Cold Summers

Yes, cold weather sucks ass.  I hate it, I bitch about it all damn Winter long.  Then comes Summer here in the U.P.,  I look forward to the long warm Summer days all of the dark months.  This year, not much for the warm days. In fact, it's been rather downright shitty for the most part.  Heck, today a girl who was fishing on my guide trip was wearing winter gloves & it is July pretty much.  What gives! Yeah, we had some days in the upper 80's which was nice but that has been about it.  But as a Trout & cold water angler I kinda appreciate the cooler temps, they keep our finned friends in hospitable water temps and provide for some great opportunities in the fishing dept..  So i'm left in a classic catch 22 standpoint.  These cold Summers will prolong fishing seasons & make for better fishing seasons in the future. So what the hell, bring on the cold I guess as complaining & whining is no longer tolerated!  :)

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Ode to da Opener

Opening Day-it's all about traditions here in the Upper Peninsula.  This a day of the fishing calendar I clear the slate every year to enjoy the surrounding of this great place I call home.  As an angler it isn't about catching fish to me, it's about spending time with friends & relaxing.  If we make it astream that's wonderful, if not-who cares.  Many people in this day of age are always in a rush, it's not worth even going fishing if you are in a hurry to get out.  Trout fishing, especially here in the North Woods is all about kicking back and soaking in the environs.  This weekends heritage in the U.P. runs so strong that words really cannot explain it, since Trout have been here anglers have celebrated this holy day.   Trout only live in the most beautiful places on Earth, these are the places I like to spend my time.

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Seeing Any?

This is something that I will never understand I have come to accept.  Frequently during this Spring run of Steelhead when you encounter other anglers on the stream they frequently ask "Hey, have you seen any spawning Steelhead?"  They seem saddened or not enthused about fishing unless they can actually "see" Steelhead.  Sure, I used to fish to spawning fish-so I definitely don't hold myself above any other angler who chooses to do so.  But it was because I wasn't informed or didn't know any better to leave these fish alone.  Spawning fish are not fish that eat, they are fish that are getting their freak on.  How many times have you felt like eating a pastrami sammich during the middle of sexy time?  Yeah, prolly not to many times i'm guessing.

 

 

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Da Flashdancer!

I thought a tutorial of a newer streamer pattern I have found to be effective would be kinda cool to share.  This pattern is primarily used for migratory species, but if it is tied in smaller sizes with different colors variation/use of flash it is effective on resident Trout as well.  It can be fished in a variety of different ways, my best results have been while swing/actively slow stripping this pattern.  It is designed to target aggressive fish in water temps in the 40-55 degree range.  The liberal use of flash on this pattern grabs attention from fish that are a long distance away- I have found this pattern to work well in varying water clarity conditions, although clear water has been the most productive.  This pattern was inspired by the patterns of friend & fellow river guide Kevin Feenstra.  This is a extremely easy fly to tie, a nice choice for beginner fly tiers!  Due to the heavy use of bright/flash materials in this fly, I chose the appropriate name "The Flashdancer" for this streamer.

Materials needed to tie this pattern-
Hook-Size 2 TMC 9395 or suitable high quality 2x heavy streamer hook
Size Medium Lead Eyes
Chartreuse Large Cactus Chenille
Flour. Pink Ice Dub
Silver Holographic Polar Chenille
Silver Flashabou
Pink Flashabou
Gun Metal Flashabou
Uni-thread black Big Fly thread

First step-Secure lead eyes to bottom side of hook just back from the eye of hook. Then bring thread to rear of the hook shank.

Secondly, add a generous amount of gun metal or silver flashabou to the rear of the hook.

Next, tie in your silver polar chenille at the rear of hook. Palmer the chenille all the way up to to right in back of the lead eyes.

This is what it should look like once the polar chenille is all the way up to the lead eyes.

Next, add your pink Flashabou. I also add another material at this point that is more of a rubbery  feel to it. It looks like Flashabou & has some holographic properties. I just can't remember the name of this product.  Krystal Flash can also be used in this step to gain more iridescence to the pattern.

Now tie in your cactus chenille behind your lead eyes & then after a wrap or so behind the eyes figure 8 the chenille around the eyes to thoroughly cover them.

Here is what it should look like once the eyes are covered with the cactus chenille.

Take a pinch of the pink ice dub & push this through the eye of the hook. Wrap 2 or 3 times over the top of the ice dub. Then push ice dub back & secure the front of the ice dub to hook by the thread grabbing a few fibers.  Now finish the fly with some half hitches then done!

There ya go, all done. The finished product, an easy tie that is a big meal for a willing participant!

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The "eat"

It doesnt matter how old you are or how many Steelhead you have caught in your life, the moment of the "eat" or hookup just doesnt get old.  The feeling of having a Steelhead grab your offering is just downright kick ass, it never gets old.  This feeling is why I like to fish, it is a short little blast of adrenline-feels even better when it has been below 20 degrees for almost a month!  Sure, its nice to get the fish to the net-but pretty much everything after the "eat" is rather gravy or just not as rad.

 

Off Season

As the snow is falling & temps are downright damn cold I am slowly realizing that the days of being able to fish daily are pretty much over. This is always a challenging time for me, going from being on the water pretty much everyday to having to pick & choose my days because of poor weather. This is really enuff to cause an early case of cabin fever, right now the forecast is terrible-everyday for the near future highs is the low 20's.

This shouldn't be happening this early in the Winter, but I guess we have had a very mild Fall-so this is kinda some pay back from the rotten lady (mother nature). Tasks & projects around the house that have taken the back burner since Spring are now being taken care of.  I was kinda propelled to sit down at the fly tying bench today, but it is much to early to start that Winter routine.  Instead I decided to take a walk through the woods in one of my Deer hunting areas to see what kind of activity was happening.  I was actually surprised at the amount of tracks I saw in the snow, it is so nice from a hunters prospective once the snow is on the ground.  It pretty much blows the cover of the deer movement, areas that didn't seem to have much for tracks now come alive once the ground is covered with snow.  Today upon following a track I stumbled upon an extra large rub from earlier this Fall, probably the largest I have ever seen on a tree that had a diameter of around  approx 20 inches.  I'm not sure if this buck made it through the rifle season mayhem, but if so this is a magnum sized deer that should be a real trophy next season.  That is what is the compelling aspect of hunting & fishing-the hope of the trophy of a lifetime :)