Smoke on the water tells a tale of cool nights, much cooler than the lakes surface temperature and a true sign of the season to come. As autumn approaches, we watch the maple and birch lead a trend of changing leaves, the dogwood exposes its crimson branches and suddenly there’s no where quieter than right smack dab in the middle of a lake in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Otters at play, diving for clams and periwinkle snails, return to the surface only to float on their backs using their bellies as a table; the type of scenery  some watch television to experience. Yet, here you are on water as smooth as glass, the sun too low to warm your blood but the colors warm enough to warm your soul. The chill in your hands from palming your baitcaster is enough for you to express your discomfort to your fishing partner, but not too cold to put down. As the sun grows higher, the smoke thins over the water. It’s funny how you can lose yourself in a trance watching the steam skim the surface like a dusting of snow over smooth ice before the inevitable happens and you reel the swivel into the guide at the end of your favorite musky stick.

As the season progress, the leaves reach the peak of their colors as if to show off one last hurrah in attempt to get noticed amongst all the others; when was the last time you singled out one of the millions of green leaves of summer? Morning smoke continues to grace the surface of your favorite lakes for much of the fall, but these days it comes from two different sources and their both as favorable as the other. What can be better than the subtle scent of burning leaves? Combine that with the smell of well lit coals from the grill on the deck, the football game over the radio and “zip-zip-zzzzzzip” of the clicker going off and you’re in musky hunter euphoria. A quick release of a rotund musky, another sucker in the water and you’re back to long and slow sweeps of the rod as you work that Pounder just over the bottom. And never mind the 35-inch floater you saw the evening before, the two eagles dancing clumsily on the shore are happy to eat such a fine meal, which pleases you to watch and so goes the circle of life.

The days of arrogant boaters and weekend warriors have subsided until next summer and it’s a notion not taken for granted; you haven’t felt this calm on the water in months. Can you believe it could be so quiet out here that a pair of hooded mergansers gliding into landing behind you could have startled you so much that you hunched your shoulders, ducked your head and crouched? A flock of geese coming over the creek mouth you’re fishing in front of is loud and echoes off the water – music. You have everything you need out there, and the only thing that could make it better would be to feel your rod load up as you rear into a behemoth of anyone’s standards. White jaws breaking the surface and the scramble in the boat is an awesome energy that will keep you warm no matter the weather.

It’s almost here, folks, and I want to wish everyone safety on the water and all the luck in the world this fall. Let's use this thread to post our favorite "Smoke On The Water" pictures! I posted a quicky off the web for now, but I'll add my own later.

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