| FISHING REPORTS |
ARCHIVE: |
Your search returned 21 items (most recent reports for all waters in )
Now showing items: 1 - 10. Select page: 1
2
3
|
Manistee River - September 24th, 2008
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED: 
73 °
FISHING: Excellent
SEPTEMBER 24, 2008
MICHIGAN
John Manley and his wife, Lori, who live in northwest Ohio, drove up from their cottage on Lake Erie Sunday evening for a couple days of fishing.
John got into fly angling last spring on a trip out west “and I fell in love with it,” he said after our float down the Manistee River Monday morning.
“I mostly fish for perch and walleye on Lake Erie, but this is a lot more fun. In fact, my wife and I are thinking of moving out to Montana. I fly fished on some streams near Libby and really, really liked it.”
John raised a dozen trout during our float, but kept missing the hookup. Except for a VERY nice fish in front of the old Livingston Lodge that put a huge bend in his 4-weight TFO Professional Series.
Unfortunately, John had read too many magazine articles admonishing anglers to “get those fish on the reel.” So, while he was paying meticulous attention to the line placement on his reel, that big brown trout dove to the bottom and broke off.
“Aggggghhhh,” he yelled.
“Yep, nice fish. REAL nice fish,” I replied.
We decided to stop with a half-day float, then drove further upstream on the Manistee so I could show John how to actually wade-fish a trout stream—which he’d never done.
We spent a bit more time on casting, then discussed entomology, wading, and the merits of up-stream versus downstream fishing before actually “fishing the water.”
John’s first trout stream fish was a very nice, gorgeous brookie of about eight inches. “Gee, I thought they’d be a lot bigger than this,” he said. “Sorta like the size of the rainbows out in Montana.”
No, John. Michigan brookies usually don’t grow to be 16 inches long.
“This is pretty typical of a brookie around here,” I said. “A 10-incher is a very nice fish. Anything in the 14 or 15-inch class is really something to brag about.
“Now the brown trout get huge. Biggest one any of my clients ever hooked was 30 inches.”
John was quiet then. “That’s a big fish,” he finally said. “A really big fish.”
He found out about “big fish” the next day, when I took him to the Boyne River for Chinook salmon. Fish in the 20-pound class!
As we slithered over the exposed cedar roots walking the trail downstream we saw some singles, and a few more small pods of skittish fish almost immediately. “WOW, those are BIG fish,” John said.
“Yep,” I replied. “Let’s walk farther down. Get out of the way of the after-work crowd.”
We found a pod of what appeared to be “happy fish,” waded across the small stream, and John launched his attack.
By the end of the day he’d fairly hooked nine salmon and foul-hooked three, which he promptly broke off. A pretty good day of salmon fishing in anybody’s book!
His first fish resulted in mind-numbing panic that made him grab the fly line like it was attached to a life raft. His second hook-up lasted a little longer, but things went “ping” rather quickly.
Fishes three and four actually looked like they might be landed, but a twitch here and a bolt into the streamside logjams over there resulted in fly-less tippets.
“I’m coming back for these salmon,” John said at the end of the day. “Soon!”
We had a little bit of rain today, but need more to really bring more salmon—and steelhead hungry to chow down on those spawning salmon eggs—into the Boyne, Betsie, lower Manistee, and Pere Marquette.
Meanwhile, remember that there’s just a week left to fish the general trout streams. Fly-only stretches, and rivers with extended seasons for salmon and steelhead fishing, will stay open throughout the winter.
But when January blows turn wind-chill factors into minus-forever, and you have to shove your rod into the water to free ice from the guides, wouldn’t it be MUCH nicer to come down to Florida and fish with me for tarpon and snook and redfish? You BET it would!
At the moment, however, daytime temps are in the low to mid-70s and stream fishing is outstanding. We had a nice caddis hatch on Monday, and some Light Cahills. Very small BWOs popping up, too.
Streamers on the big water of the Au Sable River below Mio have been turning some very nice fish, and the Upper Manistee—as always—has some exceptional fish waiting to eat a properly presented fly.
ENGLISH SETTER UPDATE
Go to the Featured Article on the home page to read all about Chapter Two of Heart’s Misadventures. Pray for me. Please!
Bill Ross and I are going to run Heart along with Ghost tomorrow morning. Maybe Shorty Pants—as Ross calls him—will get the message. Just like Ghost did 10 years ago with her Mentor, Ben.
FLORIDA
The hurricanes left us untouched!
Look for Spanish mackerel offshore, snook along the beach and under the mangroves. Redfish are schooling up and when you find a bunch you’ll have great fishing.
Big trout are on the deeper grass flats, and you might find some tarpon up inside Charlotte Harbor.
MONTANA
Get with Capt. John through www.jacklinsflyshop.com SOON. You never know when the snow will start flying in West Yellowstone!
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Manistee River - September 6th, 2008
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED: 
66 °
FISHING: Great
SEPTEMBER 6, 2008
MICHIGAN
Patrick and Betsy Hager came over from Wisconsin and did a short float down the Manistee with me last week, then we pitched a few flies into the Jordan before The Rains Came.
Hoppers and X-Hoppers were the ticket on the Manistee. Terrestrials are The Thing right now, and light green hopper patterns worked best. Patrick caught several fish—including a spectacularly-colored brookie—and missed a dozen more.
The Jordan, as you might have read in this site’s Articles dropdown, is the most technically-challenging river I’ve fished anywhere in the United States.
Patrick, who’s fished all over the place—including Alaska and BC—was in awe.
“I’ve NEVER seen anything like this,” he said. “It does resemble the Brule, though, if you substitute boulders for these logs—the banks are all cedar trees just like this.
“But this is incredible.” We were cut short because of the rain, but he landed a silvery rainbow and missed a couple more rises.
The Au Sable below Mio still has some E. lukon (white flies). But the evening hatch is hit-or-miss. Best bet is daytime with a white soft-hackle emerger. Put a small bead-head on it, and toss a tandem rig with a hopper as the indicator and the nymph/emerger as a dropper.
Nights have been getting down to 40 degrees, so morning fishing is pretty slow. Plan on working the hottest part of the day. It’s only in the mid-60s as I write this at noon, but the forecast is for daytime temps in the mid-70s this week.
Don’t forget—the general trout season closes September 30, but the fly-only stretches are open year-round.
The rain last week did trigger a push of salmon into the lower Manistee and Pere Marquette. That means it won’t be long before steelhead start migrating up to feed on drifting eggs and dislodged nymphs and caddis larva.
ENGLISH SETTER UPDATE
Only NINE DAYS till grouse opener! WOW!!
I put the beeper and bell on Heart yesterday morning and turned him loose. He was an absolute MANIAC. Ran and ran and ran. “Flipped me off” a half-dozen times before I finally collared him in an area of thick grass.
He’d been frolicking in a big stand of pines with an open understory. Nothing to slow him down, including grouse. However, two of them did flush out of the overhead pines just as he started his caper.
Should be another good season for grouse and woodcock. We averaged between 6 and 9 points/flushes per hour last year, and I don’t think that’s going to change.
The ferns are yellow and brown, and lots of chokecherry leaves are golden. Another night or two down around freezing—like we had last Monday—and we could have plenty of unusually-bare trees for the opener.
Ghost’s left eye still looks terrible. But Dr. Dan Lorimer, the canine ophthalmologist who’s been treating her says “it’s been a difficult case, but she’s doing fine.”
He’s going to check her the afternoon of the 17th, then we’re going hunting with his two Griffons.
She’s doing great, though. In fact, when I let her out of her crate in the Tahoe this morning she took off hunting for herself while I was putting Heart on the Trolley that runs across the front of the garage.
I got spanked by Kate, and vowed to keep Sweetie close to home!
MONTANA
This is prime time on the Madison, so contact Capt. John at www.jacklinsflyshop.com. He also works the Missouri River, and Yellowstone National Park.
FLORIDA
Gustav, Fay, and now Ike have dumped a lot of water all over Florida in the past 10 days. That’s put fisherman on the beach, but fortunately the Venice/Charlotte Harbor/Sarasota area was absolutely undamaged.
So don’t worry a bit about coming down this winter. Kate and I will get there just before Thanksgiving, as always, so start planning for time on my beautiful Hewes Redfisher 18!
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Manistee River - August 27th, 2008
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED:
79 °
FISHING: Excellent
AUGUST 27, 2008
Ants or Hoppers. Hoppers or Ants. What color? What size? Flying Ants? Legs or no legs on the Hoppers? What a dilemma! That’s Michigan in late August.
And NOW it’s White Fly time down below Mio.
So, what? Get on the water early morning in case there are Tricos (size 20 to I-can’t-see-to-tie-‘em-on 26s), or wait ‘till mid-day for Hoppers and Ants? Then stay up ‘till way past dark looking for E. lukon?
I’m telling you—fishing in Michigan at this time of year is a real challenge. Big browns. Gorgeous brookies. All looking for a satisfying meal every day because winter approacheth.
Speaking of which—temperatures have been dropping all the way down to near-freezing! Yep, it’s been below 40 the past several nights. Even touched 32 degrees night-before-last here at Blue Lakes Junction.
But I’m happy to report that the forecast is for spectacular weather
day and night the next 10 days!
Kate’s been swamped with work—as always—and I’ve been tending to Ghost and Heart (more on them later) but we did get over to the Boyne and the Jordan yesterday.
We were pretty lazy, truth be told. Wet a line here and there and raised a few fish, but it was mostly a day of relaxation. Ants, ants, ants. And a big “is-that-a-hopper?” on the Jordan in a deep dark run brought some fish.
The salmon haven’t invaded the Boyne yet. But, it won’t be long till they show up and if you want to do a fall “Cast & Blast for grouse, woodcock and salmon, that’s where we’ll go. It’s a wonderful little river—Kate wades it in hip boots—and will get filled up with salmon pretty quickly now.
The Manistee, of course, will produce very large browns on hopper patterns in the heat of the afternoon for the next several weeks. We also had a Cahill spinnerfall last evening here on the headwaters.
The lower Manistee River (below Tippy Dam at Wellston) will get a big run of salmon pretty soon, followed by steelhead migrating up behind them to feed on the spawn.
Large browns also will hold in those deep holes behind the salmon redds, providing plenty of excitement. Egg patterns, Rhyacophelia caddis larva, small black stonefly nymphs and, of course—Hex nymphs—will produce tight lines on the steelies and browns.
Large, gaudy streamers are essential, too. Wave them around the noses of those big male salmon guarding the redds and you’ll have a lot of fun. Just don’t hook the hen. One she goes away, so do all the boy-fish.
ENGLISH SETTER UPDATE
I’m in hot water with Kate (again) because Heart slipped out the kitchen door while I was bringing in the groceries this afternoon.
After two hours of driving and walking and whistling Heart came flying past me and Ghost while we were on the pipeline behind and just south of the house.
All the time I’ve spent each morning with him on the 40-foot lead was pointless. He was “Running Free” and that was that.
FINALLY, his gas gauge started running low and he came to get a biscuit. I grabbed him lickitysplit, snapped the leash onto his collar, and we went down to the river for a cold drink and a cooling-off for everyone.
Both dogs are laid out flat right now. In fact, I just checked to see if the puppy was even breathing. He is. Which is good. I think! Well, yeah, it’s good. Just that it scares the beejabbers outa ya when they take off without a bell or beeper on their neck to let you know where they’re AT!
Ghost made three points while we were looking for the puppy, which is always a good thing! Grouse season opens Sept. 15, as it does every year, and woodcock opener is very early this year—on Sept, 20.
I still have some days open, and you can bring your dogs or hunt over mine. We averaged between 6 and 9 points per-hour last season, and it should be about the same this year.
Ghost’s eye that had the laser surgery got a checkup on Monday and she’s about 60 to 65 percent healed. It was a much deeper and more serious “ulcer” than they originally thought.
Poor girl at least got the stitches removed, though. They were keeping the eye closed to help protect it.
Her peripheral vision was really poor, and she was bumping into things. Still is, because of the drops that dilate the pupil so much, but it’s not as bad. She’s laying at me feet right now. In fact, my left foot is providing a pretty good pillow for her. We might be here a while!
Heart, of course, is lucky he’s still in the house after taking off like he did. But, Kate quickly reminded me of Yogi Berra’s eloquent comment about “déjà vu all over again.” Yep. Ghost was a “wanderer,” too, in her younger days.
He’s mighty pooped right now, too.
Still, I can’t wait to see how he performs when the season opens three weeks from now.
FLORIDA
There are tarpon in the backcountry of Charlotte Harbor, and the beach snook are still producing nice catches in the early morning.
Redfish are scattered, but once you find a pod you’ll have a lot of fun. Lemon Bay has produced well all season, but those fish have been moving around lately.
Night snook has been outstanding in Nokomis and Venice. Get with Kevin at Casey Key Anglers & Outfitters (941-483-1115) for additional info.
MONTANA
Contact www.jacklinsflyshop.com and ask for Capt. John if you want to fish Yellowstone, the Madison, or the Missouri.
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Manistee River - August 17th, 2008
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED:
80 °
FISHING: Great
AUGUST 16, 2008
MICHIGAN
Kate just finished an exceptionally exhausting editing job and very much needed some R&R. So, we loaded the dogs into the bedroom crates and beer into the cooler.
And went fishing.
I had just finished a “Rookie School” with Tom Maier, a native Michiganian, and his brother-in-law, Brad Saxon. Brad’s from the Dallas area “Plano, actually,” he said, and had stumbled onto a whole pile of fly fishing rods and other gear at a yard sale.
“I was just wantin’ to buy a couple bass rods that he asked $15,” Brad said. “When I started walkin’ to my car with them he scooped up a whole handful of aluminum rod tubes and dumped ‘em in my trunk.
“Got home and found out there were fly fishin rods inside. Heck,” he replied at my question, “I didn’t pay attention to names on the rods.”
“When I send the photos from our trip,” I said, “let me know if there are any names or brands on the rods and I’ll give you a heads-up on what you’ve got.”
After going through “basic training” on casting lessons and entomology, we spent the next couple of hours on “how to fish a trout stream” at the Guides Rest access on the Au Sable River.
Actually, I spent most of my time with Brad. Tom seemed to be doing pretty well on his own, and at the end of the day reported that he’d landed a 10-inch brookie. Which was wonderful, considering it was his birthday!
Brad never did hook a trout, but he got hooked on trout fishing!
In fact, he got hooked on northern Michigan.
“I love this place!” he exclaimed several times. “I’m gonna retire here. People tell me I’ll say that till I go through the first hard winter. But I just love it.
“I can’t get over how beautiful everything is!”
Kate pretty much feels the same way. Sunshine and blue sky during the day. A full moon at night—despite the fact that nighttime temps have been dropping near 40 degrees. Hoppers flitting around in swarms.
“This is great!” she yelled yesterday as we were rigging up on the upper Manistee. “Sunny. Hot. Hoppers. Cold beer in the cooler. It’s ideal!”
And, it was.
Lots of fish were feeding and Kate caught brookies and browns. I mostly watched, but raised a couple of nice feeders at the downstream end of a sediment trap until I successfully put them down with an EXTREMELY sloppy cast.
Ah, well. Even the best carpenter slams a hammer down onto his thumb occasionally. Right? Please say “yes” and I’ll feel a whole lot better. I mean, those were a couple of NICE fish.
People ask me if I actually fish anymore. Since I’m a guide and all.
Well, yes. Sort of. I mean I made some casts yesterday. Today, since Kate absolutely had to have a few much-needed “vacation days,” I laid back against a big log and looked at the pines and popples waving in the breeze while she fished.
Then a flotilla of canoes came downriver—which is unusual in the Deward stretch—and we decided to take a hike.
Where we stopped was at a spot we long-ago dubbed the “Seven Sisters” because of the huge popples (poplar trees) that were falling one-by-one into the river.
One of them, in fact, narrowly missed killing Kate when it fell just after she had tied a mesh bag holding a couple of beers to a streamside root to stay icy cold while we fished.
I mean missed by maybe five or six feet! And that was a loooong time ago! But we never forgot that spot or that incident.
Anyway, we were there today and a couple of guys tossing spin gear were just getting off the river. Literally climbing the bank on their hands and knees.
Ironically, we had seen them yesterday across the river. Kate recognized them, but I didn’t. We talked for a while, mostly about the old ghost town of Deward.
Then a “posse” sauntered down the mostly-obliterated trail. Two women and a man on horseback.
They’re staying at the horse camp further downstream, and sure enough were looking for “the old ghost town of Deward.” We chatted for quite a while, and explained that nothing’s left except a couple of poured-concrete foundations and old well-sites.
And holes dug by “treasure-hunters” with metal detectors nearly twenty years ago. “We used the bricks they dug up to build the hearth and fascia for our fireplace,” Kate explained. “Which is great for us. We were happy to salvage that piece of history.”
“Some of the bricks are even stamped SBC—Saginaw Brick Company,” I added. “But your horses might step into some of those holes, so be careful if you go over there.”
The two fishermen, Ken Krabbe and Dennis Quast, had already wandered back to their car before the equestrians finally cantered downriver.
Back at the Jeep, Ken and Dennis had left their addresses and a couple of bucks for postage for info on the old Deward ghost town. We’d told them we had a rough map, plus some background info, and they were really interested in getting it mailed to them.
To cap things off, on our road back into Blue Lakes Junction we couldn’t figure out what we were seeing in the distance.
Turned out to be two teenage boys and a girl, carrying shotguns. Don’t ask my why. I have NO clue.
Kate asked if they “needed any help.”
“Nope. We’re with a group.” End of discussion.
“This,” Kate said, “has been a VERY strange fishing day!”
Indeed.
ENGLISH SETTER UPDATE
Ghost saw the canine ophthalmologist Dan Lorimer again Friday morning.
“She’s doing great!” he exclaimed after a brief examination. “I know you don’t think so, but that’s why you’re the hunting and fishing guide and I’m the ophthalmologist.
“She’s 80 percent healthy. In another week she’ll be 90 percent. By September 1st she’ll be healed.”
Thank GOD! Her left eye looks so cloudy that I thought she was blind.
“It could look even worse before it gets better,” Dr. Dan warned. “It might even get red. Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.”
Heart, meanwhile, continues to ravage and savage. He’s 14 months old and definitely full of himself. Our morning “runs” are truly an adventure.
He’s a powerful young thing!
Less than a month now to Grouse Opener. WOW!
FLORIDA
Some tarpon have filtered into the backcountry of Charlotte Harbor, and certainly are working their way into the Myakka River that’s been so good to me over the past couple of years.
Redfish are lurking around the mangroves and oyster bars. Night snook are stacked up around lighted docks.
The only weasel in the woodpile right now is a tropical depression that could cross through Cuba and work its way up the Gulf coast. Only time will tell (in the next few days) about that.
MONTANA
Contact Capt. John through www.jacklinsflyshop.com to fish Yellowstone, the Madison, or the Missouri.
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Manistee River - August 16th, 2008
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED:
78 °
FISHING: Great
AUGUST 16, 2008
MICHIGAN
Kate just finished an exceptionally exhausting editing job and very much needed some R&R. So, we loaded the dogs into the bedroom crates and beer into the cooler.
And went fishing.
I had just finished a “Rookie School” with Tom Maier, a native Michiganian, and his brother-in-law, Brad Saxon. Brad’s from the Dallas area “Plano, actually,” he said, and had stumbled onto a whole pile of fly fishing rods and other gear at a yard sale.
“I was just wantin’ to buy a couple bass rods that he asked $15,” Brad said. “When I started walkin’ to my car with them he scooped up a whole handful of aluminum rod tubes and dumped ‘em in my trunk.
“Got home and found out there were fly fishin rods inside. Heck,” he replied at my question, “I didn’t pay attention to names on the rods.”
“When I send the photos from our trip,” I said, “let me know if there are any names or brands on the rods and I’ll give you a heads-up on what you’ve got.”
After going through “basic training” on casting lessons and entomology, we spent the next couple of hours on “how to fish a trout stream” at the Guides Rest access on the Au Sable River.
Actually, I spent most of my time with Brad. Tom seemed to be doing pretty well on his own, and at the end of the day reported that he’d landed a 10-inch brookie. Which was wonderful, considering it was his birthday!
Brad never did hook a trout, but he got hooked on trout fishing!
In fact, he got hooked on northern Michigan.
“I love this place!” he exclaimed several times. “I’m gonna retire here. People tell me I’ll say that till I go through the first hard winter. But I just love it.
“I can’t get over how beautiful everything is!”
Kate pretty much feels the same way. Sunshine and blue sky during the day. A full moon at night—despite the fact that nighttime temps have been dropping near 40 degrees. Hoppers flitting around in swarms.
“This is great!” she yelled yesterday as we were rigging up on the upper Manistee. “Sunny. Hot. Hoppers. Cold beer in the cooler. It’s ideal!”
And, it was.
Lots of fish were feeding and Kate caught brookies and browns. I mostly watched, but raised a couple of nice feeders at the downstream end of a sediment trap until I successfully put them down with an EXTREMELY sloppy cast.
Ah, well. Even the best carpenter slams a hammer down onto his thumb occasionally. Right? Please say “yes” and I’ll feel a whole lot better. I mean, those were a couple of NICE fish.
People ask me if I actually fish anymore. Since I’m a guide and all.
Well, yes. Sort of. I mean I made some casts yesterday. Today, since Kate absolutely had to have a few much-needed “vacation days,” I laid back against a big log and looked at the pines and popples waving in the breeze while she fished.
Then a flotilla of canoes came downriver—which is unusual in the Deward stretch—and we decided to take a hike.
Where we stopped was at a spot we long-ago dubbed the “Seven Sisters” because of the huge popples (poplar trees) that were falling one-by-one into the river.
One of them, in fact, narrowly missed killing Kate when it fell just after she had tied a mesh bag holding a couple of beers to a streamside root to stay icy cold while we fished.
I mean missed by maybe five or six feet! And that was a loooong time ago! But we never forgot that spot or that incident.
Anyway, we were there today and a couple of guys tossing spin gear were just getting off the river. Literally climbing the bank on their hands and knees.
Ironically, we had seen them yesterday across the river. Kate recognized them, but I didn’t. We talked for a while, mostly about the old ghost town of Deward.
Then a “posse” sauntered down the mostly-obliterated trail. Two women and a man on horseback.
They’re staying at the horse camp further downstream, and sure enough were looking for “the old ghost town of Deward.” We chatted for quite a while, and explained that nothing’s left except a couple of poured-concrete foundations and old well-sites.
And holes dug by “treasure-hunters” with metal detectors nearly twenty years ago. “We used the bricks they dug up to build the hearth and fascia for our fireplace,” Kate explained. “Which is great for us. We were happy to salvage that piece of history.”
“Some of the bricks are even stamped SBC—Saginaw Brick Company,” I added. “But your horses might step into some of those holes, so be careful if you go over there.”
The two fishermen, Ken Krabbe and Dennis Quast, had already wandered back to their car before the equestrians finally cantered downriver.
Back at the Jeep, Ken and Dennis had left their addresses and a couple of bucks for postage for info on the old Deward ghost town. We’d told them we had a rough map, plus some background info, and they were really interested in getting it mailed to them.
To cap things off, on our road back into Blue Lakes Junction we couldn’t figure out what we were seeing in the distance.
Turned out to be two teenage boys and a girl, carrying shotguns. Don’t ask my why. I have NO clue.
Kate asked if they “needed any help.”
“Nope. We’re with a group.” End of discussion.
“This,” Kate said, “has been a VERY strange fishing day!”
Indeed.
ENGLISH SETTER UPDATE
Ghost saw the canine ophthalmologist Dan Lorimer again Friday morning.
“She’s doing great!” he exclaimed after a brief examination. “I know you don’t think so, but that’s why you’re the hunting and fishing guide and I’m the ophthalmologist.
“She’s 80 percent healthy. In another week she’ll be 90 percent. By September 1st she’ll be healed.”
Thank GOD! Her left eye looks so cloudy that I thought she was blind.
“It could look even worse before it gets better,” Dr. Dan warned. “It might even get red. Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.”
Heart, meanwhile, continues to ravage and savage. He’s 14 months old and definitely full of himself. Our morning “runs” are truly an adventure.
He’s a powerful young thing!
Less than a month now to Grouse Opener. WOW!
FLORIDA
Some tarpon have filtered into the backcountry of Charlotte Harbor, and certainly are working their way into the Myakka River that’s been so good to me over the past couple of years.
Redfish are lurking around the mangroves and oyster bars. Night snook are stacked up around lighted docks.
The only weasel in the woodpile right now is a tropical depression that could cross through Cuba and work its way up the Gulf coast. Only time will tell (in the next few days) about that.
MONTANA
Contact Capt. John through www.jacklinsflyshop.com to fish Yellowstone, the Madison, or the Missouri.
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Manistee River - July 28th, 2008
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED: 
78 °
FISHING: Great
JULY 28, 2008
MICHIGAN
Our weather continues its roller-coaster ride of highs and lows. Temps at night have dropped into the 40s, followed by hot sun at mid-day, then the threat of T-storms in the late afternoon.
A lot like Florida at this time of year. Except for the chilly nights, that is!
All things considered, fishing has been pretty darn good despite the barometric fluctuations.
The puzzling thing is that we’re not getting the usual daytime hatches of blue wing olives (Baetis) and caddis. Likewise, the Hopper Hatch hasn’t exploded. We have started seeing some larger hoppers flitting about, though, which is terrific.
And THAT means (I hope) that August will provide exceptionally good fishing on the Au Sable and Manistee rivers.
Actually, we’ve raised a lot of fish during the past week, including a fat, beautiful, 14-inch brown that Jack Helder nailed on an olive caddis. More on that in a minute.
Eric Sharp, Outdoors Editor for the Detroit Free Press, and my good friend Jim Powers floated the Manistee with me last Tuesday. Eric made photos, I poled the Longboat and Jim fished.
In three hours, mostly using an orange-bodied Tarantula, Jim raised at least 25 trout and boated nine. Pretty good for a “pound-em-up” kinda day!
Seems like every time I take Eric fishing or grouse hunting we have more than our share of success. Which is a GOOD thing when newspaper articles are involved (more on THAT later, too!)
The Tarantula, which gained a lot of popularity out West several years ago, is a variation on the venerable Michigan Skunk that’s caught a bazillion fish around these parts during the past hundred years. The Au Sable Skunk typically has a black body, white rubber legs, and deer hair flared over the back. Tarantulas have a variety of body colors, incorporates some Krystal Flash, and usually has a white calf-body wing.
It was all the rage around here, too, a few years back, and Jim pulled one out of his fly box when caddis weren’t “getting ‘er done.” Bingo!
The next day Gar Collick and his lady friend Phyllis Thayer floated the Au Sable from Stephan’s to Wakeley.
I had given Phyllis some casting lessons a couple weeks ago, but this was her first time ever actually fly fishing. We spent a considerable time in the trees, but finally put a fish in the boat.
“What a beautiful day,” Gar repeated several times during the float. He hadn’t been trout fishing for 50 years, “and I’ve been longing to get back up here on the Au Sable River.”
In the “It’s a small world” department, Gar “broke in” one of my regular clients—Mike Wesch—at Detroit Edison many years ago. “I can’t believe you guide Mike, too,” Gar said. “Wait till you tell him you took ole Gar down the river!”
Thursday was Jack Helder’s day to shine. We did the Stephan-Wakeley stretch and Jack was Game On. He hasn’t done much fishing lately, but his casting was on the money.
That fat 14-inch brown was the highlight, but he raised many others and boated quite a few. Dennis was content to sit in the middle all day, but did catch the first fish of the day.
Since both are old friends (and Dennis owns the ad agency Kate does freelance work for) they stayed at Blue Lakes Junction with us.
MAN did we feast! Jack made whitefish over a bed of cilantro, sliced tomatoes, and a sauce of oil, paprika, bouillon, cumin, turmeric and pepper. He also made a salad of avocado, blueberries, raspberries, sweet onion and fresh basil leaves. Superb!
I fished Bill Hardesty and his lady friend, Faye Duren the next day. We did “Rookie School” down near CCC Bridge on the Manistee, and covered all the elements of fly fishing.
Faye had done some fly fishing back in Minnesota (she works for an ad agency in St. Paul), but Bill is new to the sport. He’s a Tactician on racing sailboats, and had just finished second in the Chicago-to-Mackinaw race.
Bill raised a few fish but didn’t hook up, and Faye landed a smallish brown trout just before we called it quits. Both had a great time and a great day. In fact, I’m taking Bill on a float trip tomorrow.
“This is really great,” he said. “Too bad you have to go back to work, babe!” Faye grimaced. Especially since her cell phone messages made her wince about personnel problems at the agency.
I, on the other hand, went home to an outstanding meal of whole wheat spaghetti topped with a luscious clam sauce prepared by Dennis. YUM!
Saturday morning the guys decided to sleep in rather than join me on the Upper Manistee just a few miles from home. I was meeting Jack String, who had become THOROUGHLY frustrated by the fact that he’d fished this water a dozen times and never caught a trout.
Jack actually called me the end of June, while I was still guiding tarpon anglers in Florida.
“That’s okay,” he said. “I live in Columbus, and won’t be back to our cabin on Blue Lake (a few miles west of our house) until late July.” We finally set the date, and I watched while Jack fished.
“You’re moving too fast,” I finally told him. “And you need to cast a longer line. You’re pushing the fish downstream ahead of you. The nearest ones get spooked, then they swim down and panic the others.”
Ultimately, Jack nailed a 10-inch brook trout—which a VERY nice brookie for this water—and was grinning from ear to ear.
“What a way to end my bad streak,” he said. “This is a great fish. And I really learned a lot. It was really frustrating coming over here time after time without ever catching anything!”
He went home to Blue Lake and I went home to Blue Lakes Junction, where I prepared a cordon bleu of grouse stuffed with proscuitto and provolone, topped with Mornay sauce and crumbled bacon bits.
It was pronounced edible by Kate, Jack and Dennis. “Urp!” Truly three nights of Bacchanalia! In fact, yesterday Jack and Dennis each claimed to have gained four pounds during those three days!
Yesterday—still so stuffed I couldn’t even eat a slice of the wild blackberry pie Kate had made for desert Saturday night—I floated Bill and Lorrie Howenstein down the Manistee.
Bill’s an attorney from Grosse Pointe Farms, and Lorrie’s a “Candler Girl”—meaning she literally grew up on the Manistee at “Beaverkill” the lodge her father, J. Nall Candler, built 62 years ago.
As you might imagine, both Bill and Lorrie are pretty good casters, and raised 14 fish during our three-hour float. It was the first time I’d had the pleasure of guiding them, although I’ve fished past Beaverkill hundreds of times over the years.
Perhaps we’ll get to spend another afternoon together when they come back Up North for the Upper Manistee River Association (UMRA) potluck and fundraiser August 23.
Speaking of which, UMRA is raffling off a Temple Fork Outfitters 479 Finesse rod, along with a TFO reel and Royal Wulff fly line, and a David Ruimveld Manistee River print. Tickets are $5 and you need not be present to win!
ENGLISH SETTER UPDATE
Golly, only seven weeks until Grouse Opener! And Heart still hasn’t learned all his manners! In fact, he and Ghost are laying down in their crates out in the Tahoe right now because they were getting rowdy.
Every day he get a little bit better, but we still have to stop him from jumping up onto people. He just gets so excited he can’t control himself. He is getting better at “heel,” though.
And brother does he get excited over birds! Mourning doves send him into a frenzy when he’s on the porch and they land under Kate’s bird feeders.
Ghost’s eye is getting better, but it’s not a hundred percent. She’ll need to see Dr. Dan Lorimer again when he comes back up to Grayling in August. Nothing slows her down, though.
Indominatable is the word that most comes to mind when talking about her!
I’ve booked Ken McIntyre for a couple of days in September, but I still have a few more prime days open in October. Check your schedule and let me know!
FLORIDA
There still are tarpon being caught off the barrier islands around Venice, Casey Key and Sarasota.
There’s also a wide mix of fish in Sarasota bay, including pompano and bluefish, and snook under the lights in Venice and Nokomis continues to be excellent.
Just remember to fish very early or very late in the day. The heat’s literally a killer!
MONTANA
Contact www.jacklinsflyshop.com and ask for Capt. John. All the rivers are fishing well right now.
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Manistee River - July 8th, 2008
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED:
87 °
FISHING: Excellent
JULY 8, 2008
I’m BAAAAAAAAAACK! Nearly two months to the day after I left Kate, Ghost and Heart in Michigan to guide tarpon anglers in Florida I’m BAAAAAACK!!!!!!
So are Hex. But I’ll get to that in a coupla minutes.
Gotta admit that Michigan’s weather during May and June was pretty awful. “No guiding today! not in this weather,” Kate would tell me time after time. Meanwhile, I was booked solid in Venice. Whew!
We saw lots of tarpon. The “hooking” part was below-average because I had a lot of first-timers who were so awed/mesmerized/intimidated by those huge fish they sometimes forgot to cast!
Oh, well. It happens. That’s all part of the learning curve. Next time, they’ll be much better!
Snook, trout, and redfish were wonderful playmates, however. Lots of fish and big smiles from happy anglers.
Anyway, I got back to Deward at 7:30 last night after a gratefully uneventful drive. No flat tires. No near-misses with other drivers. Just some heavy rain south of Atlanta.
The dogs were absolutely THRILLED when I pulled up next to the house. I think Kate was, too, but you never know about wives. Especially as long as WE’VE been married! Just kidding Red. That was a great big hug and kiss you laid on me in the driveway!
Heart has grown tremendously in the two months I was gone. He’s getting to be quite the big, handsome, young man.
Ghost, of course, is perfect in every way. Except fort that left eye she diced and sliced several times over her years of crashing through heavy brush and blackberry thickets. She’s seeing canine ophthalmologist Dan Lorimer on Friday to get THAT handled!
OK, OK. About the Hex!
They’re still popping on the upper Manistee River. Talked with Steve Sendek, fisheries biologist for this area, a few hours ago and he told me the Au Sable’s finished for the hatch, but the upper Manistee is still getting duns and spinners.
Nobody knows how long that will LAST, of course. So, get here quickquickquick if you want to try and hit them this season!
Hoppers will be starting soon, so keep that in mind. White Flies (Ephron lukon) will be covering the Au Sable below Mio in a month and that’s as spectacular a sight as any you’ll ever see in your angling career!
It’s also only TWO months till Grouse Opener. I still have some prime days open in October! If you’re into pheasant, Capt. John has a magnificent lease in central Montana near Great Falls. We (Ghost and I) hunted there a few years ago and it was crawling with roosters.
I’ve got a casting lesson tomorrow (a woman who’s new to the sport and has a float booked with me later this month), but I’ll be dropping the Longboat in the water realquick.
I’ll keep you posted!
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Manistee River - October 19th, 2007
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED: 
60 °
FISHING: Excellent
OCTOBER 19, 2007
MICHIGAN
The Chinook salmon run has hit its peak and is now “officially” on the downhill slide. That’s the bad news.
The GOOD news is that steelhead fishing in the Manistee River and the Pere Marquette River is getting better and better every day!
We really are blessed, here in Michigan, with such a wonderfully diverse and prolific fishery. Think about it:
The Au Sable and Manistee Rivers routinely yield catches of brown trout pushing 30 inches (in fact, one of my clients, Paco Janka, caught a 30-incher during the Hex hatch a couple of years ago!)
We have Chinooks pushing 50 POUNDS!
Steelhead average 9 pounds. Fish from 12 to 15 pounds are common, and steelhead more than 20 pounds have been caught in the Manistee and PM.
Our special regulation (fly-only) water is open year-round, and if you’re into that special form of masochism known as “Ice Fishing.” You can freeze your patootie on Higgins Lake from January through early March!
Oh, yeah. There’s also smallmouth, largemouth, pike, musky, carp, and—in one very special place I know—world-class bluegill fishing! What a GREAT place to live and fish.
Of course, I’ll get to the FLORIDA portion of my fishing report after I tell you about the SPECTACULAR grouse and woodcock hunting we’ve been having.
We’ve hunted 26 days, and we’re averaging 7.3 birds per hour—which means we’re seeing a bird about every EIGHT MINUTES! The breakdown is 68 grouse and 121 woodcock—and that’s without flight birds down here yet from Canada or the Yoop.
Ken McIntyre, who lawyers for the Dickinson-Wright firm in Detroit, spent two days with me and saw 19 birds the first but just five the second when the heat and wind kicked up. He limited both days on woodcock, though, and his Gordon setter Caliedgh (pronounced Kay-lee, which is Scottish for “party”) had a wonderful time.
Ironically, tomorrow I’ve got another Dickinson-Wright Partner, John Norris. We’re going to hunt the Pigeon River Country.
Yesterday, I had Geoff and Greg Bump. They hunted with me last year “because we can find all the woodcock we want but can’t seem to locate grouse.”
I showed them new covers and got them into grouse last season, and “we started finding birds after we hunted together. In fact, now we even call some of the places we scout “Capt. Tony covers” because we never would have hunted them until you showed us how productive they can be.”
Thank you, Geoff, for that ringing testimonial!
Actually, you’d better thank Ghost, since she’s the one who showed you all those birds last year.
Yesterday, she had a much tougher time. The wind was howling, and the scent was really dissipated while we had her on the ground. Shots were taken, but nothing was bagged.
We used Greg’s Brittany, Fanny, at the next covert. Greg missed one grouse flush, then shot a grouse Fanny had been pointing in an old blow-down stump. Fortunately, the wind had subsided for her.
The nasty stuff popped up again this morning, and has been with us all day and even as I write. I can only hope that it settles down for our afternoon hunt tomorrow!
FLORIDA
The weather’s got things roiled down there, too!
Kevin Cooke, who owns Casey Key Anglers & Outfitters with his dad, Bob, tells me the Spanish mackerel and king mackerel have been popping up here and there. Bonito (little tunny), too.
Best fishing has been in the wee hours of the morning, of course—because of the heat.
There are some juvie and old-dog “resident” tarpon getting themselves hooked, but it’s not a real consistent thing.
The Spanish, king, and tunny fishing will keep getting better as the fish join up in huge schools for the annual southerly migration. We should have good fishing for them when I get back to Venice just before Thanksgiving.
Fortunately, Sarasota Bay is getting back to normal again after that 11-month episode of red tide two years ago. My guide friends tell me the fish are patterning normally again.
And, since there was ZERO hurricane activity in Florida this “season,” none of the fishing areas were disturbed.
Capt. John and I have a lot of trips already booked, but take a look at your schedule and let’s make some time to fish together!
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Manistee River - October 14th, 2007
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED:
50 °
FISHING: Excellent
OCTOBER 14, 2007
MICHIGAN
It went down to 27 degrees last night! Daytime high temps are supposed to be in the mid-50s the rest of this week, with nighttime lows in the lower 30s.
That means the steelhead and salmon fishing will simply get better and better and better on the Boyne (40 minutes north), the Pere Marquette (near Baldwin), and the Manistee (near Wellston).
I chatted with Ray Schmidt, who owns Schmidt Outfitters in Wellston, a couple of days ago and he told me the Manistee is positively choked with salmon.
“This cold weather is bringing a bunch of steelies in,” Ray said, “and the brown trout are moving back out into the spawn now that some of the salmon are dying. Fishing has been excellent!”
I did a “Cast & Blast” Friday and Saturday, fishing the Au Sable “Holy Water”, then the Manistee below M72. I’d like to say the fishing was superb. I’d LIKE to say that. But, then I’d be lying.
Fact is, Joe Mitchell, from South Bend, and Grayson Davis, from Valparaiso, Indiana, made beautiful casts that went largely ignored by the brookies and browns. Water was just too cold!
I guess we should have been chasing salmon or steelies, but Joe wanted Grayson to experience the joys of fishing from an Au Sable longboat. So, that’s precisely what we did!
The good news is that although we didn’t boat many fish, we had blue sky and sunshine and spectacular scenery and the guys were splendidly relaxed.
Grayson, who’s a biology professor at Valparaiso University, was particularly thrilled with the “Blast” portion of the trip. He’d never hunted grouse or woodcock, but wanted to.
So, after a course in basic firearms safety, we went afield behind Ghost and she—as always—responded magnificently. She pointed four woodcock in about a half-hour on Friday, and one grouse and seven woodcock in about 30 minutes Saturday.
Grayson was afflicted with the malady most all beginners suffer. He kept staring at the birds and never pulled the trigger until the final bird went up. “I kept waiting for that ‘certainty,’” he said.
“Grayson,” I replied, “the only certainty is that nothing’s going to come down from the sky unless you pull the trigger and put some lead in the air!”
Then I told him not to feel too badly. “Steve Slikkers, who I guided on a float trip earlier this summer, brought his father-in-law, Rod Dunneback, over from Traverse City for a hunt last Thursday.
“The both did exactly the same thing. They kept watching the birds fly off until they were so far out that the cylinder/skeet chokes they were shooting were useless. The pattern had opened up so far there was no WAY they were going to hit anything!
“Ghost and Abner showed them three grouse and 15 woodcock that day. Steve knocked down a woodcock while I was walking Ghost back to the truck on her LEAD, and then they both nailed one on her last point at another covert.
“At one point, I told Rod that he had to pull the trigger and put lead in the air—those hulls aren’t that expensive.”
Grayson went home to Indiana filled with visions of a lot more days walking in the woods behind a good dog.
Me, too, since I’ve got a pretty full schedule of guide trips over the next two weeks.
Hard to believe that in just five weeks Kate and Ghost and Heart will be heading for Florida and the start of yet another season of guided fishing (and preserve quail hunts) down there.
The 2007 Hewes Redfisher 18 has been kept purring thanks to Kevin Cooke, co-owner and shop manager at Casey Key Anglers & Outfitters, and Admiral Bob Parker.
Check your schedule and e-me with some possible dates for chasing baby tarpon, snook, redfish, and all the other finny friends who make us happy from lower Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound.
Till next time…
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Manistee River - September 25th, 2007
supplied by: Tight Loops Flyfishing
RECORDED: 
72 °
FISHING: Excellent
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
FINALLY! It absolutely POURED last night and brother, do we need that rain!
With cooler temperatures in the forecast beginning tomorrow, salmon will be flooding (yes, pun intended) the lower Manistee near Wellston, the Pere Marquette near Baldwin, and our own Boyne River a few miles north of us.
Streamer fishing on the Upper Manistee has been superb. The big browns are in full spawning colors, and this flush of cool water will make fishing even more spectacular than it is now.
If that’s possible!
Same for the Big Water below Mio. Bob Linseman, who owns the Au Sable Angler fly shop in Mio, told me a few minutes ago that water temps are in the low 60s down there.
“This rain will really get those big guys moving!” Bob said. Unfortunately, his stretch of the Au Sable closes on Sunday until the last Saturday in April, 2008!
Which is crazy, since that stretch between Mio and McKinley is designated as special-regulation trophy water. The hitch, though, is that it’s not “fly-only”—which would allow anglers to fish there year-round with release-only during the “closed” season.
Since the Manistee River from M72 to CCC Bridge was designated as fly-only a few years ago, we can still float or wade that stretch until the snow flies and the guides (both me and the rods’) freeze over!
So, if you still have a hankerin’ for some huge brown trout and beautiful brookies, the Au Sable longboat is rigged and ready to float!
Speaking of colder weather, Ghost, Abner, and Heart are currently curled up in their crates—inside the Durango—hoping that we’ll go hunting.
That was the plan until the weather stayed warm—nearly 70f overnight! Just the sort of conditions that could easily kill a dog.
I clearly remember what happened to Don Ingle’s lab, Socrates, several years ago. We weren’t in the field more than 10 minutes when Soc was hit with heat-stroke.
We used Don’s vest to carry that 90-pound dog out of the field, then stopped at Club 37 near Baldwin and I covered Don and Soc in the front seat of my truck with about 30 pounds of tiny ice cubes. It saved the dog’s life!
So, the plan is for us to head out early tomorrow morning for a little more “scouting.”
What a season it’s been so far. We’ve seen—or more appropriately HEARD--25 grouse and 23 woodcock. That averages out to 9 birds an HOUR! And we’ve been limited time-wise because after about the first hour it’s been too warm to risk hurting the dogs.
Heart turned 15 weeks old yesterday, and he’s having a blast romping with Ghost and, particularly, Abner. Heart and Abe race around inside my 750-square-foot enclosure, wrestling and running like crazy.
He’s also getting a feel for the woods because I take him out along the river on a 20-foot lead. He runs, then stops and looks back at me. The other day he learned how to “go swimming” in the river.
What a hoot! He tentatively put his feet in the river, then got braver and started splashing. He was a bit startled when he hit a deeper spot, but that little bugger jumped right back into it.
What a smile!
And you should have seen him light up when I stuck an opening-day grouse under his nose! Then, when the woodcock season opened last Saturday I set a couple of birds in the weeds and let him poke around on the lead.
When he found each woodcock I praised him as if no dog in the history of the world had ever done something that phenomenal. He absolutely went NUTS!
But now he knows what his purpose in life is all about! If he keeps progressing as rapidly as he has so far (we still have to learn whoa, however), he might get to actually hunt the last few days of the season.
Speaking of that, I still have a few days open, so check your schedule and come join the fun!
Tight Loops,
Capt. Tony
photos
|
|
Your search returned 21 items (most recent reports for all waters in )
Now showing items: 1 - 10. Select page: 1
2
3
|
|
|
|
|
 |
CLOSE OUT SALE Scott E2 Rods
Deschutes Canyon Fly Shop, Inc.
30% Off great single handed rods!
Special: $346.50
More
info >>
|
Watermark Fly Fishing Packs - CLOSEOUT!
Fishwest Outfitters
Quality gear bags and packs at prices that won't lighten your wallet...
Special: CLOSEOUT PRICES!!!
More
info >>
|
Free Line with any CND Rod Purchase!
All About the Fly
Free Line!
Special: Free Line
More
info >>
|
| view all specials >>
|
|
|
|