• People shoppers not happy about potentially high maple syrup prices due to warm winter.

• In non-winter news, please vote for me, Matt Dunn, in the TFM Spotting Year End contest. The poll is at the top left of the page. This thing is going to be an all out war of social networks and I need your help!

It’s weird to head out and strip streamers for trout on Feb 1st and it’s pretty cool to stick a few, particularly after last year’s brutal winter. This weather will make for a strange winter and spring steelhead season as the fall and winter run fish will spawn as soon as the water warms up into the 40s, which it was very close to doing on Monday. There are some worked up gravels throughout the fly water, but we didn’t see any fish on them yesterday.

And check out this cool post over on Fly-Carpin’ about Morlock’s Bunny Craw.

• And this new one.

• And this.

I headed to Cabela’s in Dundee Michigan for a tying seminar on carp and smallmouth flies.  This event is different than most because I have to talk for the whole day and with the exception of a few people coming and going from the back, most of the people stay with me for the entire day.  The first time I did one of the events at Cabela’s I only brought a couple patterns and had to start repeating myself by noon.  This year I tied over a dozen patterns, demonstrated knots, talked about rigging and went over a lot about techniques.  Thanks to everyone who spent the day or just a few minutes listening to me ramble and also thanks to Don and Bill for inviting me again.

Over lunch Don and I were talking about, of course, fly fishing and night fishing for browns was brought up.  Don has been casting flies in Michigan for many years and it was interesting that he shared the same thought that I’ve discussed with others like guide Walt Grau.  I’m sure mice do climb to the tops of grass stalks after the juiciest grain heads and I’m sure these stalks do sometimes snap, plunging the juicy mouse into a river full of hungry trout.

While I’m confident the seed head, mouse and trout dynamic exists, I have yet to see a mouse in the water.  What I have seen and Don and Walt agree are lots of big juicy moths.  Don was nice enough to share his simple moth pattern that he says has been catching Michigan trout for years.  I’m excited to try it this summer.  Don wanted me to note that the hook pictured was a hook that was lying around and he would tie the moth pattern on something more traditional.

Lucky for me, I didn’t have to make the road trip by myself, my wife and daughter were able to join me for a fun weekend.  On the drive home we were lured off the highway by a billboard for authentic mexican food, the dinner was just ok, but by coincidence it was in Jackson, near where my wife grew up.  After dinner she mentioned that the place her family always went for ice cream used to be just down the road.  That’s all I needed to hear and in a few minuted we were seated at the famious Jackson All Star Dairy.  Unlike the Mexican, the ice cream was great.

Remember that Steve will be at the Dexter Put this Wednesday for the Schultz Bar Flies and then Steve and Kevin will be in Cincinnatti for the Buckeye United Fly Fishers show on February 4th.