Road to the top of Logan Pass.  From there we hiked along the boardwalk/trail to the overlook of Hidden Lake.  We saw a Nanny Mountain Goat and then shortly thereafter saw her Kid come out of the trees.  The pictures we took do not do justice as to how cute the little one was.

We had a picnic at St. Mary Lake and then drove back towards Lake McDonald.  We then walked the Trail of the Cedars (one of my favorite things to do in Glacier!).

The weather that day was so beautiful that Todd, Greg and Bryan all took a swim in Lake McDonald.

The annual bison roundup at the National Bison Range Wildlife Refuge was held October 5 & 6, 2009.

Bison Roundup

Bison Roundup

Bison Roundup

Bison Roundup

Emily

Emily

Emily

My sister Emily works as a wildlife technician at the range.

An article about the annual bison roundup can be found here.

Here are some photos of the Hwy 93 wildlife crossing structure from September 9, 2009:

Hwy 93

Hwy 93

Hwy 93

I imagine that the finished structure will look similar to the wildlife crossings in Banff National Park, Canada.

Here is another post about the crossings along Hwy 93.

Jessica and I adopted an 8 week old Great Swiss Mountain Dog puppy today. Her name is Juli and she weighs 10 1/2 pounds.

Juli

We have started a blog about her.

Flyfishing with Jessica and Todd on Post Creek on September 10, 2009.