Why got STEEL!!!!

  My new steelhead queen -Katie Sloan Goggins from Dallas Texas just a few days ago.

WE GOT STEEL!- and more on their way...all I can say, gonna be a great fall/winter run.

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , great lakes winter steelhead , michigan steelhead , muskegon fly fishing , muskegon steelhead , steelhead dreams

The Valentines Day Winter Hump has come..Big Red Banned Bucks and Ravenous Browns await !

( Massive red band buck above from the Valentine's day "hump" period - the dusk bite, awaits you in February and March- our TRUE TROPHY time of year!)

With a ton of snow that has fallen in the past few days and arctic cold temps, we are "so" over winter at this point!

The great news is Valentine's day and Lent start the trophy steelhead/ brown season. Our males are at their most aggressive and attack minded dispositions in the pre-spawn phase.

Fresh run chrome females and males guarding alpha dominant lies are at their finest sporting/attack minded quality.

Valentine's Day Mykiss Girls

                                                       ( Chris from Texas with a stunner February steelhead- Gray Drake in the background!)

( My Valentine's Girl- a stunning chrome/pastel hen !)

 Our large browns are now seeing the biological drift of black stoneflies and newly hatched chinook fry that spurs the interests of the smaller trout and bait fish, which in turn sparks the carnivore "Truttasaurus" leviathan brown killer hunt, in the big meat articulated streamer game!- plus the smorgasbord of all those delish stocked browns, rainbows and steelhead soon to come is big brown gluttony- " fat bastard" time

                                                      ( My Newly hatched chinook "Sacman" fry")

                                                           ( A sucker minnow came out of this browns mouth on the Muskegon, that was shared and caught by steelhead brown master- Dennis Bowens- look at those German Bachforelle red spots! )

SPRING BOOKINGS

Time to plan for spring! I still have a few choice slots open this spring with me/Matt, so would love to see you at the Gray Drake

NEW NEXUS BOOK OUT THIS SPRING!

You can now pre-order the book online-link below:

http://skyhorsepublishing.com/titles/13262-9781510730298-brown-trout-atlantic-salmon-nexus

 More news coming along with the clinics/book signings and shows I'll be doing, including Scotland trip.

Cheers!

Matt 

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Posted in: atlantic salmon , gray drake lodge , great lakes winter steelhead , Matthew Supinski new books , michigan steelhead , monster brown trout , muskegon browns , muskegon steelhead , Nexus

WINTER STEELHEAD AND TROUT SPECIAL-FISH PRIME TIME OF DAY!

As the the Great Lakes winter is upon us, our prime fishing times for steelhead and trout will be later into the day as temperatures warm and with a very strong dusk bite!
Each year we offer a "winter special".
So for 295.00- one or two, all tackle and flies provided , we do a 11 AM until dusk trip- prime time of day to catch a steelhead or two...nymph and midge fish for resident browns and rainbows, or throw big meaty streamers for the rivers elusive but always there big browns!
Call or email us to book a winter outing that can be very productive and a fun getaway from the cabin fever blues!

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Posted in: brown and rainbow trout , gray drake lodge , great lakes winter steelhead , muskegon browns , winter steelhead fly fishing , winter trout fishing on tail waters

FEBRUARY MADNESS CONTINUES

Seriously... swinging flies on the big Muskegon to winter holding lies, that can average 6-11 feet, in the deep spring-fed pools for steelhead, that often won't move far to take a swinging fly is not an easy gig. If I get one steelhead per client in 35F ICE COLD WATERS?- WE ARE DOING WELL, AND EACH FISH IS RELISHED AND APPRECIATED.!!!- that is the beauty of the challenge of deep winter swinging.
Maybe I'm not as good as the other guides to keep my realistic low, yet totally satisfying expectations- I hope to be more enlightened someday. 

But. When we start to get stupid numbers of fish on the swing in deep pools and runs, along with those amazing browns I have been posting, I'm elated but confused, by the  abnormal conditions and how they will affect future expectations, 

Needless to say, I should logically accept and feel the need to relish and appreciate what has been divinely given to me for the last week of guide trips. I think my sorrow sometimes for catching too many fish is born out of my 'twisted sense' of over respect for the elusive chrome mykis warrior that  more often humbles us and I like to often label as 'selective'- a term that is obviously dear to me.

Anyways, the day we had today: dense fog in the morning with next to zero visibility, a very cold , damp, deep chill in the bones that played capriciously on my sports Arthritis, and then finally sun at 4 PM, gave me and my client one one of the finest days I have ever witnessed in February-  in the winter's' classic deep ice box month. 

( I never talk numbers, but when you hit 6 for 6 on the swing in February- epic/thankful is all I can humbly say!)

So, this 'manna from heaven day', couldn't have happened to a better dude than my client Dr. Jeff Territo, who has guided with me since I started my business back in 2015. Jeff has had epic days in the last two decades; and 'paying your dues'  shunk days. But today?,  the mykiss gods came smiling . 

Also, what impressed me the most was the size of our steelhead that are getting bigger and back to normal like the big river Muskegon has always produced. After two years of small sized migrating steelhead, I' seeing some very thick and healthy fish- rather than slinked out snakes. Things look good for the Lake Michigan forage base in my secular 'up the river homie experience'. But Chuck Madenjian ,  my friend from Ann Arbor-'the  Great Lakes forage base guy", might think otherwise.

I hope I didn't' offend anyone by my observations and success, of what is often jealously labeled' shameless self promotion", but my feelings are real and sincere. 
Can't wait for the next episode of climate change coming this weekend!
Cheers, 
Matt....PS. would love to see you this spring and see what is in store -love the learning curve!

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , great lakes winter steelhead , michigan fly fishing , michigan steelhead , muskegon river fly fishing , Muskegon River steelhead , winter steelhead fly fishing

WINTER THAW COMING-DINOCROC TIME

                             January winter thaw coming this week- thank God!...It's this time of year when we get some of the most selective/reflective pooled up and bored to tears dinocroc beasty boys of winter's doldrums ...think January Pink/slow/biomass drift...and fish late afternoons into dusk as a water temperature change of as little as one and a half degree Fahrenheit and minimal increase in flow from snowmelt and rain will pique a dormant big buck or hen's interest. Look for deep guts of winter pools and holding lies and slow down your swing or drift significantly and add extra long hang-times on your downstream dangle- slight pumping and twitching your flies for lethargic/slow to rev up winter steelhead.

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , great lakes winter steelhead , michigan steelhead , muskegon steelhead , steelhead dreams

DECEMBER FORECAST- CONDITIONS CAN'T GET ANY BETTER!

(last week's steelhead before the 'perfect storm')

After a "head scratching "fall, the tide will quickly change IMHO.
Plagued by brutally low waters, extremely warm weather, the 'chrome carpet ride' was very poor- roughing it out to get a fish here and there. Sunny days in the 60/70's F in November kept steelhead and browns mostly confined to the lake and lower estuaries, extremely skittish and hiding near cover and the low flows making swinging flies in traditional lies next to impossible. As much as guides hate to admit it, but it has been tough- pulling out a fish on the swing in a day was a huge accomplishment. I'm sure there are better guides and steelheaders than me laughing at this post, but that was my experience and one that many honest fisherman will agree .Bobber/spawn/Centerpin and other 'tossing' methods were and always be more effective if you choose to fish that way- your gig !

BUT!!!...we couldn't of had a more 'perfect storm' this weekend at just the right time- the next month of December should be amazing in my opinion- here is why!

*Only several times in a decade , do you get a perfect alignment of conditions that nature can coincide for 'perfect' migratory steelhead, lake-run browns and Coho/ Atlantic salmon- a.k.a "magic carpet ride"

All of these wonderful critical factors are fusing together as we speak:

* El Nino winter- this system is firmly in place and will continue to give the Great Lakes /Midwest above average temperatures and mild weather thru December, so critical to strong migration

*Rain event- we just had 1 to 2 inches in some spots of rain ( but all rivers got a major soaking) and had a major rise in river flows ( Muskegon hit 5,000 cfs -low flood stage- PERFECT!!!!!.- all rivers have a nice'green/brown cloaking stain ideal for all day migration up river. Remember last year we already had several feet of snow and temperatures in the single digit Fahrenheit

* Lake/River temp alignment-Lake temps as we speak - 48 F....River temps 46F...couldnt be more perfect- plus off color of estuaries move bait upriver/steelhead/browns on their heels. Low water seals up migrations and concentrates fish in larger pools where they can be 'hammered' ruthlessly- not so with low flood stage waters.

* Here is a big one-Full Moon!- the alignment of the current full moon with all these conditions couldn't be better!- all day and night migration occurs due to the lack of melatonin build up 

SO....all I can say is December will be an epic steelhead month!...get ready

P.S.- the rain couldn't have come better for our newly stocked Sturgeon River strain brown fingerlings planted last week- float stocking at its finest!

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , great lakes winter steelhead , michigan steelhead , muskegon river fly fishing , muskegon steelhead , winter steelhead fly fishing

Fresh Steelhead AND WARMING TREND coming in...Atlantic salmon run was EPIC!

Fresh steelhead and a good crop of lake run browns in the the river systems...we have plenty of water..Northern Michigan Atlantic salmon was best I have seen in decades...cheers ! ...I know I post too much on Facebook.... but it's quick and immediate info...I have three pages
..aka Matthew Supinski page...Gray Drake Page ...Selectivity TSS page...hope all is well!..join Facebook, or be a Neanderthal ..blessings!..I have posted on Linkedin an never hear any response ..:(

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Posted in: aggressive steelhead and Atlantic salmon behavior , gray drake lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , great lakes winter steelhead , lake-run brown trout , Muskegon River steelhead

TEXANS AND RUSSIANS!.....YEE...HAH!

(CV's first steelhead- nice chrome hen)

Yesterday was an amazing day for my Texas client Chris Vanover who came to Michigan for a week to catch his first steelhead. Chris is an avid big rainbow and brown chaser on the San Juan and White river using scud/midge/ sow bug..... dude loved our huge Michigan rainbows! When the wind started blowing the below wind chill temps clicked in yesterday evening and it got bloody downright brutally cold...but the last light bite was typical January fishing in March!

( last light bite- nice double bander red buck...got to see both spectrum's of the steelhead color collage....lucky ass Texan!)

(Patagonia "Das Parka" saved my cold white ass later in the day!)

Still have some good dates left for when spring decides to show up!...I will be dressed in black until it does to mourn !

RUSSIA ON THE BUCKET LIST SPECIAL!!!!......DO IT!
...don't even think twice about it!

Amazing deal to fish Russia's remarkable Atlantic salmon with hosted trip by good friend Jeff Bright....can't beat this once in a lifetime price!
May 18-25, 2014 — Salmon Junkies Grand Varzuga Camp. Regular rate is 3095 EUR. Because of cancellation, I can offer it for 1975 EUR. Buyer can pay direct to Salmon Junkies in EUR by wire transfer, or pay me 2865 USD. I have one opening.
http://www.jeffbright.com/travel/trips/1406_russia_varzuga.html#

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Posted in: atlantic salmon , gray drake lodge , great lakes winter steelhead , Muskegon River steelhead , russia kola atlantic salmon , trout and eagle

NORTHERN ANGLER SELECTIVITY PROGRAM AND SOUTHERN TROUT MAGAZINE

Hope to see my good friends from Facebook, Linkdin, Twitter and clients at Brian's shop in Traverse City , MI, tomorrow , Feb 15 from 10 AM-2PM. I will be doing a Selectivity power point program, introduce the new Selectivity DVD and do some fly tying and book signing...hope to see all the cabin fever brethren ...come out and lets talk trout, steelhead and Atlantic salmon- pick my brain about Torch Lake/St Mary's and the new Au Sable Atlantic fisheries.

Also, here is a cool new review in an awesome online magazine ,"Southern Trout"..check out pages #110 thru 115..

http://www.southerntrout.com/mag/#/1/

BIG WARM UP COMING!...HEAT WAVE- 40F...TIME TO GET OUT AND FISH STEELHEAD AND THOSE FAT FOOTBALL BROWNS AND RAINBOWS...HOPE TO SEE YOU!

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , great lakes winter steelhead , muskegon steelhead , Northern Angler Traverse City MI , selective steelhead. selective atlantic salmon , Selectivity book , steelhead dreams , trout and eagle

BOOK SIGNINGS AND WINTER'S HOPE ON THE HORIZON

(Dry Line Steelhead Guru- Bill McMillan's Winter's Hope fly...please give us hope!)

( these bucks are waiting for you and me-pray hard we get to fish them someday-never have I been more humbled by winter..never!...boomers won't be able to speak naively about winter at cocktail parties by saying.."...remember when we were kids?...now those were winters! )

OK....we are all ready to loose our minds and souls- and our spirits have been broken with this winter from hell!!!!- oxymoron !..negative 5 F tonight. We set a new record today in Michigan that tied the 1936 record for most snow and cold temperatures...brutal. So the good news is we see light at the end of the tunnel. Looking to see a tropical balmy 30 F temperature by next week. Its amazing on the days that it is out of the below zero and single digits, when the thermometer hits 20F, it feels like a balmy 50F!  Our local propane company is in panic stage since they cant get propane,people are living in shelters and friends and families homes, don't know when they will get it ,and some devious merchants are holding onto their supply tripling the price- corrupt , sad and inhumane like another 1936 episode- Nazi Germany..:( .

But on the good news front,  Consumers Power has been letting tons of water out of the dam- 2,000 cfs- water is open and no ice. The trout are fat as footballs and there is plenty of steelhead in the river.We will have tons of water this year with all the snow, and we are looking at a cool summer according to long term weather modeling- 60F will feel like the 90's! We are taking reservations for the rest of the winter and spring and ready to reschedule those that we had to cancel this winter due to sub-zero temperature...only gets better.

                                                           (looking at warmer days!!..warm days on the St Joe for summer steelhead...YES!...SUMMER STEELHEAD!)

BOOK SIGNING SCHEDULE:

( I am a blessed man to have these 2 books come out in 2013/2014!...have to give back to others for all the great knowledge that was handed down by many gifted mentors in my life!!...)

Saturday -February 8th- NOMAD- OKEMOS/LANSING MI

....  all appearances will feature power point show/Selectivity DVD program/fly tying and book signing

Thursday February 13th -Little Forks Outfitters- Midland, Michigan

Saturday, February 15th-Northern Angler- Traverse City- Michigan

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , great lakes winter steelhead , michigan fly fishing , Muskegon River steelhead , Selectivity book , selectivity dvd , steelhead dreams , trout and eagle

SELECTIVITY REVIEWS- AND LOOKS LIKE A WARM SPELL!

http://thetroutzone.blogspot.com/

Brutal and wicked can't describe the winter so far!...hope is coming!....26F TODAY- winter steelhead are ready and hungry!
Here is a nice review on Selectivity. Hope to see my friends in Chicago this weekend at Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters this Saturday- Feb 1st for a presentation and book signing!

Also please note our new numbers on our web site

cheers!

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , great lakes winter steelhead , Selectivity book , winter steelhead fly fishing

DOUBLE RED BAND BUCK SEASON NOW OPEN !

Despite the Siberia-like conditions, January to early March is our favorite time for large double red band big croc male steelhead. The are mainly S/R by day but progressively by evening the aggression and pent up anger will come out closer to dusk. 

The biological drift of midges/stone flies/migrating mayfly nymphs, coupled with scuds and sucker water dace/sculpins etc., will stir the anxious tendency in these alpha dominant fish.

These pre-spawn fish jockey for hierarchical dominance in pools below spawning gravel and will go through all three stages of selectivity on a daily bases. Large wiggle/barred rabbit strip hexs, stone flies, eggs, copper bunny buggers etc...are the ticket.

It was great seeing the members of two great Trout Unlimited chapters last week- Penns Woods TU in Pittsbugh on Monday night and Cumberland Valley TU in Boiling Springs PA., at the PA Fly Fishing Museum at the Allenberry Playhouse and Resort on the banks of the Yellow Breeches where Laurie and I got married- also did a fly tying demo at Rowland's Yellow Breeches Outfitters. Got to fish the Big Spring with my editor Jay Nichols and took this gorgeous wild rainbow on a tiny size #22 little red midge.

BOOK SIGNINGS AND SEMINAR SCHEDULE: Housatonic Angler Outfitters- Cornwall Bridge, CT,- Jan 22, Somerset Fly Fishing Show- Jan 24th,25th, Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters, Feb 1st,...... Feb 5th- Schultz Outfitters- Ann Arbor, Feb 6th- Orvis Cleveland, Feb 8th- Nomad Anglers- Lansing MI,....Feb 13th - Little Forks Outfitters- Midland, MI.....Feb 15th- Northern Angler- Traverse City, MI

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , great lakes winter steelhead , muskegon river fly fishing , Muskegon River steelhead , Selectivity book , steelhead dreams , trout and eagle lodge

WINTER STEELHEAD & ATLANTICS...BOOK UPDATES..GREAT WINTER COMING!

 

What an amazing fall it has been!...and with the great water levels December thru February will see some of our largest winter strain steels in the river. First the massive run of King and Coho salmon in decades. Now Plenty of water from the storms and the start of what promises to be an incredible December and January run of winter steelhead following a very strong fall run. Not to mention the phenomenal year class run of Atlantic salmon up north. How nasty weather: wind, rain/snow goes hand-in hand with these migratory fish just opens our eyes all over again.

All rivers have healthy high river levels for migration which will peak in December and January on the Muskegon with 3,600 cfs flows that will bring in lake-run browns as well....really looking forward to this winter!

BOOK/MEDIA UPDATES: The new "12 YEAR ANNIVERSARY STEELHEAD DREAMS EDITION" is now available at your local fly shops in both soft copy-34.95 and limited hard copy-49.95. Note that in the new edition there are updated chapters on Great Lakes Atlantics and a new chapter on Lake-Run -Brown Trout. I will be doing book signings all winter. Also,  I will be doing "CHROME FRIDAY"- Thanksgiving Friday at Schultz Outfitters doing a program on Understanding Steelhead and signing books along with the mastery of Greg Senyo's  mykiss patterns. I'll be at Nomad Anglers December 14th doing the same.

 

SELECTIVITY- THE THEORY AND METHOD OF FLY FISHING FOR FUSSY TROUT, ATLANTIC SALMON AND STEELHEAD-STACKPOLE BOOKS

 

Available January 1st- preview copies should be ready end of December. My first book signing will be in January at Glen's Great Lakes Fly Fishing and the following week at The Somerset Fly Fishing Show. I will also hopefully be doing book signings at your local fly shop/clubs.

In April I will be the featured presenter at The VIRGINIA FLY FISHING &WINE FESTIVAL- a very cool three day festival that has been around for decades in the lovely Shenandoah/Blue Ridge mountains. I also have an article in the January 1 issue of FLY FISHERMAN called 'Checkmate Steelhead'- matching the hatch for winter/summer chrome. Hope to see all my Facebook/Linkedin friends, clients and acquaintances !

Cheers!...Na Zdrowie

 

ENJOY THE IMAGES AND VIDEOS THAT TELL THE STORY- I AM SO BLESSED AND FORTUNATE TO BE A PART OF THIS AMAZING WORLD OF TROUT, SALMON AND STEELHEAD

 

( amazing footage of Atlantics spawning...watch the male come in and cozy up to the hen- his kype mouth is locked in a tremor as he squirts his milt on the red and the female's eggs- please refrain from fishing to spawning fish since it would be great to see natural reproduction take a strong hold)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , Great Lakes atlantic salmon , Great Lakes steelhead , great lakes winter steelhead , Muskegon River steelhead , Selectivity book , steelhead dreams , trout and eagle , winter steelhead fly fishing