Fichigan

Small Stream Trout fishing in Michigan

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

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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
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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.

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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
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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!

Posted in Trout Camp and tagged , , ,
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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27 Dec 2014

Hook-Jawed Brown Trout

Feral with a hook-jawed brown trout, Pigeon River

Feral with a hook-jawed brown trout, Pigeon River

We don’t focus on catching on big male brown trout when working our way up a remote stretch of stream. Trout fishing is more than that even though the idea seems to pop up when a deep hole offers some hope. Catching a hook-jawed brown trout is a rare occurrence and should be. If it were easy there would be no magic. I took a friend /novice fisherman out fishing one time on the Pere Marquette and he caught a 21 inch male brown trout on his first trip and I thought: Oh oh.. this ruins it for him. It will be years before he catches another brown like this. That’s if he sticks with it. It would have been much better if he worked at it for a couple years so he could appreciate the event.

How magical is it? The lure stops and you realize there is some anchor heavy weight there and then the line starts moving and maybe you see the fish and maybe you don’t. You pray your line doesn’t break while computing the odds of moving whatever it is past the blowdowns and logs out to a clear patch of stream where you may be able to get the net under the fish and oops, did you did you remember the net? Things move quickly and the odds are not so great. There are a million ways to lose a good fish – even for those detail-oriented responsible anglers that oil their reels and change line often.

I was fishing the Sturgeon River up by Vanderbilt one time and the river was high and muddied up to where I could see about a foot into the water. I had been tossing big minnow baits, floaters, but knew if the trout were on the bottom they would have to be in pretty shallow water to glimpse the lure. So I put on a big spinner, a Mepps Black Fury which has yellow polka dots against a black blade. There was a fairly deep run off to my left and I cast above the run and wound the reel slowly so the spinner would go deep. The lure stopped. The pole did some slow bends and then I felt the fish rise toward the surface. The fish was coming up for a look.

Luther with hook-jawed brown trout, Sturgeon River

Luther with hook-jawed brown trout, Sturgeon River

It reminded me of a spotted leopard when it materialized into view. The colors were stunning and bright. My heart stopped and I knew that moment, that picture, would always be lodged in my random access memory. I can still see it.

Feral and I have caught a few monsters – and we are not alone in our group. Mike, Denny, Jake, and more recently, Natch, have had those magical days when the lure suddenly stops and they wondered how to get the lure off that darn sunken log. Then the logs starts moving. Two foot brown trout with hook jaws. If you have just taken up small stream trout fishing, streams the width of a two-lane blacktop and under, and have not caught a hook-jawed brown, your time will come. They’re in there.

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18 Oct 2014

Northern Pikeless

Luther at Dog Lake

Nightmares of Esox Lucius have haunted me since our failed excursion to Dog Lake Flooding a year ago. Oh we made it to the lake Ok which was an adventure in itself, but the missing esox still weighs heavy since I had sold my buddies on the sort of monsters you only see on Canada fishing youtubes. Were they in there but refusing all manner of spinnerbaits and lures? Not likely is all I can figure. Maybe a freeze out of the shallow lake destroyed the population. It couldn’t have been fished out since you almost have to parachute in. Three men in three kayaks working the shores could not convince a pike to attack in three hours. Three, three, three, does that ring sinister?

So we failed miserably and as the organizer I was grateful they did not leave me in that remote god forsaken bog. But the experience left me with an itch unrelated to the oak and ivy which has been germinating for well nigh a year.

Feral, as you recall, did not make fall trout camp. Did he secretly go Pike fishing on his own while Natch and I cast the raging rivers of the 45th parallel north? I suspect yes because my built in lie detector, call it a sixth sense, has been beeping in my brain like a Geiger counter whenever the topic of fall trout camp is on the table. Feral’s a sly one and admits to nothing. But in my minds eye, call it a seventh sense, he is sliding his kayak into the blue green waters of Lake county every day and reporting nothing.

I blame Feral for catching, filleting, and cooking my first fresh esox dinner. From lake to skillet it was the best fish dinner in my long fish dinner life. Secret recipe? Hardly. He powdered the fillets with a little flour and dropped them into some sizzling fake butter.  I stand here now in the shadow of great fishermen and say it was the lightest and tastiest fish to ever hit my stomach.

So maybe it was evil intent all along. Hooking me like a junkie with a single meal. Then begging off trout fishing to go after Pike on the sly. All I can say is – It is not over. Maybe there is still time to resurrect all wrongs and meet up for a last camp, this time dedicated to catching the elusive monster Esox Lucius.

Esox Lucius, photo courtesy Jake Lucas Archive

Esox Lucius, photo courtesy Jake Lucas Archive

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