" EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY"..,DON'T IT?

(Marvin Cash- National Board of Director for the Federation of Fly Fisherman-FFF-from North Carolina with a 'trifecta' in three days with me- first steelhead on the swing, on the Muskegon- first time using a two hander , and a buck and hen Atlantic salmon swinging a white tube leech....awesome Marvin!- it was spectacular!-)

(Phil from Connecticut with a lake-run brown on his  Hang Time tube leech)

Way too much chatter on Al Gore's internet  about the "THE steelhead..RUN!"!- good/bad/lack of ?...these  PICS tell the story!....conditions?.....well:)- you have to work for your fish but they are there and more to come.- bait and center pin guys doing good in lower river with slack water lies-swinging is swinging- you earn and enjoy everyone you get..;)..we have had great December fishing and I predict another this year......- low clear water. will change and fish are off the piers each day....But!.....RAIN/SNOW/COLD coming!!!. mykiss and salar, if they are on Face Crack, will give this weather a big like...

Again!!!..please follow us on Facebook/Twitter/social media...Matthew Supinski page...Gray Drake Page...Selectivity TSS Page...I do a google blog... I. get 700 hits!...do Facebook three page post get 7,690 hits- so I reach more people and quicker and easy to post images right from the river....Face Crack is not for everyone I know...just sign in with  name"Colonel Angus" if you dont want to be recognized..;)....

PEACE..LOVE AND ALWAYS!...NA ZDROWIE! ( to your health!)

Read more »

Posted in: gray drake lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , lake-run brown trout , landlocked atlantic salmon , Muskegon River steelhead , spey fishing , swinging flies , trout and eagle

MOST AMAZING TIME OF YEAR!- AUTUMN IN MICHIGAN

                                                      ( fall steelhead picking up steam)
     
 SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN POSTING!..... WE PUT SO MUCH ON OUR FACE BOOK THREE PAGES...'SELECTIVITY TSS'....'GRAY DRAKE' ...AND 'MATTHEW SUPINSKI' PAGES...UNFORTUNATELY FACE BOOK IS THE HITS DRIVER AND MOST PEOPLE REACHED...I KNOW THERE ARE ADAMANT 'NON- FACE BOOKERS' OUT THERE, BUT WE POST PERTINENT INFO THERE AND YOU MIGHT WANT TO BREAK DOWN AND JOIN UP?....YOU DONT HAVE TO POST JUNK ON FACE BOOK...RREMEMBER...QUALITY IN...QUALITY OUT..IGNORE THE JUNK..:)...IF YOU WANT ANTINOMY , POST UNDER A FAKE NAME imho

After a very weak chinook salmon run..( it will be interesting to hear the summary comments from the DNR on this one...alewife bait problem...cold winter had bait spread out due to temps...beginning of the end of the Pacific salmon in Lake Michigan- fish were tiny this year! Pacific salmon experiment  crash in Lake Huron has finally cccomeull circle?)...we are still seeing a few salmon creep in and will probably see more since the whole year's timing is totally messed up from the global warming sub zero winter and 99% Great Lakes freeze-up...(remember summer Skamania steelhead were a month or more late at least!)

STEELHEAD REPORT

Best is yet to come. The few that are coming in are being 'egg bombarded to death...by hook and hand....but they will still take a fly on the swing or dead drifted Indy fishing. Since everything is late, I expect December and the warm weather will be a huge push and peak of fall run. My "chicken and egg' swinging rig up from 'Selectivity book' is an absolute killer when so many chummed eggs are being forced down the Pavlovian dogs throats. Remember.. chumming is legal in Michigan and the people who do have the right to do so!,,,so dont bother bitching about it fly guys...is what it is ! ..that's about as diplomatic as I can be....if you and your guide or buds want to do it?...God bless!...free country! So don't pull your hair out if you drift the whole day and don't hit a fish if you're a fly guy. Things will improve with greater numbers of fish in the system as fall/winter progresses.

Also, many use Trout Beads@....but I prefer Otter eggs- they are soft and translucent and the steelhead dont spit them as quick as the opaque and rock hard beads- IMHO

TROUT UPDATE

 This has been one of the best trout years since it was a cold summer and the hatches are still going strong. With the warm fall, the # 22-24 Blue-winged olives ( pseudos are still peaking!)...and due to the lack of salmon and eggs in the river, the trout are poking their noses up ...for dry fly fanatics like me , it has been awesome. Also caddis hatches are still strong on sunny afternoons /evenings

LANDLOCKED ATLANTIC SALMON AND LAKE-RUN BROWNS

 Again, these fish are just thinking it about and starting up. The runs will last well into December coupled with a warm fall. The new Au Sable fishery is waiting for results....Torch Lake had a massive run last year....we are hoping for good things to come!!!!

EVENT

This Wednesday, October 29 I'll be doing a Steelhead Seminar at the fanatastic Founder's Brewing company , Grand Rapids , MI....for SWMTU....Schrem's Southwest Michigan T.U....GONNA BE GREAT BREWS AND FOOD!.... and hope to see you there!!

http://www.swmtu.org/membership/members-event-matt-supinski-at-founders-brewing

Cheers!...na zdrowie!... trzymaje sie ! 

Read more »

Posted in: Blue winged olives , gray drake lodge , Great Lakes atlantic salmon , Great Lakes steelhead , landlocked atlantic salmon , michigan fly fishing , muskegon river fly fishing , muskegon steelhead , trout and eagle

IT'S ALL HAPPENING !

The amazing fall season is here!!!!!...king salmon finally coming in good numbers...we pool fished swinging flies all week....browns sipping tricos and bwo small olives in evenings...now pilagding eggs...steelhead soon to arrive!

NOTE:..CHECK OUT OUR THREE FACEBOOK PAGES FOR SEVERAL UPDATES DAILY ON WHAT IS GOING ON!!!....PAGES '
* SELECTIVITY TSS-TROUT, SALMON STEELHEAD....PAGE '
*GRAY DRAKE AND TROUT AND EAGLE'....AND PAGE
 *MATTHEW SUPINSKI.......CHEERS!...NA ZDROWIE

Read more »

Posted in: Blue winged olives , brown trout , gray drake , great lakes king salmon , Great Lakes steelhead , muskegon river fly fishing , tricos , trout and eagle

COULEE SPRING CREEKS...MICHIGAN HATCHES...SUMMER STEELHEAD

                                                                ( 27 1/2" Driftless WI spring creek trout
                                                                           taken Wednesday)
Had the extreme pleasure of visiting my good client and friend, Dr. Jack Flaherty from Chicago, and his lovely farm  in the Amish country of Wisconsin's amazing Driftless spring creek country. Though I fished the Driftless limestone spring creeks of Minnesota and Iowa, it was my first visit to the mind boggling natural spring coulee riches this vast Wisconsin chain of rolling hills and meadows have to offer.

Jack's lovely wife Kathy just passed away from cancer a month ago and it hit all of us very hard. I spent many a day with Kathy who was becoming an avid steelheader- I will miss her very much. I was so glad to see her one more time in May when she came up with Dr Jack , weak from the Chemo but with serene spirit. Jack loved these spring creeks and was a kind host to show me his 'decompression farm' from the hectic ER hospital shifts and hustle and bustle of Chicago.
 (Ruland's Coulee)
I am simply awestruck by the natural beauty of these steep hills and valleys ( the French called them 'coulees'), with gorgeous farms with grazing cattle, sheep and horses. It is a mini Switzerland and tons of Amish farms and cheese/farmer co-op outlets abound- a' farm to table' chef's dream come true. These ice cold limestone spring creeks come out of the hard dolomite limestone caverns at 46-57F year round and are managed by the WDNR for wild brown and brook trout. This area did not get the flattening glacial upheavals that the lower Great Lakes did and have all the limestone/dolomite cliffs mountains and valleys that are not present in lower MI/IN/IL and eastern Wisconsin. There are hundreds if not thousands of miles of pure limestone spring creeks with most of them blue ribbon wild trout waters managed for catch&release...totally amazing!. 

Each valley /coulee has a spring creek and you can literally spend a lifetime exploring this vast mind boggling resource of this endless trout Mecca. I believe God created these creeks for himself to fish!  The tremendous stream structural improvements done by Chicago and Wisconsin Trout Unlimited chapters for the last half a century is obvious everywhere. Cattle grazing is contained and stiles/fences are carefully managed . WDNR strict September 30th closure is not liked by many, but this staunch regulation protects the spawning year class fish and the results are obvious everywhere with the mind boggling wild trout per square hectare numbers. These creeks fish like the Letort and Falling Springs back 40 years ago. I spent every weekend on the Limestone Springs of PA when I was in the hotel business back in the 80's in Washington DC. It is here I fell in love with their complexity. These creeks also brought my romantic feelings out as they look alot like the upper Wiscoy Creek in the Allegany foothills of southern New York , and similar to the Wieprza and her small tributaries in certain sections on my Dad's farm in Poland, both creeks I fished as a boy and honed my skills and observance of trout behavior. 

The absolute highlight and lifetime event of this trip was my first WI Coulee trout- it was a massive 27 1/2 inch brown I stalked for over an hour after I noticed the fish midging in pure daylight of a hot afternoon.The fish succumbed to my new creation, the WMD ( weapons of midge destruction) pupae I tied at the ranch that morning. It is the second largest spring creek trout of my life ( actually about the same size as my first), taken at Skelly's farm meadow on the Falling Spring Run , and another similar sized one in Virginia on Mossy Creek- both in the 80's.

( my beast!...I'm still shaking from it days later!)

The great thing about these spring creeks is that the prime time of year is just starting...Tricos in the morning and terrestrial hoppers/ants /crickets in the afternoon- that is the best time to fish these springs and have large A/A browns cruising about for a hopper sandwich- they can get a little dumb then when their kill artist response is on full alert......I'll be back in September!- I am counting down the days!

MICHIGAN REPORT: The Muskegon is at a good flow and fishing very well since the trout have packed down so many drakes and Isos over the weeks , their bellies are gorged and now on the hunt for more food sources. The stocked trout will put a serious bend in your 4/5 weights and are starting to target the caddis hatches. Some Cahill Stenos at dark- still a few drakes and Isos- but caddis will now be the mainstay for the rest of the year.Lat evening's guide trip saw my couple having fun with the numbers of fish and quality that can excite many novice anglers- great summer to get kids and spouses into fly fishing with so many trout about. Water is still cool and "FINALLY"...they fixed the turbines and are no longer top spilling off the dam. This will keep water temperatures down all summer since there is still plenty of cold water in reservoirs and the cool water bubbler gets turned on in July. It will be a great summer and fall- last year the Trico hatches really started to kick in. Back to air temps in the mid/low 70's this week. Hex action is yet to explode on the PM due to rain/high water and the bitter cold spring. Up on the Au Sable , Hex action is at peak. The smaller streams of the White/Tamarack etc. are full of water and fishing amazing since they were flooded and unfishable all spring.

SUMMER SKAMANIA STEELHEAD

Lake Michigan is still ice cold- 40F in the center. I came over both the Muskegon and Manitowoc ferries this week and the lake was one huge foggy arctic cold zone. The summer run will start any day now and July thru September should see excellent returns with lots of cold water in both lake and rivers and good flows. Last year's big girthed fish- approaching the 20 mark, was hopefully an indication of what is to come. Also their appetite for beetles and mysis shrimp was a great learning experience. I still have some good dates available  for guiding on the St. Joe and IN spring creeks. 

Read more »

Posted in: Coulee , Driftless area , gray drake lodge , hexagenia limbata , michigan fly fishing , muskegon river fly fishing , spring creeks , summer skamania steelhead , trout and eagle , Wisconsin spring creeks

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#

Read more »

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

FRESH STEELHEAD/TROUT #'s IN THE RIVER ARE IMPRESSIVE!- MORE EVENTS AND BOOK SIGNINGS

( sorry for the 'hog shot'- I am probably more guilty for starting this crap!..:(.Mia culpa!( but  for client Steve, that was an enormous hen- a stone's throw down from the Gray Drake! ,first hour of our journey this early week!.. but Steve, a total newbie to steelheading and fly fishing caught this massive hen- 16 lbs on the Boga-Ice Man...fish are running very large this year with a good alewife year class from two years ago )

So sad about that tragic pile up on the Ohio Turnpike..we sometimes don't understand how devastating this winter has been...  when things are out of our control. Had clients coming from the east this week that turned around because of that nasty north Ohio storm. This winter with the book signings and tours I was on the east coast four times and I ran into the worst weather- once I was closed in on I-94 going to Chicago in early February going to Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters- blizzard and squalls- thank God I called 911 and the troopers came and escorted me off with chains! 

Anyways...sorry for the weather drama, but looks like the worst is finally over. Despite the river temps being so low, the river is flowing wide open in the upper stretch by the lodge above Newaygo- by the M-37 bridge this morning it turned to slush after minus 6 below last night. His friend , Al, a true trout bum got his first steelhead about twenty minutes later.....on Ice Man minnows, Hex's and small string leeches/Steely Iceman blue/ copper UV flash...allocapnia/Tainy stones have not hatched yet due to the very cold water temps. 

Here is Al, trout bum with his first steelhead..nice buck...back lighting of low sun did not show the double red band steelhead traits. 

( more detail on a smaller red bander)

Anyways, the good numbers and size of the fish bodes well for a great spring run that will last well into June with all the ice on the Great Lakes. They have been draining Hardy reservoir down to nothing to allow for the snow melt off. But the good thing so far there is no significant warm up which would cause flooding and warmer days and very cold nights in the forecast-PERFECT!

The browns and rainbows have all been cookie -cutter fat footballs in the 14-16 range and have been caught with the steelhead.They chowed down heavily on the salmon eggs and have been eating midges and scuds all winter- now the early black stoneflies and Chinook sac fry will nourish them until the steelhead start spawning. Did a quick stomach pump and they were loaded with midges/brownish/cream and black-size# 24 ish,  1 dace , scuds and sowbugs, and two black stones, several tiny green caddis larvae. Due to the Muskegon's alkalinity the scud and sow bug populations are very impressive and looking at the water you would not think that of an oligotrophic freestoner

.

Dates:Due to all the scheduling cancellations/changes from all the nasty winter weather we still have good dates available for the spring so email us or give us a jingle.

EVENTS/SEMINARS/BOOK SIGNINGS

SELECTIVITY CLINICS: I will be doing these in all four seasons- custom made for individuals or for two fly anglers Selectivity Clinics on the water.Check the top of our web site for more information

MARCH 15 TH- Looking forward to seeing all my Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and friends and clients at Orvis Cleveland starting noon. It will be a very fun day as I do book signings on my two new books -'Selectivity ' and "Steelhead Dreams-12 Year Anniversary', I will be doing a cool power point presentation on the Selectivity Concepts- Fishing Fussy Trout, Steelhead and Atlantic salmon around the world and on all types of rivers- tail waters, spring creeks and large freestoners from North America, Europe, New Zealand, to Patagonia.

I will also be playing video clips from the newly edited 'Selectivity-Trout'-DVD. It was filmed on the Delaware, PA Limestone Spring Creeks, Michigan rivers, WI/MN Driftless area spring creeks and Montana.

Rumpf Fly Fishing Wholesalers will be distributing the product .

To make the event more special, we are very proud to have Great Lakes Brewing Co. - award winning Micro Brewers from Cleveland giving a beer tasting "FREE" to those that come by. Noted fly fishing guide, poster child and knowledgeable fly shop manager- Jimmy Lampros, will be happy to show you the new Orvis products for 2014 and get you ready for spring. The new award winning Sonic zippered waders, the amazing new fly tying upgrades Orvis has made is probably the best in decades. Also we will have a gorgeous 'live mount' replica Summer Strain Skamania Steelhead that went 20 lbs last summer and was taken by client Chris Bamford on the dry line with a surface scudo bivisble on the St.Joe. Mounting fish doesn't mean killing them and live mounts are the only proper conservation way to go.

MARCH 22- STREAMSIDE ORVIS- TRAVERSE CITY, MI- Seminars and book signings

APRIL- Besides steelhead guiding my book and presentation commitments stil roll on. I  sincerely enjoy presentations , speaking and  teaching and try to make them very exciting and different from the average slide show. 

I am really looking forward to being one of the headline presenters at the Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival- second weekend. I will be doing programs and two special Advanced Spring Creek Tactics clinics on the water along with a presentation of ,"Spring Creeks of the World and Selectivity"- Mossy, Beaver and Buffalo spring creeks are close by the festival. 

Will also be speaking twice in the Detroit area the at the Clinton Valley TU in Detroit, Speaking at the Metro Area Michigan Steelheaders . And finally will close out the famous Mike Schultz Outfitters- BAR FLIES, in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, tying Selective Trout and Steelhead flies at the brewery.

Hope to see you on the water!...give us a call or email!...gotta get going to Cleveland- Cheers!- Na Zdrowie

Read more »

Posted in: gray drake lodge , Great Lakes steelhead , michigan fly fishing , muskegon fly fishing , scuds , Selectivity book , selectivity dvd , steelhead dreams , trout and eagle , virginia fly and wine festival

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!!!!

Read more »

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

SELECTIVITY PROGRAM AND MICRO BREW TASTING

Hope to see you tonight at Royal Oak Orvis- Detroit starting at 6:00pm. I will be signing my Selectivity and Steelhead Dreams books in addition to an evening of fun and trout, Atlantic salmon and steelhead discussion on this brutal cold winter's day---time to dream about what will eventually come!

I will also do a power point presentation on the Selectivity Book, show clips on the new "Selectivity DVD', answer questions and look forward to everyone's stories.

Also Alden will be there from the world acclaimed Great Lakes Brewing Co. to offer FREE Micro Brew tastings on the whole array of Great Lakes products!

SEE YOU THERE!

We are still filling our spring steelhead/trout calender with this bizarre weather so if you have some dates in mind we would love to have you!....gotta warm up eventually!

Read more »

Posted in: gray drake lodge , Great Lakes Brewing Co. , Great Lakes steelhead , Muskegon River steelhead , Orvis Royal Oak , Selectivity book , selectivity dvd , 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!

Read more »

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