Archive for the ‘fishing reports’ Category

Black Magic

Monday, September 28th, 2015

Anyone who has spent a day with me fly fishing Michigan salmon know that I have a definite thing for black Wooly Buggers with just the right amount of flash.

We were on a nice bite a few days ago. A day which was way too hot and sunny for anything good to be happening in the salmon world. I had my customer throwing an egg and Bugger combination and though we landed several salmon on that black Bugger two were special.

Special in that they inhabited shallow water clear enough to watch the fly as it drifted and swung and in two different spots during our float these salmon rushed forward and woofed down that black intruder. On that warm sunny day the light was perfect and we watched those fish eat as one would on a high-definition television.

One of the greatest things about fishing is encountering the unexpected and on what should have been a very plain and ordinary day I think you could say we were blessed with a little Black Magic.

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Pere Marquette River Fishing Report – September 25th

Friday, September 25th, 2015

Salmon numbers on the PM have increased possibly tenfold over the past several days but before you grab your gear and make a rush for the river understand that this is still very low, but at least it is going in the right direction. The other side of this low-fish coin is that we have been seeing much lighter pressure compared to past years and even though the salmon numbers have not reached the level to which we are accustomed, we’ve been getting into enough fish to make for good days on the water.

Current conditions are low and clear, especially as you head upstream. My best fly lately has been a two inch black Wooly Bugger with a bit of flash.

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Pere Marquette River Fishing Report- March 23rd

Monday, March 23rd, 2015

A few weeks ago the jet stream finally shifted north, allowing southern warmth to move across the Midwest. This shift turned our area from tough winter to pleasant spring overnight, we saw a temperature swing of over 70 degrees (-20 to 50’s) in a few days. Because it had been so cold, for so long, it still took a few days for the PM to thaw and open enough to float boats.

The first flies into the river after the thaw were greeted with aggression from eager steelhead that probably hadn’t seen a fly for months. For winter fishing, it was very good but unfortunately it didn’t last long. With a lot of snowmelt trickling into the river each day, the water temps have remained cold.

This past weekend showed the first upswing in fishing with many groups of steelhead jumping on gravels, most of these are probably winter-over fish. We’re hoping that these winter fish will be replaced with a nice big batch of fresh spring chrome. Conditions are right for enticing steelhead to head-up-river with April just around the corner and higher water moving into Lake Michigan, water that is infused with all that good spawning scent.

Again the water temps are still cold but in the Flies Only through Walhalla stretch the river is just about perfect as far as level and color. I don’t have a reliable report from the lower river.

A few steelhead are being caught on streamers but the majority have been on eggs.

Steelhead caught on the PM River Michigan

Beaver Island Fishing Report- June 20th

Thursday, June 20th, 2013

Water temps around the islands are in the mid 50’s with the shallows seeing mid 60’s on the hottest days, still cool for this time of year. We had a warm day yesterday and could see the carp become happier as the water temperature rose. We also became happier as the bite turned on.

As another point of how behind the season is, we have seen no spawning activity so far, that is weeks behind normal. There is great fishing to come.

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