LET'S ALL CHILL OUT ABOUT THE SPRING 2012 STEELHEAD RUN....EVERYBODY CALM DOWN!

YES!!!!!.....it's been 84-88 F every day for the past two weeks. I am burnt to a crisp and have the air conditioning going at the lodge. It has been a record heat wave like no other in history. YES!!!!....steelhead are spwaning on gravel everywhere after the flooding waters which have resided. YES!!!!.....we are catching lots of fish.

YES!!!...I talked to Ken Morrish in Oregon today and they are geeting dumped with snow and cold weather coming down  from Alaska....they have been freezing their asses off from California to Montana while we have been baking for weeks....that is a total flip flop!
BUT NO!!!!!!....this ain't gonna be a quick and fast run that every guide, steelhead angler and other paranoid creatures are gloaming over. Don't worry, the people scheduled in April and May will do just fine ....YES!!!!!.....just fine....everybody "CHILL"!.
 PLEASE INDULGE ME FOR A SECOND!. I know a little bit about these fish after chasing them for 45 years...just a little!
 Here is the scoop. Yes the spawning is rampant and out-of-control on the Rogue, White, Pere Marquette and starting on the Muskegon. BUT! ....Lake Michigan where these fish come from still has lots of cold water....so, the fish still out there don't know its almost 90 F in Newaygo and Baldwin.

 Steelhead migrate on phgotoperiod of light through their pineal gland which measures daylight length and triggers upstream migration, So the fish that spawn in April- or May- carry that genetic code signal to their offspring either live in the wild born or from weir egg/sperm hatchery stripping. So , our April fish are not here yet- neither are our May fish...plain and simple.

 FACT: We have had one of the strongest fall and winter runs of steelhead I have seen in a decade!.....steelhead have been "everywhere" since October thru March-"EVERYWHERE"!!. These are the fish that are spawning "hard' now with the water temps at 44-46F- 4600 CFS.
FACT: We had a similar March in 1999/2000- 85 F heat in early March- fish on gravel all over in early March due to the massive fall run of 1999. That year we had our Muskegon steelhead all the way to Memorial day weekend.....LIKE IT HAS BEEN FOR DECADES! Our reservoirs hold a lot of cold water for a longer time thus the longer run.
FACT:
All weather predictions for April call for much cooler air temperatures.
SO EVER BODY CHILL OUT CAUSE IT WILL BE GETTING COOLER STARTING THIS WEEKEND!
Sorry for the preaching I just had to put this into perspective.
Yes the little black stone flies are hatching and nice browns are on the surface taking them.
CHEERS!

Posted in: black stones , gray drake lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , muskegon steelhead , selective trout , spring steelhead , trout and eagle