Long Leaders and tight Roll-Casts

Trout Season is upon us. The foliage along the banks and trail into the river resemble shades of cilantro and lime green.

 Fiddlehead Fern fronds emerge from the soil and fill the air with a scent that can only be Northern Michigan on a favorite stretch of cedar toppled headwaters. Daytime temperatures dance near seventy degrees and intermittent hatches of our early season bugs have arrived.

Casting, Stealth and Luck.

 Black caddis, small and mid sized mayflies, and millions of midges have taken to their adult stages while securing the next generation. Many of our smaller streams that have been forbidden now yield some spectacular fishing. We must be careful. This resource cannot be exploited or we shall push it near extinction. But, we must go out and relish this time of the year, some days can be stellar- 30 or 40 fish, although only a few will break the 8″ mark. You never know when a fish from a few prior generations and double that measurement may come to hand. Go forth, breath in the air, practice your tight roll cast, tie on a #16 rubber-legged stimulator, extend your leader a few feet and have a blast. The renewed vitality of spring and all of its promises remind me of an even more important message~

It’s the feeling of satisfaction that comes from limiting your kill instead of killing your limit.

It’s communing with nature where the chief reward is a refreshed body and a contented soul, where a license is a permit to use, not abuse, to enjoy- not destroy our trout waters.      ~Art Neumann

Blue Haloes

I feel refreshed and rejuvenated, although the day was not a banner day by the books, I know the river is alive and she is ready to play.

‘Hey->> here are the keys to my new Porsche 911 – take it around the block and see how she handles.’

(reply) ‘No, no thanks. Thank you though, I have had enough excitement and head turning in the past few weeks to keep me content for some time.’

RIOGHT~ that’s what I said.

I will be clear and up front with a few items of interest. First, never have I done an official review, that will be apparent in less than a few sentences. Secondly, I haven’t used a switch rod prior to this occasion. Third, don’t knock it because it is made by the same company that makes dog beds- Stella and Roxy don’t have the privilege of sleeping on a $200 doggie mattress. And lastly, I have not read any review on this or any other switch rods, so I do hope to be unbiased and honest in my humble opinion.

Off the bat, I was immediately impressed with the brown and bronze hues of the rod as it reflected the afternoon sun when I was lining up the sections for an afternoon chasing some steel on the Boyne River. As usual for most Orvis rods out there today, they conveniently dot both ends of the sections to save you the effort of lining up your eyes after assembled. The shades of amber reflecting off the rod remind me of the 4X4 on the ‘Fall Guy’ with Lee Majors from the 80’s. The reel is equally decked out in gold to compliment the 11 foot 7 weight highly agile switch rod. The Mid-Arbor Access IV has plenty of weight and internal power to properly match the weight of the rod. I felt it was the perfect match for the strength of the rod.

The technical side of the outfit~ The Access rod has utilized a proprietary new epoxy-based resin system with plasticizers for a stronger composite. What does this mean? Bottom line, the $400 rod of today compared to twenty years ago is light years ahead of its predecessor’s and significantly lighter in the hand. Granted, not everyone can afford to drop 4 C-notes for a rod, but this rod would have been closer to $1000 fifteen years ago. For those that are casting all day, whether drifting a stonefly and nuclear egg pattern through a run or swinging grease stains through the prime water, the weight of the rod versus the amount of power/strength in that rod is the difference between fishing a few bends and floating all day for a few days on end. When a rod is cumbersome and hefty, you tend not to put as much into every cast. When the rod is light in your hand, it becomes an actual extension of your arm and it works for you.

Workin the Wood~

I was very intent on getting into some steel and seeing what this rod can do. Upon sneaking in my favorite run that drops into a nice hole, I flipped my caddis and clown egg combo upstream with a quick mend for a decent drift. Bump, bump, bump>>FISH  ON ! ! A decent buck steelhead with fire-engine red cheekplates quickly doubled over the rod. He made  healthy run up stream and encountered the shallow gravel bar and rapidly turned his game around towards me. In a downstream dash, he sped past his holding hole and me headed straight for some downed wood on the rivers edge. I quickly chased and didn’t let him get too much distance between us. Most often I use #4 flouro-carbon, but today I had my leader tapered to #6 Maxima. After  finding the branches and log jam he had taken refuge in, I pulled out the large tree limbs and saw the line dash towards my feet, and then between my legs, and then SNAP~ he was gone. I had his tail in my hand at one time> then, like steelhead do, he found his exit plan and made it happen.  Not a monster of a fish, 26-28 inches of fresh healthy mykiss irideus, but I didn’t feel as though I was in control. I headed back up to the hole where he came from, more likely another male in the mix if a female is in the vicinity. Only two casts into my next set and I lifted on the first bump>> Fish ON!! This one wasn’t as magnificent, nor did it take me on a run up or down the river. It was a sucker, and he ate my blue nuke egg. Some would toss the fish on shore for raccoons or other animals to forage, but why? Really? Who made me judge and jury?

sucker~redhorse

It is simply another creature swimming up here to do the same thing the large rainbows are, except they do eat steelie eggs, I get that resentment. After four more consecutive drifts and as many other suckers, I decided to change my game plan up. S T R E A M E R S~ I would rather seek out an aggressive fish swinging a Boogie Man or Senyo Sculpin any day.

So I headed downstream. Chatted with a fellow on the bridge about the stockers they put in the week before and he told me he was working a pair that were on the gravel just below the bridge. I am not going to preach to anyone about how or where they fish, but once a pair is up on gravel and they are in the act of producing the next generation of fish, please, LET THEM.

This season has been weird for many reasons, the first is the weather, a record warm March brought many fish in the river systems early. The winter didn’t have much for snow pack to speak of and when we had our first set of seventy plus degree days, the river surged with fish. The second anomaly  this year might be the overall size of the steelhead. They are a very healthy bunch, and they have been feeding quite well. Some propose they have been eating some of the invasive species that have moved into the Great Lakes, like the Ruffe and the Goby. I hope the good numbers and health of the fish show promise for the next few years for Lake Michigan and the runs it produces.

Tight Quarters~

Back downstream and in the water. Into a decent silver streaked hen that took me downstream another 30-40 yards with her head thrashing after she engulfed a Grease Stain and she came unbuttoned. My only chromer that came to hand was a 14 incher

Chunky Little guy

 that was heartily working on his girth after he annihilated my streamer from under the woodwork. The Orvis Access performed well, maybe not the right rod for this type of river- too tight and narrow, not much room to backcast or to really open her up and see what she has the potential to do. I would bet the PM, Manistee or the Muskegon Rivers would allow her to show of her prowess against any formidable finned friend. Bottom line, would I buy this combo for $600? Certainly if I fished Steelhead and Atlantics in the St Mary’s River 40 days a year, totally worth it. But my 9 foot T3 still does the job for salmon and steelhead on the smaller rivers I most often frequent. I would be very interested to see its lighter cousin perform on some quality trout waters near Grayling…

See you on the water. Tight Lines,

Koz

These cold winter months have us enthralled with the SIC/PALS class as well. We last left off with Picking up the eggs, which are now 3 inches long and about 50-60 of them, but a few months back they were small little fry with yolk sacs weighing them down in the aquarium. In March, we took a field trip to the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council to talk about Watersheds- What are they? Jennifer Gelb, Ecology Biologist, happily led the class through the many displays of our states great water and shoreline attributes and we also touched base on the threat of non-native invasive species- such as purple loosestrife, phragmites, zebra & quagga mussels and the ever threatening Asian Carp. She even passed around lamprey in a tube(preserved) for everyone to see. The highlight of the visit is the scale model of a small community. We sprinkle various colored Kool-Aid drink crystals across the landscape to represent fertilizer, salt, road oil, dirt/mud, industrial pollutants and various other non-source point pollutants. The best behaved kids are then chosen to operate the spray bottles and make it rain down on the village. Slowly, all the colors of lemon-lime and kiwi-strawberry collide with grape and cherry and other childhood memories become a flood of brown grey muck as they funnel down the banks and roadside drainages to the lake at the end of the stream. Everyone gasps a resounding “EEEEWWWW!!” The message is clear, these kids are headed home to tell their parents not to cut the lawn too short, over water or use fertilizer, keep the car maintained and use more environmental friendly methods to rid ice in the winter and have a ‘green’ home.

A short month later, the PALS class had the honor of being joined by Heather Seites-Hettinger from the DNR to actually dissect a fish. We luckily obtained a few small coho and chinook that had ‘gone to the big sea in the sky’ during the night prior from the Platte River Hatchery. I personally thought we would get some resistance from the children about cutting up the poor little smolts- there was none. They dove right in, all of them. We talked about various fins and fin function, went inside, made the slice from ventral fin up to  the gills and explored the visceral functioning organs of the fish. After pointing out the obvious stomach, liver, intestines, gills and air bladder, a few daring young biologists followed Heather’s lead and went in to find the brain. I am very glad we added this aspect to the SIC experience, these kids all walked away with a memorable moment they will recall when they are in AP Biology in High School.

BUGS! BUGS! BUGS! I love macro-invertebrates~ especially on a Northern Michigan stream that is beaming with life. A widely known secret, kids like bugs as well. They are equally impressed when you show them a frozen landscape and dip a net into a river and then pull out a screen wriggling with life. We walk down to the Bear River at Sheridan Bridge because of proximity and it has two very diverse eco-sytems. Above the bridge, the river is sluggish and still show signs of when this was a working river. Old farm tractor parts and former concrete dam scraps dot the bottom, filled in by silt and sand. We rarely find much diversity here, scuds(amphipoda) and cranefly larvae with a few mayfly and caddisfly larvae. Below the dam begins the Whitewater park and recent Kayak improvements move the water along and carry sediment, exposing more gravel and woody debris. We find between 20 and 22 different families: Mayflies(Ephemeroptera- isonychiidae, heptagenidae, baetiscidae and ephemerellidae) and Stoneflies (Plecoptera-pteronarcyidae, taeniopterygidae, and perlidae), dragonfly, damsel fly nymphs, tons of scuds and trichoptera species. Take a child to a river and turn over a few rocks or old wood and watch their eyes light up when a hellgramite or giant stonefly crawls out from between its niche. Kevin Cronk from TotMWC joins us and  explains how these animals are bio-indicators and how monitoring a stream can help determine if something has happened or changed in the past year if certain sensitive EPT(ephemeroptera, tricoptera, plecoptera) families have diminished or completely disappeared. These microscopic animals are the literal ‘canary in the coal mine’ for our watersheds. Behind us, in the river, we have to be very careful not to disturb a steelhead on a recently made redd as she readies to deposit a future generation of silver bullets. We always want to leave a minimal footprint when we enter the river so we always release our macro-organisms back in to the water after the class has had the chance to watch their amazing behaviour.

Yesterday, we went to Sheridan Elementary to have our last classroom visit with the SIC/PALS kids. Next week we release the salmon into the Bear River. The entire school will attend, newspaper and local television will be on hand as we escort the 70 or so salmon fry to their new home. The visit yesterday was a casting lesson for the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes. As Mother Nature would have it, winds were a steady 30 mph and the mercury may have touched 40 degrees, but not for long. A fine mist greeted us and later we saw white pellets dance from the clouds. That did not phase the kids. Paint the sky, answer the phone, pause, hammer a nail into the wood, flick the paint off the brush~ all various explanations we use to teach the newly sired wielders of the fly rod how to lay a line out and get that de-hooked woolly bugger in the hula hoop some thirty feet away. The girls tend to be more natural at casting, they don’t force it. The boys may have to prove something or they have residual spincasting tendencies  and don’t allow the fly rod to work with them. We may have a few future potential anglers of the fly in a few years. We always take time to answer questions the children have about fishing and our coldwater resources, always encourage them to become a  member of Stream Explorers at www.tumembership.org/youth or www.streamexplorers.org

Find a River Clean-Up and help keep our planet beautiful.

Tying w/ April

Her story is nothing less than picture perfect, chasing chrome and her dreams from an early age, she dropped out of school and made guiding and tying flies for her beloved Onchorynchus mykiss a full time adventure. In less than a decade, she has become one of the top venues at many Fly Fishing Expo’s across the country and parts of her native Canada. She knows her stuff as well.

We started off our day lesson with background on Spey casting and some of the Skagit style techniques she has adapted and found very suitable for the large waters they fish in the Pacific Northwest. Rubbing shoulders with some of the areas other top Steelhead Gurus, she has amassed quite an arsenal of tricks to aide any angler on most waters that can accommodate anadromous species. She also made it very clear that particularly in the Northwest, if you happen across a hatchery steelie, to ‘Please take it home, that is why is was put there.’ There is another lengthy debate on pure genetics and that of hatchery steel mixing with wild genetic chrome code that we don’t have time, space, nor the Ph.D to debate in this post. I do, however see her point. Needless to say, the room had a variety of technical questions and we all had fun getting perspective from someone who fishes beautiful water made for massive omega-3 shrimp gorged chromers. If you haven’t seen any of the footage from the coastal waters you should check out www.flynationtv.comand see what #20-25 steelies look for in a perfect habitat. Just before lunch, we started to tie our first ‘Intruder’- the April Vokey version. After getting our wire on the shanks and cutting off the barb we paused for some of Ray’s phenomenal Chicken Chowder and delicious baguettes.

The life-like maneuverability of the Arctic Fox and Rhea coupled with Silver Pheasant and a touch of Krystal Flash make for a very enticing fly. As Michigan anglers, we all pondered what type of baitfish this pattern was to mimic. But why does it have to imitate? Could it simply elicit a strike from a territorial buck steelhead or does it look pretty enough to deserve a crushing blow from a hefty double digit hen? Why or why not? Point is they do more than sell to the fly angler, they work very well on the swing in a variety of water depths and velocities. I also have found new uses for a plethora of feathers in my tying den I used only for colorful streamers I tie when Simone is busy at the bench with me.

INtent Tyers

Guinea Hen, Hot Pink, Blue, Purple, Schlappen of all intensities now can be wrapped along side our new found talent in dubbing Arctic Fox(or Polar Bear if you happen to be so lucky). The properties of Arctic Fox and Polar Bear require that they readily shed water and yet insulate the animal in sub-zero climates, yeilding it the perfect accessory to a fly that is very minimal but has a voluminous sub-surface profile. They have developed synthetic craft fur that will suffice, but when you are done tying and you can’t figure out why your fly never looks like the one in the picture, chances are, the quality of materials used.

April was diligent in scoping out each individual fly as we tied them. She also has a worthy cause, check it out at http://www.flygal.ca/ They were all each our own identity in creation, but she was the Creator, and thus, we were not going to falter too far from the mold.

Too much Dubbing~

The gentlemen behind me were chuckling on every other wrap, “this one is for the downed White Birch, or Maple, or good Hemlock.” They were less than enthusiastic in their personal achievements and had already determined that this fly would be great for Chinook season, perhaps to be lost in the nearest logjam. April was convincing, she knew the talents of her pupils, and she also knows her materials. After we completed our flies, she fired up the hydro-viewing chamber. We were going to swim all of our flies and see how well they actually performed. Way better than tying a fathead streamer to a short stick and figure-8 ing around the bathtub. In a few short clips, the first fly was submerged and the ‘Ooohs’ and ‘Aaahhs’ very much like the Fourth of July resounded across the room. It was nothing short of Fantastic- how cool to actually spend nearly a couple of hours tying a new fly pattern and then to see how it undulated in various currents. When we got to the last row- the LogJam Boys, they were still hesitant in the likeliness that their flies would well, swim well. They in fact did, and looked very enticing, which inspired other pattern ideas, something for Mr. Fontinalis, something for Mr. Salmon trutta, even ideas for those lazy hot summer days chasing bronzebacks near some of the drop-offs in our Great Lakes. The Intruder is  a pattern that has unlimited potential, I can see it having it’s very own pocket in a dedicated box in my vest within the next year, for many years to come. Thank You April for sharing your day with us and for stopping at so many other great establishments across Michigan. If you have the opportunity, please say ‘Hello!’ to her at the MidWest Fly Expo in Warren Michigan this weekend. There will be so many “in-the-know” peeps at the show, I wish I could attend. Truth is, I have never been. Maybe next year, I may have to make a point of it. Cameron from The Fiberglass Manifesto, Jason from Fontinalis Rising fame, hundreds of fellow Michigan Trout Unlimited Members, Rod makers, net weavers, fly tyers, Industry leading manufacturers, hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend. I hope to see you soon on the water~

Koz and Ape

Tight Lines,

Koz

Last week I went in for a simple Stress Test. Kissed my wife and child good-bye in the usual fashion I do in the morning when I drop them off to their respective locations and told my wife I would let her know how it goes. I didn’t have to do that. The physicians called her up from her office because they didn’t like how my ECG  turned out and the fact I got light headed and nearly collapsed on the treadmill doing 6.2 mph on an 18% incline. I am healthy- I walk the dogs nearly everyday, I stay active keeping up with our seven year old daughter, I work in a fast paced restaurant sometimes five nights a week, I quit smoking and drinking years ago, recently became vegetarian- I even ran a 5K for Turkey Day last year. How could there be an issue with my heart? Turns out genetics play a huge role in heart disease. That is also the reason why I went in to get checked out. I have a lot of rivers to fish and a lot of tickle fights I need to win with Simone, not to mention watching and protecting her as she grows to become the wonderful person she has already begun to be. The Doctor said we need to go in and look at your heart. Really? Today? Can we make it Monday? I have a lot to do today~I work tonight, tomorrow we are tying flies at the Celebration of Fly Tying in Boyne City and Sunday is the Superbowl. That can all be put on hold. Good thing I listened. 98% blockage in my LAD. The LAD is the left anterior artery, also known as the widow maker. I am very lucky. I may have actually won the lottery everybody was talking about. It may have not been next week or next month, but very soon. On any given day, either at work, on the river after a hike into the woods, or simply at home, alone, after doing some yard work, I could have had a major cardiac event. They would like to refer to these instances as episodes or events- the heart no longer attacks.

I was in the hands of some of the best physicians not only in our area, but in the State. I know a few personally and felt at complete ease that I was in their total care. During twilight sedation, I knew who was in the room and what was going on but thankfully not able to feel the three foot tube and camera coursing through my veins. After all was said and done, I now am a member of the card carrying Stent Club. Something I never aspired to achieve in my early forties, but if it allows me more time to truly enjoy sharing my life with my two most precious girls, then I am glad I had it done. My daily pill consumption has increased from just a tetracycline to regulate break outs to a regimen of beta blockers, aspirin, Plavix and a host of others I shall be taking for the rest of my life. While laying in recovery, motionless and on my back because of a sheath in my groin where they entered my femoral artery, I had deep moments to contemplate the “What If’’s”. The things in life that we deem important are no longer so and other mundane daily rituals become ever more paramount. Just seeing my wife smile, just hearing my daughters infectious giggle, watching the sunset on our favorite beach and hearing the waves lap on the shoreline- these become the most important things in life we cannot measure or bottle or sell. I plan on making the most of this second chance, because that is what this is. I am here for some higher purpose, I don’t know what it is, but my eyes and my heart shall remain open so that I can let it all in.

In this I must be clear> These are merely suggestions to other fellow readers in the Fly World who would like some references that I have personally read AND are in my own collection. There are others I have read and borrowed from fellow fishing buddies that must be mentioned. Titles like Selective Trout by Swisher and Richards, What the Trout Said by Datus Proper, In the Ring of The Rise by Vince Marinaro and Trout by Ray Bergman to name a few. I have also made good use of my local library card and read a few excellent observations by Tom Rosenbauer- don’t hold it against him, he gets paid by the guys that also make dog beds, but his writing is often provocative and to the point. Such works like Orvis’s Guide to Fly Fishing, Reading Trout Streams, and Prospecting for Trout go down as highly recommended reading for beginners and experienced anglers alike.

Sometimes I have read a few of my books three, four, even a half a dozen times before something in it clicks within my mind. Whether it is because a certain event occurred on the stream and a sudden realization enlightened me, or because I finally got to a level or point in my angling that I was ready to accept or invite that information into my knowledge base. We as humans are funny creatures. We can repeatedly do the same manual maneuver over a thousand times (like with tying flies) and then , in an instant- KAPPOW!!- you suddenly see a better way. Posting hackle on a parachute pattern for example, the easiest way to tie it off is to actually wrap the thread around the post, thereby capturing the hackle feather and then whip finishing the fly. No more messing around with tying the tip of the hackle feather and most of its barbules to the hook itself. What an Epiphany that was!!! How many years had I been missing that one? And why didn’t it come sooner?

“The List” from the TU readers is as follows: TROUT by Ray Bergman, TROUT FISHING by Joe Brooks THE COMPLETE BOOK OF WESTERN HATCHES: AN ANGLER’S ENTOMOLOGY AND FLY PATTERN GUIDE by Rick Hafele and Dave Hughes, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT AND OTHER STORIES by Norman Maclean, STEELHEAD FLY FISHING by Trey Combs, THE CURTIS CREEK MANIFESTO by Sheridan Anderson, CADDISFLIES:A MAJOR STUDY OF ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AQUATIC INSECTS-ENTOMOLOGY, FLY TYING, AND PROVEN FISHING TECHNIQUES by Gary LaFontaine, A MODERN DRY FLY CODE by Vince Marinaro, TROUT BUM by John Gierach, NYMPHS- VOLUME 1 & 2 by Ernest Schwiebert, FLY CASTING TECHNIQUES by Joan Wulff and finally THE RIVER WHY?  by David James Duncan. All are extraordinary, they have made huge impacts on many fishermen and women of all ages, just that some don’t particularly pertain to my neck of the woods. Allow me to explain.  When asked to embark on a journey of faith to Belize eight years ago to assist in the wedded bliss of a fellow angler, I did all the research on bonefish and the varieties of Crazy Charlie’s I could tie. I haven’t touched Mr. Fernandez’s insights on boney behaviour since. Last year, when prepping our family fall color trip to Colorado and staying near Estes Park, I read and bought several books on the multitude of rivers and techniques to fish that foreign landscape prior to going. The Best of a slew of “Fly Fishing Colorado….” destination books was “Where to Eat, Sleep and Fish Colorado” by Mark D. Williams and W. Chad McPhail. Hilarious, comical, informative, priced right, great budget/itinerary, awesome fishing, did I mention funny? They catalog summers of trekking up and down the Rockies while searching out the best honey holes, inventing great ideas for toilet paper dispensers and chuckling at Kum & Go gas stations. It is amazing what crazy things men can find humorous and creative in the same breath while on a fishing journey.

The novels and instructional books that have changed the game for me aren’t altogether completely different, it is more a regional taste. I would trade a Traver/Voelker novel for a Gierach book in a heartbeat, simply because it is in my backyard. LaFontaine, Hughes & Hafele for Swisher and Richards, Bergman and Maclean for Tomas McGuane and Jerry Dennis. I have also dedicated a certain section to the history of Michigan and its authors. If you are curious about Trout Unlimited and its origins, as well as how one acquired gas stamps to sell hosiery and fish the AuSable and Boardman Rivers during the 40’s and 50’s pick up a copy of For the Love of Trout by George Griffith, it is a truly remarkable trip. The Olde AuSable by Hazen Miller gave me a glimpse of a former logging boom-town I have only known the aftermath in my lifetime.

Michigan Authors

You can’t fish these waters without giving credit to Rusty Gates for fighting to keep them as they are today and hopefully shall remain for generations to come. It was in his ability to get you to sign up for a duty or task without you ever knowing you had committed to the job. We need more like him and his presence when we visit the shop will eternally be missed.  Seasons on the Au Sable recounts the many trips to the waters edge to see what was hatching, who got stuck in the two track getting wood and who managed to get that hawg out of that secret stretch of water nobody will tell you about. Josh Greenberg does an excellent job of recounting many of these moments, faithfully maintains the Lodge and has a hot cup of coffee waiting for you if you stop in for the latest river report. My other favorite Michigan author writes so eloquently of the little things we treasure in Northern Michigan- Jerry Dennis. From A Wooden Canoe, The Living Great Lakes and The River Home are all recommended, but if you have a child or a wife who asks sensible nature minded questions like- Why do leaves change color? or What kind of clouds are those? and you would much rather have a correct answer other than “Those clouds are cirrus-stratus/cumuli-nimbous.” Because there is much more to seasonal change and the climate of the Great Lakes and in the book It’s Raining Frogs and Fishes by Mr. Dennis covers a host of natural and other phenomenal acts of nature that I occasionally like to refresh my knowledge on.

You could search and find a million titles regarding all types of fly tying and tying techniques. The one I always go back to for reference is appropriately titled Fly Tier’s Benchside Reference by Ted Leeson and Jim Schollmeyer. A hefty book with 437 pages of varying posts, hackle, dubbing and other techniques, you may never exhaust it’s true potential. It may set you back a smooth C-note, but you will get every penny in return when you produce quality good looking flies that perform and outlast your previous attempts at awkward quill body wrapping. FISHBUGS by Thomas Ames Jr. combines magnificent photography and a touch of entomology to entwine a magical close-up look at the macroinvertebrates we seek for trout food. I have brought this book in to my college Macro-Invert professor and he continually uses it to show the stages of complete metamorphosis the giant stonefly goes through to reach adulthood. If you want to up your tying game or improve on your latin dialect, grab this beautiful coffee table book and see if you wife will let you keep it out, even if it is only at the cottage. NYMPHS- 1 & 2 by Ernest Schwiebert takes it to the next level. If you are looking for Ph.D in your Latin and want to know every family of mayfly or stonefly, this is your tome. Ernest was dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and passing it on. A true giant among men, he is one of the many men I wished I might have had the opportunity to meet but his passing in 2005 makes him one of our most treasured contributors to our past-time. He was an architect by trade and held two doctorates in Architectural design & principles from Princeton, but his true passion was found in the rivers around Chicago where he grew up. A few stories recollect fishing the Pere Marquette near Baldwin and this is where I feel a connection. In the same order of science and nature, TROUT and SALMON by Dr. Robert Behnke is a must read for those learning the species and elevations/locales of our quarry. Amazing detail and color illustrations by Joseph Tomelleri, this is my go to reference for all ichthyology related questions when you want to debate the difference between Oncorhynchus mykiss gilberti and Oncorhynchus mykiss newberri (not that this may ever impact my Great Lakes fishing).

Environmental issues have been plaguing us in the Great Lakes region ever since we opened up our doors to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence Seaway. Muskegon Chronicle reporter Jeff Alexander wrote a great book on its development and history- PANDORA’S LOCKS. In it we find how we had nearly become the nations largest seagoing system, we could move large shipments of various commodities halfway across the United States by boat and save millions of dollars in trade. But at what cost? We are only beginning to find out the price tag on environmental issues and we don’t see the end in the near future. Invasive seagoing lampreys that quickly modified to our sweet water and mussels that could filter liters of water a day had a brand new neighborhood to call home. It was similar to  a perfect storm, all the right pieces were in place, greed for growth and lack of ethical policy, a vast freshwater aquarium teeming with fish and life just waiting to be brought to near extinction. We had already wiped out Grayling and the Passenger Pigeon, Whitefish and Lake Trout were soon to be on that list.

Four Fish by Paul Greenberg recounts the trophic levels in the Ocean as we decimate each one, starting with the Salmon and alewives of the East Coast, everyone’s favorite table fare Chilean Sea-Bass, or should I say Patagonia Toothfish? Not a very palate pleasing nor menu selling moniker, so we edited a little. Then moving out deeper in the sea for great Cod depletion of the 1980’s, further out yet to find the last of the great Tuna fisherman and how we have built massive ships that can do everything from catching, cutting, deep-freezing and packaging our filet-o-fish before it even reaches shore. Read it if you dare, it is eye-opening, much like watching FOOD Inc. for the first time, we are slowly becoming aware consumers. How did we get this way? Well, first we had to go to war, a world war, not once, but twice. then we became a wealthy country, then we had educated young men with talents and not much to do with those talents after the war. So we built things. Great things. Huge superhighways, and massive dams large enough to drive several lanes of traffic over the tops of them. Some airplane pilots discovered they could fly up into the mountain lakes and drop rainbow trout into isolated and barren lakes in the Northern region of California. In An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How the Rainbow Trout Beguiled America by Anders Halverson, we see the development and the spreading of America’s most accepted fish hatchery trout- the rainbow trout. It was once indigenous to the McCloud River, and after early settlers risked their lives camping in hostile Native American territory to bring this fish to thier fishing ponds, it quickly became a sportfishing favorite and delectable campfire nourishment.

I believe everyone has read or at least seen the Robert Redford narrated version of Norman Maclean’s A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, easily a classic, and if you haven’t, I do suggest you give it a read. I rather enjoyed THE RIVER WHY? by David James Duncan as much. Taking a journey to find oneself in the Pacific Northwest while chasing steelhead and figuring out

enjoy a good read~

 life’s bait versus fly technical query is every young fisherman’s fantasy, throwing in a mermaid who can cast and catch a fish is merely a bonus. For other light-hearted stories I have enjoyed the writing of David Ames. True Love and the Woolly Bugger and A Good Life Wasted are fun and frivolous accounts of the guide life put to prose in a way we all can relate to. Thomas McGuane, THE LONGEST SILENCE and 92 in the SHADE> wow< I saw that 92 in the shade was made into a movie in the 60’s, it would be remarkable to see it adapted to modern times and share that fishing story with the world. McGuane has a writing talent like few others, you immediately are sucked in, and like all good writers, you don’t want to stop. Pick one of these up, throw a log on the fire and see for yourself.

Two game changers that have played the biggest active role in my angling success and failures- I only say failure, because without skunked days, I cannot improve on what I could have done to be more effective in my fly angling pursuit (let’s be honest, it’s called ‘fishing’ and if everyday was a bang-up hilatious-catch-a-fish-on-every-cast kind of day, would we really keep coming back?- I sure would)- The TROUT and The FLY by John Goddard and Brian Clarke look at the world through a trout’s

revisit old standards>

eyes, like many others, but in this edition- the third, they have revisited earlier theories, line color, mono-versus flouro, feather and hook dimples, and they have rettracted and edited previous thoughts or shown significant differences. These are the invaluable resources  for the angler to improve his odds on the animal that has a brain the size of a pea and a guesstimated memory of a mere 30 seconds. I have also been a big fan of the big take. Huckin’ meat some would say. Throwing wet tube socks is another great analogy. The pioneer of my day would have to be Kelly Galloup. When he teamed up with another Michigan angler, Bob Linsenman and co-wrote the  modern code of MODERN STREAMERS for TROPHY TROUT, many anglers took notice. Yes, it can be tiring slapping that 7 or 8 wt all day and hitting wood, snagging, dislocating shoulders or rotator cuffs, but when a 22-24 inch swamp donkey comes crashing out of the LWD and absolutely crushes your Circus Peanut or eternal favorite Zoo Cougar- your adrenal quickly reduces your sunburnt/aching shoulder to a non-existent numbness and you yell —>”FISH ON!!!”

It all begins with a collector’s permit that the teacher will get upon certification of training. The State of Michigan offers workshops at either Oden State Fish Hatchery or Wolf Lake Hatchery to properly train the teachers on regulation of pH, algae, fungus, water temperature, life cycle of the fish and a host of other incidentals. The DNR has had a tremendous growth in popularity of this program with little or no moneys used to advertise or promote its growth. Currently there are 154 schools in the state and more apply every year. Just ten years ago, this was merely an idea. Seems we really do want our next generation to connect to the outdoors and the wonderful resources we have here.

Our pick up destination is the Platte River Hatchery, near Honor Michigan. The ride is a pleasant one for early November, the air is crisp and many of the leaves have fallen. Hunter’s are eager for opening of deer season and I have spied a few salmon pairing up on the upper stretches of the Bear River  behind our home. This is one of the most spectacular times of the year to live in the Great Lakes State. Rolling hills with majestic golden views, inland waterways dotted with fire-lit trees along the background and sunsets that set the horizon aflame as they burn out. At the hatchery, we were lucky to get the nickle tour and see what a vast system they have set up from the weirs and the rearing tanks and the rows and racks of egg trays. This facility takes care of most of Northern Michigan’s stocking for Chinook and Coho Salmon reproduction and it is huge. If you can get a chance to visit this or any of the state fish hatcheries, as a family or a school trip, I highly recommend and promise you won’t be disappointed. We are given two scoops of eggs- roughly 200 green eggs and place them safely in my Glad air tight disposable container and safely wedge them in between a few ice packs in my trusty Fishpond cooler for the 1 1/2 hour ride back to Petoskey. It is exciting, I know we are not transporting bullion, but I do feel like we are in a Brinks truck with highly prized cargo, it is liquid gold. We need to make it back to Sheridan Elementary by 1:00 pm so that we can meet with the News Review and have the photos taken with the students and their newly acquired babies. The kids are beaming. They are all selected to represent various elementary schools based on thier academic achievements and it quickly becomes apparent who are the ones with a million questions and who are the ones with a story about whatever it is you are trying to convey. Ironic, I see a little of myself in each of them. I guess thats why I love connecting with so many kids through something I love.

A small handful of people have asked me – Why raise salmon? Why not Trout in the Classroom? It is true, many states, New York, Vermont, Connecticut, South Carolina and a few others, do raise trout in the classroom (TIC), many of these states have been doing so for nearly twenty years. The most common response I have heard is that salmon are more tolerant of environmental conditions, meaning, small fluctuations in temperature and pH don’t have an immediate nor detrimental affect on the species as would be the case with brook trout or brown trout. Another popular answer is that salmon spawn in the fall, while trout are spring spawners and that wouldn’t coordinate well with the school year. Last time I checked, only rainbows/steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) spawn in the spring while the other two tend to be autumnal spawners. Another school of thought is the  expendability factor – for lack of a better term. Salmon do seem to have a minimal long term impact on an ecosystem. They usually die off in three years after spawning and return vital nutrients to the watershed.  The sensitivity issue seems to win most arguments, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see TIC in Michigan. We have hopes and may one day soon see a pilot program that can test the viability of its success.

This is the day we meet for the first time. I get to introduce myself and the lucky individuals who will be volunteering throughout the year. This past year we thought it would be wise to have 2 assistants that can either carry the program on if something should happen to me on the river (Heaven forbid) or if I get the opportunity to chase trout in distant waters in the future. I am fortunate to have two equally gifted gentlemen that have brought different aspects and points of view to the SIC/PALS classroom. The first is Spencer McCormack, who studied Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University. He has a way of connecting with the kids in a very simple and kind manner. They say in teaching others, especially children, you either have it or you don’t. Spencer has it. They listen and they tend to hang on his very next word. The other gentleman is Paul Wiemerslage from the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies. Paul has his resume dotted with names like Western Washington University and Bethel University along with the North Cascades Institute- he taps into that spot we all relate to as a child, the place we held secret and safe– a place on the water. It is a joy to have both of these men adding to this year, and I can’t wait to see where it develops.

Every year we glance back and reflect on what worked, what didn’t, timing throughout the school year, how can we make it better and how can we keep it simple. There is no need to re-invent the wheel so I am not going to go through all of our rough sketches or drawing board failures, but rather how we have perfected it to fit our kids and our school. It looks somewhat like this:

• November~ Egg Pick up> meet class and get acquainted with new students.
• December~ What is Trout Unlimited? watch TU 50th anniversary DVD and talk conservation, restoration and protection.
• January~ Fly Tying> bring materials and vises and teach every child how to tie their first woolly bugger!
• February~ What is a Watershed? Visit Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council and see a scale model of how non-point pollutants enter a stream. We also talk about invasive species and the Great Lakes.
• March~ Fish Dissection >Joined by DNR employee and we take a look inside what makes a fish stay bouyant, among other things.
• April~ Macro-Invertebrates> Kids love Bugs!! walking trip down to Bear River and classify stream quality by the number of class I, II,  & III organisms. ID and key insects to order (ephemeroptera, plecoptera, odonata, trichoptera).
• May~ Salmon Release- entire school walks down to the river as we bless the tiny salmon parr a safe journey. Field Trip to Jordan River National Fish Hatchery- students try their hand at catching a trout. Casting Clinic- five or six MVWTU volunteers come out and we teach the entire school the better methods of landing a fly in a hula hoop across the playground.
• June~ Bear River Clean-up> in coordination with local non-profit organizations such as Tip of the Mitt and Little Traverse Conservancy.

These programs have generally been one day a month for an afternoon. Michigan Department of Natural Resources has a web page for further information and questions regarding application dates and requirements http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10369_50075—,00.html The month of May is crazy because it is the nicest weather for us to do the things we can do outdoors without freezing in a foot of snow or sleet> Northern Michigan can be temperamental and we must be flexible in our scheduling. We have done our fly tying this month and the students absolutely LOVE IT!! They get to take something home and show their parents, something they made that isn’t an ashtray (do they make those in school anymore?) We have found having the materials pre-packaged in zip-locks ease in distribution with the narrow time frame we work with and keeping the 24 kids on task. I generally tie the first fly with the class watching and then they go to their seats and we walk through it step by step. I have purchased vises at garage sales and on-line, so we have close to a dozen. The students partner up and switch off for each fly they tie. Allow yourself plenty of time, newcomers have lots of questions, thread breaks frequently, they get confused on right hand versus left hand and clock-wise wrapping. Best advice- have plenty of assistants, be patient, have a couple bobbin threaders, you do the whip-finish on all flies, get a picture with each student with their finished fly and <Keep It Simple>

Tight Lines!

Koz

A kind angler found a fly patch and left it. Flies are rotted now, but it’s a good clue to where we fished over this last warm-up.
With a number of days pushing the forty degree mark, fishing this past week was a must. I met up with Mike K. on Wednesday to do a little catching up and a little fishing. December was a crazy month for me. I’ve been ultra-distracted—got some big changes coming next year. Very exciting. It’s all I can think about.
Anyway, the best way to get a lot of thinking done this time of year is to lean into the tying vise, crank flies, and daydream. But the best way to get out of your head is to stretch your line on an Au Sable River trout. Sometimes you just gotta get in the river. So that’s what we did.

Nymphing the sandy edge of a nice pool.

Now you’d think that since I practically live in the fly shop, that I’d have six of everything and rods stacked in every corner of my house. Well that’s pretty much true. Pretty much. And it was actually part of the problem on Wednesday.

I started making a gear pile by my front door. All the usual suspects joined the party: waders, boots, tackle bag, nymphs, tippet, and . . . no rod! My good stuff was at the shop. But okay, no big deal, I’m no gear snob I’ll just dig out an old beater, right? No such luck. Dusty rod after dusty rod. Corner after corner. Everything was busted in just about every way you can imagine. Broken tips, cracked ferrules, you name it. Like I said, I’ve been distracted.

You know it’s a nice fish when you just toss your outfit off to the side.
So the hell with it. I just went down to the river and hung out knee deep in the river with my friend. Honestly, it was good enough. For me that’s as much a part of fishing as are the fish.

But, rosy notions aside, I’d of liked to hooked into that beautiful Au Sable River rainbow trout.

Take Care,
Andy

Nymphs:
Pheasant Tails 14
Hare’s Ears 12
Midges 20

It figures, we have been out to lunch on updating our river reports and the day I sit down to do one Andy beats me to it. No worries, more is better. This was the first time in January I got sunburn on my face that was not from the reflection off the snow. It felt like mushroom picking and Hendricksons were right around the corner but it was a cruel farce. We got smacked in the mouth with 6 inches of snow last night. I did have a few guys take advantage of the warm spell and chase some Steelhead on the Manistee River. Some days were better than others but again it was hard to complain with temps hitting 48 degrees!