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

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!

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!

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.

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.

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

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!