Boatless fly angler dreams of muskie on the fly

[itchmesir]

I'm going to be camping up in the hayward area in either july or august.. I am a fly angler and would really love the chance to catch a musky on the fly... Unfortunately there is one problem.. I have no boat.. and I imagine 2 problems.. 1) musky fishing from shore is not easy 2) finding an area to target musky on the fly is even tougher.. So I was wondering if maybe there was someone out there that would likely have an open seat on their boat to do some fishing.. Due to the gf and I's work schedules we would be up there on a mon-wed trip

Also if anyone could recommend any nice places to camp at reasonable rates($20 and under/night) that'd be great. thanks

[Schollmeier]

let me know when you pick a date. I'm usually availble weekdays and I'm not far north of Hayward. Unless I'm in the BW I should be free. I'm looking to get my first fly rod musky this year too -I've gotten plenty on lures. I mostly fish out of a canoe but can probably borrow a small boat. Lots of good small lakes and a few nice rivers with Muskies in the hayward area - several of the rivers are fairly wade-able if need be. Lots of camping in the area - we usually camp on the Namekagon (which is free).

How heavy of a rod are you slinging? 8? 9? 10? heavier?

[Slabasaurus]

I'll have a 9wt by then, and lots of vacation to burn up.

My cabin is in Edgewater on Big Chetac, so just south of Hayward not too much. Know some folks on Grindstone and whatever lake Famous Daves is on, I have no idea what that lake is called right now though.

I'd suggest the rivers, but as I mentioned in my PM, I don't target ski's, yet. I will once that 9wt is a reality. I drove the length of the Namekagon last summer to familiarize myself with the parking areas and camping spots, there's plenty... some right on the river.

Of course if you're lookin for a nice romatic getaway, Scholl and I can just canoe a ways behind ya, provided you don't mind sophomoric comments (Think... Get a room you two, that's what she said, hey that's not what I call fly fishing but man that looks fun... etc etc etc)

[itchmesir]

haha.no need to worry about "romantic getaway" more often than not if im fishing.. the gf is off somewhere else...

So you say the Namekagon is wadeable? how big is this river? is it the size of the Root or Zumbro(mn rivers)?

@Scholl.. how are these campsites setup? I have a 9wt rod btw

[Slabasaurus]

Hard to answer that one as the only time I've seen the root was last weekend, and it looked up

the campsites I believe are first come first served, the WI basic campsites are all run pretty much the same way, drive in, grab an envelope, put on some info, hang it on your sign... etc etc...

I've waded a significant portion of the river north of hayward (trout section) but haven't waded the lower portion. I imagine part of it is wadable, but the river does get a bit bigger downstream. I plan on drifting that portion in the next month or so once I procure a 'yak and a 9wt.

Let me see if I can find some of the maps I saved last year, they have all sorts of good info on where to camp, hike, park, etc etc on the old Namekagon.

[Schollmeier]

The Nam' campsites are first comed first serve. No sign up just pull in and set up. A lot like the B-Dub actually - except no entry fee. Below hayward you can hit the opposite bank most places. Below Trego it gets bigger. Generally speaking you can (carefully) wade most of it. Awesome river for multi-species, though there are better Musky rivers in the area.

There are at least a couple campsites in canoe launches on the Nam that you can drive up to and camp on for free as well.

Nam' Maps:

http://www.nps.gov/sacn/planyourvisit/maps.htm

Might be best to base camp some where and head to various river sections of the Chip, Flambeau, or Nam'

[Schollmeier]

Dang I was looking forward to heckling from another canoe. I've got a 9/10 WT Two handed blank coming to build up soon that should work great.

[MNFishhunter]

I tried wading the Nam, the Flambeau, and various lakes the last two years. Pretty limited. Also tried alot of smaller rivers further south down to Ladysmith. Some better options down there.

A canoe or yak would help alot. My wife and I did a day with Hayward fly fishing last Oct. on the N.Fork Flambeau, thats very easy to paddle and free camping. I've only made a half dozen trips in the last 2 years, but the intent was to wade and fish. Between Hayward fly shop and Pastika's there's alot of info that points to NOT easy wading for musky (other species, yes) at least from what I understand and tried.

Hopefully you do better than I did with the wading. I broke down and bring my yak now. That has been productive.

@ Schollmeier- that little toothy fish pic came from Lake Nam. in Hayward.

[Schollmeier]

I should note that all the wading I've done on the Nam' was wet wading. You'd probably fill your waders in some spots. I did it from a canoe too, stopping, getting out, wading, and paddling on. I was fishing for bass and redhorse though, muskie spots could well be tougher without a boat.

I still think the Flambeau and Chip are better bets if Musky is the goal. The Nam is awesome but the musky fishery is more limited.

[Sherpa]

You can rent canoes and kayaks in Trego from Jacks' canoe rental. I believe they also do shuttle service as well. You could have them drop you up river and float down to them or float down and get picked up.