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I never thought I would say this: I think a return of some cooler weather with some rain or snow is needed, or at least clouds and rain with mild air temperatures.
The weather the past week or so has been great; however, the high pressure system combined with clear water and high sun has made the fishing tougher than one might think. Our lack of snowfall is having its effect on water levels, and there has been very little run-off to warm-up the water and reduce clarity. But help is on the way – or at least it is forecast — some rain and snow should really make for some great fishing in the weeks to come.
The indicator fishing for both steelhead and trout is an angler’s best friend; it helps to monitor a drag-free drift and also suspend flies above the sheltering timber. The slower and deeper water is best, but with more people out enjoying this weather, the smaller in-between spots should be fished too. Pale egg patterns have been working lately, but look for that to change as the water comes up and gets a little dirty. Small black stones are coming off the local rivers and with the increase in solar temps – more nymphs are moving around the bottom. Have your favorite hex and caddis larvae patterns in your box.
Trout fishing has been tough at high sun, but when the sun is low or covered up, it’s significantly better. Nymph fishing is your best bet, but some of the bigger fish are looking to eat a streamer. Still, the clear water is making presentations of both techniques demanding. Lighter lines, drag-free and slower retrieves.
Ted Kraimer is a professional guide and fly tier, owner of Current Works Guide Service, and field editor for True North Trout. His fishing reports will continue to appear in T|N|T and on his website.
NOTE: Ted is offering a great winter fishing special of five hours of guided fly fishing and lunch for only $250 — available through March 15th. Check it out.
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Buzz
True North Trout is pleased to publish Part I of the most extensive interview that we’ve done — with angler and fly guide Tommy Lynch (“The Fish Whisperer”). Tommy guides as part of the Hawkins Outfitters guiding team, and specializes in the Pere Marquette River, though he fishes all over the state. Tommy is an Orvis-Endorsed Fly Fishing Guide, and has been at the guiding game for about 15 years.
In this first part of the interview Tommy talks about indicator fishing for steelhead, Spey casting, and night fishing for brown trout with mouse patterns. Look for Part II of the interview in the next week.
More information about Tommy is available at his website and at Hawkins Outfitters. Tommy is one of the top guides working in Michigan and the information he has to share is quite valuable.
T|N|T: According to your website, before you decided to become a fishing guide you were going to college to become a funeral director, which I understand is your family’s business. Was it difficult to walk away from both a solid profession that would have promised financial security and from “the family legacy,” so to speak? How did you come to make that decision?
T|L: Nope, wasn’t a hard decision at all. I have two brothers in that business, but there are simply more smiles in this line of work. I like living happy! My father and I decided in an Irish, highly-toned conversation one day that I could certainly be a decent funeral director, but I would never love it like I loved fly fishing. He was right on both counts, as he usually is.
That's Tommy on the right with his friend, Mr. Big Trout.
Fly fishing is like nothing I had ever experienced, with the possible exception of sex. It just wasn’t the sort of thing that I was able to walk away from or put away and then take out again on the weekends. Once I did it, I had to continue. Every day that I didn’t fish, I felt as if I was digging myself into a hole that would have to “fish myself out of” eventually.
Besides — to be a great funeral director — like my father and my brothers — you have to become a responsible, well-dressed, and clean-shaven member of society … all overrated achievements in the eyes of a trout bum.
I caught a bass at age four in my Uncle Fred’s private pond in New York. But my father didn’t take me to the Pere Marquette River until I was seven years old. He used to tell me, “Tommy, I took you to the river when you were seven, and you never really came home!” My pop was right, and in some way he always encouraged me to do what I loved because he saw that I would be very lucky guy, if I could. In a way I still feel like I am part of “the legacy,” just a different part of it now, as many of my uncles and cousins will come to fish with my father and with me every September. I hope that tradition continues for generations to come.
T|N|T: You mention on your website that you were the first guide to do “chuck & duck”-free, floating-line-only steelhead trips on the Pere Marquette. I remember a time when guides and fly shop owners alike would tell you that “chuck & duck” was the only way to catch steelhead reliably, especially in cold weather. I take it that’s no longer the case. What led you to the decision to not use the “chuck & duck” method?
T|L: “Chuck & Duck” has its uses on the bigger rivers where strong casting might be a problem for clients who have never moved a fly line before — much less 50’ of line with a mend! That being said the best “big river” fly guys I know are now running center-pin versions of indicator techniques – including several of the guys on the Hawkins crew, like Jon Ray and Ed McCoy.
This technique is even easier to apply than small water rollcasting, thanks to the overall size of the water fished on the major tailwaters Also tailwater fisheries get that heavy stocking much more than the smaller streams, and of course the P.M. mainstream gets zero plants, but has one of the best natural returns and reproduction in the Midwest.
Now that we flipped the calendar to March, it’s time to make sure your fishing gear is ready to go. More than symbolic, March is proof that winter is almost behind us and better weather and good fishing is just before us. The recent warm-up and sunny days are more than welcomed providing comfortable fishing conditions and increased water temperatures.
Steelhead anglers will find the Manistee and Betsie both have some fish in it. Be prepared to move around and fish not only the big, deep holes but the smaller slots and depressions too as we are sharing the water with more people now that the weather has warmed up. With the clear skies at night comes the cold so look for the late morning and afternoon bite to be a little stronger as the sun has its way with water temperatures. Lots of small black stones are crawling around and with the clear water conditions, be sure to knot one to some lighter tippet/leader for your best chance at hooking up. Other patterns to use include caddis, alevins and smaller egg patterns in lighter shades and spectrums. Mix it up if you aren’t finding success – try hex and bigger stonefly nymphs as they are becoming a little more active with the warming sun.
The trout bite below Tippy Dam is fair with the occasional steelhead surprising the angler fishing with a 5 weight rod. Small stones, eggs, zebra midges and BWO nymphs have been working when fished below an indicator. If you are looking to streamer fish, retrieve your fly slowly – these fish are still partially hibernating.
The Upper Manistee above CCC Bridge is running cool and clear. Streamer fishing is your best bet and rather than using sinking lines, try shorter sink-tips and strip slowly to keep your fly down while keeping your line from hanging up and use patterns that have lots of motion: rabbit strips and marabou are an angler’s friend. Look for fish to be anywhere – from the deeper holes (tail-outs) to mid depth runs with sunshine – they often can be found sunning themselves. The water is still cold, so temper your expectations a bit and enjoy the solitude.
Ted Kraimer is a professional guide and fly tier, owner of Current Works Guide Service, and field editor for True North Trout. His fishing reports will continue to appear in T|N|T and on his website.
NOTE: Ted is offering a great winter fishing special of five hours of guided fly fishing and lunch for only $250 — available through March 15th.
Also Ted will be teaching a fly tying class this Saturday, March 6 th at The Northern Angler in Traverse City. The theme will be flies for Pike, Musky and Bass, but with slight variation as you can use these same patterns for salmon, steelhead and trout. Class time is 10-Noon. Cost is $25 Call TNA @ 231-933-4730 to register.
History of the Civilian Conservation Corps to be Presented at Hartwick Pines Logging Museum March 7
CCC crew building wing deflector for spawning trout on the north branch of the Paint River, three miles north of Camp Paint Lake, 1934
“The Legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the Grayling Area” will be the topic of a presentation at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 7, at the Hartwick Pines Logging Museum in Grayling. Department of Natural Resources and Environment historian Rob Burg will present the program that highlights the work the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) did in Grayling, Gaylord, Houghton Lake, Kalkaska, Mio and Roscommon.
The CCC planted more than 400 million trees in Michigan, fought thousands of forest fires across the country and developed some of America’s most beloved national parks. In the Grayling and surrounding areas alone, the CCC operated the Higgins Lake Nursery, built the Logging Museum at Hartwick Pines, the Conservation Training School (now the Ralph A. McMullan Center) at Higgins Lake, the Reedsburg Dam near Houghton Lake, operated the Grayling Fish Hatchery, and made improvements at the Grayling Winter Sports Park (Hanson Hills).
This hour-long program will highlight these and other accomplishments of the “CCC Boys” during the Great Depression, when the CCC not only put men to work, but also helped to heal the state from the results of the lumber practices and wildfires of an earlier period. Michigan-and the entire United States-benefited from the work that “Roosevelt’s Tree Army” performed from 1933-1942.
Hartwick Pines Logging Museum is part of the Michigan Historical Museum system. The Logging Museum is located at 4216 Ranger Rd. in Grayling. Admission to the event is free; however a motor vehicle permit is required for entry into the park. For more information about the museum, visit www.michigan.gov/loggingmuseum.
Refreshments will be served. If you have any questions about this program or any other events at Hartwick Pines, please contact Rob Burg at (989) 348-2537 or by email at burgr@michigan.gov.
If DNR won’t plant ‘em big enough then we’ll plant our own!
That is the rallying cry of the Au Sable Big Water Preservation Association (ASBWPA) regarding trout stocking below Mio, the trophy section of the Au Sable River.
Big trout headed to the big water?
“Each year we hear about all those little trout piped in at Mio, Comins, McKinley and 4001 just in time for the Opener,” said Thomas Buhr, President of the ASBWPA. “People moan they are too small, the big trout eat ‘em, etc, etc. Thrown in for good measure is the usual banter that Mio isn’t as good a trophy fishery as it used to be. So we decided to take action.”
Buhr noted that getting back to the “Good Old Days” may not be possible, but a stocking of quality trout would produce immediate results. The ASBWPA is borrowing a page from other conservation associations such as the Escanaba River Association and stocking their own jumbo trout?
A public permit to stock the fish below Mio is possible because the stretch already receives stocked fish. The hard part? Stocking bigger trout costs a lot of money. The organization decided to go with 15 inch brown trout, immediate trophies for most folk. Every 100 15 inchers will cost about 800 dollars. They want to stock 200 trout in September of 2010
“Hey! They can’t grow ‘em overnight,” Buhr said.
The raffle is designed to raise the necessary $1600. Tickets will be on sale at the ASBWPA website (www.asbwpa.org), through your friendly ASBWPA Representative, at Cabelas in Dundee on February 13th or at the 2010 MFFC Fly Fishing Expo in Warren, the place where the winners will be drawn that Sunday. You don’t even have to be present to win!
They are going to give away two high quality fly rods. First Prize is a Winston LT5 5 pc. 5 wt. (8’9”). Second Prize is a Scott S4 6 wt. with fighting butt (9’).
“Those are good rods and can be used on the fish your money will help buy,” Buhr explained.
Tickers prices are $5 for 1, $20 for 5, $50 for 13 and $100 for 30.
If this project goes well then the ASBWPA will make it an annual event. They will either stock more 15 inchers, perhaps as many as 600, or look at the possibility of going to 18 inches. Those Big Boys will run about 14 bucks a pop.
“We’d only consider 18 inch browns if there was an extended season,” Buhr added.
The Cabelas Bears
About a month ago in Pennsylvania, a groundhog poked his head out of a hole and the experts proclaimed another six weeks of the same weather. While that has been mostly true, we have been experiencing a welcomed increase in sunshine and it feels good. In keeping with the prediction, the fishing, too, has remained pretty consistent with some days being a better than others regarding the fish activity.
Steelhead remain the primary target and the slight increases in water temp at mid-day can be the difference between fishing and catching. Sun helps with that and it hasn’t been getting awfully frigid-cold at night, stabilizing water temps rather than dropping more. Actually, we have been seeing a slight increase on the week long average which might mean that March really is only a few days away.
Still, water levels on the Manistee and Betsie are low and it’s clear. As it’s been true all winter, fish with stealth, lighter tippets and make numerous presentations to find those fish to play along with. Then again, this advice holds true almost the entire year, but it’s more imperative now with the winter like conditions.
Flies: pale egg combos, small black stones, Alevins, hex nymphs and the bigger stones are good places to begin with fly selection.
A few trout below Tippy dam are eating the same flies suggested above for steelhead, but the trout angler would be better served tying on the midge pupa patterns like zebra midges and WD-40s for a nymph bite. Streamer fishing should be more of a traditional down and across with slight strips and bumps since we still have some cold water.
It won’t be long now before the steelhead fishing kicks-in with trout to overlap in April. The lack of snowfall might have an affect, but we can still get hit with some big snow so don’t put that shovel away just yet.
Ted Kraimer is a professional guide and fly tier, owner of Current Works Guide Service, and field editor for True North Trout. His fishing reports will continue to appear in T|N|T and on his website.
NOTE: Ted is offering a great winter fishing special of five hours of guided fly fishing and lunch for only $250 — available through March 15th. Check it out.
DNRE Asks for Help From Public to Detect Presence of Wolves in the Lower Peninsula
Grey Wolf. Photo copyright 2007 by Hare Guizer.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment today announced it will conduct a survey in the northern Lower Peninsula Feb. 16 through March 12 to detect the presence of gray wolves in this area of the state.
Survey teams will be searching areas where the public reports observing a wolf or wolf tracks during the survey period. Priority will be placed on the most recent reports and reports with potential wolf evidence.
“The purpose of the survey is to both verify the presence of wolves where we have previously confirmed animals and to detect new occurrences in other areas,” said DNRE Wildlife Biologist Jennifer Kleitch. “Given the low probability of observing a wolf or tracks in the Lower Peninsula it’s helpful to have as many eyes looking as possible. That’s why public reports are important.”
The DNRE is asking the public to report wolf sightings that occur during the survey period to the Gaylord Operations Service Center at 989-732-3541, ext. 5901. Observation reports can also be submitted online year-round at www.michigan.gov/wolves. The Web site also contains identification information for wolves.
“It’s imperative that observations are reported in a timely manner so we can work with fresh evidence. If the public finds what appear to be wolf tracks, they should preserve the physical evidence and disturb it as little as possible or take a photo of the tracks with a ruler,” Kleitch said. “If someone has a photo or video of a wolf in the Lower Peninsula, we’re interested in that as well.”
Wolves began naturally returning to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula via Canada and Wisconsin in the early 1990s. Since that time populations have increased and continue to expand their range. Evidence of range expansion into the Lower Peninsula came when a gray wolf was accidentally killed in Presque Isle County in 2004. More recently, the DNRE verified two wolf observations in 2009 in the northern Lower Peninsula as a result of a video and trail camera photo taken by Michigan citizens.
The DNRE is partnering in this survey effort with USDA Wildlife Services, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and Central Michigan University.
Schmidt's Madonna
Ray Schmidt’s fly box is featured today at Midcurrent as part of their “Inside the Box Series.” Unsurprisingly, it is a box full of BIG streamer flies — the sort that are tied on BIG hooks to fool and catch BIG trout. Ray notes in the accompanying interview that he regularly fishes with a group of big streamer nuts, and of course his own personal fly designs are right outta that school, too.
If you’re unfamiliar with Midcurrent’s “Inside the Box” series, then it is worth looking at some of the other featured boxes, too. I’m particularly impressed with Craig Mathews‘ box, along with the box of Diana Rudolph and, though a bit predictable, that of writer and bonefish angler Carl Hiaasen.
At the end of the accompanying interview Hiaasen’s remarks that “Bonefish have been around for a couple of million years. Human beings are just blips on the screen for them. They’ll probably outlast us, despite the fact that we seem to be doing everything we can to destroy their habitat. Meanwhile, I’m going to catch as many as I can.”"
