Paying Your Dues

Paying your dues...its the old cliche that's used alot in fly fishing, but there is absolutely some truth behind the statement. I have learned this to be even more true since moving to Michigan 5 years ago. Our rivers are not the easiest to fish (read: lots of wood), they hold the wariest of trout (read: wild browns), and due to the abundance of food available to them at most times of the year they are not overally opportunistic because they dont need to be. This time of year it's all about hitting the bugs right...being in the right place at the right time can be the difference between a slow night on the river and furious dry fly action. My dry fly season started early this year and fished very well for me into Hendricksons, but in the last 3+ weeks things just havent been clicking. Bugs weren't where I thought they'd be, fish didnt get up on bugs that were there, etc. Last night, however, was one of those nights that will only happen from dogged determination....spending alot of evenings on the river, and being patient for things to fall into place. I got to the river around 7pm and nothing was doing on top so I did some nymphing. I started off with a few smaller rainbows. (Apologies...im in between cameras so I was using my phone)

As I worked my way down and it got later in the evening the small rainbows transitioned to some nice fat browns.

I finished with 9 fish on nymphs with another handful that I lost. About that time I met up with Jeff who had started higher upriver and was pulling buggers. He landed a handful of smaller fish and lost a couple quality teen sized fish. It definitely felt like the fish were in a cooperative mood. Nearing dusk we re-tied our leaders and put on some dries waiting for some fish to rise. We walked upstream to a favorite slick and sure enough a couple little trout were feeding and one that looked much better. After a few minutes I got him to eat a #16 Roberts Yellow Drake. We measured him at 15 which is a solid fish for this water.

After that as dusk turned to darkness smaller fish continued to feed but nothing that sounded decent. About that time Jeff had to leave and I contemplated leaving as well but something told me to hang around for a bit. The feeding all but stopped by about 10pm and I was just getting up to leave when I heard a better rise. Then another, and another, and within a couple minutes at least a half dozen fish were feeding in the darkness. I looked down at the water with my headlamp and was pumped to see brown drakes all over the place.

I clipped off my small sulphur, cut my tippet back, and tied on a Jerry Reagan brown drake parachute. Being the first time truly "night fishing" this year it took me a little while to get the feel and locate fish on sound alone. Once I got dialed in I hit 3 fish in a row about a foot long. Just at that time I heard a rise that made the hair on my arms stand up straight. The only times Ive ever heard a fish sound like that was when they were feeding on Hex or crushing a waking mouse pattern. And Id certainly never heard a fish of that size feeding in this river. I spent the next half hour camped on that spot trying to get a bead on that fish which only rose once every couple minutes. A second fish had joined in right beside him as well, and after switching to a brown drake cripple I finally got him to eat. He felt heavy in the darkness and bent my 5wt Phillipson nicely. I finally tired him out and gently laid him on the bank. This picture is terrible, but it shows his size.

I didn't measure him because I was frantic to get back to the rising fish, but he was a couple inches larger than the fish we taped an hour or two ago. I was smiling as I released him back into the river and he swam away strong. Thats my largest fish from this river and I fish it quite a bit. I turned my light off and let me eyes acclimate to the dark once again. I slowly waded back out into position and once again heard the giant fish rise. It gave me goosebumps, its the sound that every fly fisherman can hear in their mind and dreams of longingly all year. I tried for him for several minutes and just couldnt hit the drift right without being able to see it. I casted again and halfway through the drift something seemed odd. I never heard a take and I certainly didnt see anything, but I just had a feeling something had happened. Sure enough I raised the rod and instantly felt a deep throbbing pull. Immediately my reel shrieked as the fish raced for a nearby clump of wood and I may have muttered "oh my god" under my breathe. I was fishing heavy tippet and leaned on the fish hard to keep it from the sunken structure. One more good throb and my line was limp....the hook had pulled out and was slightly bent open. I was shaking, my heart was racing, and after a couple seconds I laughed out loud to myself. Undoubtedly that fish was quite a bit larger than the fish I had just landed, already a personal best for this water. After that commotion the river fell silent and I knew my night was over. Mom's are right about most things but they are wrong about this.....scary things do come out at night........

Weekend 5/19 + 5/20

We had big plans for this past weekend. Thoughts of grandeur raced through my mind all day on Friday while waiting for the 5 o'clock whistle to blow. Finally I was free...and the hype built even more as I headed to Jeff's house to hang with Jeff, Bob, and the wives for a BBQ and bonfire.

We talked about the conditions, we talked about rumors we had heard, photos we'd seen, and so on and so on. As is usually the case when things are pumped up like this....it didn't happen. Saturday morning I was at Jeff's by 6am and we headed north to the flats around TC to meet Joe. The first few carp and smallmouth of the year had been showing up and we wanted a crack at them. The weather was ALMOST perfect for this kind of fising...it was hot and sunny, but the thing that ruined it was a stiff south wind. It kept the water in the bay very cold, and as a result we saw just 2 cruising carp all day.

Jeff played with his camera a bit.

We did see a handful of smallmouth though, but even they were mostly at a distance and very spooky. We got lucky a few times though and got a few fish to eat. I managed two fish on a Pancora Bugger and Joe hit this fatty right before we left that spot....

Finally after checking out a couple spots and talking with a few other anglers we pulled the plug....it just wasn't happening and you can't catch fish if they aren't there. Luckily TC has my favorite consolation prize, Fogarelli's Deli. With sandwhiches like this a slow day of fishing hardly seems to matter....

After lunch we hung out at The Northern Angler for a bit. I love that shop and it feels the way a real fly shop should feel. I always wind up buying something, even if I dont need it, this time being no different. After that we headed south to some trout water thinking that with the day's heat we should at least get a decent spinner fall in the evening. The water was low and clear with no bugs around. We stripped buggers as we waited and Jeff picked off this nice brown to go along with a couple smaller fish that Joe and I found.

Finally, right at dark, a bunch of sulphur spinners hit the water. Surprisingly, very few fish got on them and it only lasted for literally 5 minutes. I located a BIG fish gulping bugs off a big logjam, but by the time I found him, got in to position, and went to cast it was all over. We hung out for another 15 minutes and sure enough that was it. It was really dissapointing, but then again that is the way the game goes sometimes this time of year. Success depends on the bugs and that is always a roll of the dice. By the time we got home it was well after midnight and I was so wiped out I could hardly make it up the steps...... Sunday I decided to get some stuff done at home and just fish in the evening. My Dad fished during the day in the heat and did ok. He hit mostly smaller rainnbows but also hit a couple browns and lost one very nice brown. I met him around 7pm and I immediately hit 3 or 4 smaller fish swinging a sulphur soft hackle. We waited and waited and waited for some better fish to start eating up top but it never happened. We each picked off another small fish or two on sulphur emergers but that was it. Around dark some spinners hit the water but the river remained dead. About that time a storm started rolling in and we called it a night. Hopefully things get back to normal soon, its been pretty tough as of late....

May Day

May is here! Probably my favorite month of the year to fish...it is the month of the dry fly and the start of 2 full months of evenings spent along the banks of my favorite rivers. Last weekend, however, was a different situation entirely. We got a lot of rain from 2 strong thunderstorms and most of the waters in the area were high, dirty, and un-fishable. Luckily the local river fared incredibly well and was in beautiful shape Saturday morning. Jeff and I only had a few hours to fish so we decided to pull some buggers. We clobbered fish for 2 straight hours......

We probably landed around 20 fish between us and had a great time. I headed home to watch the Ranger game and Jeff had some chores to take care of. Late afternoon we met up again and headed north to float some water that was flowing really big but good clarity. We pulled streamers looking for a giant but that didn't exactly pan out. We hit 2 14's and that was as good as we could do.

I did move 2 nicer fish, including one that looked very solid, but in the big water fish were really spread out and we didnt have much action. Oh well it was worth a try! As soon as the levels come down this is one of the better dry fly rivers in the state. On Sunday my Dad and I headed back to the same small creek that I snapped my rod in last week. The water looked great, and I got a fish right away in the first run we fished.

Thinking that was a great start we continued down and I got another small fish pretty quickly. After that, things completely shut down. We fished and fished and fished and couldnt buy a fish from alot of the same water I did well on the week before.

Finally, Dad hit his only fish of the day just before we were ready to turn around.

March Browns were hatching slowly but steadily most of the afternoon but we only saw a few noses poke up on the hike back upstream.

Dad fished to them for a long time and got refused several times but they just wouldn't take what he was throwing.

Finally we decided to call it a day when the thunder started to rumble. It had been tough, we'd covered alot of miles and knocked on alot of doors but it just wasn't happening.

Last weekend I wasn't able to get out much as I helped my parents rip up floors in their house, but I have gotten out a handful of evenings on some local water. Been hitting some smaller fish on buggers and swinging soft hackles and then waiting for bugs as the lights dim. I haven't hit a good spinner fall yet but have been able to pick off a handful of fish each night regardless.

As water levels recede from this last rain, temps warm up, and the air continues to fill with the bugs of spring the fishing should improve greatly. This is the time of year to make sure your dry fly boxes are stocked, bug dope is packed, and dont forget your headlamp! Oh, and use caution at the gas station...sulphur spinners are taking over!

Trout Opener

Every year fisherman all over the state look forward in anticipation to the trout opener, and I am no different. Of course, we have many streams that are open year round, and I fish right through the winter, but still its a tradition and it brings with it fond memories. It also opens up alot more options, including many of the smaller local streams I have a special attraction to. Saturday was the opener and myself, Jeff, and Bob decided to float some bigger water and pull streamers. There was no lack of equipment.

It was a cold overcast day and we thought we may have a shot at some big fish. Right out of the gate Bob and I moved and hooked several smaller browns. After that initital flurry of action things slowed way down. We would turn the occasional fish and hooked a few more. Jeff got this guy which was a little better.

Later in the day, as we approached a gravel bar with a deep drop off behind it, Jeff hooked a brown that looked to be a solid 20 inches. It was only one for a second or two before throwing the hook. Just enough time for all of us to feel a little sick. Luckily, only 10 minutes later or so, Bob got a nice surprise when this dropback steelhead grabbed hold of his white rattlesnake.

After that there wasn't a whole lot to talk about. We each moved one more teener sized fish and a few smaller ones before reaching the takeout at dark. Nothing epic, but we saw quite a few fish and if we had capitalized on a few more of our chances it could have been a banner day. On Sunday my Dad and I fished some waters down in the Kzoo/Battle Creek area that I dont get to visit very often. The first stream was one I had fished only once before and we had caught a handful of smaller fish. There are some better sized fish in this creek though, so I decided to spend the day stripping wooly buggers.

A half hour into the day I got confirmation that this was a good choice. Not bad for a creek only 15 feet wide in spots.

Surprisingly thats the only trout I could get to go. I caught a few more creek chubs but no more trout. After lunch we drove upstream to another section and my Dad was able to pick off several fish on a nymph rig. Putting a bend in the Oyster cane.

Dad also caught the smallest brown trout I've ever seen. It was the size of the small size Rapala.

Some Hendricksons started hatching along with some Caddis but very few fish got up on them. We decided to drive to another spot and see if anything was feeding down there. The water didn't look particularly good and we saw very few bugs and no rising fish. At this point we decided to drive to another creek for the last hour before we had to be home for dinner.

This is an even smaller creek that we have got some 12-14 inch fish from occasionally, but usually they are small and skittish. Today was no different. I hooked one on a small black bugger and had one other pull and that was it. Flowers were blooming though and it was a very peaceful evening.

After that it was home to my folks place for a dinner of woodcock and grouse....not a bad sporting day in Michigan.

After work this week I hit another small stream closer to home that I only fished once last year and I have been excited to try again.

I fished downstream through a new section of water with buggers and the fishing was surprisingly good despite low clear water and partly sunny skies. The first fish ate a moto minnow out of a riffle.

The farther I worked downstream the nicer the fish got.

I also saw a couple better sized fish swirl at my fly. Everything was going great and I was having a blast when I came to a fast deep chute. It looked perfect and I practically was holding my breathe as I cast my fly into the chop. One strip and all of a sudden I almost had my 7'6ft 4wt cane rod pulled out of my hands. I saw a massive distrubance on the water and my reel shrieked as a huge fish blasted out of that run and down into some faster broken water below. My heart was pounding as I gave chase and my heart sank when I finally caught up and realized the fish had buried me in a logjam. I could still feel the fish was on the end of the line, so I stuck the rod under my arm and reached in the water with my other hand to try and untangle the leader. When the fish felt me pulling it surged violently depper into the wood...snapping my 3x tippet and my rod in the process.

I wanted to cry. I just sat on a rock for about 15 minutes frozen still. I caught only the slightest glimpse of the fish as it rolled just under the surface and I believe it would have been my largest MI brown....possibly my largest brown ever. It was as powerful as a steelhead and the size was mind blowing given the size of the water I was in. I laughed at loud thinking about the rod I was holding trying to fight such a big fish. I know where he lives, I will be back, next time with a stouter rod....I want my fly back!