Tuesday, November 23, 2010

New Friends, Michigan Natives, and Fishing Trips

Yeah yeah, it has been a long time since you all have heard from me. A really long time. That's the bad news. The good news is that I have been fishing a lot. From native Smallmouth Bass to Steelhead, we have been covering the gamut in the past three months. From the biggest wild Au Sable Brown I have ever seen, to a tough but fulfilling Steelhead trip to New York state, I have certainly been getting mine. Have you been getting yours?

Larry H, a very good friend and client landed a 27" Brown trout with me on a moonless night in September. It beat my personal best by a full inch, and it was a truly spectacular hook-jawed male. Three casts prior to landing this fish, he landed a 22". Not too bad for night that started rather slow.

John J, the "Pine River Jedi," has been showing me around the Smallmouth Bass waters in the tri-city area. Catching between 50 and 80 fish each time out sure is a tough job, but someone has to do it ; ) During the extreme heat of August this past year, his info was key when the northern trout waters became too warm to fish.

Jared M is a newer fishing buddy with whom I took several fishing trips with over the past three months. Originally addicted to the pursuit of catching a salmon via a legitimate hookup, it was hooking a Steelhead on the swing that eventually left him shaken and wild-eyed.

Blake H is another new fishing buddy. In fact, he is new to fly fishing. In our time together, he has described fly fishing as a "religion," and the river as his "church." Seems to me that he has the bug for sure.

Finally, my son Jack is doing great. We started him casting a fly rod this fall, and he took to it very quickly. A picture of our casting sessions can be seen below. It was great watching him cast the rod while laughing uncontrollably. In fact, it was priceless.

The fishing is good and the company is better. Steelhead are in the rivers, deer are in the woods, and there is definitely no better time of the year to be a Michigander than now. And again, I apologize for the time lapse in reports and stories. Please look forward to many more blog entries to come!


Larry's 22 incher, imagine his surprise when...


Three casts later he landed this 27 incher!


Lil' Jack casting with flare


Barr's Slump Buster with a twist


Zoar Valley, New York


Emerald Shiner imitation


This fish hit HARD!


She put up a great fight on a 5 weight Hydros


Myself with a Michigan native, the Smallmouth Bass


The Pine River Jedi

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The End of a Western Adventure Plus

Arriving at the creek mid-morning the next day, we looked at the long 8 mile hike ahead of us with anticipation. We were after Cutthroat Trout on this day. One hour goes by, and we are still walking. After two hours of walking, we started fishing. Between Ken, Dan, and myself, I think we landed around twenty cutties ranging from 14 to 20 inches. We even had the chance to sight fish for some of them. That night, after the 4 mile hike out, we had a memorable dinner at the Roosevelt Lodge in Yellowstone and departed for Lander, Wyoming for the last leg of our trip.

Arriving in town around 2 AM, exhausted from our drive, we chose to set up "camp," in the local city park. By camp I mean that I laid a tarp on the ground, slipped into my sleeping bag, and passed out under the stars. Somehow, I managed to avoid the sprinklers that apparently go off nightly (found that out the hard way the next night).

The next morning, we hit the local fly shop and went to the little river. When we arrived, hoppers were EVERYWHERE! Trying to contain our excitement, we strung up the sticks and headed towards the creek. That day of fishing was some of the best Brown Trout fishing I have ever witnessed. Between the 3 of us, 40 to 50 trout were caught and released from 10-20 inches long. All of them came on dry flies. These were not normal Brown Trout. Large fish between 17-20 inches charged our oversized hoppers with abandon in the middle of the day. Not only were they plentiful, the trout were also beautiful, having a buttery yellow color with amazing Brook-Trout like spots. That night we camped at the city park yet again. Only in Lander would they allow campers to pitch their tents next to a community center and a playground. It's a pretty awesome place.

The next day, we had a rod reservation on a local "creek." I use the term creek loosely because the stretch of water we fished was actually a lake. Here, large Brown Trout (16" and up) made their living by cruising the shoreline looking for unfortunate terrestrial insects that had fallen into the water. Hoppers were all over the place here too. The trick was to quietly stalk the banks of the lake looking for the fish swimming along the shore on the search for food. If the cast was right, they would eat it. Bonefishing for Brown Trout, if you will. Very exciting stuff.

That night we made our way into Lander Bar and met some really great people. I also tried to track down an old fishing guide and friend, but the connection was not made. Maybe next time I guess. That night we camped on the little river, each of us looking forward to fishing it the next morning before our departure back to Michigan.

As it did before, this river provided great hopper fishing the next morning. It gave us a great sendoff and gave us memories to last until next year. We will be back, rest assured.

As far as Michigan fishing, mouse fishing was very good around the new moon. Now that it has brightened up, night fishing for big Brown Trout has slowed down considerably. Today, I managed to do some fishing with friend and local warmwater guide John Johnson for smallmouth. A video from the morning will be coming soon.


We had just gone for a dip


The crew


Hoppers on the tent at big fish canyon


Tying mormon crickets on the road


Our campsite at big fish canyon


The Yellowstone


This Bison looked like he had a bone to pick


Cool shot Kenny...


My biggest trout of the trip-22"


The "creek"


Yours truly with a 19"


Kenny with a pig


Myself with a buttery brown from the little river


On our way home

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

The Endearing Cutthroat

The next morning, we awoke from our slumber and struck out to the general store, located just down the street from our room. After picking up supplies and taking some pictures on the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake, we departed in the direction of the Yellowstone River in search of Cutthroat Trout.

Unfortunately, the river didn't fish well despite the presence of stone, caddis, and mayflies. Only later did we learn that the river is "dead." Lake Trout, first introduced into Yellowstone Lake in 1994, have had a severely negative impact on the fishery in the lake and river. The Lake Trout has caused the decimation of Cutthroat Trout in the lake, consequently causing a dramatic decline in the population of "cutties" in the river as well.

Ken, however, saved the day on the Yellowstone for us. He landed a HUGE cutt, probably in the area of 22". It was a truly great fish and moment, and one of the highlights of our trip.

In the afternoon, we made our way up to a well-known river about an hour away. When we arrived the skies looked gloomy but the river looked great. We put in and immediately began catching fish. Soon, however, rain began to fall, the river turned cloudy, and the fishing shut down. Little did I know how well this river would treat me the next day.

That night we had a good dinner and went to the room. Ken and Dane wanted to hike up a different stream, whereas I elected to limit my walking by fishing areas closer to the road (and thus, the car).

After dropping them off, I drove to the river we had fished the previous day. As it did the day before, the water looked beautifully clear, with a tint of green to it. As it was the day before, the fishing started off great. This time it got better. Starting around noon, I had tallied close to 20 trout by 3 o'clock. Shortly thereafter, I lost my fish count completely. It was truly an awesome day. My time there ended with a bang, catching four cutties and cutt/bow hybrids between 17 and 21 inches long.

It was about 7 o'clock when I left the stream, just about prime time for most. But with a sore arm from casting and fighting trout all day, I felt absolutely fulfilled and left to meet Ken and Dane who were just getting down the trail. After a solid dinner and some banter, we found a campsite. They also had a good time, catching many fish. In planning the next day's adventure, Dane, Ken, and I elected to go back as a trifecta to the stream they had just fished. We would not be disappointed.


Cutthroat


Rainbow


Brown


Little river looking upstream


Bison were all over the place

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Throw a little ALLSPICE in there

Had a great month of July folks, with a few days on the Au Sable yielding small but numerous fish and more days out west yielding large and plentiful brown, rainbow, and cutthroat trout. So it goes for this time of the year when the big fish bite has shifted from daytime to nighttime and early morning here in Michigan. I like to think that going out west makes it easier to keep our rods bent with good fish all the way through the summer.

In the next few installments of the blog, I will outline our western trip, which consisted of approximately 8 total fishing days and two days of driving. Foregoing the names and stretches of rivers, I will tell you that we we split our time between waters in and around Lander, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park for the duration of the trip.

After a 24 hour drive, you could say we were a little "stir crazy," to go fishing. So when we arrived in Lander, Wyoming we located the nearest "fishing licenses sold here" sign and practically dove in the front door to procure the proper documents. Not surprisingly, the shop wasn't exactly catering to fishermen, judging by the number of shotguns, rifles, pistols, and assault rifles that lined the walls. These guys were out for bigger game than a 20-inch trout.

After a little conversation, we took off to fish a well known canyon that holds both rainbow and brown trout, some of them very large. When we arrived, I found the water high. After a single cast and a fish caught, things were definitely looking up. Heavy water and giant boulders were the two keywords for the day however, and, though we caught fish, we were in rough shape from the tough wade and the long drive and we elected to push further towards another well-known canyon on a different river.

Making camp that night on the river, both Dane and I hooked large brown trout. Things were definitely looking up for the next day of fishing. Later that night, my good friend Allshouse pulled in and awakened me from my slumber. Thoughts of a big river and big trout filled my head as I drifted back to sleep.

The next day, I awoke at about dawn, and slowly stumbled down to the river. Much to my chagrin, big trout were rising everywhere. Scratch that. These were not just big trout. These were the biggest average trout I had ever seen rising in a consistent pattern. Unfortunately, none of the crew could put a hook into them and we decided to head downstream.

At the first stop, Dane landed two beautiful rainbows, Ken lost a beauty, and I lost two trout that put my "poop in a group." One fish made and indelible impression on me. When it rose to my stimulator, it literally resembled a salmon rising to a dry fly. It was easily 27 or 28 inches long. I have had dreams about this moment for a long time.

By the end of the day, we had hooked somewhere in the area of 25 fish, consisting of a mix of rainbows, cutthroats, and brown trout. None of the fish hooked were under 18 inches long! This fishery is now known by yours truly as "big fish canyon." We will be going back next year, when the cicadas are hatching ;). Fishing with an old buddy was as good (or better) than I remember, and I look forward to doing it again soon.

That night we departed for Yellowstone National Park. After a long day of trophy trout fishing, we were in a daze when we pulled into Yellowstone. After a mix up with our sleeping arrangements, we ended up hitting the hay around 2 o'clock. We would be up and ready the next morning, on the hunt for Cutthroat trout in America's first National Park.


Guess the trout...


Little river from our 2nd leg in Lander


19" rainbow from "big fish canyon"


Allshouse with a cutthroat


Check out that canyon...

Friday, July 02, 2010

The Last Hurrah

Don't have much time folks but I'll try to fill you all as to what is going on.

The hex hatch is pretty much done. I am going out tonight for a "reconissance" mission, will report back in a couple of days.

Below are some notable trout. We landed somewhere in the area of 20 trout over 18 inches in June, not the best I've done but it could have been worse. 5 of those fish came on the same night, when my dad and I were fishing. Extremely high water made for moving feeders, and in turn this made for tough fishing.

Here are the pics:


My dad with a 23" beauty. That night we landed 2 others over 22" and 5 total over 18". Of course, my camera died after this shot...


25" Brown trout described in my last post.


22" daytime dry fly trout


Close up

Friday, June 18, 2010

Brown Trout of a lifetime

Well, I caught my first daytime hex trout over two feet long this past weekend. It was a pretty good story. It starts on Saturday, when I drove to a nearby access to check out what was going on. As I was standing at the launch, I see fellow guide and friend Ron Racozy with two clients fishing for what looks to be a large trout. Then I spot the bugs. Hex duns were all over the water. Mind you, daytime Hex hatches are rare, especially on the Au Sable.

As I looked up, I saw one of Ron's clients hook into the fish. After a fair amount of commotion, the fish is netted and Ron yells down to me that it is a "25 or 26 incher." I saw the fish, I saw the duns, and I realized it was time to gear up. However, that day was not to be the day I landed the big one.

Sunday morning brought the same conditions as Saturday, and I knew I had to get on the water. Armed with my boat this time, I paddled upstream until my muscles gave out. I sat and waited. When the Hex began to appear around 8 o'clock, I knew I was in for a good day. When the fish began to rise, I realized I was in for a really good day. I picked one fish out that sounded bigger than the rest, and worked him. After a solid half hour of casting over him, he took an emerger pattern that has done well for me in the past. After a short battle, I landed the brute, took some pictures, and let him go. Pictures to come soon, as yours truly stupidly left his camera at the cabin.

That was not the only big fish encounter of the weekend. I personally landed another that was around 21" and my client Larry landed the fattest 23" Brown Trout I have ever seen. Streamer fishing and daytime dry fly fishing was also very good in spots. With the high water on the Au Sable, the fish are really packing on the pounds.

Have a good time out there, and BE SAFE!

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Battles Won and Lost

The past few days have really been something. Big fish, in battles won and lost, are by far the most memorable moments in my fishing and guiding experience. The past few nights offered rather mixed fishing, but several chances at large trout have made them memorable. Last night, we had very good brown drake fishing, with several nice fish and one whopper in the net. We had chances at several other nice Brown Trout too.

I have been doing some fishing on my own as well. Mostly I have been fishing to a single trout. It is a nice trout, probably somewhere in the range of 18-20 inches. More important, however, is where he is located. He is basically rising in the middle of a logjam. To get to him, it requires a tough cast, and the fish would certainly test me in a hand to fin battle. I will get him eventually.

This time of year, watch out for the madness that results from the big bugs of June. Puffy red eyes, hallucinations, sleep deprivation, and babbling stories of big fish battles won and lost are all signs of the madness. Enjoy the next month of fishing folks, and remember, GET YOUR SLEEP!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Surprising Trout

On my last excursion to the North Country, I had evenings with both good and bad fishing. For example, a client of mine fished over three large fish on Thursday, and on Saturday the fishing was slow for another pair of clients. On another note, these guys had a good time and they still managed to boat 15 trout or so. We also landed the first Rainbow Trout I have ever seen on the Manistee. Pretty cool experience. It was the first surprising trout of the weekend.

The other was a large Brown Trout that a friend and I heard on Sunday night. It made a sound like a whale breaching the surface of the water. Soon after, I went up to inspect the situation. I suspected the fish rose to a big stonefly, so I tied one on. Fishing the riffle, I skittered the stonefly imitation across and down, hoping for the big splash. It never came.

The next morning, I awoke around 8:30 AM, and decided to go to the same riffle to see if I could entice the big fish to strike. Still using the stonefly imitation I had on the previous night, I drew line out slowly. On the third drift through the riffle, a large shape emerged under my fly, swimming slowly. As the head of the massive trout came up to inspect my fly, I acted too quickly and instinctively pulled the fly right out of the fishes' mouth. Bummer. Alas, this was the second surprising trout of the weekend.

These fish are what keeps us coming back. New things can be seen every time we are out on the river if we pay close enough attention. Just sitting, watching, and listening to a river can improve your fly fishing skills tremendously. Next time you hit the river, use your powers of observation. It could lead to your next surprising trout.


This fish was a surprising trout. It ate a hendrickson at 4 o'clock in the afternoon ABOVE Mio on the Au Sable.


This fish was also a surprising trout. It came from less than a foot of water on a very cold night.

Thursday, May 06, 2010

Fishing the Past Month

I know, I know, it has been a severely long time since my last post. I apologize. Fish, work, cabin chores, and graduating from my final college class (at least for a while) has kept me pretty busy. The shift in concentration from Steelhead to trout has already occurred, and I followed accordingly.

For the most part, I should say. Yesterday, I went on a reconnaissance mission for a client up to one of my favorite late-run Steelhead rivers. After receiving more than one inch of run the previous two days, I expected the river to be full of chrome. Instead, I arrived to a gin-clear river that looked as if it hadn't gotten rain in weeks. After walking close to 6 miles and spotting only 4 Steelhead, I think things have pretty well wrapped up there.

As for the trout fishing front, this spring has been truly amazing. Hatches have been heavy, with nice trout coming up to the bugs most nights, depending on weather, temperature, and (of course!) numerous other factors, some known and unknown. We have landed several nice mid-teen fish, and have had shots at some that were much larger.

Streamer fishing last week was somewhat of an enigma. After the first day of great dry fly fishing, the clouds opened and the rain came down. One would have thought that the soaking would have provided great streamer fishing the next couple days. Instead, I was blanked on streamers until Monday, when I lost a whopper at the boat because of a botched net job (it happens sometimes) and landed 2 other teenagers. We rolled A BUNCH of fish.

I love trout fishing. Dry flies and big trout are my passion. Its what I started doing with my dad some 17 odd years ago, its what inspired me to become a guide, and its what I love to put clients on most. There is NOTHING that compares to watching a large snout come up to sip mayflies from the surface film. Just thinking about it puts shivers down my spine.

I have been working on new patterns, perfecting old ones, and researching patterns for the future. I am getting very excited about the hatch fishing this year! For a taste of what I have been up to, I want to share a few photos from some memorable days on the water. They are from my last steelhead trip to a West Michigan river with my dad and a good friend. Enjoy.


Dano with a HUGE dropback female


My dad's first fish on a bobber


This hen put on an INCREDIBLE fight! Just ask my dad...


Super chrome female.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Nice Day

"When long faces are seen around gravel, always look to the pockets." This quote is from good friend Dane Ward, and it could not have been more true than yesterday. While the locals could be seen hawking gravel looking for fish trying to do the spawning thing, the real biters came from the dark water in and around that same gravel.

I think that the run is really winding down over there. While I hooked a really good number of fish, other folks I talked to were not doing so hot. So goes it I guess. As for the run winding down, the rivers up and down the west side need water bad, and if they don't get it soon the steelhead congregating around the mouths of rivers will reabsorb their eggs or milt and head back out to the big lake. To anyone reading this, get your headdress out and DO YOUR RAIN DANCE! After the big push of fish a few weeks ago, rivers over there have not seen any good numbers of fresh steelhead. Friends fishing the Pere Marquette in the past week have lamented to me about the lack of new fish showing up.

Simply put, a lack of snow has equaled a lack of runoff. Our easy winter has ambushed our steelhead run this spring. Prayer for rain and be courteous out there...


A steelie on "Phil's beach"


Catch and Release


Purdy buck


Phat hen

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Chrome Dome

Got out for some fishing/guiding with a friend from Wyoming yesterday. It was some of the best steelheading I ever had. The fishing was plain out of sight. Unfortunately, I spent the whole day with a lingering sickness that started Wednesday night. However, hooking fish after fish after fish will keep your spirits up pretty well I'd say.

Matt had never flyfished for steelhead before, and he still managed to bag 3 steelhead, 1 huge walleye, a few trout, and some "bugle trout" (a.k.a. suckers). After some instruction, Matt got the hang of it and we finished the day strong with each of us hooking a lot of fish.

Sorry about the short report, I am still feeling rather sick and I think some sleep is in order...


Chrome hen from a hole


Matt with another big hen


Myself with a good hen


A salmon head. Dead salmon provide a lot of extra nutrients for the river and the organisms that thrive in and around it.


Matt's handsome buck


Matt's 8 lb + walleye


Nice brownie


One of Matt's "bugle trout." Look how happy he was to catch it haha


Catch and Release

These fish are only a sampling of what was caught during the day. Above all, I got to spend time with a friend that I hadn't seen in a long, long time. Thank goodness for good friends and great times!