Driftless 2026: Track 3 – MacArthur Park

Prologue

Despite the title of this track, we didn’t fish in a park on Saturday, May 1st. Instead, we fished off a highway. But I’ll get to the significance of the titular song later in this entry. For now, just press “play” and enjoy Richard Harris belting out this gem as some background music while you read today’s post.

Oh no, the Russkies…

The numerous options of waters to fish in the Driftless are practically uncountable. That’s why I like it so much. Today, Saturday, Anthony offered the idea that we go fish a stream that was a little over an hour away. He’s been there, but I’d never had, or anywhere in that area before, so new water sounded great to me. Dave was agreeable too, so into Anthony’s Outback the three of us went.

The odds that someone else would be at the “pin” on Anthony’s map weren’t particularly high, but you know after a long drive and the fact that today also happened to be the first day of harvest season in Wisconsin… well, those odds escalated quickly.

As we arrived, three men were scaling the cement bank back up to their car. Anthony approached them to confirm they were leaving, and in a heavy eastern European accents, they verified they were done. Did I mention they also had a white plastic shopping bag just crammed to the top with fish? Were they over their combined limit of 5 each? Beats me, but they were clearly damn effective with their spinning tackle.

Let’s just hope our Russian comrades didn’t fish out all the good holes.

Divide & Conquer

Similar to the day before, the three of us spaced ourselves out a bit on the stream. Anthony stuck close to the car and fished the big hole under the bridge, I went upstream just a little bit, and Dave ventured even further. As we all fished up, Dave was always in my sight, but Anthony definitely disappeared for a bit. You just knew he was staying back and hammering that hole hard. (Re-reading that last sentence is more than a little nasty, LOL.)

The Fishing Was Better than Friday

With Anthony downstream, I’d say Dave and I were faring fairly well upstream. We’d each pick up a fish or two every 20 yards. There wasn’t a ton of structure in the section we were fishing, but just enough that a well placed fly in and around a rock, downed tree branch, or cutbank would catch a trout’s attention.

Eventually, we came across this really pretty rock wall and an incredibly deep hole situated right in front of it. As I caught up to Dave he told me he had just hooked a huge fish in said hole, but it came off. Not sure if it kicked the hook or broke him off. Either way, I tried to recreate the feat, but was unsuccessful. Those fish weren’t having any of my hijinks.

At this point I leapfrogged Dave who was intent on staying and getting a fish out from that spot. He eventually did, although not the leviathan he previously pierced. I was also lucky, landing three fish of my own at the bottom of a nearby run.

Anthony Returns

As Dave & I decided to walk back downstream, we ran into Anthony finally fishing up. Almost as soon as he came into sight, he was buttoned up on a fish, so we could tell he was having a good day too. He told us he did well down by the bridge, even hooked a fish so big it just wouldn’t move. You know the type. Anthony isn’t one to tell fish tales, so I believe him. I’ve seen him do that too many times to be skeptical.

And Then They Started Looking Up!

Anthony just kept on going upstream, so Dave & I went downstream back toward the direction of the car. As we did, Dave started skating a fly on the surface and the trout really began reacting in a positive fashion. The trout were finally looking up, and after fishing nymphs all morning, some topwater action made the catching even more enjoyable from that point on.

I was fortunate to nab a few as well, but the best was yet to come.

Under The Bridge

So, back near the car, I just had to fish under the bridge too. With Anthony’s report of big fish, who wouldn’t? Now, I didn’t catch that monster he was talking about, but I did catch two solid fish almost back to back just downstream in the hole’s tailout.

I was actually startled when I hooked the first one. After fishing for a few days and catching mostly smaller fish, this slightly larger handful really put a jolt in the rod upon connection.

Which was then followed up by this photogenic charmer.

After those two fish, Anthony had finally arrived and he and Dave were just chatting waiting for me to wrap things up. It’s a weird spot as an angler. Your friends are clearly done, but you’re on a roll and kind of want to keep fishing. A few empty casts later, I packed it in too. We had fished for a few lively hours and had a wonderful time. Back in the Outback we went.

Enter MacArthur Park

Satellite radio is awesome. It can also be necessary in some parts of Wisconsin. As we headed back to the farm and were recollecting our day’s adventure, MacArthur Park came on the car stereo. Don’t recall exactly what Sirius station we were listening to. Let’s just say we were overwhelmed by the nuclear-charged vocals that define Richard Harris.

Mr. Harris masterfully belts out this tune with such passion that’s unmistakable and immediate. This is not the Donna Summer or Four Tops version. And the song is just so damn wonderfully (and comically) long. It felt like it was playing for 1/3 of our drive back to the farm.

After the 3rd or 4th chorus, we were all singing along in the car. Anthony lamenting that “someone left the cake out in the rain”, me mournfully expressing that “we’d never have that recipe again”, and Dave, with his deep voice bellowing, “Ohhhhhh nooooooooooo…” from the backseat. Like really, it was amazing. You had to be there.

It was in fact so majestic, Anthony had to pull up the video of Richard Harris performing it on the TV once we got back to the farm. We watched it enthralled as he captivated us possibly more than his live audience. I just had to embed it here too, so you can take in his lyrical sorcery. 🤘

A&W Pit Stop

After all that singing, we did make a quick pit stop at A&W for some mid afternoon snacks. I mean, how can you not stop for such a friendly bear?

Oh, Yeah, and then the Midwest Tenkara Fest Too!

Once more, I did an absolutely horrible job of documenting the Midwest Tenkara Fest, but Saturday evening was the main gathering of the weekend. We cruised into Esofea to find there were probably upwards of 50 people present for a big BBQ feed, raffles, and if you’re our friend and International Man of Mystery, Bill, randomly running off into the woods to hunt for wild ramps.

One of the more humorous raffle prizes was this pack of camel fur dubbing that claimed to be “Smooth to the touch, yet extremely kinky.” Rawr. My friend Jared was very amused by this and I believe will be appropriating this slogan as his own.

After that, it was just a good time with like minded anglers around the fire pit. Lots of great stories were told late into the night. I’d tell some here, but they’re best kept at camp.

In Closing

I do have to give a big shout out and thanks to A.J. (& his wife), Art, and the aforementioned Jared for organizing this wonderful social event for the tenkara community. The Midwest Tenkara Fest is always a highlight of my fishing calendar and these “Tenkara Chums” really went out of their way to make everyone feel welcome. Well done guys!

So what’s that? 3 Tracks down and at least 3 more to go? You won’t want to miss the next one. Sunday was a good day for sure…

---

Tracks on the Driftless 2026 Album:

---