Michigan Daily Water
Levels
Michigan Daily Water
Levels
2011 Alaska Fishing
Report
2011 Alaska Fishing
Report
Dr. Bevin Clayton from Ossineke, MI, and some of his friends and family were scheduled to go to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula this week for a winter snowmobile vacation only to find out that even in the “UP” trail conditions were less than desirable due to the lack of snow…and this is February. Bevin and his friend Jim decided to go Steelhead fishing with me, so I grabbed the plug rods and we went fishing. Today was a Steelhead day! It was cloudy, pissy, and cool with a hint of rain, snow, and BIG Steelhead. The second run we fished today, a large Steelhead hit so hard that Jim couldn’t get the rod out of the rod holder and when he did, he and the rod almost went with the fish, needless to say we lost that one. A couple of runs later he made up with a large female to the net. We had seven or eight fish on today and they were all big, fast, sassy, and definitely looking for a fight. The way these fish are fighting you would never know it was February. Nine pounds was our smallest Steelhead, Bevin landed a large female that was pushing the twelve pound mark, while his friend Jim (pictured above) held on to a large, lean, fighting machine of a male that also pushed the twelve pound mark. Had that fish had a little more girth it would have passed the fifteen pound mark.
This has been, by far, the best February, actually the best winter Steelhead I’ve ever had with frigid temperatures held to a minimum amount of days throughout the winter season. Spring is just around the corner but there is still some great winter Steelhead to be had…I can’t wait to go again!
As a side note, with weary eyes I published yesterdays “up to the minute” but apologetically, I didn’t change the date as I had February 19 listed for yesterday’s post.
Winter Steelhead has never been better!
Tight Lines! David Roller
February 20
This morning was a clear, cold 17 degrees, and not a cloud in the sky. Fortunately it didn’t take long for the sun to warm things up a bit once the sun rose above the horizon. For a Monday, there was a bit more boat traffic than we anticipated but with a warm February and today being “President’s Day”, it was a long holiday weekend for some. We lost a couple of great fish today and still managed to land three nice Peré Marquette River Steelhead. Thom will be back in early April, once the spring spawning starts to do it all over again. I’ll be back out tomorrow with Wednesday off and can elaborate more on the past couple of days. With the warm days we’ve had however, it’s been a joy to be on the river.
Tight Lines! David Roller
February 19
This will be short and sweet until Wednesday when I have the time for a better recap. Thom Ries and Rich Conie from Columbus, Ohio joined me today for a great day on the water. Thom is no stranger when it comes to February Steelhead and we finally got good friend Rich Conie to see what all the fuss is about. Both Rich and Thom are also ‘regular’ Alaskan patrons of Peré Marquette Outfitters. We landed 2 nice Steelhead today, 1 Brown Trout, and 2 “skippers”, but we had some great fish on as mimicked the day. It started out as a cold and frosty 20 degree morning but by late morning you could definitely feel the sun’s warmth on your back. Again the morning started out a ‘little’ slow, but we soon picked up the pace. We had some light bites in which we’d have some fish on only for them to throw the hook as we back bounced spawn through out the day. With that being said we had some monsters on that ate hard, fought with a vengeance, and then took us to the wood to leave us with broken tippets. We had a great time and a lot of fun, enjoying another great February day.
Tight Lines! David Roller
February 17
After seeing the pictures of this past week and of course the great fishing weather we’ve been having, Jim Downs from Lansing, MI couldn’t help but drive two hours north to fish with me again. He’s had a pretty good run this fall/winter and today was no exception. We did have a major flip in the weather today. We went from a warm, foggy, gray day of yesterday to a colder, crisp, clear morning with a very bright sun today. The bright sun may have hurt us during the late morning hours although with that being said, why we didn’t hit a fish during the first hour of light while the sun was low is beyond me. I’ve had slower bright afternoons, but our mornings have normally been good. With all that being said, I did have a brief encounter around 8:30 a.m. in which a Steelhead hit hard, hooked ever so briefly and immediately took me into submerged wood. Some forty five minutes later Jim also had a fish on but couldn’t set the hook as we were under overhanging branches (in our face) and had absolutely no room for the hook set, so the early morning wasn’t a complete bust, but we fished some very good water in the a.m. and come up empty. Another scenario is the fact yesterday there were a bunch of fish on the move and what we had was what we had today. Once the cloud cover moved in after noon, the fishing definitely improved and before the day was over we landed 5 nice Steelhead. It was really not that warm today. We had ice in the guides this morning as well as the propane heater on. By late morning you could feel the warmth of the sun but with a brisk breeze, the warm clothes we wore felt great. By 3 p.m. it started to spit a little snow and on our way back to the launch the snow was coming down pretty good for all of thirty minutes. In general, the fishing has been good with some days better in which we see a higher concentration of fish. We’ve got a busy week starting this Sunday so it will be interesting on how it all pans out. One thing for sure, we’re about twenty to thirty degrees warmer than last year this time. The 10 of February of 2011, most of the lower Peré Marquette and Muskegon rivers were completely locked up with single digit temps and teens for the highs. So the fact that we are able to fish anywhere we’d like is remarkable in itself. This has been an extraordinary warm February and we’re taking advantage of every day that we can.
Tight Lines! David Roller
February 16
The days are getting longer and my “days off” are getting shorter as the extraordinary warm winter we’ve had is keeping me on the water with or with out guests…it’s just hard to stay off the water and “practice”. As forecasted we had a light rain early this morning with above freezing temps and its February. My weapon of choice was my “switch” rod which is essentially an eleven foot, 3 inch Spey rod in pursuit of streamer steelies. With a switch rod one can spey cast or cast single handed, hence ‘switch’ either way. It was a perfect day to hit my key steelhead runs, swing my large flashy streamers, in a temperature range that was easy on everything (high end spey lines and ice don’t go so well together).
It was a Steelhead streamer, grey foggy morning. My first run come up empty but on the third swing on run number two, the floating shooting head tightened up and I felt a jolt that only a Steelhead can make and it was game on. The Steelhead was nothing short of fast with little room for error. With two high jumps and headshakes that thrashed water in an eight foot radius, it was evident the size two Daiichi stinger hook was well embedded in the corner of his mouth. The eleven foot plus rod did its job and soon I had the large male (pictured above) in the net. Too much fun and well worth the effort. The next series of runs made me work. Two of them I came up empty, one gave me a good jolt and a visual of flash mixed with a crimson red stripe, exciting none the less. The next Steelhead that came along was pure and simple, camera shy. It was a fish that mimicked the first and the fight twice as nice. I got the fish next to the boat as it lazed on its side ‘almost’ defeated and easily ready for the net. Instead I grabbed the line and fumbled for my camera all at once. The large, double stripped male, looked picturesque in the water and if I could get a quick pic, I wouldn’t even take it out of the water…it had other plans. With line and camera in hand, a rods length of line out, and the rod lying against the gunnel, the Steelhead took off like a shot. I grabbed the rod just as the line straightened up and the fight was on again but short lived as the first good headshake the fly was tossed, note to self…net the fish first. All I could do was smile, tip my hat, and say thanks for playing. I’ll be back out tomorrow.
Tight Lines! David Roller
February 15
There is something to be said about feeling a Steelhead bite before setting the hook and even more spectacular is when a Steelhead takes a large streamer on the swing. However today I decided to run hardware, “Hotshotting” if you will in which three lures (Storm Hot-n-tots) are running parallel to each other as the boat slowly works down the run. When a Steelhead smashes an erratic, wiggling, shiny lure and the rod goes buckling down, you know something large is happening. It’s a very productive way of Steelhead fishing, covering a lot of water, and over the years has enabled me to learn a lot of productive Steelhead runs through out the Peré Marquette river system from top to bottom. After taking care of some errands in Ludington this morning (with the boat in tow) I decided to head to the river afterwards, putting me on the water around 10:30 a.m. To my surprise, for a weekday, there were six rigs at the launch. I like a challenge, and instead of running down below and finding everybody, I decided to start fishing and fish behind everyone, fishing every nook and pocket, and it paid off. Within the first 15 minutes of my fishing day, the inside rod went smashing down and all hell broke loose, and my first Steelhead was boated. These are not your typical winter fish in which they lethargically fight (still fun) and you just glad to see something large shaking at the end of your rod on a cold, twenty degree day. On average we’ve had above freezing fishing days and the slightly warmer, winter water temps, have made these cold blooded creatures nothing short of powerful this winter. As my day continued, I didn’t have to wait very long for a Steelhead to knock down a rod. Most of the time I could call the shots, somewhat knowing which rod would get hit, except for my last fish of the day, which was a my (personal) largest Steelhead of the season landed AND it goes to show that as long as the bait, lure, or fly is in the water, anything is possible. It was late in the afternoon; I had a few fish under my belt, and lost some good ones with some exciting struggles. I had one more run in me and a long run that I hadn’t fished in a while lie just around the next bend. The run was all of seventy five yards long; I had run it flawlessly in which to my surprise nothing had happened. I let enough anchor rope out to hold the boat and I started to bring the rods in. The lure in the shallowest water would be the last rod I bring in and as I started to reach for it, it buckled over and stayed down. Hardly able to get it out of the rod holder, I knew this fish was larger than most, and with his reactions, he knew it too. Fortunately I was in an area that enabled me to pull anchor and take him down river a bit, taking him away from the underwater structures that Steelhead know too well. Even when I got him near the boat, the fight was far from over and given the warmer water temps as mentioned earlier, he never gave up and finally it made the net. It was a beautiful specimen of a Steelhead and ended a perfectly great day. Next week we start getting busy and my winter days, in which I’m able to fish, are getting narrowing down. I’m going to take advantage of another warm day tomorrow. The “switch rod” is coming out and my large flashy streamers are going to swing through the dark, deep runs that these large, migratory rainbows love best. There is a thirty pound Steelhead out there somewhere, I’m looking for it!
Tight Lines! David Roller
February 9
I’m not sure what the water temp was today, but it was cold. Although we’ve had a few days in the upper 30’s for temps, we’ve been in the high teens at night. The fish we caught were cold to the touch, ice hung from branches all day that were in the water and there was evidence of shelf ice that clung onto the banks of the river. The irony of it all was that the fish we caught today were nothing short of hot, fast, and sassy. They hit hard and they ran hard with an occasional display of aerial assaults, as if it were November. Avid Steelheader, Jim Downs, from Lansing, Mi was suppose to fish with me last week, but with severe, muddy run off on the lower river, we waited for the river to drop and clear up a bit and it was in perfect condition today. Jim started us out this cold crisp morning, within the first two minutes of the day with a male Steelhead (pictured above) that about ripped the rod out of his hands. We were hoping that we were in for a banner day in which we had a river full of new fish, we were wrong. We had to pick and pry our way through the river, but when we found one…Wow! Unlike the low water we had last year, which condensed the fish in certain areas, this year the Peré Marquette River has, been fueled with plenty of precipitation since last September, distributing our Steelhead throughout the river system. Without a doubt there are more fish the farther up river you go, but there is nothing that fights harder during a Michigan February like a few fresh Steelhead that have just entered the river system that make a few fish all the worth while.
Tight Lines! David Roller
January 31
While the morning air was a bit “nippy”, Jim Downs from Lansing, MI and I enjoyed another warm day on the river. The second run of the morning produced the first male (pictured above) Steelhead. The air was crisp enough that after handling a cold, aluminum net handle, I fired up the propane heater. It wasn’t long after though on could have easily peeled a layer or two off and by noon I would have rather been in my Simms gore-tex waders. We landed two more before we called it a day around 3:30 p.m. as Jim needed to be on the road. The Steelhead we landed to day on the Peré Marquette River were not large fish but they definitely fought harder than they had a week ago when we had plenty of ice and cold temperatures. With the sun high and warm, it was amazing how much snow we lost and the amount of water running off into the river. It’s a strange winter and it will be interesting to see how it all pans out by the end of the spring. We’ll be here, on the river, through it all with anticipation for the next day to fish!
Tight Lines! David Roller
January 26
Today I headed further up river trying to find cleaner water on the lower river. With another warm day (38 degrees), I decided to just swing large streamers, hoping some of the skinnier water up river may produce more than a few Steelhead. Both Black Creek and the “Big South” were forming a non visibility mud slick down the river, and the river bottoms are submerged in water. Once above the Big South, with limited water, the river held a fishable “hard tea” stain to it and fishing the smaller pocket water above the “Big South” was fun. I managed to land a 5 pound Lake run Brown trout, and had one good slam in which the large, silver side that snuck out of the wood work during the take left no question in my mind that it was indeed a Steelhead. The high water we’ve had has distributed Steelhead throughout the whole river system with reports of a ‘few’ Steelhead on spawning gravel in the “Flies Only” stretch of the Peré Marquette River. For the time being I’ll stay on the lower river in search of new fish coming in, but sooner than later, the drift boat will come out of the pole barn and I’ll be on the oars.
Soon the lower river will start to clear and come down and when it does it will be good, really good!
Tight Lines! David Roller
January 25
OOPS! That is ice under the water! And that’s how my day started. After a few days of single digit temps, I knew ‘part’ of the lower river was locked up. I put in at the Scottville launch to river that was wide open with a little shelf ice floating down river that has been busting up with the past couple of warm days and the rain from two days ago. The river appeared to be up a little over a foot. Today was to be a scouting mission to see what I could fish in the next couple of days. I didn’t have to venture down too far when I came upon the first ice jamb some ten feet wide spanning the whole surface of the river. The water looked great on the other side, so my 20’ Go-devil slid over the top with ease. Another 500 yards was a different story. As I rounded the narrow bend, going relatively slow, I knew something was wrong, I could see water, but then I could see a solid white sheet of ice under the water. It was too late, the forward momentum of the boat, plus the down river push, I slid a good fifteen feet onto ice before the boat rested…and there, Cinder and I sat. She looked confident, but I stood there scratching my head for a minute. The stern of the boat sat in just enough water that if I got out, it would move. Holding on to my handle bar of the Go-Devil for all I was worth, I started to pivot the boat 180 degrees. At about 120 degrees, the ice started to give way under my feet as I could feel myself slowly sinking, knowing the bottom of the river was some 6 feet below me, back in the boat! The ice would still support me on the other side of the boat, so a couple more heave hos and I had the boat pointed in the right direction, out of this mess. Back to the rear of the boat, I needed to break enough ice to get the six foot shaft of the Go-devil motor back in the water, in which I succeeded doing so. After I broke ice around the perimeter of the boat, I started her up and she gracefully made about eight feet of distance before hanging up on more ice…back to the bow and breaking more ice. In the mean time the ice flow I had jumped earlier had busted loose and was wedging in. In an hours time we finally we finally got out and I could start fishing. I didn’t fish too hard as some runs I swung flies and I ran spawn three others. I did manage to land a stocky five pound male. The farther up river I went, to a very small degree the river seemed a little cleaner, in other words I could see sand bars in a foot of water. Tomorrow I’ll have a different game plan, we’ll see what happens.
Tight Lines!
David Roller
January 20
We’ve been at a high of fourteen degrees the past couple of days here in Fountain, MI (almost half way between Baldwin and Ludington and to the north) and the temps in Ludington have been the same. The lower river is clogged with large chunks of anchor ice giving way and drifting down stream making it almost impossible to fish. The weather has retained me to the office and the tying bench, tying up some more streamers, so when the weather breaks just a little, I’ll be back on the Peré Marquette. Rod building is also on the docket and trying to squeeze as much of that as I can because in less than two months, the crazy weather of March will swell up the river and put Steelheads on gravel…it will get here quicker than we think. If you want to get in on the spring action, it’s time to get with me and get in “the books”. We’ve had a lot of Steelhead come in this fall/winter and the first good “run off” we have could put a large amount of fish on gravel. Maybe 40 degrees on Monday…I’m getting ready cause I’ll be on the river.
Tight Lines! David Roller
January 16
It was a morning I hadn’t expected in more ways than one. Last night’s forecast predicted warming temps through the night, but as the night skies cleared, it only got colder and 19 to 20 degree weather was the norm throughout the area. After the past few cold days/nights, I was unsure if I’d even make it past the launch. 38 degrees was the predicted high, so at 6 a.m this morning, I put on a pot of coffee and sat at the tying bench and waited for the sun to come up a bit. 10 a.m. I was breaking some six feet of shelf ice away from the launch and watching more slush flow down river than I cared to see; it may be a quick boat ride and I’ll call it a day. The first two runs I came too there was way too much slush to do anything but the third had a nice sweeper deflecting most of the slush out of the way. With temps in the mid twenties now, I decided to back bounce a little spawn before I broke out the “switch rod” and a heavy fly line. With freezing conditions a heavy fly line to swing streamers (switch rod); I would spend more time fighting ice in the guides than fishing. My line wasn’t in the water for more than five minutes when I felt a more than subtle bite and fight was on, and it fought much harder than anticipated considering the cold water. With in a couple of minutes I had my first Steelhead to the net, a nice surprise, and a great way to start the day. I fished another run and could feel the sun’s warmth and noticed there wasn’t any ice building up in my rod tip, so it was time to ditch the spawn, and rig up my 11’3” 8wt. I had nice box of streamers that I tied over the weekend and they were dying to come out. My next run had two “sweet spots” and after swinging and stripping streamers through it, I started to work the bottom end, running the streamer closer and closer to the wood with each swing. Next, and what would be my final cast, I blew it tight to the log; let it sink to the point I didn’t care if I snagged up or not. The heavy floating shooting head started to swing and I had to strip some line in or I’d be hung up in the submerged wood. The second strip I felt something heavy and for an instant I thought I hooked the large submerged tree until the line started to move. Another great fight and my second Steelhead to the net. I motor up to the next run and within a few casts I get hit so hard, that the line parted half way through the strip set, leaving me empty…that hasn’t happened in a while. After a couple of more runs, I hooked and lost another fish and I was content for the day. At 4:00 p.m. I cased the rods, and headed for the launch Snow and cold weather is coming in the next 36 hours with a warm front “supposedly” coming again next week, I’ll be ready to get back on it!
Tight Lines! David Roller
January 10 & 11
The past couple of days I should have probably spent in the office going over scheduling, gathering up broken rods, etc., but with the crazy warm October like weather I justified being on the water because it was just so damn nice outside and what a better time to figure out new water. New water? With the miles of river that we fish for Steelhead, there are countless runs that I go by and don’t fish just because I have a full days worth of runs that have been or are on the high percentage list. As I drift though areas that “look good” there is always wonderment on those days that we really have to work for them, “am I passing up fish”. So given the warm weather, I decided to look for Steelhead in water we normally don’t fish, knowing that there will be a lot new snags which means a lot of knots to tie, again warm weather so no problem. Also with a few new Steelhead streamers hot off my fly bench and no freezing temps to lock up the guides on a Spey rod, what a great time to try new things. If I could find a couple new clean runs, find a fish or two, and maybe get a couple to chase a swinging steamer it would be a mega success. It was already a success just being out the middle of January donning a couple of shirts and my neoprene’s that felt a little overkill. The last two days, I’ve spent a full days on areas that would normally take about a third of the day to cover. Don’t get me wrong, I did hit a few reliable runs (I like to catch fish too) but I spent more time swinging streamers through “sweet spots” and back bouncing spawn through unknown depths of runs and pools that I’ve never fished. Some will never be fished again for the next few years as I spent more times tying up hoping that the next 20 feet would be snag free. Some areas I would fish twice, I’d swing streamers through first then back bounce some spawn through just to prove there was or wasn’t a fish in a particular run. While I could have caught a few more fish just concentrating on the good stuff, it was fun seeing the flash of a good fish turning on a streamer, catching a fish in a “new” run, and being on the river in fall like conditions in the middle of January. The river is always a “work in progress” and with weather like this, what a better time to keep up. The next few days a storm is suppose to come, can you imagine snow with gusty winds and high temps in twenties? I’ll be working in the next few days…I promise!
Tight Lines! David Roller
January 7
On the way home from the river last night, my cell phone rang and it was Jim Downs from Lansing, MI. With the weather as nice as it has been, he called to tell me that unless I’ve booked Saturday (today) in the past 48 hours, he was coming and bringing his youngest son to fish with me for the first time. This morning was just a little cooler with a brisk 10 to 15 mph wind but the sun would come out for a while and if you were out of the wind, it was pretty darn comfortable. Today was no cake walk as we earned every one of the five Steelhead we landed. Two of the smaller Steelhead we neglected to take photos of but they were well appreciated on a day the most runs would not give up a Steelhead. This father and son team was persistent as we persevered from one run to the next, fishing pools, runs, slots and clay ledges. Jason, the rookie on board would put us in the game mid morning with a smaller Steelhead that hit hard, doubled his 10 foot 8 wt. over and gave us all a thrill. What the fish lacked in looks it more that made up for enthusiasm as it’s upper lip was caved it, probably a defect at birth or smolt injury. Jason would follow up shortly after with a nice mature female in tight quarters. With the transom of the boat sitting on a log and a down tree about 20 feet down river, the Steelhead had plenty of wood to tear our 8 pound test leader to shreds. But Jason kept the fish near the surface and before the fish could think about what to do next, I reached out as far as I could with my long handle net and we scored again. The finale of the day was our last fish that Jim Downs put to the net. This fish used up just about every foot of river within a sixty foot radius of the boat, and after doing a round robin around the boat we finally boated a perfect specimen of a Steelhead. A Steelhead like that is why we are persistent, we persevere, and fish hard on great days and days like today when they weren’t so quick to bite, but the end result etched five nice Steelhead into memorable times with a weather pattern that we will not forget, especially on Januarys to come when the snow is deep and the wind blows cold.
Tight Lines! David Roller
January 6
Cathy Zimmerman aka the “Egg Lady”, the gal who ties most our egg patterns and some nymphs, decided to celebrate her birthday (which was yesterday) on the river. Her husband Ken couldn’t make it because of a belated date with a knee replacement Doctor, and he insisted that she catch some fish with out him. We ran hardware today, “hot shotting” with “Hot-n-tots” and enjoyed another remarkable, hard to believe, pinch me I can’t believe it’s this warm, 50 degree January day…with no wind! Did I mention it was above freezing at daylight? We fished casually, not to hard, hit some key runs and called it a day. Cathy managed to land 4 nice Steelhead, hung on to another for a few nice tugs, and watch a Steelhead smack the lure as the rod doubled over, somehow managing to escape the treble hooks. The weather has been unbelievable extending our fall Steelhead fishery. Maybe it the leap year, El Nino, or whatever, but December and January has made it more than delightful to be on the river.
Tight Lines! David Roller
December 31
With the New Year hours away, Jim Downs from Lansing, MI, Peré Marquette River Steelhead, and I ended 2011 with bang. With November like conditions, you couldn’t have written a better scenario for today. This morning was brisk but above freezing and the late morning/early afternoon was absolutely beautiful. My fingerless fleece gloves not needed but I wore them just because it’s the end of December and the extra layer I had on under my Simms wading jacket was too warm by mid morning. The Steelhead were on the bite, they bit hard and hung on, until late afternoon arrived and then it was time for the Steelhead to fool around with us. A couple of runs we fished, both Jim and I would hit multiple fish in each, the 10’, 8wt. rod would load up, the Steelhead would make a violent run or a series of hard head shakes and simple come unbuttoned, leaving us completely dumbfounded as we had done so well up until then, landing just about every fish we hooked for the exception of a couple of fish taking us to the wood pile and breaking us off. All we could do is laugh and wonder “how do they do that!”
Most of the Steelhead we hooked and landed were large and sassy. With the warmer than usual water temps for this time of the year, they fought with vim and vigor, like they had just come in, in fact most had, sporting early migration shades of chrome and silver. And we should continue to get new arrivals until we hit steady frigid weather conditions.
After a half dozen or so fish gave us the slip the latter portion of the day, we finally ended the day, the way we started it, with another nice Steelhead in the net, the last Steelhead, during the final minutes of day light for the year 2011. Happy New Year everyone!
Tight Lines! David Roller
December 21
My nephew Blake Roller and I went out fishing Steelhead yesterday to take advantage of the mild weather we’ve been having. The 38 degree weather is much easier on equipment and hands, especially this time of the year. It’s almost hard to believe three years ago, we had over thirty inches of snow on the ground. Blake and I took our fly rods and did a little “back bouncing” with spawn and the fish had their way with us, and the light “bites” didn’t help either. We turned ten Steelhead in which most would hit and run towards the boat. We’d strip line in as fast as we could to keep up only to come up empty. After getting bamboozled a number of times, Blake had another good hit in which he came back hard on, only this fish must have connected with a hook as it ran at the same time Blake set the hook and snapped him off. Finally at the end of the day, Blake connected with a chrome eight pound female (pictured above) and we were rewarded for our efforts. The river is in great shape and still up about 5 inches from last week’s rain. With the mild weather, it’s been great being on the river and being able to feel your finger tips. I plan on going out tomorrow, perhaps swinging a few streamers in some of our primary “hot” runs.
Tight Lines! David Roller
December 15
Neither rain, nor wind, nor sleet, nor snow, nor all four at once can keep a good steelheader off the water. It wasn’t the best day we’ve had, or even close but Jim Downs from Lansing, MI and I gave it all we had. At 7:45 this morning the wind was already blowing a steady 25 mph and spitting a little rain, but it was 50 degrees, what’s not to like. An hour and a half later and no fish yet, the temps were dropping rapidly with wind gusts up to 35 mph+ coming right off of Lake Michigan out of the west and right up the river, pushing my 20’ Go-devil around at times like it was a small leaf. But we persevered and side by side we would work the runs. I was working the outside of a high producing run, getting snagged up and breaking off regularly and Jim was running smooth on the inside. What felt like another snag, I started pulling the line tight to “break off” when all hell broke loose and a large buck Steelhead come charging at the boat and running up river. With the wind, combined with the slack line from a quick running Steelhead, the line had gotten wrapped around my rod tip. As the Steelhead ran up river, I was sure it was going to break off as I was unable to give it any line. We couldn’t lift anchor and chase with the motor as we had an overhanging tree above us and a dead tree in the water directly below us, it was tight quarters. I threw the butt of my rod to Jim, and I jump to the bow of the boat and quickly unwrap the rod as the more than generous Steelhead turns towards the boat. With all the line in the clear, Jim strips in the slack, keeps up with the fish, I grab Jim’s rod and get his line out of the water, and after a couple of quick, short runs, Jim brings him to the top and I put the net underneath and we finally put our first fish in the boat. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a great Steelhead tipping the scales around 13 pounds (pictured above). We took a few nice pics, addressed the fish to the water, and it slowly swam away…we were happy. The next run was a long one with the sweet spot on the bottom end. With in the first 20 feet of the run, Jim connects with a large chromer and the fight begins again, with plenty of room to fight such a great fish. Jim made it look easy and we had our second fish to the net, things were looking up as the temps were going down. We fished the entire run with out another “bump” so we headed to the next run and soon I was into a smaller fish that was bucking my rod with vengeance. It was a 24 inch “skipper” (immature Steelhead), although short lived on the fight, the little male danced all the way to the top as Jim put the net to it. We fished two more runs in a little more open country and the winds were getting to the point of craziness (of which we are) and with three nice Steelhead under our belt and Jim with a two hour drive home, we called it a day with daylight to spare, as ice pellets and snow pelted us in the face heading back to the launch. While we hadn’t hit the numbers we’re used to, it was a great day on the water, admiring Mother Nature spectrum on the other side of fine.
Tight Lines! David Roller
December 14
This past weekend was the final two days of the Michigan duck season. Normally the “late season” is the first week of January, but for some ungodly reason, the State of Michigan bumped it up 4 weeks earlier, which means 4 less weeks of duck migration to fill some of our larger marshes. But it was the final two days so Jerry Ferrell from Midland, MI and Jim Downs from Lansing, MI and I was going to hunt. It was a tough two days and we cut it short on both. On Saturday, we saw a three large flocks in the morning and brought one in close, in which a drake Mallard swung out of the flock and into the decoys and we harvested what would be the only duck in two days. We did have another pair come in that day in which we missed, and another pair that came in, that I thought we could get to swing one more time and I didn’t call the shot. The guys were ready to “take’em” and at the end of the day, I was still kicking myself in the butt for not. Sunday, we tried a different hole, hoping to see a few more ducks. While we saw three separate flocks off in the distance, we never fired a shot that morning, and by noon the three of us had had enough and we packed up and headed home.
Since I was home early and able to put a few things away, the thought of deer hunting with my primitive 50 caliber muzzleloader on Monday morning was gnawing at me. 7:30 a.m. on Monday, I was in my tree stand enjoying a cup of coffee watching daylight arriving. On the edge of my little swamp, four does were grazing around, picking up acorns on the edge and eating grasses on the inside edge of the swamp. Two were within 10 yards of the base of my tree which would have made a great archery shot. I enjoyed their company for about 45 minutes as they slowly disappeared into the thickness of the brush. Another cup of coffee poured, I was happy to see deer around. Twenty minutes later, two deer caught my eye in the distance coming from a ridge into the swamp and one had horns. As they came down the ridge, both of them had horns and they were walking down the runway that comes right by my tree stand. The lead deer was larger and I could count 4 points on one side and was a little larger. The following deer was a high and narrow 6 point. As they walked down the runway, I mounted my muzzleloader, cocked back the hammer and set the first trigger (which makes the second trigger a “hair trigger”) and got ready for the perfect shot. A few more seconds and the first/larger buck come walking through some 35 yards away and stopped. With my iron sights holding true, just behind the front shoulder, the .50 caliber went off with a cloud of smoke hanging in front of the barrel. The buck ran about twenty feet and fell mid stride and the six point ran on top of the ridge and stopped. I immediately reloaded, pouring 90 grains of powder down the barrel followed by a patch and round ball, ramrodding everything down tight. The six point starts eating acorns and working it’s way back towards me, at one point standing with in 40 yards broadside. I could have easily and legally shot that one, but that buck will look even better next year. Unless I see a very large buck, I will wait until the black powder season is over this weekend and take a doe with my bow.
With the mild weather, still lingering, tomorrow I’ll be on the river Steelheading with Jim Downs as we both got busted this past weekend on the ducks. We should do well on the river tomorrow.
Tight Lines! David Roller
December 8
The final two days of the Michigan duck season is coming up this weekend as I prepare for what could be our best two days. The boat blind has been dried out, propane tanks for heaters are filled, shotguns are cleaned and oiled, and Cinder is resting nicely. Cold weather has finally hit northern Michigan with a lot of small pothole ponds and small lakes are icing over. The pond across the road, as I look at it from my office, is frozen over with a dusting of snow. If you can find open water this weekend, you should do well. We’ll be in the Muskegon marsh in one of four different areas that will have open water due to current from the Muskegon river. I’ll be in Muskegon starting tomorrow, scouting and and figuring out what should be the “sweet spot” for Saturday and Sunday. I’ll report back on Monday with hopefully some great pics of what could be the best two days of the season.
Tight Lines! David Roller
December 5
Yesterday was the last official day of the 2011 Michigan Duck season for the “Middle Zone” and I ended it on a good note. Saturday we had ideal weather, with a hard South wind for the exception of the pouring down rain. Jim Downs from Lansing, MI joined me and it was tough as we endured the weather until about noon and we called it We did manage to shoot a Mallard/Black duck cross and see a Mallard every now and then, just enough to keep us form calling it a day sooner. The morning looked promising as just before shooting time, we saw about fifty mallards get off the water and head out. We thought surely that they would start filtering back mid morning but it didn't’ happen. Yesterday, Cinder and I went at it alone and while it took us all day, we were one Mallard short of a full limit. We started out on a local lake and when I left the house, I thought we had a pretty good wind. When we got to the lake we had gusts of 40 mph winds coming across with steady 25 to 20 mph winds and we fought it. It’s the only time this year that my eight ounce decoy anchor weights didn’t hold. Four different times I would have to get out of the blind and throw the decoys back out as they’d get pushed back into shore. A few divers flew that morning but most were trading back and forth too far out for a shot. Around 9 a.m. a Merganser came flying through the decoys and Cinder and I had our first duck. 11 a.m. we hadn’t seen a Mallard, so we fired up the single burner stove and had a nice bowl of Chili. With wind and rain still battering us, I pulled the decoys and decided to go where Jim and I hunted yesterday…at least we saw Mallards. By 12:30 p.m. I left the first launch and by 2:06 p.m. I was hunting again with the boat blind up and dressed out and the decoys bouncing nicely in the now northwesterly wind that had tamed down a little. By 2:20 p.m. our first Mallard gave us a look and I missed, rushing the shot. By 3 p.m. we had our first Mallard and of all things a lone Green winged Teal. The afternoon wasn’t fast and furious but I was seeing single and pairs and most would work. We even managed to pull in the ever so weary Black duck. By 4:30 p.m., Cinder and I had 1 Black Duck, 1 Greenwinged Teal, 3 Drake Mallards, and a Merganser in the boat and we had 45 minutes left in the season. There would be a bunch of Mallards coming in after shooting time, but certainly we could get one more Mallard to limit out. With 15 minutes left of the day, small groups of Mallards started filtering in, but they love the mud flat in the middle of the lake and would hone in on that and at best would barely swing wide once giving us a look but they love the mud flat. 5:15 p.m. finally hit and the season was over. I decided to sit and wait for about 15 minutes so see the show. Sure enough, about 5:30 p.m. the sky was alive. Flocks of geese were coming in and no matter which direction you looked, there were large and small flocks of Mallards coming in. Three different groups had landed in the decoys with many flying overhead some fifteen yards away. Wishing we had at least two more weeks left to hunt (our season starts too early and ends too early), we packed our decoys up and headed for the launch. We have a two day late season coming up next weekend. Normally it’s the first weekend in January but for some reason the State of Michigan moved it four weeks earlier (which I don’t understand), regardless, Jim Downs, Jerry Ferrell from Midland, MI and I will be there to finish out the season. This week I’ll be in the office and finally get some work done and maybe try to squeeze out a Steelhead day.
Tight Lines! David Roller
December 2
What a few days it’s been and not for the good as far as water fowling. We closed here locally on the 27th of November, in which on that day, I shot a Mallard shortly after shooting time started and shot one just before shooting time ended. The Mergansers and divers I had the day before had left for the exceptions of a few Buffleheads that would swing wide on the decoys.
The “southern zone” of Michigan is still open which leads me to the Muskegon marsh; two days in a row I hunted it with out firing a shot so I took yesterday off. I was a glutton for punishment with a few days left of the 2011 waterfowl season I headed back down again to a different area of the marsh. At the boat launch in the early a.m., as I was loading the boat, another rig pulled up so I hit double time and headed for a competitive spot. Once I was in, I noticed a little ice around the edges of the hole, but it was thin enough that the dog could break through. It was cold and clear, all conducive for a good hunt. Now that I could relax with plenty of time to spare, what a great time for a cup of coffee…I did put the thermos in didn’t I? Nope! So there Cinder and I sat as I enjoyed a nice bottle of water admiring the constellations. Shooting time was 7:25 a.m. and all was quiet and for the first 20 minutes I thought the birds have definitely left the marsh, until I saw the first pair swing over the wood line some 150 yards away. A few hits off my duck call and around they came locked up and coming in. I picked the largest one out hoping it would be the drake and squeezed the trigger. Cinder had her first retrieve in three days and I believe she was happier than I was. She brought back hen Mallard, couldn’t believe it but so be it. For the next two hours it was a duck hunt. I’d see pairs, threes, and fours, and they responded to the call and decoys. By 10 a.m., Cinder and I had four Mallards and one Black duck. Since it had been a while since I’d used my camera, the battery life had about 4 pictures in it so the best I had was the Susie Mallard, Black duck, and a mature drake Mallard (pictured above with the Cinder).
Tomorrow Jim Downs and I are hunting locally, as the “Middle Zone” has a two day late season, and we’ll be in the Muskegon marsh for two days next weekend for the southern zones late season. We have four days left of the Michigan 2011 duck season, and good, bad, or indifferent; I’ll be there for all four of them.
Tight Lines! David Roller
November 26
After seeing no ducks on the 23rd with Jim Downs (thank God for Steelhead!), it was in the forecast that Friday would be windy. So off to PM Lake Cinder and I go…certainly with a hard SW wind we’d see a few birds flying. We were wrong although there were plenty of geese and of course, the season was still closed. Around 10:30 a.m. that morning, I pulled the decoys, headed home for lunch and decided to hit a local lake, a place I had gotten a few Mallards. The wind still howling, I had the decoys set and ready by 2:45 p.m. In route to my “spot”, I had already seen more ducks than I’d seen in two days and it wasn’t long and the Super X2 was shucking out empty shells. In two hours time, I had killed 2 Buffle heads and 2 Mallards. With wind continuing, and a last minute rescheduling of a duck hunt, Cinder and I were back at it today, and we had fun! We called to a few Geese that swung wide on the decoys, missed a squadron of Bluebills that jetted speedily over the blocks, killed 3 mallards, two hooded mergansers, and 3 common mergansers. Fortunately, the five allowed mergansers (of which no more than two can be hooded) does not count against the 6 total ducks allowed for the day. So through the course of the day, Cinder retrieved three birds for me to enjoy (tomorrow’s dinner) and the mergansers will grill up nicely for Cinder’s duck dinner, and a few picked feathers for the tying bench. All in all it was a good day. Tomorrow’s wind is supposed to be out of the North with rain turning to snow. Will it be enough to bring a large push of Mallards down? I plan on being out from sunrise to sunset to find out.
Tight Lines! David Roller
11/24/11
Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s been a rough ten days on the waterfowl end of things. We’ve had 3 good hunts and the rest of the time we’ve been lucky to get a shot. We just haven’t had the cold weather to bring a lot of ducks down and while the duck population is up on a national level, Michigan for some reason has suffered a 14% loss. A small loss I can handle, but the lack of weather has been hurting us. Yesterday was no exception and Jim Downs and I went in for a “cast and blast”. Thankfully we had Steelhead to save the day. We had 8 mph winds predicted but by shooting time we had dead calm conditions and we saw nothing but a few geese flying around. By 10 a.m. we picked up our decoys and headed up river for Steelhead and what a day we had! The first run we hit 4 fish and landed 2 very spirited Steelhead. From 11:30 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. we hit fish. Most runs we would hit at least two. These fish were hot, hit hard and would push our 8 wt’s to the limit. At the end of the day we had 11 Steelhead on the line, BUT only landed three. The fish we had on were not short lived strikes, they were fish we had fought and for some reason came unbuttoned, but the fights were great. Jim and I laughed at the end of the day that we had one coming, as last year this time we had boated 14 out of 16 Steelhead. We’ll be doing it again soon!
Prior to the 15th of November, we had ducks in the Muskegon marsh and I was excited when Bob Miller and Roy Weaks were coming up from Louisville, KY for their annual three day duck hunt with me, and on the morning of the 17th, the alarm clock went off at 2:30 a.m. and by 3:30 a.m. I was on the road to Muskegon. November 17 and 18 we spent daylight to dark in the Muskegon marsh only to witness about five or six ducks flying around a dawn and stare at empty skies the rest of the day…and we had perfect conditions with hard NW winds. I swear the ducks in the Muskegon marsh jumped on that wind and headed south with no replacements coming down from the north. After day two I suggested we head north to Ludington. At least we’d get a shot or two in or even better. I had paid for two nights at the Bell Aire Motel in Muskegon, MI but forfeited night 2 to head back home and prepare for our day three. With decoys laid out and the wind blowing, five minutes before shooting time our first Mallard lights into the decoys, with a few more flying around in the barely morning sky light. I felt like we were actually duck hunting. The first pair came flying in shortly after shooting time; Bob Miller dumps the lead duck and I drop the following. Certainly the pair must be a hen and a drake, right? We were cursed with two “Susie” Mallards. We now were one short of a limit of hen Mallards. The next group comes in hot and slightly behind us and we dump another one…we now have three “Susie’s” in the boat…what’s the chances of that! We now had to be careful as now it was greenheads only. We had a couple more opportunities in the morning that we missed on and Bob and Roy drop two more drake Mallards in the decoys…Cinder was a happy Labrador retriever. Hunting was great between daylight and noon and our spirits were up. Between noon and three we hit a little lull but would at least see a few ducks trading around in the air. Around 4 p.m. the ducks started to fly and the rain was coming down at a pretty good clip. We’d have duck close; with in shooting distance, but with the dark skies, it was hard to discern a hen from a drake so we passed up shots until shooting time was over. We came out with five Mallards but we had heart pounding experiences through out and on their last day, Bob Miller, Roy Weaks, and I felt like we were duck hunting.
It’s been a “tough love” November and here we are at Thanksgiving Day. We all have a lot to be thankful for, and I am thankful for the opportunity to spend days in the field with each and every one of you. While it’s been a tough season, on the waterfowl side, I can’t wait to get up early tomorrow morning and do it all over again.
Tight Lines! David Roller
November 15
It’s been a week, a working hard for what you get week! One morning the alarm went off at 2:30 a.m. to meet Mr. Jim Downs and his buddy Jack at 5 a.m. in Muskegon to hunt the Muskegon marsh. A lot has transpired this past week and I apologize for not getting posts up sooner.
It all started on November 10th when I hunted locally, killed a couple of ducks and ran up the river to see how bad the PM had swollen. To my surprise it was in perfect condition. I fished two runs, caught 2 nice Steelhead and got out. I called Mr. Jim Downs and told him that “we” had a serious dilemma for tomorrow. We had a few more ducks in Muskegon, but the fishing was great on the PM. Seeing that his friend Jack was more of a hunter, we decided to hunt the Muskegon marsh and try to Steelhead fish the lower Muskegon (in which I had done well when the river was 12 inches lower). The morning of the 11th started out well as we knocked down the first pair that came in. A little later a lone mallard come in and it went down. As Cinder was retrieving the mallard, Jim had a “nature call”, so while the blind is down, Jim is using the coffee can, and I’m out on the nose of the boat adjusting the dog latter, the obvious happens, a dozen mallards come flying in low wanting in. We let them fly by wide, and I let them get out a ways so we had time to get back in the blind and cover up, and I hit them with the call. I get them to swing us three times but they wouldn’t commit to the decoys, so on the fourth pass at 35 yards, I yell take’em, and we knocked one down. By 1:00 p.m. we pulled the decoys and headed for the river. She was swollen and running hard and dirty so we ran down to the South Branch where I had done well a couple of days prior. She was up a foot more but looked good. We tried several runs but ended up empty and so it goes. The next morning I scouted one of our local lakes to set up for a “cast and blast” on Sunday the 13th with Mike Chiuchiarelli and his buddy Randy. After just shooting a few divers, I decided we’d stick to the PM. The morning of the 13th, Mike, Randy, and I were hit with 40 mph winds, to the point gusts were tipping over the decoys. Shortly after first light, two Mallards come in under the radar and we simply didn’t get a shot at them. We knocked two greenheads down before 10:30 a.m. and after a hot bowl of chili, we headed up river to fish. We did a lot of fishing and covered what we could pulling plugs. The first for second run, we had a quick slap of the rod. After a few runs with nothing, we motored farther up river to try and find some fish. The next run, Randy’s rod went down and he was into a chrome ten pound Steelhead that danced on the water and pulled hard. After some serious jousting, his line stayed tight, the rod quit bucking and the Steelhead had taken us to the wood, it was gone. It was starting to get dark, so we motored up to my favorite run where I was hoping to hook into at least a couple of fish, however, it wasn’t until we got to the very bottom end, the lures working underneath logs and brush, and Mike’s rod went down, and the fish comes up below the underbrush. Finally a little luck and Mike brings the fish out of the quagmire and to the net. We fished one more run and called it a day. Since I had the 14th off and I was going to hunt ducks anyway, I invited the guys to hunt the morning with me to see if we could do a little better. The morning of the 14th was 35 mph calmer than the day before. Things were looking better as a pair of Mallards light into the decoys about five minutes before shooting time. We shoot a greenhead about 5 minutes after shooting time and that was our morning. We worked hard, but in the past day and a morning we experienced a lot and had a great time, the guys will be back this winter where we will put the whole day in for Steelhead. In the mean time, while we were trying to kill more than one duck on the 14th, Crocket was a little farther up river, in which he put 4 large Steelhead in the boat, lost 6 others and was off the water by 3:30 p.m., in the same water conditions we had the day before. It was obvious the fish I had on the lower end had pushed on up, and had we had more time, we would have found them.
Do you feel caught up yet?
Which brings us to today, “opening day” of the 2011 Rifle season for deer. The Roller family all met at the old homestead, had breakfast at 5:30 a.m. and was out in the woods by daylight. At 8:15 a.m. I heard the crack of rifle behind me and Crockett had harvested a five point.
We have another busy week ahead. Tomorrow we’ll all be in the deer blind. I’ll come home around noon, and get ready for 3 days in the Muskegon marsh with Bob Miller from Louisville, KY. Sunday and Monday I’ll be back on the Peré Marquette River with Dennis Skulborstad and his son, and back on Ducks over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Tight Lines! David Roller
November 9
Duck hunting all my prime areas locally, and seeing few flight ducks, I decided to head down to the big marsh in Muskegon. With the high winds predicted I was hoping to really see the birds flying, however the heavy rains put a damper that came with the winds hampered that idea. At first light I shot a mallard and I had been a little more on the ready, I could have easily shot a limit of woodies. I was quite surprised really that Wood ducks were still around as they are normally the first to head out when the weather slightly cools down. Interestingly enough, I saw more ducks, flying high than I had seen all season anywhere. Of course the obvious happens, after an hour or so of seeing nothing but heavy rains, I decide to drop the blind, pull the decoys, and attempt a little Steelhead fishing. With a naked boat in the middle of the spread, the rain stops, the sun peaks out and here comes the birds. While a little frustrated, it didn’t bother me too much, as I’ll be back and it will be nice to know we have ducks. As I head out of the marsh and into the river, there was no doubt she was swelling with just enough visibility. Actually the river was in pretty good shape for the exception of the 40 mph wind gusts shooting through pushing the boat where it wanted. All was not lost, as two out of the three runs produced fresh Steelhead as I put two to the net. At 2:30 p.m. I called it a day and was back home before dark. With the cold winds blowing and potential snow, plenty of rain to swell out rivers, I feel that we’re about to have a great “rest of the fall” before winter sets in.
Tight Lines! David Roller
November 7
It was a “Cast and Blast” of a different sort today as my son David and his good friend Lloyd did the casting and Cinder, my Black Labrador and I did the blasting. I shifted gears today and decided to hunt a local lake. With the wind blowing out last night the lake was dead calm, so I had my doubts. Shortly after shooting time, I had missed an easy pair, not quite sure how, but I missed. Shortly after, small groups of geese started to fly, singles, pairs, and groups of six. I could get their attention, but most of the geese were on a mission somewhere else until a group of five gave me another look, swung around the second time, just close enough to easily and cleanly bring one down. Around 9 a.m. a few mallards started to fly and I finished the morning with three mallard drakes to add with the goose. David and long time friend and schoolmate of his, Lloyd, went Steelhead fishing and had a great day as well. They managed to put six nice Steelhead to the net, had four other good fish on and were off the water by 4:30 p.m. Another fine November is starting to shape up and we’re taking advantage of every day.
Tight Lines! David Roller
November 5
Ken Peters and his friend Scott fished with me today and it was the first time we had fished together. There always seems to be a little extra ‘pressure’ on me when I have the privilege of fishing with someone for the first time. The fishing had been good the past couple of days, but with bluebird days and not many fish on the move, how long can a stretch of river last before I burn it out. It is always good for a fish or two, but a couple of fish isn’t good enough for a full day of fishing for the most part. We start the frosty morning waiting for just enough light to start fishing. It wasn’t three minutes into the morning when Scott’s rod went down and it was game on. The way a hot, fall run Steelhead can throw or unhook himself when it smacks a lure is really quite unbelievable, so when a fish is on, there is always a little doubt and a lot of hope that the fish makes it to the net. Scott had never landed a Steelhead before and now in the early morning light, he has his hands full of early morning chrome and we manage to put it in the net. A short distance down the river and Scott nails another one that ran down river a good forty yards, jumps, and throws the hook. We made it look easy within the first 10 minutes of the day and then the work started. Our next fish to the net was a brightly colored male Coho. What he lacked in his fighting ability compared to a Steelhead, he made up for in color. Its skin replicated the beautiful colors of fall. At this point of the game, Ken had a couple of shots at fish but they would jump and come unbuttoned. One of his fish hit the lure so hard, as it shot out of the water like a missile, leaving about three feet of air between it’s tail and the surface of the water, the line must have hit wood, a small stick or something, because the line instantly snapped. The large Steelhead jumped two additional times as a reminder what we had lost. The Steelhead made us work for every opportunity. Some of my favorite runs were empty, and some of my secondary runs would produce, forcing us to fish every piece of water we could…so much water and so little daylight! As the sun was setting quickly and we were loosing light, Ken had not landed a big Steelhead other than the nice “skipper” he landed mid day. We were definitely at the bottom of the ninth inning. Knowing we had one more run left before we’d loose sufficient light, I had to pick wisely. There was one run that has not failed me and the right rod (Ken’s side of the boat) always went down, but I kept that to myself. The first 10 seconds of the drift and the right rod twitches hard twice, I could only hope that it wasn’t our “bite”. Ten seconds later the rod smashes down violently and all hell broke loose. Inside our minds (mine for sure) we all had a doubts as we’d had our butts kicked most of the day with break offs due to fish taking us into logs or thrown hooks, but this runs was clean. The large male rolled, jumped, bucked, and ran as I brought the boat into the inside of the bend. I wasn’t taking any chances as I jumped out of the boat with net in hand and moments later, Ken had a trophy Steelhead that weighted in at eleven pounds. The thrill of the hunt was on us all day. The fish didn’t come easy but throughout, we were given ten opportunities and we were able to seize on four of them. To end the day on a high climactic note, with the pressure on, was a nail biting experience that makes it all worth it. It was fun, exciting day.
Tight Lines! David Roller
November 4
Neil Hannewyk and Mike Troost were on deck for day two of the Sherman Drew’s Steelhead weekend, and this morning was clear and cold, 26 degrees cold. It was cold enough that when we had our first Steelhead on, my forty five pound anchor wouldn’t drop because my anchor rope was frozen stiff. But the morning was hot as the Steelhead kept our minds off the crisp November morning. We had lost the first 3 Steelhead of the morning before we put the first fish to the net, landed the fourth fish, lost the fifth then the next eight came to the net, including a twelve pound male that Neil caught mid afternoon. Talking with Mike, he informed me that he had been fishing the Peré Marquette and staying at Barothy Lodge since the mid 1960’s and their group has been doing this Steelhead weekend since the mid 1970’s. It’s another season in the books for this family, and it’s been a good one.
Tight Lines! David Roller
November 3
Mitt Drew and Ben Hannewyk have been fishing with me for 8 years now. Mitt's Dad owns a nice place on the Big South Branch of the Peré Marquette but every year since the early 90’s they have a family Steelhead trip and the whole clan rents one of Barothy Lodge’s large log cabins and have a great time. Today Mitt and Ben fished with me and it was game on from the time we started until about noon. When the sun come up high things slowed down a bit, in fact we went our longest time in between fish but we still managed to find a couple. As the sun started to drop behind the trees, the action progressed and by day’s end we had put 7 Steelhead and one nice Brown Trout to the net. We had lost a few in between, but the one that got away was huge. The large buck Steelhead hit hard ran at the boat, giving us all kinds of slack, in fact we thought we had lost it right away until it jumped again, almost in the boat. It would run down and run back about three times until finally it shook free. One sees damn few 15 pound Steelhead (although there are a lot of 12 pounders called 15 pounds) and this one was larger. Every fish we hooked into today tried to out do the others as far as acrobatics. Crockett had two of the guys out as well. He had a little more competition in his stretch of the river but his guys landed the largest, measuring in at 12 pounds. It was a fun, solid day and we’ll have more of the crew out tomorrow.
Tight Lines! David Roller
Copyright 2009 Pere Marquette Outfitters: Michigan Fly Fishing. All Rights Reserved.
February 21
