Steve@BBT
04-11-2005, 12:32 PM
Well folks,
A little slower out there for "most" these past few days, but that was to be expected with it being the first weekend in April with beautiful weather along with some of the other rivers still being tough to fish. Foot traffic in the popular areas was about as thick as it ever gets in the spring and the drift boat hatch here was in full swing.
High water and lower fish numbers had kept a lot of the anglers that normally come up earlier from doing so and it appears that everyone had the same idea of coming on up these past few days and taking advantage of the weather and better water. Some angler did do very well, others hit just a few and even more are probably now convinced that there isn't a single fish in the system!
High traffic and bright sunshine kept most fish hiding under a log somewhere, but those that knew where they wanted to be and when to be there, did OK regardless. Most of the guys I hang with aren't real big on staking out a spot so they just got into the rotation and did what they could do while thoroughly enjoying a few gorgeous spring days. Some of them lucked into a good rotation and did well, others didn't, got dinked, but still had a great time because they knew what they were getting into!
I've already seen one thread started on a site where a guy was complaining about the traffic, but last I checked, the replies were dead on. Basically put, don't go to any popular river during peak seasons on a great weather weekend if you're going to have a problem with sharing the resource or at least, try something off the beaten path. (Especially if it's the first weekend in a while when there's any fish around at all and the river is accessible!) Anyway, most I spoke with were having a good time and enjoying themselves having already thought of all that...
On Friday Jim took my trip with Jason and Justin for me hitting a mid section of river and overall, they did pretty well. The gist of it was that they battled several large adults, a number of smaller "skippers" and caught a number of decent trout to boot. Spoke with them after the trip and they had a really good time. They also pointed out that it was the first time either had held a fly rod! Here's few shots of their day...
Justin with a nice Brown...
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-08-05-1.jpg
...and a nice Skipper!
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-08-05-2.jpg
Jason with a nice Michigan Bone!
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-08-05-3.jpg
For some reason, he liked this one more.
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-08-05-4.jpg
Some other friends and clients of mine walked into one of those popular areas around mid day on Friday and managed to hook better than a half dozen landing two of them. It's amazing how much good water is actually open when most others are staring at empty gravel beds...
Saturday was the circus day and went about like I described above with some doing very well, some doing OK and many not doing much at all as far as the catching goes. We had a three boat trip go out of the shop at a reasonable hour jumping right in the middle of the flotilla.
Depending on the luck of the draw in that rotation I spoke of, they went from skunk, to a couple of Steelies, to a pretty darn good day. Didn't get a chance to speak with all of the anglers after the trip, but the four I did, including the two that didn't wind up hitting a Steelhead, had a great time while learning a lot. Here's a couple of shots I stole from John's camera.
John with client Mike and his nice hen.
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-09-05-1.jpg
Here's Kurt with a feisty little male.
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-09-05-2.jpg
On Saturday night I hobbled down to Edie's with my wife Karen, John, Heather, Herb and Linda for a friend's (Heather's Mom, Mary) surprise birthday party. We didn't stay too long, but while there I found out another friend of mine (John Derbabian of Red Sky Guide Service (http://www.redskyguideservice.com/) who was there for the same thing had been cancelled for the next day and was willing to row me down the river!
John usually spends most of his time in the mid and lower sections of the river as that's where he guides, but I talked him into rowing me thru the bug water as a change of pace and so that I could see for myself what's going on up there while enjoying the company and weather. We launched behind seven or eight boats at M-37 and took our time just floating along and occasionally making a few cast into some dark water.
The traffic was high around the usual easy access points, but I'm sure not as high as the day before and we still managed to spot a good number of fish even around those popular areas and with those boats ahead of us. (Neither of us felt like tossing to visible fish however.) Stopped in one spot where we could see a half dozen fish on some beds, but just fished the deep run in front of it until John Karakashian came around the corner with his clients.
Just before those guys showed up I had hit one large male breaking it off purposely as it started to head back to the lake (I was in jeans and a big leg brace so chasing a fish around was out of the question.) and just as they arrived I was battling a big bright and tight hen that was giving us a show! Figuring that I would wind up losing this one as well with my lack of maneuverability I was able to convince one of John's clients to take over, but after a bit more of a battle she turned just right and popped the hook.
Oh well, fun while it lasted and I was ecstatic at not only being on the water, but also at having the opportunity to help make another anglers day more fun! (Something that still gives me as much pleasure as catching them myself, if and when it stops being that way, I'll stop guiding...) We left those guys with the spot and moved on after that. Saw a fair to good number of Steelhead here and there on our way down, but only wound up making a few more cast in a couple of pools. I was pretty content with my Steelhead action by then for the day and decided to toss a dry fly around a while instead.
Did see a couple of fish rise in the afternoon to the midges and stoneflies that were coming off, but had my head turned talking to John when my only shot came and I wound up missing a very nice Brown that would have been my first of the season on a dry. I actually would have preferred to streamer fish as I do like it more and I'm positive it would have been productive, but I tend to really get into it and would have had to stand the whole time taking a chance on the knee. Here's a couple of shots from the day...
Keith bagged this wise old Buck!
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-10-05-1.jpg
I only stood up a few times, but man it was great to out there!
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-10-05-2.jpg
John and I were off the river early and I was completely happy with the day until he got back to the landing with the truck and showed me a note that had been left for him on his truck... It looks like the bottom half of the note tore off in the wind or something, but the top half read: "Next time I see this truck at federal (missing something here) I will... (missing the rest, but you get the gist.) In other words, some sort of threat by someone that knows John Guides, but doesn't have a federal permit for those launches and "thought" he was there guiding.
Well, let me tell a few folks out there something, this was the second time that day where I heard of a guide that doesn't have a Federal permit being accused of guiding from Federal launches and both times, I now know to be false.
One guy "thought" that Clint from the Red Moose Lodge was guiding in the fly water on Saturday because he had two anglers in his boat that he was helping out with fishing and it turns out that those "anglers" were Greg and Carrie, friends of his and friends of mine that he was just out having a good time with. John, obviously wasn't guiding, because I couldn't afford to pay one right now even if I needed one!
Get it straight folks, just because someone, anyone, has some people in their boat and even if they're helping them out, it doesn't mean that they're getting paid for it. It's bad enough that there's so many anglers out there thinking that every guy in a drift boat is a guide, but it's even worse when someone that is a guide gets accused of doing something illegal or threatened because someone "thought" they were. Both of those guys are playing by the rules as most do, so don't go jumping to conclusions.
Guess that's enough on that for now, but it really ticked me off that a friend got some sort of threat on his windshield for something he wasn't doing just because I talked him into taking ME there. Those launches are everyone's to enjoy and as long as the use is not commercial, everyone's to use. (Float permits required for all during certain times of the year of course.)
Just judging by what I can see from my window and past trends, I'd say traffic is back down quite a bit today, so the catching should pick up again. (It is a bit windy and chilly in comparison to the weekend however.) I just got off the phone with Tim from the weir and he and Hank are very busy getting caught up on the fish counts from the weekend. As of this moment they're at noon on Saturday (30 hours since the last count at 6:00 am on Friday of 2307 Steelhead and 4079 Suckers.) and it's up to 2645 Steelhead and 4103 Suckers. Another 338 Steelies over a 30 hour period ain't bad at all!
Hank will be giving me a call as soon as they get the final number for today sometime later this afternoon and I'll add an update to this report as soon as I get it. Still looking like we're going to have a nice long season, "possibly" right on into mid May, but I wouldn't count on the numbers of fish "in the system" getting much better than what they are right now if you're waiting on that. My guess is that with the warmer water temps, as many will start finishing and leaving pretty soon as there are coming in and we'll just wind up with a nice rotation of fish.
Both my fish on Sunday took a small black stone over the egg and I heard similar stories of smaller nymphs doing the trick for others. Eggs, of course, took their fair share, mostly in smaller sizes and lighter colors up higher in the system, but brighter bigger stuff further down where the stain was more. Water temps have been fluctuating from low to mid forties all the way to the mid fifties depending on the day.
Guess that's all I have for now, will update those numbers later and then look for another report sometime mid week. Till then, tight lines!
Steve
A little slower out there for "most" these past few days, but that was to be expected with it being the first weekend in April with beautiful weather along with some of the other rivers still being tough to fish. Foot traffic in the popular areas was about as thick as it ever gets in the spring and the drift boat hatch here was in full swing.
High water and lower fish numbers had kept a lot of the anglers that normally come up earlier from doing so and it appears that everyone had the same idea of coming on up these past few days and taking advantage of the weather and better water. Some angler did do very well, others hit just a few and even more are probably now convinced that there isn't a single fish in the system!
High traffic and bright sunshine kept most fish hiding under a log somewhere, but those that knew where they wanted to be and when to be there, did OK regardless. Most of the guys I hang with aren't real big on staking out a spot so they just got into the rotation and did what they could do while thoroughly enjoying a few gorgeous spring days. Some of them lucked into a good rotation and did well, others didn't, got dinked, but still had a great time because they knew what they were getting into!
I've already seen one thread started on a site where a guy was complaining about the traffic, but last I checked, the replies were dead on. Basically put, don't go to any popular river during peak seasons on a great weather weekend if you're going to have a problem with sharing the resource or at least, try something off the beaten path. (Especially if it's the first weekend in a while when there's any fish around at all and the river is accessible!) Anyway, most I spoke with were having a good time and enjoying themselves having already thought of all that...
On Friday Jim took my trip with Jason and Justin for me hitting a mid section of river and overall, they did pretty well. The gist of it was that they battled several large adults, a number of smaller "skippers" and caught a number of decent trout to boot. Spoke with them after the trip and they had a really good time. They also pointed out that it was the first time either had held a fly rod! Here's few shots of their day...
Justin with a nice Brown...
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-08-05-1.jpg
...and a nice Skipper!
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-08-05-2.jpg
Jason with a nice Michigan Bone!
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-08-05-3.jpg
For some reason, he liked this one more.
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-08-05-4.jpg
Some other friends and clients of mine walked into one of those popular areas around mid day on Friday and managed to hook better than a half dozen landing two of them. It's amazing how much good water is actually open when most others are staring at empty gravel beds...
Saturday was the circus day and went about like I described above with some doing very well, some doing OK and many not doing much at all as far as the catching goes. We had a three boat trip go out of the shop at a reasonable hour jumping right in the middle of the flotilla.
Depending on the luck of the draw in that rotation I spoke of, they went from skunk, to a couple of Steelies, to a pretty darn good day. Didn't get a chance to speak with all of the anglers after the trip, but the four I did, including the two that didn't wind up hitting a Steelhead, had a great time while learning a lot. Here's a couple of shots I stole from John's camera.
John with client Mike and his nice hen.
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-09-05-1.jpg
Here's Kurt with a feisty little male.
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-09-05-2.jpg
On Saturday night I hobbled down to Edie's with my wife Karen, John, Heather, Herb and Linda for a friend's (Heather's Mom, Mary) surprise birthday party. We didn't stay too long, but while there I found out another friend of mine (John Derbabian of Red Sky Guide Service (http://www.redskyguideservice.com/) who was there for the same thing had been cancelled for the next day and was willing to row me down the river!
John usually spends most of his time in the mid and lower sections of the river as that's where he guides, but I talked him into rowing me thru the bug water as a change of pace and so that I could see for myself what's going on up there while enjoying the company and weather. We launched behind seven or eight boats at M-37 and took our time just floating along and occasionally making a few cast into some dark water.
The traffic was high around the usual easy access points, but I'm sure not as high as the day before and we still managed to spot a good number of fish even around those popular areas and with those boats ahead of us. (Neither of us felt like tossing to visible fish however.) Stopped in one spot where we could see a half dozen fish on some beds, but just fished the deep run in front of it until John Karakashian came around the corner with his clients.
Just before those guys showed up I had hit one large male breaking it off purposely as it started to head back to the lake (I was in jeans and a big leg brace so chasing a fish around was out of the question.) and just as they arrived I was battling a big bright and tight hen that was giving us a show! Figuring that I would wind up losing this one as well with my lack of maneuverability I was able to convince one of John's clients to take over, but after a bit more of a battle she turned just right and popped the hook.
Oh well, fun while it lasted and I was ecstatic at not only being on the water, but also at having the opportunity to help make another anglers day more fun! (Something that still gives me as much pleasure as catching them myself, if and when it stops being that way, I'll stop guiding...) We left those guys with the spot and moved on after that. Saw a fair to good number of Steelhead here and there on our way down, but only wound up making a few more cast in a couple of pools. I was pretty content with my Steelhead action by then for the day and decided to toss a dry fly around a while instead.
Did see a couple of fish rise in the afternoon to the midges and stoneflies that were coming off, but had my head turned talking to John when my only shot came and I wound up missing a very nice Brown that would have been my first of the season on a dry. I actually would have preferred to streamer fish as I do like it more and I'm positive it would have been productive, but I tend to really get into it and would have had to stand the whole time taking a chance on the knee. Here's a couple of shots from the day...
Keith bagged this wise old Buck!
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-10-05-1.jpg
I only stood up a few times, but man it was great to out there!
http://bbt.steelcity.net/04-10-05-2.jpg
John and I were off the river early and I was completely happy with the day until he got back to the landing with the truck and showed me a note that had been left for him on his truck... It looks like the bottom half of the note tore off in the wind or something, but the top half read: "Next time I see this truck at federal (missing something here) I will... (missing the rest, but you get the gist.) In other words, some sort of threat by someone that knows John Guides, but doesn't have a federal permit for those launches and "thought" he was there guiding.
Well, let me tell a few folks out there something, this was the second time that day where I heard of a guide that doesn't have a Federal permit being accused of guiding from Federal launches and both times, I now know to be false.
One guy "thought" that Clint from the Red Moose Lodge was guiding in the fly water on Saturday because he had two anglers in his boat that he was helping out with fishing and it turns out that those "anglers" were Greg and Carrie, friends of his and friends of mine that he was just out having a good time with. John, obviously wasn't guiding, because I couldn't afford to pay one right now even if I needed one!
Get it straight folks, just because someone, anyone, has some people in their boat and even if they're helping them out, it doesn't mean that they're getting paid for it. It's bad enough that there's so many anglers out there thinking that every guy in a drift boat is a guide, but it's even worse when someone that is a guide gets accused of doing something illegal or threatened because someone "thought" they were. Both of those guys are playing by the rules as most do, so don't go jumping to conclusions.
Guess that's enough on that for now, but it really ticked me off that a friend got some sort of threat on his windshield for something he wasn't doing just because I talked him into taking ME there. Those launches are everyone's to enjoy and as long as the use is not commercial, everyone's to use. (Float permits required for all during certain times of the year of course.)
Just judging by what I can see from my window and past trends, I'd say traffic is back down quite a bit today, so the catching should pick up again. (It is a bit windy and chilly in comparison to the weekend however.) I just got off the phone with Tim from the weir and he and Hank are very busy getting caught up on the fish counts from the weekend. As of this moment they're at noon on Saturday (30 hours since the last count at 6:00 am on Friday of 2307 Steelhead and 4079 Suckers.) and it's up to 2645 Steelhead and 4103 Suckers. Another 338 Steelies over a 30 hour period ain't bad at all!
Hank will be giving me a call as soon as they get the final number for today sometime later this afternoon and I'll add an update to this report as soon as I get it. Still looking like we're going to have a nice long season, "possibly" right on into mid May, but I wouldn't count on the numbers of fish "in the system" getting much better than what they are right now if you're waiting on that. My guess is that with the warmer water temps, as many will start finishing and leaving pretty soon as there are coming in and we'll just wind up with a nice rotation of fish.
Both my fish on Sunday took a small black stone over the egg and I heard similar stories of smaller nymphs doing the trick for others. Eggs, of course, took their fair share, mostly in smaller sizes and lighter colors up higher in the system, but brighter bigger stuff further down where the stain was more. Water temps have been fluctuating from low to mid forties all the way to the mid fifties depending on the day.
Guess that's all I have for now, will update those numbers later and then look for another report sometime mid week. Till then, tight lines!
Steve