Michigan Rainhead Party

Pure Michigan

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China Cat Sunflower

Sorry for the delay on my posts. I have been running all over the great state of Michigan fishing for steelhead, eating Thanksgiving with the folks, and ultimately driving the point home that pinning is sinning. I caught a few fish and had an overall awesome time. The last day, I got tricked into fishing out of a boat with two guys (who were fun as hell to fish with) who were fishing centerpin rods. I had seen these funny rods plenty of times as a kid and always hated them because they screwed up things for me as a fly fisherman. Needless to say, because of how the boat was always set up and the fact that I had to fish an indicator rod in the only water available to me (the top of runs, only after they ran spawn bags through) made it very difficult.

I still enjoyed fishing that day, but I learned a valuable lesson. If you want to catch fish with a specific tactic (for me, swinging big flies on a two-hander), go fishing with people employing the same tactics. Don't try to convince yourself that "you can make it work", because you ultimately wont. Pick guys that are doing the same thing or go alone. That way you will be on the same page from working the boat to types of water you fish. You also will be able to avoid smelling like bait.

Whatever.... I'll be in Oregon this weekend swinging for steelhead with like-minded friends. All will be right in the world again.

Reports from both will be on the horizon. Stay tuned, kiddos.

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Streamer Punk: By Will Rice

He is guilty.

He did it.

He confesses.

He comes clean.

He is a streamer punk.

Simple ideas turn to thoughts: Streamers in the fall—there are few things he enjoys more. 5X? No. 4X? Nope. 3X? Maybe... if the water is clear. 2X? These fish aren't leader shy and matching the hatch is not exactly scientific. 

His thoughts turn to aspiration: It is time to head north, plane tickets are purchased, rigs are gassed up, boats are hitched and dragged across state lines. The gang is committed.

Aspiration turns to action: He throws them at the bank, fishes them in the middle, crashes them down on currents, drifts them through deep holes. He strips them fast, strips them slow. He doesn’t care. He is guilty as charged.   

Action leads to reaction: some of the fish fire off the bank like rockets, chasing the fly like they want to crush it to bits. He invaded the trout’s sacred solitude and his bug was to pay the price. Nothing in life is free. Other takes were less revealing, all he saw was the hydraulic swirl just under the vanilla gorilla—it looked like a toilet bowl just flushed under the Russian Olive tree. These moments occur out of nowhere and he loves it. He eats it up.   

Interaction: The jury looks on in amusement.

Connection: Sometimes he doesn’t see anything at all. The strip-set burns the finger and the trout goes airborne like a tarpon. Other times the bug just stops dead deep under the water.

Altercation.

Destruction.

And sometimes, successful perpetration.  

Guilty, guilty, guilty.

My boy Will Rice wrote this piece for his blog at It Ain't Pretty for drakemag.com. As a streamer punk myself, it spoke to me. 

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Start Planning Your Exotic Island Vacation

Beaver Island on the Fly from fishbeer on Vimeo.

In Michigan?... YES... If this is the first you have heard of Beaver Island, then congratulations on your new knowledge. Beaver Island is in northern Lake Michigan and boasts some insane flats fishing for big carp and smallmouth. With beautiful scenery, easy-going island atmosphere, and a price tag closer to a weekend trip to Grandma's vs booking a $5k trip to the Bahamas. If you are anywhere near Michigan in summer, or just want to experience some of the coolest carp/smallmouth fishing in the world, give Nomad Anglers a call.

www.nomadanglers.com

Visit Mr Dunn at his blog too. Like Sioux City Saspirilla... it's a good one.

http://fishbeer.com/
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Keep It Fresh

So I am sitting here trying to come up with some inspiration for tying some new bugs and realized that some of you may not have checked out steelheadalleyflytying.blogspot.com . This is a group that has put together a blog of cool ass tutorials of some really cool patterns coming out of steelhead alley in the Great Lakes. Most of these patterns either work all over the country, or can at least be adapted to work on your waters. The patterns are tied by Greg Senyo and his friends. Check em' out!

Tell them Hip To The Sip sent ya.

http://steelheadalleyflytying.blogspot.com/

http://www.steelheadalleyoutfitters.com/

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I'll Never Leave Montana, Brother

The Bighorn in November... A wet/cold version of Heaven on Earth. 

Sometimes Whitefish Eat Streamers

sometimes whitefish eat sex dungeons from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Preppin' for my Montana trip and ran across this gem on Vimeo. Turn off the playlist on the lower right so you can dig on the Tribe Called Quest jam. I caught a sucker on a streamer once... it was glorious.

http://yukongoesfishing.blogspot.com/

Is It Really That Time Already?

This time of the year is bittersweet. Some of the best sippin spots start to get snowed in and you can feel winter in the air. This was my last trip to this spot for a while because I don't see any vehicles being able to get  to it any time soon. I can already envision myself dressed like the Stay-Puff Marshmellow man to fish crowded tailwaters simply because I have no other choice. It's that, or just go skiing instead. Yesterday, I found myself tying midges... MIDGES for Christ sakes! Oh well, I got a big streamer trip planned this week and hopefully winter will subside, if only for a little bit longer.

Capr

Fly Fishing for Carp - Eleven Mile Reservoir from Colorado Parks & Wildlife on Vimeo.

I love them.