NOW THE REALLY "BIG" STEELS ARE ON A ROLL PART II..!........TORCH LAKE ATLANTICS.....NEW STEELHEAD DREAMS.........AND DECEMBER HAS BEEN OUT OF CONTROL!

( BRYAN AND MURPHY'S BACK-TO-BACK HOG HENS!....)

Sorry for the delay in posting but we have been up to our asses in alligator- sized steelhead and happy camper clients!
 Honestly.........and no trick fish eye photography!!!...........I haven't seen this many 36-40 inch fall steelhead chrome hens since the fall of 2001!...IT'S BEEN UNBELIEVABLE!
It started around December 3rd when John Murphy......the quintessential steelhead master, hit an 18 lber in a favorite pool (Boga)......the fish was 7 times in the air and looked, with its massive girth, like a Gaspe Quebec fresh-run Atlantic out of the sea. This girl must have been chowing heavily on alewives since John could not even hold the big girl up for a photo...Shawn, a.ka. "steelhead queen" took the shot of me holding it up.

( JEFF FROM NASHVILLE WITH HIS TWO AWESOME CHROME HENS YESTERDAY AND TODAY!)

 The craziness continued the next day when  Bryan JurawicC, a former Defensive end with the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears..now a company software exec. from Chicago, hit a massive 40 inch fish from the same pool. We thought it was the same fish!......but on further notice with close marking and zoom analysis, it was a totally different fish......one had a pinker tone....the other chrome silver!. Brian never fished for steelhead and never fly fished..........so to hit a nice buck and this massive chromer of a lifetime in one morning was bizarre!
And yesterday and today, I have had Jeff and Dave from Nashville, TN.............once again Jeff hit his first of several steelheads on the fly rod with one pushing 17 lbs!

NEW MEDIA RELEASES

( 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY REVISED" STEELHEAD DREAMS" COVER.......COMING SOON!!!!................FINISHING THE NEW BOOK-"SELECTIVITY-THEORY AND METHOD FOR FLY FISHING FUSSY TROUT,STEELHEAD AND SALMON"-( STACKPOLE BOOKS- 2012)

                                                          
 So really in all candid retrospect.....its been a wild and unexpected ride......all big hens!
 It was the late fall of 2001. I had just gotten my first case of the new" Steelhead Dreams" hard copy. The river was crazy with big steelhead in early December at that time. Double hook-ups on double digit fish. 1999- thru-2001 saw tremendous explosion of year classes of alewives and the steelhead were chowing down heavily. It appears to be the same now. Usually the big hens come ....then the cautious and lazier males. If this is December!........., January, February are going to be on fire given the load of fish we have in the system now. I might finally get a day -off so I can play with one myself!........but my camera has been happy and so is this guide!

(DREW.....STEELHEAD/BROWN ZEN MASTER AND CLIENTS NICE HOG MUSKEGON BROWN ON THE SWING)

                                                      

( JOHN FRASER FROM NEW YORK WITH HIS FIRST STEELHEAD WITH ME (ABOVE)- AND DAD ROD FRASER FROM MINNEAPOLIS, WITH NICE BUCK MALE WITH GUIDE JEFF BACON)

TORCH LAKE UPDATE

http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2011/12/michigan_resumes_stocking_atla.html

HERE IS A NICE ARTICLE RAN LAST SUNDAY IN THE GRAND RAPIDS/BOOTH MICHIGAN NEWSPAPERS ON THE LATEST MANAGEMENT OF TORCH LAKE ATLANTICS THAT HOWARD MEYERSON DID.......NICE JOB HOWARD!......... WENT TO TORCH OVER THE THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS WITH LAURIE AND PETER...........HERE IS A NICE 18 LB KYPED MALE I CAUGHT ON A ICEMAN SMELT PATTERN WHILE WALKING THE BEACH SHORELINE "BONEFISH" STYLE.........LAURIE TOOK THE IMAGE

(HERE IS A PAIR OF SPAWNING ATLANTICS AT TORCH LAKE. I TOOK THEM FROM UP IN A TREE WITH A 300MM ZOOM NIKON LENS ON A GRAVEL SHORELINE ALONG A CREEK MOUTH. THE FEMALE IS IN THE TOP CENTER- THE MALE AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT POSITION. IF YOU WAIT ABOUT 30 SECONDS YOU WILL SEE THE FEMALE FAN AND DIG HER REDD....COOL STUFF!)

TACTICS; We  have been either Skagit swinging( 600 Grain compact Airflo heads with various T-14 set ups) , or'SWING-CHUCKING".........Helios 11/8 switch rods two-hand casts, clear intermediate Rio lines and egg/iceman minnow/leech patterns with a down-and across swing type drift......very effective!
Fish are in all types of lies.........shallow fall water, winter pools and guts....all depends how fresh the fish are and water temps and barometer for the day.......water at 2260cfs.....40F

 Can't wait for winter........its gonna be wild if this early December is any indicator
Many thanks to the great bunch of folks we had the pleasure of guiding recently.....The Rod Fraser party from Minneapolis, The Murphy's, Cahn Trans executives from Chicago and now Jeff and Dave from Nashville..........

( IF THAT AIN'T AN ALASKAN RAINBOW  IN MICHIGAN............!!!....this guy is a huge country music producer and avid world class fly angler!)

                                                           

                                                         
                                                          
Cheers! .......Happy Holidays!..........and Ciao for now!

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Posted in: atlantic salmon , Great Lakes steelhead , michigan fly fishing , Muskegon River steelhead , Orvis Helios , Skagit swinging , spawning salmon , trout and eagle lodge , winter steelhead fly fishing

STEELHEAD SEDUCES WASHINGTON ATTORNEY!............AND WINDOW OF RUN PERFECTION

( Steve with his first Steelhead!- on a two-hander)

Had the pleasure of guiding Washinghton D.C. power attorney Steve Cannon and his lovely daughter Katie this past weekend. Steve used to represent the lobbying firm my wife Laurie worked for when she was in D.C. Steve and daughter"kiki' were totally amazed by the power of these magnificent fish.

( click on bottom right to"full screen" to see leaping steelhead!)

( check out the center-upper left screen for the three hot jumps of the buck that tore Steve up!- I love Washington and all the politicians- my sarcasm was just that!- CHEERS BOYS AND GIRLS ON CAPITOL HILL!)

 Steve has mainly fished for trout in Colorado and Virginia where small streams yield 12 inch brook trout on a good day- not 12-14 lb rainbows! Throwing a an Orvis Helios switch rod and clear sink/Skagit/Scandi systems which I thought him, he and Kiki hit some gorgeous steelhead- he became an addict for life!

( Stev's aerial steel finally captured)

 The river continues to get great runs of steelhead due to the perfect '51F" water temps which give the perfect 'window of run "opportunity I talked about in Steelhead Dreams.
Water level 1770 cfs and clear.........still tons of salmon spawning and lake-run browns coming in!

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Posted in: D.C. attorneys , gray drake lodge , lake-run brown trout , michigan steelhead , Muskegon River steelhead , Orvis Helios , steelhead dreams , trout and eagle lodge , Washington

THIS AIN'T BRITISH COLUMBIA OR WASHINGTON'S WASHOUGAL............JUST GOOD OLD GREAT LAKES CHROME SUMMER SKAMANIA STEELHEAD AT ITS FINEST!

( JAKE WITH HIS FIRST SUMMER STEEL!)

I ain't no Hugh Hefner judging chrome .sweet, center-fold voluptuous steelhead, but what happened yesterday was a once in a lifetime day! It was LOONG in coming, brothas and sistas................looong I tell you, after a heat wave from hell!
The stats and the beauty images are all I got to say..................and it didn't come with a  Dean River price tag!

( PURPLE HAZE............IS IN MY JAW!)

DATE: AUGUST 12TH

PLACE: A COLD, SMALL TRIBUTARY TO LAKE MICHIGAN.....( and it ain't where you are thinking!)

ANGLERS:..........TONY DOMBROWSKI, ACCOUNTANT- GAYLORD, MI,........ SONS JAKE DOMBROWSKI -21, KICKER /PUNTER FOR TOP IVY LEAGUE COLLEGE ON EAST COAST HEADED TO THE NFL- OTHER SON, ALEX, 16, TOP MIDWEST GOLFER HEADED FOR THE PGA- MICHIGAN STEELHEAD FANATICS THAT NEVER CAUGHT A SUMMER RUN SKAMANIA STEELHEAD

PURVEYOR OF STEELHEAD ECSTASY: MOI!

CONDITIONS: PERFECT- COLD 58 F NIGHT, POLAR FLEECE MORNING.........FINALLY!..........WATER CLEAR AND COOLER......THE PERFECT " WINDOW OF RUN" OPPORTUNITY

SPECIES; SUMMER SKAMANIA STEELHEAD THAT JUST CAME IN THAT NIGHT ON THE COOLER TEMPS AND FULL MOON FROM THE BIG LAKE

 DEMEANOR OF FISH: ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!!!!-SUICIDAL AGGRESSIVE/ACTIVE "BULLS IN A CHINA SHOP", AERIAL DISPLAYS UNPARALLELED!.............THESE FISH GAVE THE WARY AND" FISH OF A THOUSAND CAST!" REPUTATION A REAL BAD NAME!!!.......-THEY SMASHED OUR FLIES WITH A RECKLESS ABANDONMENT LIKE STRIPERS ON THE HUNT FOR BAITFISH!.........ABSOLUTELY INSANELY DUMB AND AGGRESSIVE FREAKS!

( JAKE WITH HIS SECOND-  A KICK ASS FISH THAT WAS IN THE AIR MORE THAN IN THE WATER)

TACKLE: ORVIS HELIOS  AND T-3, 8 AND 9 WEIGHTS, ......LOOP AND MIRAGE LA REELS,.......... FLOATING WONDER LINES ,1X TIPPETS , TINY FOAM INDICATOR AND MY "Purple Haze Skamania Crack" FLY

HOOK-UPS/LANDINGS: WON'T SAY!!!!! AND BE GROSS ABOUT IT!- DAYS LIKE THIS HAPPEN ONCE EVERY 10 YEARS AND I BASICALLY CUT THE GUYS OFF TO PROTECT THE FISH, EVEN THOUGH WATER TEMPS. WHERE UPPER 50'S AND FISH COULD BARELY BE HELD FOR IMAGES SINCE YOU COULDN'T HOLD THEM  BEING  SO HOT WITH PISS AND VINEGAR!.........(ONE BROKE A WHOLE IN MY NET AT LANDING!)

( ALEX WITH HIS FIRST SKAM!)

( ENTREE DE RESITANCE: LE PURPLE HAZE!)

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Posted in: B.C. , Dean River , gray drake lodge , Great Lakes summer steelhead , michigan fly fishing , Orvis Helios , purple haze , st.joe skamania , summer steelhead , trout and eagle , Washougal River

BACK IN BUSINESS FOLKS! NO MORE FLOOD STAGE AND SOME LAKE TROLLING FUN OVER THE WEEKEND!

HURRAY!!!!..............no more 10,000 flood cfs- river back to 5,100 this afternoon- time to get"safely' on the river. Last weekend as the river went to the second highest flood stage in 100 years at 10,000 cfs, some idiots almost drowned and risked the lives of Sheriffs and DNR game wardens cause of their stupidity- thus they shut down the boat launches.
 So now we are ready to go steelheading and hatches for trout.
 As Peter Basta and I made a safe and cautious choice not to put the lives of our clients in jeopardy fore the almighty dollar, we went trolling with switch rods and baitfish patterns up north at a lake that I heard was known for producing big browns and atlantic salmon.....uh..hmmm!-
ENJOY THE SLAPSTICK VIDEOS-WE WERE TWO CLUELESS FLY ROD TROLLING GOOFS HAVING FUN- HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR PLEASE!

AND THIS FINAL OUTCOME........DID NOT COME!!!.......WE WERE TWO CLUELESS RIVER GUIDES WITH NO FISH FINDER AND TROLLING 'OLD SCHOOL" NEW ENGLAND STYLE..............ZILCH/NADA/NICHTS!!!!!- BUT WE HAD FUN.
HOPE THE GUYS AT ORVIS AND ABEL HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR!

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Posted in: Abel , gray drake , michigan fly fishing , Muskegon flood , muskegon trout steelhead , Orvis Helios , smelt patterns , trolling for brwons and atlantic salmon , trout eagle lodge and outfitters

THIS COULD EASILY BE YOU!............GRACE BRINGS HOME THE CHROME

Saturday, January 29th. Air temp-upper teens-low twenties. Wind chill- single digits. Muskegon river,. Michigan. Water temp- 33.8 F.
Angler- Dr.Grace Smith. Pediatric Cardiologist from Akron, Ohio. Avid steelheader and trout chaser.Frequent fly plyer of Lake Erie's "steelhead alley". Loves the west coast,PA spring creeks, Colorodo's South Platte and Jackson Hole Cutts-bows.First trip to Michigan for steelhead.
Wants: To catch a steelhead in the coldest weather in the dead of winter when the creeks and rivers are not frozen -up like they are in "steelhead alley".
Toughness; Lasted 8 plus hours on Saturday perfecting her drifts and presentation without complaining about her hands and and feet- that is one tough lady!
Accomplishments: Landed a gorgeous 12 pound chrome winter Michigan strain steelhead at 4:00 p.m near dusk guiding with yours truly.
NOW THAT'S PRICELESS!

Had the pleasure of guiding Grace Saturday and  as Austin Powers would say, "the pleasure was all mine!" She was an addict for steelheading information, is a great fly tyer and is falling into a female legacy of great lady steelheaders started by the ' ground zero steelhead queen'- Shawn Murphy. Why women are so keen in steelheading revolves around their extreme focus and concentration factor.Grace had tons of karma and steelheading zen- not to mention cold weather tenacity!
 She is a Sage/Simms person, but she fell in love with the Orvis 10ft. 7 wght. Hydros for its lightness and ability to protect  a 3x tippet with iced-up guides. The Mirage LA purred with its sealed drag system and is the perfect and true tension keeping reel for iced up and cold conditions. I believe she has been converted.
Her fly was my # 10 Great Lakes Mysis Otter shrimp in baby pink.
 Congratulations Grace!- the steelhead gods are smiling down for your next encounter in the spring.

 Tight Lines from yours truly,
Your winter steelheading pimp daddy, Supinsk-dog
P.S, you can't catch a winter steelhead sitting home and complaining about the weather- JUST DO IT! Gosh I love this stuff!

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Posted in: gray drake , Great Lakes steelhead , michigan steelhead , muskegon river , Orvis Helios , Orvis Mirage , pa spring creeks , trout and eagle , winter steelhead fly fishing

A PERFECT WINTER'S DAY OF STEELHEADING....MISSY'S FIRST DEEP CHILL OUTING!

( warming up with Mr. Heater and a hot seafood chowder on the grill- Wild caught Peruvian bay scallops, with leeks, corn, bacon,celery and new potatoes.............yummy and really warms up the bod!

( with her nice feisty chrome hen steelhead!)

I spent the last few days with the new wunderkind steelhead spey slayer,Missy Apmann, good client who is developing into one hell of a two handed caster and could catch chrome! Missy as you recall, is the National award winning equestrian rider, does fox hunts and polo, and is totally immersed in the world of steelhead , atlantic salmon and spey fishing.

Missy was concerned about the snow and cold, single digit wind chills and whether her hands and feet would hold up for at least 8 hours on the river. She did amazingly well!......( also a special thanks to Mr. Heater and his pal Blue Rhino propane!)

Her spey casting came together very well after two days and she hit a feisty chrome hen steelhead in dam pretty chilly water on the Helios 13/6-8 two hander with 14 feet of T-14 and Rio's Skagit 550 grain

You go girl!!!!!

In a side note, the river took a much needed deep , restful sleep today! Matter of fact while I was out, I heard her snoring!!!(rzeka is female for river in Polish). She breathed a deep sigh of relief from yesterdays enforcement efforts. A sincere thanks to CO Ginn and others for his and their much appreciated work!

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Posted in: EQUESTRIAN RIDING , Great Lakes steelhead , michigan fly fishing , michigan steelhead , muskegon trout steelhead , nymphing for steelhead , Orvis Helios , spey fishing , winter steelhead fly fishing

Dr. TOM HAS PUT THE "GRRRRR!" IN SWINGER , BABY!

Sorry for the long delay in posting.....been a crazy busy past week.!!!

Have the pleasure of guiding Dr.Tom Aufiero for the whole week, a heart surgeon from Indiana, who is a phenomenal spey caster and British Columbia aficionado who is know to hang out in the haunts of Smithers,B.C.

Tom could "swing" his Skagit heads and Loop rods all day with the patience only a true two handed chrome junkie can muster up. I have been using my Hyde drift boat after cracking impellers on rocks with my Yamaha jet. The slow, quiet and stealthy approach with the drift boat and the low water is really paying off big time since I'm covering every yard of real estate on the water and not jumping around like a whirling dervish!- I might never leave it the ole Hyde........plus I'm in boxing shape!

Tom cracked an awesome chrome 12 pound buck today on my pink/orange copper black leech.......it was a magnificent battle. The pleasure was all mine watching a true spey master!!....Congrats Tommy!

ROD: LOOP OPTI- 12'4" 8/9( one of the finest rods I have ever casted.next to the new Orvis Helios 13', 6" and my 13- 8/9 G. LOOMIS Dredger, Roaring River

REEL :NAUTILUS- 8/9

LINE: RIO SKAGIT 570 GRAIN, 10 FEET OF T-8

FLY: MINE

TIPPET: 10LB MAXIMA FLOUROCARB

AWESOME DAY!!!!!!!

NOTE:WATER LOW AND CLEAR, LOTS OF SALMON AND SOME BROWNS....STEELS ARE COMING WITH THE FULL MOON,EH!!!

As Austin Powers put, " I put the "grrrrrrrrrrrr! , in swinger, baby- so did Tom!

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Posted in: Austin Powers Spy who shagged me-fat bastard , G.Loomis , gray drake , Loop rods , Maxima , muskegon steelhead , Nautilus , Orvis Helios , Skagit Rio , spey fishing , trout eagle lodge and outfitters

NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT!

( PERFECTION!)

( WHAAAT?.......A GREEN DRAKE IN JULY!)

( De Milo Harmon)

AIR TEMP: 99 F- HEAT INDEX 108

WATER TEMP: COLD 48F

HATCH: TONS OF SUPLHERS, A FEW ISOS, MARCH BROWNS, POTAMANTHUS- AND YES EVEN A GREEN DRAKE

PREY: WILD BROWNS-GORGEOUS!- AND BIG SURFACE FEEDING PIGS.

ARSENAL: ORVIS ZG HELIOS-10 FT-5 WGHT.-ABEL 6N BROWN TROUT,ORVIS GREEN POWER WF WONDERLINE,VARIVAS DEEP GREEN LEADER-#18 CDC SULPHER DUN

PRICELESS!

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Posted in: Abel , brown trout , gray drake lodge , matt supinski , Orvis Helios , sulphers , trout eagle lodge and outfitters , VARIVAS , WEST BRANCH DELAWARE

SUMMER TAIL WATERS...........COOL,CALM AND REFRESHING

( The tail water arsenal-Orvis Helios 10ft-5wght.-Abel Super 6N new brown trout design, Orvis green wonderline-power wf,Varivas deep green supple standard leader........and a box of selective trout CDC mayfly emergers and duns

( Mr. Big!- a fat and wary tail water brown that fell for my Potamanthus wiggle nymph)

( my Potamanthus wiggle nymphs- using Caucci/Nastasi spectrablend dubbing material which changes color when wet to match the naturals perfectly)

( Potamanthus dun and nymph courtesy of euroflyangler.com-excellent web site packed with great information)

( many tail waters have cold , oxygen loving vegetation like elodea, duckwort and chara- perfect homes for scuds and clinging sulpher and bwo mayflies)

( fog and steam off the tail water is the classic scenario)

Now that summer is here, it is time for tail waters and spring creeks to come into their own spectacular value.Whether you are on the Bighorn or Green out west, the Taneycomo, Muskegon or Cumberland of the Midwest, the White, Holston or Smith of the south, or finally on the wild trout rich Delaware or Neversink of the Catskills, these magnificent trout fisheries were tailor made from hydro dams- without the dams, these fisheries probably wouldn't exist!

In an age of "dam busters" and enviro nazis trying to undo what has already been done, these reservoir fisheries of cool , oxygenated, bio-rich environments are perfect trout homes even during heat waves and droughts- common today with the global climate change conditions and up-and-down weather conditions changing from day-to-day.

So.........before you want to take down a dam, think twice about what already exists-bottom line,' if it ain't broken, don't try to fix it!"- what needs to be fixed is how the dams control their flows- run-of- river stable and mandated releases are the trout friendly things to do-BUT, drinking water for N.Y.C. and hydro power are businesses and the trout thing just happened to come as an after thought.YES........in many cases, taking down non-functional dams is the smart thing to create better upstream spawning migrations and further the range of fish migration.But trout and tail waters are a perfect combination- just like limestone springs and the same.Reservoir impoundments contain tons of plankton, which are the food source for all benthic aquatic vertebrate and invertebrate-this is what the trout need to get fat and sassy!

Muskegon conditions -excellent. Rains and cool weather have good flows. Green caddis starting up and there are still good numbers of gray drakes at dark. The blue-winged olives are at their prime now and will be the whole rest of the season until November.

Catskill tail waters have excellent sulpher and bwo hatches, also the giant golden drake-Potamanthus distinctus.

Have fun!!!

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Posted in: Abel , Bighorn , brown trout , Delaware , Green river , Holsten , muskegon trout steelhead , Neversink , Orvis Helios , potamanthus , Smith , tail waters , Taneycomo

THE STEELHEAD SCOURGE OF B.C.'S BABINE IS BACK!!!

( one of Doc Flah's 20 lbers from the Babine taken on my electric candy cane string leech)

( a buck and a hen by the Doc from the Mo , Wed. and Thurs.)

YES......back by popular demand, it was Dr. John Flajherty (Flah!) from Chicago, whose known conquest of 20 lbers from B.C.'S Babine is legendary!

Had a couple of great days with the Doc. He hit some nice steels, caught some nice fat trout stripping streamers and we got to play with his new Meiser two-hander- 13-1/2 ft-7/8 with a 525 grain Skagit.John was testing it out for his multiple yearly trips to the big""Bab".

Water was really low Thursday, but should come up with all the rain this weekend.Caddis and a few Quills and March Browns make up the surface melange.

"Strip baby-strip!"- or as Sarah Palin put it"drill baby drill" but that's with streamers, not on the golden pole....lol(actually that's o.k. too if you want !)

Morels coming- this funghi head has been stumped thus far.

OH YEAH....I HAVE SOME SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS COMING UP- HOPE TO SEE YOU IF YOU CAN ATTEND!

Orvis Royal Oak-Detroit- May 8th- 11 A.M

Hex Shop- Grand Rapids- May 20th 4-6 PM

Orvis Cleveland-May 22nd

Check out Doc Flah's Jumpin buck Blogger video below!

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Posted in: B.C. , babine steelhead , michigan steelhead , morels , muskegon trout steelhead , Orvis Helios , Sarah Palin

UTAH SILVER CEO FINDS MUSKEGON SILVER!!!!!!!!

It was a magnificent day on the mighty Mo today! Had the pleasure of guiding Clayton Walker, COO of Rio Pinto Mining Co. from Salt Lake City, Utah. Along with Ken Wooley , another Rio Pinto Executive, they are spending three days in search of Michigan's steelhead. Ken put on a show Saturday-BUT TODAY- It was Clayton's chrome ride!

After getting the techniques down yesterday, Clay ( an excellent trout fly fisher who fishes the Provo, Green, Bighorn etc.) put on a steelhead performance. The Orvis Mirage Large Arbor reel and and Hydros rod, along with the skinny 3x Mirage Maxi knot tippet , held the tiny # 14 wiggle Senyo stone perfectly.

Congrats Clay- your chrome train came in!!!

Enjoy the pics!

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Posted in: gray drake , muskegon river , muskegon steelhead , Orvis Helios , Orvis Mirage , trout eagle lodge and outfitters

THE "STEELHEAD QUEEN" TAKES HER THRONE AGAIN!.......AND EVENING SOIREE.......PART TROIS

( Shawn with perfection in beauty , form and performance)

( another member of the Evening Soirre club)

The hottest steelhead stick in the Midwest, Shawn Murphy does it again! Sunday morning, guiding her and John and drifting a deep fall/winter pool looking for fresh fish, Shawn's rod exploded and a chrome hen went ballistic!Throwing Senyo's Super Ice Man Minnow,( this pattern will be featured with tying recipe in my fall Great Lakes article in Fly Fisherman Magazine)the huge chrome hen did an aerial display and continued to charge under the jet boat as we drifted down river to keep up with it. Shawn was unbelievable holding that fish on using 3x tippet. Three times it went completely under and around the boat-the last time the Orvis Zero Gravity 8 weight was completely at the breaking point- I couldn't look and winced! Miraculously, she eased the fish out after a extremely long battle as we put the net under it. The eyes on the minnow, which were epoxied on firmly were shattered and the 3x Orvis Mirage tippet- despite hitting the aluminum chines on the boat and once through the anchor which John got out(I have to complement him for that) was not abraded- a miracle! It had to be the best fight job I've ever witnessed and only "Shawny" could pull that one off! I almost crashed the boat twice into the shallows and the island trying to maneuver around the fish and low water.

In hindsight, Shawn's delicate -yet firm hand on the Zero G (it has a very light delicate tip on the mid-flex), the perfectly smooth drag of her Abel Super 8 steelhead reel, and hopefully my new improved double Duncan's loop knot I've been tying with the 3x maxi- knot all made a difference. Also , she reels right handed, so her ability to pick up the slack moments was crucial as the fish went up/down/all-around town!

Moral of the story: we had breakfast at 8 a.m., were on the river by 9, let it warm up and heard all the crack-of-dawn weekend warriors and clockwork guides motor over all the gravel redds and knocking the fish into deeper lies(where they best take the fly- when you can't see them and they can't see you!) So, sleep in like Shawn likes to( being the Manager of the U. of M. Cardiac surgery center, she wakes up at 4:00 a.m. daily) so on a weekend relaxation trip, sleep is good!......AND YOU STILL CAN BE A STAR!

YOU GO GIRL!!!!!!!

Now for Evening Soiree...Part Trios. The Murphys left early after I did Joyce's famous pea soup and my Black Forest Ham Panini sandwiches back at the lodge. Seeing it was somewhat warm, calm(thank god!.. after two days of 40 mile wind gusts) I saw a few black stones coming off. So armed with Helios 10/5 and I went looking for some "heads popping the surface". It was ideal for selective tailwater trout- overcast, calm and not too many stones, just a few to satiate their fat bellies that have been stuffed by stone nymphs and egg layer adults for 5 weeks and going.. Didn't have to go far to find some hogs slurrping.BUT.......they were very selective to dead egg laying quad winged spent female adult stones.

The picture tells the story! Those Eagle Lake Rainbows are getting huge!!!- and ain't dying at 10 inches like they are supposed to!....SORRY RICH!- YOU KNOW I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT....LOL....LOL!

River conditions .Water at 2,020 cfs, water temp 50 F- rain or Icelandic volcanic ash would be very welcomed if you hear me big guy up there.

Still nice chrome hen steelhead coming in- saw more in the last three days then all spring. We are always a late river and in 20 years of consistency on that note, it won't change. Still a lot of fish off the piers in Muskegon. That is the way it is on the Mighty Mo.

The Trout!..........NOW THAT IS THE EXCITING THING I'M TALKING ABOUT!

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Posted in: Abel , black stones , Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake , Iceland volcanic , muskegon steelhead , muskegon trout steelhead , Orvis Helios , Orvis Mirage , trout eagle lodge and outfitters

PINCH ME FOR DREAMING!

( here is the hog!- one of hottest dry fly bows I had on since that 21 incher in Big Bird Pool on the Big "D" in 1998

(This warrior's right eye taught him many lessons- look at the mouth-many hooks removed from this Gladiator)

(shows length and girth)

After spending a nice Easter day with the family, I decided to venture out around 5:00 p.m. just before Easter dinner and try to catch a trout on the dry fly with all those black egg laying stone flies on the surface. I've been watching two trout feed consistently all week at the tail-out of the Trout & Eagle pool while guiding for steelhead . These guys were very consistent from about 2 p.m till 6 ish. I had no idea what size they were and made small subtle rise forms- BUT.........what the hell, a trout- any size trout on the dry- would be exciting and a nice change from steelhead egg/stone flying.

So, I pulled up and there they were. Very selectively feeding in long intervals and changing positions frequently. There have been a bazillion midges lately with the warm weather, and have seen some trout refusing the stones( even though one stone is equal to probably 50 midges) and selectively targeting midges spent.

After at least 50 perfect down-and across presentations with my Darth Vader cdc, 18 foot leader with 7 feet of 5x tippet , I had no response with even perfect drifts over these two fish. I buried my head in the surface of the water and watched midge clusters, black stone females-and the clue finally revealed itself- dead spent black stone females!!!!!

I should have figured this out by the rise forms- back and tail sipping spinner style. So I cut down my wings of cdc in a V-shape and the first drift over the fish- which I thought was a 12-13 incher at best....WHAMMO!!!

I HAD TO LIFT ANCHOR AND DROP THROUGH THE SKINNY WATER OF MY RIFFLES TO LAND THIS PIG OF A RAINBOW BY MY DOCK- 19 INCH HOG BLOWING SPENT BLACK STONES OUT OF ITS THROAT!

TOOK ME IN MY BACKING 3 TIMES ON THE 10 FT.5 WEIGHT. ORVIS HELIOS- UN -FRICKEN BELIEVABLE!

SO.........how do I feel about the whole thing! Mesmerized!

Honestly I thought I was on the Big Delaware- chasing those huge wild 18-22 inch originally first stocked rainbows on the east coast in the early 1880's on Callicoon Creek. Those fish in Bard-Parker and Big Bird Pool are the most selective and wary rainbows a fly fisher will ever encounter. They actually make wild big browns look "dumb" and confused- seriously!

Moral of story, when you are receiving refusals and are unsure about a masking hatch, stick your face in the bubble foam line for ten minutes- don't come up for air till your instincts tell you so!!!

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Posted in: 18 foot leaders , Big Delaware , black stones , calicoon creek , Eagle Lake Rainbows , masking hatch , muskegon trout steelhead , Orvis Helios , selective trout , wild delaware rainbows