Fichigan

Small Stream Trout fishing in Michigan

01 Oct 2015

Fish Camp 2015

Feral on Pickerel

Feral on Pickerel

Normally we call it trout camp which sounds a lot better. This year the trout streams were low and clear (tough fishing) and the weather was balmy so we concentrated on perch and bluegill at Pickerel Lake up in the Pigeon River State Game Area. Not that we didn’t try for trout. Feral picked up a small brook trout, Denny a very nice brook trout, and the rest of us should have tried harder. But the panfish were biting. We tight-lined a split shot with a small hook with half a crawler and felt for the bite, typically on the bottom. We kept enough for two dinners and it was all good.

Denny with a nice Brook Trout

Denny with a nice Brook Trout

With the nice weather it was also a year for exploring and treasure hunting. We hiked a mile into Mud Lake and found the remains of an old home or possibly a fancy resort including a huge field stone fireplace and a tennis court. Feral had his two metal detectors but all we found were shell casings, bottle caps and odd junk. Not the diamond studded gold-ring early-retirement plan I was hoping for.

Mud Lake Resort

Mud Lake Resort

We did find one treasure. Feral and I fished the Pigeon on Friday morning and we spotted a sled runner used to haul logs in the early 1900’s. A remnant of Michigan’s early logging days. Feral told Jake about it and he wanted it for an art project so four of us crossed a bog and river to retrieve it. It weighed about a 100 pounds soaking wet.

Natch grabs the sled runner

Natch lugs the sled runner across the Pigeon

Jake with sled runner

Jake holding the prize

Natch and I had our antique campers which typically draws a lot of interest. The campground was full and one person mentioned their father had one like mine. Another person took photos. There’s a post in the archive on my 1961 Apache Chief but I need to do a separate post on Natch’s 1966 Apache Chief. It’s pretty sweet including an add-a-room option (not shown) and fancier body style reminiscent of 1960’s Ford Falcon.

apache campers

We had a guitar jam on Saturday night with Jake on acoustic bass, Natch on bongos, Denny and I on guitar and Feral belting out some lyrics. Mike recorded some of it with his camera phone and I haven’t seen the footage but Rock Bottom and the Out of Tuners may have lived up to their name. Or not. A camper across the way commented to Feral about enjoying the music.

I was looking forward to the Lunar Eclipse on Sunday but clouds rolled in. We did catch a glimpse but didn’t get a photo. Still, it was a great night to hang at camp, tell stories and absorb some outdoors. Needed that.

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20 Sep 2015

Fishing theTributaries

Big brown 1

I had a very interesting time on a small tributary to the Rouge River this weekend. It rained Friday night so I was pretty sure the stream would be carrying some extra water which is really needed on water this small for spin fishing. It turned out to be my best day of fishing (so far) this year with a couple brown trout over sixteen inches and one over twenty. And several smaller trout. It was all catch and release.
I arrived about eight thirty in the morning and hiked into a normal put-in place which surprisingly was cleared away with a path right down to the stream. Someone had placed stair steps right into the river which was a shocker as I considered this section of stream to be “off the beaten path.” I tossed a lure from the top of the steps and right away a 16 inch brown came out from under a log for a quick look. After a couple casts he hit it and stayed on for about six seconds but managed to get off. So without even getting into the river I had some action.

The tributary

The stream, as I had hoped, was up and carrying a lot of mud. This was perfect as it allowed me to sneak up the river without being spotted by the trout and allowed me to make short casts upstream and perpendicular to the bank. On small water like this the trout often hit when the lure is at the rod tip. Explode may be a better word. I use an ultra light rod and spincast reel with 10 or 12 lb test Trilene XL line. In other words, a rod and reel that allows me to make pinpoint accurate casts into tight cover and monofilament line that will not break off on a huge trout.

big brown 2

I tossed a variety of lures including a gold super vibrax spinner and several minnow baits of various sizes and styles. When fishing muddy water the main thing is the trout need to see the lure so something with a lot of flash is helpful. As mentioned earlier I caught trout of all sizes and that tells me this is a very healthy stream. Small trout, ten to twelve inches with go after the same lures as the larger trout so if you are new to spin fishing don’t be surprised if a tiny trout hits your biggest lure, or vice versa. If you try fishing the smaller tributaries to notable trout streams, and can time your trip so the water is up and muddy, you will be surprised by the size and number of trout available.

Holding 22 inch brown

 

 

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23 Aug 2015

Reeds Lake Revisited

Reeds Lake, East Grand Rapids

Contrary to the above photo, Reeds Lake in East Grand Rapids is bustling with activity on a Saturday morning. It’s a different sort of community. The streets are filled with morning joggers. Two girls drop off their kayaks for a morning cruise along the shore. Rosie’s Diner, to the left, has a series of docks jutting out holding all manner of ski and pontoon boats. Two ladies sit in a pontoon boat, no need to fire it up, they just sit and drink coffee and enjoy the lake. I watched a guy catch a ten inch perch standing on the boat launch dock. I made plans to meet Mike at 9:00 AM and standing there, soaking it in, wished I would have said 8:00 or maybe 7:00. The lake is calm. I came to fish.

Mike was right on time. I used the trolling motor to move us over to the drop off along  Rosie’s docks. I tossed plastic worms and Mike tossed soft plastic minnows. The water was a bit muddy and I wasn’t sure the fish would see the worms. Mike picked up a small bass and then lost another right at the boat. Jigging the flashy minnows was a pattern. Mike commented on all the baitfish he was seeing, some following his lure. That’s a good sign the lake is healthy.

 

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Mike, the philosophical fisherman

We eased out on some some shallow flats and I tossed a top water, a Rebel POP-R, and caught a small bass, appreciating the fact I finally caught something because I was beginning to wonder. I get a little to caught up in the fishing sometimes, like it’s very important to be productive. After a bit we started talking about life, movies, politics, and also a blog Mike’s been thinking about writing. Kind of an advice for intelligent living blog centered on treating others like you would like to be treated, that sort of thing, and no doubt he has some interesting things to say. He spent most of his working life as a divorce attorney and has seen the worst of behavior and what it does for people. So some sage advice from one who knows might make an interesting blog.

Suddenly the sun was like a spotlight so I put on some sunscreen and fired up the boat motor, a 90 HP Nissan, and took a short flight to the other end of the lake to cool down. I needed to burn the carbon off the spark plugs. That’s my excuse. Actually, it might be a need for speed. The sixteen foot Nissan bass boat really cranks and it’s fun to drive. Had it up to about 50MPH, which is literally flying when you hit the wakes from other boats. After picking up my tackle box which went end over end we motored slowly along the shoreline and admired the beautiful homes on the lake. Estates might be a better word. Some people do pretty darn well.

Reeds lake is a great fishery filled with bass, pike, perch, and panfish. My only complaint might be the boat launch which forces you to back up on a busy street. The park committee could have put a turnaround at the launch and saved fishermen a lot of hassle. You need to park your vehicle and trailer on the street but there’s lots of parking.

So it was a great Saturday morning with a few bass, interesting conversation, and a nice boat ride. Thanks Mike! Coming soon – more trout stories!

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23 Jul 2015

The Fisherman’s Theory of Relativity

Relativity

Einstein’s theory of relativity states “there is no one true movement or frame of reference when speaking of events of the world.” A popular example is a man sitting on a cliff watches a cruise ship motor by at 20 miles per hour and on the deck a man rolls a bowling ball toward the bow at 20 miles per hour. To the man on the cliff the ball moves forward at 40 mile per hour but for the men on the ship it only moves at 20. So movements are relative.

That’s all well and good but that leaves the rest of us, especially fishermen, wondering just what is the practical application? Let’s just say I was able to get Feral to participate in a similar experiment whereby I have him overhand cast a #13 Rapala Floater forward at 50 miles an hour while standing on the bow of my bass boat also traveling 50 miles per hour. In the interest of science I’ll hunker down below the plexiglass windshield to lessen the drag co-efficient. I theorize that for approximately five seconds – time will literally stand still for the the lure, in effect actual time travel, then suddenly reappear a moment before Feral screams. A second theory postulates that a man standing on a dock watching this unfold would find it hysterical.

I ‘m not sure Feral would willingly participate so I have come up with a second experiment involving cannons of which Feral has some expertise. In this experiment a man (Feral) is shot out of a cannon mounted on the front of my bass boat. I will need to confirm human velocity from cannons and match the speed of the boat but the idea is we synchronize our watches before Feral slides down the cannon barrel. My theory is that when I discharge the cannon – time will literally stand still for Feral, i.e. Time Travel, for about five seconds as he travels forward at the same speed as the boat. I theorize also I will need to repair the boat’s plexiglass windshield unless he hangs up on the cannon proper, after which, the real excitement begins. If his watch was not destroyed in the blast or subsequent reentry into earth time proper and my theory is correct, his watch will be ticking five seconds behind mine and we will have concluded the first of many fun filled time-travel experiments. And that of course will be “step one” in our quest to find a single unifying theory of the universe.

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22 Jun 2015

Fathers and Sons

100_1985

I took this photo of some fathers teaching their boys how to cast and fish up at Big Leverentz lake. The dock is a great place to try for bluegills and I hope they got a few. That’s all it takes to hook young boys on fishing!

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02 Jun 2015
2 Comments

Spring Trout

Feral on the Little South Branch

Feral on the Little South Branch

Managed to get away for an overnighter with Feral whereby we fished the heck out of Leverentz (for pike and bass) with lake fishing specialist Chuck Raison who was kind enough to bring a boat. We had our kayaks with us but there was a strong wind directly out of the east that would have kept us paddling instead of fishing. So Chuck was kind enough to motor us around. Unfortunately it was a cold front also. I don’t have to tell pro anglers what that means for fishing. I saw one Pike that came up for a look. I was the guy with all the luck.

Chuck and Feral

Chuck and Feral

So Chuck headed out and Feral and I decided to hit the streams. First choice Pine River up by Tustin to a small upstream stretch we hoped would not be flooded. The cold front followed a whole day of steady rain so it was taking a chance to drive up there. And it was flooded. We threw some lures from the bank but didn’t stay long. We decided to try an upstream stretch of the Little South Branch of the PM and that was wadable, but high. Right off the bat Feral hooked into a nice fish, a brown trout about 17 inches. He kept that and I took the lead. Another ten minutes I had a nice brown hit my lure but it didn’t stay on. I cast back to the same spot and she came up again. She was hungry. A couple more casts and she grabbed the small minnow lute and we had two fish. Feral wanted them both so we had two on the stringer.

100_1961

The stream was more interesting than we remembered. We used to fish this stretch when we were very young. Our Grandpa would spot us along the river which has a couple parking spots along a high ridge. You can’t get lost and the river is generally shallow so it’s a great place to introduce young kids to wading and spin fishing. I couldn’t help but think of him when we caught the two trout – thinking just how much we owe him for teaching us not only trout fishing but for sharing his appreciation of the outdoors.

We had a campfire, a guitar and a 4-string banjo and ripped off a couple old Johnny Horton songs then got creative on some Neil Young songs. Feral finds some interesting lead parts flat picking the banjo and I was willing to sacrifice my vocal chords to hit the melodies so that was a good way to close out a tough but fun day on the water.

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07 May 2015
5 Comments

Spring Trout Camp 2015

Little South Branch of the Pere Marquette

Little South Branch of the Pere Marquette

I need to start calling it fish camp or just drop any reference to fishing altogether because when my buddies and I meet up in the spring it can be hit or miss. This year we caught some good northern pike out of Big Leverentz but the trout streams were so low and clear I quit after a half hour. Natch pulled a small brown out of the Little South and that was a miracle. Mike and Denny arrived the evening before Feral, Natch and I broke camp (wet camp, it rained that night) so they had the advantage of rain and caught some steelhead out of the Baldwin. OK, “Fish Camp” is sounding reasonable.

Mike's Steelhead

Mike’s Steelhead

Feral with a Northern Pike for Dinner (Big Leverentz Lake)

Feral with a Northern Pike for Dinner (Big Leverentz Lake)

“Beer Camp” may be a better name since it’s the only constant. Feral, Natch and I drink Labatts Blue and just before heading up I saw a new Labatts TV commercial. It starts with a guy in a black bear suit carrying a six of Labatts and suddenly he’s surrounded by beautiful women and a song starts playing which has absolutely nothing to do with beer or the happy guy in the bear suit. The song is “These Eyes” by the band Guess Who. Pretty killer song and totally irrelevant to the commercial which adds a coolness factor. So I learned the chords before heading to camp. When I started playing the chords on my acoustic guitar Feral jumped right in singing. Wow. So if we change the name to “Beer Camp” it would have it’s own theme song.

Keith, Natch and Feral enjoying the lake and telling stories

Keith, Natch and Feral enjoying the lake and telling stories

Or maybe “Guitar Camp” works. We had a couple good guitar jams over the long weekend. Keith played some great acoustic and then switched to the Les Paul and played some absolutely killer lead on Adios Amigo by Ween and also over some Tom Waits songs. I played rhythm and Feral belted out the lyrics. Live music at camp doesn’t get any better.

Keith jams on my 000-16 RGBT Martin

Keith jams on my 000-16 RGBT Martin

Keith pulled out Sunday morning and Denny and Mike came up Sunday evening. Denny had his Martin D-35 and played some very interesting obscure songs. He’s a walking encyclopedia of songs so we never know what he’ll play. So we had a great jam Sunday night too. Natch auditioned as bongo player for Rock Bottom and the Out of Tuners and I’m waiting to hear from Feral if catching the only trout disqualified him from band membership.

Denny warms up his 70's D-35 Martin

Denny warms up his 70’s D-35 Martin

Feral and Mike discuss world affairs

Feral and Mike discuss world affairs

Finally, we could call our spring get-together “Luther’s Car and Trailer Repair Camp.”The starter went out on the Slownoma and I managed to crawl under the vehicle and install a new one Sunday afternoon with the help of Natch and Feral. They drank beer and encouraged me. On the way home a wheel bearing went out on my 1961 Apache Chief camper so I did a roadside repair on that. Fortunately I carry tools, spare wheel bearings and grease in my rusty tool box so I didn’t need to leave the camper on the roadside. All told, I’d rather have mechanical problems at camp or on the way home. Main thing is getting there!

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22 Mar 2015

Happiness is a new pair of waders…

that don’t leak. I finally upgraded or at least that’s my hope. I dipped my last waders in the goop tank one too many times. Leaks were springing through multiple layers of congealed rubber patch and there was no telling which patch was failing. Every trip meant a soaked sock and leg and by the time I was done camping the clothesline full of wet jeans was bending trees inward.

I was scientific this time picking out waders. It started with a Cabella’s weekly ad showing their Premium Dry-Plus waders on sale, reg $159.99 down to $111.99. Premium Dry-Plus? The name alone was enough to start me dreaming. As a perpetual cheapskate/knowledge buyer I looked the Cabella waders up online for reviews and like all reviews online the comments were all over the place. Troutnot said they leaked after one season, EZdrifter said they were short on the rise, and RussRuss said the feet were to small. Overall they rated 4.6 out 5 stars so most anglers were very happy. But still that was not enough to make me beeline directly to the local store.

The invisible man tries on waders

The invisible man tries on waders

As a knowledge buyer I mapped out a trip to every wader selling store in the area starting with Gander Mountain, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dunham’s and finally over to Cabella’s. If there was a better deal out there I planned to find it before committing.

Gander didn’t even have waders on display. I asked a teller and he pointed at some boxes on the wall by the shoes and after a quick look I headed to the main aisle to leave where I found, surprisingly, a bunch of boxed waders under a 50% off sign. The waders were odd sizes of a brand I never heard of marked down from $300 to $150. Nothing my size and nothing ultralight, which is a must.

From there I went to Dicks Sporting Goods and they did have a wader display. The store samples were tiny reproductions of the actual waders and the store clerk joked about how they were originally made for the Munchkins on Wizard of Oz. Then he got serious and asked me if I fished cold rivers. I told him that’s all there is in Michigan. He sort of excused himself after that, probably figuring I knew more about waders than he did. Unfortunately nothing was on sale and they also had no ultra light waders. So I ran over to Dunham’s with a 20% off anything coupon I had cleverly printed out right before leaving home. Dunham’s had a half dozen waders tucked in the corner of a standing shelf and nothing my size. So it was time to check out Cabellas.

If you have never been to Cabellas it’s better than a trip to the Museum of Natural History. They have some of the best taxidermy in the world on a centrally located fake mountain with smaller displays dispersed throughout the store. A mountain lion taking down a young elk. Wolves. Bears. Caribou, you name it. And they have waders, a whole section dedicated to the art of wading. Prices from $89 up to $400 plus. Camouflage waders, rubber waders, neoprene waders, heavy duty ultra-light waders, entry level waders. Wading socks. Wading boots. Hip waders. It took ten minutes just to find the waders in the ad. They were down to the last pair of size large Premium Dry-Plus waders and after quick check to make sure they were not short in the rise and the foot size was OK I was so caught up in the moment I splurged for the $111.99 and didn’t look back.

With a little luck they won’t leak on opening day. See the post Waders 101 from a few years back for some general advice on what to look for and why ultra-lights make sense.

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13 Mar 2015
2 Comments

Herm’s Hideout

Herm's hideout 1

In one of those complicated wife’s friend’s husband’s buddy has a a guitar jam every Thursday night things… it actually worked out. I took a chance and managed to sit in on one of the guitar jams last fall and thought I would go again this week. Herm has a garage/pole barn he fixed up including a finished room with a heater, PA system, chairs and guitar stands – enough to sit about a dozen people in a circle. Musicians of all skill levels show up and take a seat and everyone gets a chance to perform a song in clockwise rotation. Most folks I’ve seen are pretty good vocalist and a couple of guys, Corky and Rick, are pretty good pickers. Another guy, not sure of his name plays a bass made from a steel wash tub and the neck off a stand-up bass and it sounds great – he is right in there which helps the rhythm when a lot of un-mic’d instruments are hitting chords.

Some of the guys are a bit older than myself. Not sure if this dates it but they drove the circuit in downtown Grand Rapids with their Detroit muscle cars back when Japan was famous for transistor radios. A couple gray hairs in evidence. So when my time came up I wasn’t sure if they’d warm up to newer stuff meaning 70’s stuff which is still pretty ancient in the grand scheme of things. I opened with Rocket Man by Elton John and it went over well, so I was encouraged to try some other classics like Fire on the Mountain/ Marshal Tucker and a old Ozark Mountain Daredevils tune, It Probably Always Will. Herm said from the get go I should play what I like to play – don’t pander to the group. Variety is good. So maybe next time I’ll try some more progressive stuff. Maybe even some originals.

Herm on acoustic guitar

Herm on acoustic guitar

There’s a sign on one of the doors that says the Wannaabe’s and that is a name that sort of stuck for the group. According to Herm, historically, the group is comprised of folks who couldn’t give up their day job to persue music. I didn’t mention Rock Bottom and the Out of Tuners, my successful band with Feral Tweed featuring session guitarist Keith H and bongo player Natch because there is no point in bragging. There’s a good chance we’ll give up our day jobs when all of us turn 65, then look out music world.

Posted in Trout Gear
18 Jan 2015

Ice Fichigan

Feral and Chuck, Pettibone Lake.

Feral and Chuck, Pettibone Lake.

There are only so many novels I can read before I have to get outside for a day even in the bitter cold of Michigan. So once or twice a year I call Feral and line up a day of ice fishing. Last Saturday I met up with Feral and his buddy Chuck and we went to Pettibone Lake up by Bitely, Michigan. There was plenty of ice and just enough action to keep us out there till mid afternoon. All three of us set up 2 tip-ups for pike – the grand prize as far as a good meal, and used a regular ice rod for pan fish. (In Michigan you can have 3 lines out.)

Feral with a 3-lb Largemouth Bass

Feral with a 3-lb Largemouth Bass

While Feral was setting up his second tip-up he caught a 3-lb bass on his first tip-up.  He popped another bass, a little smaller, on his other tip-up a short while later. Bass are not in season so those they went back in the water. Throughout the rest of the day we had maybe 8 flags and lost several more bass right at the hole. Feral caught one small pike on a tip-up and turned it back. I caught a small pike on a waxworm while jigging, but Pike have to be 24 inches to keep, so that went back down the hole too.

small pike
Chuck spent some time experimenting with his jigging rod and found some perch right on the bottom. We had speck minnows, wax worms and spikes and the perch went for the spikes. Once he had the pattern figured out Chuck bounced around from hole to hole to see if he could find a concentration and did get a half dozen out of one hole. I won’t comment on how big they were but Chuck gave the perch to Feral who owns a jeweler’s loupe so maybe he managed some fillets. Now that would be a video!

Chuck finds the perch

Lake Perch – considered by many to be the best tasting fish.

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