FINALLY!!!!...FIRST BIG PUSH OF CHROME STEELHEAD HAVE ARRIVED!-p.s.- yes I was scared!

( Finally maties...fresh chrome!!!, with the Great Lakes version of pacific sea lice- lamprey scars!- yes we know they are really fresh then!)

Having this be my 20th year anniversary guiding for steelhead/trout salmon( we started in 1995- I went PRO May 1995 as a disillusioned, burned out 'gone fishin' corporate international hotel senior executive...whew, that's a long title)  , I can sincerely tell you me lads and lassies,  bye golly I was petrified of what a run of steelhead was  to be had this year- spring 2015. Fishing has been, for real fly guys/gals 'touch and go'.- 'epic days-boat show days'- frustrating days all spring.

 After a dismal/pathetic/deplorable fall run of salmon , AND!!! steelhead,( torch Lake Atlantic salmon was epic! thank God), also the coldest sub zero winter on record, two years of the Great Lakes being totally frozen over due to our 'Polar Vortex', parked on the Midwest and east coast like a stubborn pit bull squatting on a butcher's slop wagon( global climate CHANGE!), I was scared shitless of what was to be... no BS!

So,  I beg you to indulge me that steelhead don't adhere/ have our Gregorian  calendar cycle, don't' know 'spring break' cycles, don't' care about what dates you and your guide re-booked for next year, cause 'you slayed them' on those dates last year!...they have 'life survival strategies' (LSS)...(see my "Selectivity book'), that tell them when 'it is right, now, do it, go, survive!'

It snowed today, water conditions stained and perfect, chrome fish pouring into the system like love -sick horny turkeys'- (yes grouse were drumming like hell, and wild tom turkey's walking around like the Macy's parade today), thus larger fresh fish have arrived and are mounting a full out assault on gravel/pools..hallelujah!!!!( funny how all of nature blends in like a perfect Copland's 'Appalachian Spring' symphonic ritual.

Fish migrate by water temp, photoperiod of daylight and flow- simple!...full moon cycles, barometric pressure changes just add to the pineal gland/ melatonin synthesis.

Ladies and gents...the run is in full swing!...for those that waited!- timing is everything or nothing!- that's fishing!

The next 6-8 weeks will be crazy!- last year we had steelhead until June 22- no shit!

So, if you think you missed it?...NOT!...we still have a few good dates to get in on the action FYI.

Yes we still have a few dates left...this is not a promotional ad,  just a fact of what is happening on the spring 15 run

"chickens have come home to roost"...thank God!

cheers!- and na zdrowie

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Posted in: gray darke lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , michigan steelhead , Muskegon River steelhead , Selectivity book , spring steelhead , steelhead dreams

Flood is gone...steelhead run just starting!

From the coldest winter on record...first time Great Lakes froze over back-to back years...cold and very dry spring...epic flooding last week...now waters are receding...will the real 'global climate change', please stand up? 
AND!!!...for all practical purposes, the spring run is just starting!!!...water is 39/40F...the next 7-8 weeks will be awesome!...we still have a few good dates left if you haven't made your mind up yet....and yes !- thinks its finally safe to come out and enjoy this roller coaster ride of steelheading- never has it been more unpredictable in my lifetime!

And some nice big browns are in the river also.;)

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Posted in: brown trout , gray darke lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , michigan steelhead , Muskegon River steelhead , spring steelhead

SPRING IS HERE?...MIDWEST FLY EXPO

BY GOD!....it was 28F today and sunny!...we are walking around outside without jackets!...the siege of winter's Stalingrad is over! You have to be going as cabin fever crazy as we are! We still have good dates available for spring steelhead and trout!....get out and take the plunge and shake off all the bad winter karma....Putin, political junk, economy!...go fishing  if you haven't forgot how- we can show you again!

Look forward to seeing you at the Midwest Fly Expo in Detroit. I will be signing books and DVD's at Glen Blackwood's Great Lakes Fly Fishing booth...come by and say hello and chat- I will have plenty of time to answer your questions and have some fun discussion on my new books 'Selectivity' and the new 'Steelhead Dreams'......hope to see you!

I am also doing personalized 'Selectivity-Trout, Steelhead and Atlantic salmon Clinics this year....check our web site for more information



SCHEDULE/EVENTS

MARCH 12TH- I will be tying flies at Nomad and G.R. Brewing CO.

MARCH 15TH- from 12 noon on I will be signing books and doing presentations/clinic at Orvis Cleveland...we will also have Great Lakes Brewing Co. on hand to do a Micro Brew tasting...FREE!!!!

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , Midwest fly expo , Selectivity book , spring steelhead , steelhead dreams , trout and eagle

LARGE TROUT SIZES ON MUSKEGON SPRING 2013

(remarkable Eagle Lake strain Rainbow last night on gray drake spinner fall- not a steelhead due to orange slits below gills and belly and bright rose color throughout body)

( our guide John with a nice brownie which are common this year)

 

It has been a remarkable spring so far with all the cold water and cool/wet weather. Last night we hit a 23 inch Eagle Lake rainbow on the gray drake spinner. These fish strain, according to DNR biologists, are not supposed to get big....this girl did not get the email/memo! . Their are many 14-23 inch fish surface feeding to the prolific hatches despite last years epic 100 year drought/heat wave. I had to talk to Mark Tonello of the Michigan DNR this morning to inform him of the tremendous growth rates of trout on our DNR labeled "marginal trout waters"...;)., since no research on trout populations have been done by DNR staff since late 1990's-short staffed..below is my conversation and email...hope you can get out and enjoy this perfect trout weather. Yes!...there are still steelhead in the Muskegon river!

river level -2500 cfs- wadeable

water temps 59 F

cheers!

 

email to M. Tonello- Michigan DNR Biologist- Cadillac office

 

Mark et al.,

It was nice talking to you today. Hope you found my information informative and useful. Per our conversation today, it is amazing to see how many 14-23 inch Wild Rose browns and Eagle Lake strain rainbows are on the surface taking Gray Drake/ suplher mayflies and caddis hatches right now on the Muskegon ...truly astounding the number of big fish around this spring after last year's 100 year devastating heat and drought as we discussed. Even to me an eternal optimist, I would have never believed it!  It looks like the entire ground spring water system of seeps and capillaries that the Muskegon has due to its higher gradients and deep pools , along with the slightest of influence the cool bubbler at Croton contributed positively last summer  was enough to have tremendous holdover- that's the only explanation I can think of. 

 

Last fall, once the 100F heat was over, we started to see  13-14 inch browns and rainbows feeding to caddis in late September, with a few 18-19 inch browns in the mix- they were very fat and gorged with caddis larvae/pupae. I think the incredible caddis population of the Muskegon, AS A RESULT OF THE PLANKTON LOADS IN THE IMPOUNDMENTS , allows the trout to feed all summer heavily despite the 74F TEMPERATURES, THUS STILL GROWING AND NOT EXPERIENCING ATROPHY/MORTEM, which usually occurs when the fish's metabolism shuts down in critical Passive /Dormant stages of heat stress. Plus cold weather and lots of water is the key this year and is helping things greatly. As of today, there are still numbers of spring steelhead spawning Below Pine St and at Thornapple. I have identified the critical refuge areas on the Muskegon where the trout summer-over. They are the deep,spring -fed pools from just above Carmichael flats to just below Bigalow Creek. Last summer Bigalow creek was jammed with large trout seeking refuge due to its cold water and the creek is almost impossible to fish at low water with all the woody debris and USFS/TU built lunker structure undercut banks- thus providing great refuge for the large trout. With the massive floods and rains this spring, many of those fish washed back down into the main Muskegon I believe. Also the number of large brown trout in this section can be directly correlated to the springs and Bigalow and fast oxygenated currents below the High Overlook- this would be a great section to manage for trophy trout as I have mentioned in the past. Also the number of large brown trout from the Croton Dam to Pine Ave is astonishing this year due to the nutrient load of freshwater daphnia/ diptera, which the trout gorge on prior to the hatches that emanates from the reservoirs. . One huge positive factor that has a great influence on the tremendous mayfly, stonefly, midge and caddis life on the Muskegon is the water being quite alkaline - PH of 8 and above, which is unusual for a peat/marl tannic freestone river which tend to be acidic. This signals the importance and presence of the clay/limestone/subterranean aquifer influences on the river. The survival of wild steelhead/salmon fry/parr should be substantial this year given the devastating blow it received last year with the heat/drought. 

 Regardless, its good news and haven't seen this good dry fly fishing since 1996-1997- along with hatches at biblical proportions and lots of water. The gray drake hatch last year was non-existent- this year its like a plague of the Locusts!....pretty cool stuff all in all !

 The 23 inch Eagle lake rainbow taken last night on the gray drake mayfly spinner fall was the largest I've ever seen in 19 years of guiding.

 Hope the information is useful and the amount of stocking and money vested in the Muskegon is well spent and showing gorgeous trophy fish. I cant imagine what next year will bring given a cool wet summer which they are predicting this year. Good to have 'ole' Michigan weather back!- cool and wet!.

 

Thanks for taking the time to absorb the information. Your comments are welcome.

 

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Posted in: Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake lodge , michigan fly fishing , muskegon river fly fishing , Muskegon trout , siphlonorus gray drakes , spring steelhead , sulphers , trout and eagle lodge

TROUT, STEELHEAD ,HATCHES...PERFECT WATER

( NICE FAT STUFFED BROWNIE ON THE EARLY GRAY DRAKE SPINNER FALLS)

 

It's an amazing time of year when you have it all. Now on the Muskegon/PM you have perfect water conditions for the first time in about 5 years in my opinion, cool days /cold nights- tons of water, mega gray drake hatches like last night-its a wonderland1. There are still steelhead in the river pushing gravel, suckers pushing gravel, and the trout and steelhead are egg binging to the max!

( even though the emergence is on shore,, this fly of mine brings up many nice fish on the soft hackle swing in non hatch hours)

( late night sipper)

The gray Drake, sulphers, cahills and caddis hatches have started to bring up nice browns and rainbows and the nights are frosty- water and cold=mayflies galore!
water level- 2990 cfs...water temp- 59F
ALSO, summer steelhead starting to show up!....so many choices....get out and enjoy!
cheers!

(ova duo- otter sucker spawn and steelhead eggs-driving fish crazy before the hatch!)

 

 

( and yes!.....chrome steelhead are still coming in and spawning...also egg binging on their own ova and going crazy on the suckers spawn- dont be surprised when your gray drake gets smashed by a drop back chromie!)

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , muskegon river fly fishing , muskegon river hatches , siphlonorus gray drakes , spring steelhead , sulphers , trout and eagle lodge

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!

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

HOW SWEET IT IS!.......WHAT A DIFFERENCE A WEEK MAKES.....CAHN-FIRMATION DAY!

A week ago we were at the second biggest flood in a century.............today was "steelhead Nirvana".

Mr Cahn Tran, long time apprentice whom I always have the pleasure guiding, and steelhead fanatic , not to mention CEO of an aspiring global software company, put on a steelhead nymphing clinic. Steelhead buggers were trounced upon and that little green- thingy (wink....wink!)
I'm seeing excellent numbers of fresh fish moving in and seeing fish in spots that didn't hold fish all spring..............I THINK OUR RUN IS FINALLY COMING IN ON A NEW WAVE!
 Congratulations Mr. Cahn on putting on a thorough spring steelhead clinic-YOU DA MAN BRO!

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , michigan fly fishing , muskegon river , muskegon steelhead , spring steelhead , trout eagle lodge and outfitters

REVISITING THE OLD DAYS ON THE WHITE

( FRESH RED BUCK DOC TOOK NEAR PINES POINT)

Just got back from spending a day on the lovely White River near Hesparia.Have the pleasure of guiding Doc Laerson- old time client from the 90's- who has moved back and forth from his native Michigan to Florida and back. "Doc' used to guide with me when I spent time on the White- approximately two weeks a year in March- when the Muskegon was blown-out, and I only had a drift boat.For old times sake we are going to spend a few days here like we did when we floated Hesparia to Pudunk- one hell of an ass kicking float in low water mind you-I'm glad I've been working out. Those were the days of the low sided Clackas and then famous guide Jim"COZ" Costolnik- who starred in the the T.V.show on ESPN "IN SEARCH OF FLY WATER".Coz guided for us in the spring and fall from his home waters on the trout filled Delaware- we always raced to see who could get fish and be the first to Garfield Rd. OR THE DREADED PODUNK!!!

Anyways, lots of shore anglers from the dam to Taylor Bridge.Good numbers of Walleye and some steelhead on gravel- best luck was in the deep pools in the sunlight. Hit a couple nice browns also. It was fun to be out on another river for a change. The spots haven't changed much over the years and we had fun reminiscing.

Muskegon is at a great flow-2,760- water hitting 39-40-.Fish starting to dig gravel but are very spooky- just as they are on the White.

NOTE: Peter Basta will be returning again for his 9 th year this spring from the corporate Orvis store guide service in Vermont. We still have a few good dates left for spring steelhead which will last well into the end of May-then the great hatches begin!!!

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Posted in: COZ , ESPN , gray drake , muskegon steelhead , nymphing for steelhead , Orvis guides , Orvis Helios , spring steelhead , white river

STEELHEAD WAYNE-IAC DOES IT AGAIN........"SHOW ME" STATE MAN DOES THE GRAND MUSKEGON SLAM!

Wayne did it again...he wanted a chrome hen after nothing but bucks( poor guy- I can't buy a buck or a hen when I go fishing on my day off!!)

Nymphing a tough, snaggy gut of a run - known to hold big, pregnant hens sniffing the gravel above, Wayne pulled it off!

Congrats brother- you have become a "steelhead-aholic"-AND WE AIN'T GRAVEL RAKING-NOW THAT'S COOL STUFF FOR FLY GUYS!

BUT,TONTO SAY" gravel rakers cometh- stringers cometh- CLOROX bottles cometh- triple limits cometh-team Igloo cometh-long boats and yellow shafts come- white man loose mind when see chrome in skinny water!-motors no friend of animal life- peace tranquility no more.

Welcome to spring madness!!!!!!!! - it's fun- there are lots of fish - chill out and have a great day full of chrome, smiles, memories- But.KEEP THE STRINGERS HOME-PLEASE?

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Posted in: babine steelhead , dead steelhead , michigan fly fishing , Michigan native american indian tribes , muskegon steelhead , spring steelhead , stringers , Tonto , trout eagle lodge and outfitters

NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALK'IN ABOUT!!!!

(Steelhead Doctor Dale with the first hen)

(Steely Dan with a handsome buck)

If you had a chance to see Michigan-Out-Of Doors last night, hope you enjoyed the winter steelhead program I did with Tony Gates and Jimmy the producer. It was a lot of fun as always being in the boat with a big time Radio"big personality" guy(WLAV, Tony Gates Show) like the "Tone Man". He brings so much excitement and flair that you just watch him in awe!-( but Tony, I wish you didn't loose that big hog you had on!)

Anyways, had the pleasure of guiding two of my best steelhead clients yesterday- experts at big river ,deep water nymphing- Dan Potter and Dale. Dale cracked a big hen on the first cast in the second pool we fished. Dan missed a big male that took him into the timber.

But later landed an awesome buck before the deluge began.

Water has come nicely and much needed! Conditions are excellent and fresh fish are moving in as evidenced by the pictures.

Should be a great weekend. Water level at 3,060................THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT!!!!!

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Posted in: gray drake , march madness , mishigan-out-of-doors , muskegon steelhead , Orvis Helios , spring steelhead , tony gates , trout eagle lodge and outfitters