Finally

From the Wisconsin border to the Illinois River, some of the best and easily accessible fishing in the Chicago area.
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amason
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Finally

Post by amason »

First small mouth.

Decided to drive out to the Fox to see if I could beat the skunk for Sunday after nothing at local ponds and the dupage. Fished under the bridge, and slightly down stream from downtown Oswego. Had a hit and self release on my first cast, finally caught my first smallie shortly there after. I was throwing a rebel craw. Made my weekend. You can only catch your first once.


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Special Ed
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Re: Finally

Post by Special Ed »

Very nice!

You'll always remember your first. ;)


I had a first of my own this last week...

Image

5.5 gallons of wort, partial: 2 row and DME. Whole leaf Simcoe, Wyeast 1292 from a 2L starter.

Wifey was not happy when she saw this BTW.


Next time, with whole leaf... I'll need a bigger blow-off tube.

OG was 1.076, It's been 7 days in primary and I'm sitting at 1.022. Shooting for 1.018, then racked to secondary for 2 weeks with a copious dry-hop schedule.


So... you fish when you're not brewing and I brew when I'm not fishing.
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amason
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Re: Finally

Post by amason »

1292? Doesn't sound familiar. 1272 maybe? If you're looking for homebrew buddies, let me know, for some reason fishing and beer has a generous crossover of interest for a lot of people.

also, the first time I was around a homebrew batch I was two and I peed all over the floor while my dad had a boilover on the stove. First time I went solo I was 16 and since then I didn't stop.
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Special Ed
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Re: Finally

Post by Special Ed »

Yep, 1272 American Ale II, typo. The result of a Sunday evening spent enjoying Sierra Nevada Summerfests in generous quantities. (Great beer btw)

As for home brewing, I'm really just getting into it, but I love it so far. I love that there really is no demanding time frames to adhere to, I have so much going on every day that eats up time, being able to brew/rack/bottle at my leisure is definitely appealing.

Great recipes are abundant, there is some really good literature (Palmer, Mosher...) that I have read and even more info on the internet than I could read in the rest of my lifetime. It's really an interesting craft... a little bit of science, a little bit of creativity, and fun all thrown together just to enjoy a tasty beverage.
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amason
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Re: Finally

Post by amason »

It's like fishing. The worst that happens in the end is that you have 5 gallons of beer to drink. The worst that happens if you don't catch anything is generally, you fished for the whole day.
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Special Ed
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Re: Finally

Post by Special Ed »

amason wrote:It's like fishing. The worst that happens in the end is that you have 5 gallons of beer to drink. The worst that happens if you don't catch anything is generally, you fished for the whole day.

Next time you feel like fishing a stretch in Oswego you should send me a message. I'd be more than happy to point out some great spots to wade through, both for fish and scenery.

I guarantee you I will be fishing around downtown this day:

http://www.brewatthebridge.com/

September 29th.
Adam HnG
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Re: Finally

Post by Adam HnG »

Bet that little smallmouth fought like a 3 lb largie....nice work n congrats.
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Anthony Mikos
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Re: Finally

Post by Anthony Mikos »

Mazeltov, amigo. First river smallmouth is always a revelation.

I've had Williams catalogs delivered to me for years and still haven't purchased anything or attempted to brew anything. I'm gonna do it some day, and I may ask for your assistance when I do because, well, you know that kind of stuff.
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