Pere Marquette trout - 12/15/12

What do they call these things?...oh yeah, trout

 

 

this resident was definitely an early Christmas gift!

Had the pleasure of fishing an entire day w/out any preconditions.   Good friend John and I spent the day probing some new water on the PM for winter trout.  What a blast!  The conditions were surreal and the fishing was good.  Picking our way though the many pockets and runs well suited for winter trout we found many takers and were occasionally gifted a shot at a real nice fish.  We fished a number of nymph patterns but found a #18-#20 blackfly larvae to be the most productive.  Other flies of note were brassies, small winter stones, scuds, and sow bugs.  While the water is quite different on the PM than on the MO solid winter nymphing skills proved to be effective when applied.  Don't miss out on this magical time of year!

Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River Trout - 12/4/12

Fat and sassy!

John w/ a gorgeous bow taken on a Muskegon River scud

I always make sure my camera is charged and in the boat when Mr. McCarthy shows up...and today was no exception.  Fishing started out a bit slow but after covering some promising water we finally found some fish on the feed.  Fishing picked up as the morning warmed up and John managed a good number of average trout.  Then, while picking through a nice pocket, hooked into a real nice rainbow which required an "up anchor".  We definitely wanted to take a better look at this fella.  All-n-all a great day on the water!

Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River - Nov. 8, 2012

Gary w/ a zero to sixty slam

Gary picked up a spey rod for the first time today and was quick to get in the rhythm.  After a bit of practice he was laying out nice casts.  A bit into the day and this buck gave his fly some big attitude.  One of the strikes that you don't have to ask if you got hit.  By the time he said "there's a fish" there was about 100 yards of line off the reel.  Nice job Gary.

Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River - Nov. 7, 2012

David w/ his first fall steelhead on the swing!

Had  a great time on the river w/ John and David.  While fishing has been tough for steelhead the two pushed through and after a few tugs connected with a zinger.  David managed to keep his composure and put it in the net.  After lunch we put down the spey rods and fished for trout the remainder of the day.  Caught no real monsters but did catch quite a few trout.  What a great fall day.

Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River - Oct. 30, 2012

Josh w/ his first spey steelie!

    Today started out with a call to make sure everyone was still planning on the trip despite the bleak forecast.  John and Josh assured me they were not the kind of men to back down so we went ahead with our plans.  Started out spey fishing which was a first for both guys but they were soon casting a good measure of line.  Fished till lunch swinging and both had their chances on steelhead.  After lunch they decided to chase trout(these guys are trout fishing fanatics) and were well rewarded for their efforts; efforts that were extensive as they pushed casts into heavy winds.  Always a pleasure fishing with you two.

Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River - Oct. 29, 2012

Paul w/ a very nice steelie that gave a magnificent fight

Steelhead continue to show themselves to those who are willing to put in the time swinging flashy flies and covering some water.  Today yielded many good pulls and several hard fighting steelhead.  Winds were not quite as bad as predicted which was a nice change to the forecast.  Lokking forward to more fish on the swing....

-Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River - Oct. 22, 2012

nice way to bring in the morning!

Brian had no doubt when this buck pummeled his streamer

Fished for steelhead in the morning and had some great action.  Brian and John were quick to get into fish.  Caught  steelhead and a good number of trout in the morning and then focused on salmon in the afternoon.  Its great to see steelhead showing up on a regular basis.  Another great day to be on the river.

Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River - Oct. 19, 2012

Carl w/ his first chromer on a two-hander!

Fished with Carl and Rick and spent the morning swinging for steelhead with spey rods.  Fishing was good and there were some crazy moments.  Carl managed to boat the fish pictured after a crusher of a hit followed by fly-line peeling off at a tremendous rate.  Carl did a great job.  Rick also had a few others firmly hooked but they managed to do what steelhead do best...get off.  Fall steelhead are amazing.

Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River - Oct. 16, 2012

Craig working the dark water w/ egg and indicator

Joe making it happen

Had a great couple of days with Craig and Joe.  Weather was predicted to be nasty but turned out to be pretty good overall.  Lots of hard fighting salmon and a few steelhead kept things action packed and full of surprises. 

Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River - Oct. 10, 2012

Bill giving his biceps a workout

Boyd w/ a beautiful fall brownie

Cold, windy, and rainy was the forecast today but spirits were high as the fish were plentiful.  We didn't get the rain but at times the wind was a bit to deal with.  Boyd and Bill did mange to make enough good casts to keep the rods warmed up for most of the day.  Good numbers of fish are on the move and we are hopeful that each day brings in a few more steelhead!

Muskegon River - Oct. 9, 2012

David happy with this well fought king

fall colors all around...awesome!

 

 

 

Rusty showing some muscle

Today was another great day to be on the water.  Rusty and David were fun to have in the boat and its always a pleasure to fish with guys like these two that just love to fish.  Fish were very active today and despite the heavy winds in the afternoon they managed very well. 

Muskegon river - Oct. 8

Justin w/ a bow that bent his 8wt pretty good

this brute put up a great fight

Brent took this nice brown behind some active kings

Muskegon River Salmon and such - Oct. 6,7

Logan w/ an awesome brown

Sean Paul w/ a nice adrenaline fix

"That's not a salmon!"...you never know what lurks in the dark water

Had a great couple days with Logan, Katie, Sean Paul, and Megan.  Weather was tolerable, colors amazing, and the fishing was fantastic.  Kings are finally in at fishable numbers and nice trout and a few steelies are being caught as a bonus.  Michigan is THE place in the fall.

Back in the Tetons - an overview of July and August

Muskegon River trout - 6/24/12

What lurks below?

Muskegon muscle

showdown at high noon

Fishing on the MO continues to be productive and surprising at times.  Good numbers of healthy(and growing rapidly) trout are being caught with regularity by nymphing and dry-fly fishing.  Cinnamon caddis continue to emerge daily and have fish constantly looking for pupa.  Blind fishing in areas where trout are know to haunt with floating pupa and adults can produce excellent results.  Trico fishing is just underway and good fish can be caught for the angler willing to be persistent.

Jay Allen,  old school guide

Muskegon River Trout - 6/15/12

persistence paid off on this nice bow

Bob with a hard fighting healthy rainbow

Theresa w/ a fat bow that wanted it's picture taken with her

Had a great time with Bob and Theresa today probing riffles, pockets, and shoals for trout on the Muskegon.  Fished mostly using freestyle nymphing techniques; what a blast.  They hooked/landed some nice fish and had a few real heart-breakers as well.  Dry fly fishing was a bit off.  Thanks again for a great trip.

Jay Allen,  guide

Muskegon River Trout - 6/2,3/12

father and son having a great time!

Frank w/ a nice brown caught on a superfine 3 wt...sweet

Had a great time with Frank and Sok for a few days of fishing on the MO.  They managed quite a few fish, many of which targeting rising trout as they fed on pupa near the surface.  Caddis activity was good despite the weather.  Nymphing produced good numbers of fish as well.  Thanks for the great trip(s) guys!

Jay Allen, guide

Cinnamon Caddis - 5/30/12

John stuck this nice Brown on a spent caddis as the light was fading

Fished a half-day with John and had a great time.  Caddis emerged all afternoon and fish were eating them with regularity.  Floating pupa and cut-wing caddis were well received by the trout.  Caught a few other real nice fish during the emergence but had technical difficulties getting their mug shots.  Conditions were pretty close to perfect, the kind of day you just need to soak in!


Jay Allen, guide

a beautiful afternoon and a beautiful fish

this gator surprised us all, what a fight!

nice fish for Theresa

DRAKE BROWN!

Bob is wondering if her's is bigger

Well, the Muskegon never ceases to surprise.   Marginal trout fishery????  Not so sure about that.  Today was a lot of fun and full of good memories.  To hit good fish in the afternoon and throughout the day followed up by some nice fish on dries in the evening....hard to beat!  Thanks Bob and Theresa for the great day, you made guiding easier.

Jay Allen, guide

Drakes - 5/22,23/12

beauty and anticipation mosaic

wanted to squeeze this one like the horn on my banana seat bike

double your pleasure; two fish on calls for creative netting

sip...explode

drakes dropped early and Heather came w/ her game

trying to keep up w/ Heather

The past few nights have been great as drake activity seems to have become a bit more predictable...we hope.  Nothing like a gray drake spinner fall to let you know how many big fish live in a run.  If the fish we've seen the past few weeks are an indicator of how the season will play out, we are in for some great trout fishing!

Jay Allen, guide

Muskegon River Trout - 5/21/12

George w/ a gorgeous brown

this hard-fighting, healthy rainbow was no match for Charlie

Pat fooled this awesome brown

     Spent a great day on the water fishing with George, Charlie, and Pat.  Weather was outstanding and the fish were pretty cooperative.  We targeted hold-overs which meant fishing near sucker pods to big trout looking for eggs du jour.  George told me to put his number on speed dial and to call him once the suckers were on the march.  The suckers came in, the call was made, big fish were caught.  What a unique fishing opportunity we have on the MO and just one of many.  Looks like the sucker spawn is on the way out so we may be in the last week of it.  None to worry, great dry-fly fishing is on the wing.  Thanks guys for a great day!

Jay Allen, professional knot de-tangler

Muskegon River Trout - 5/16/12

not bad for one of Ron's first nice fish!

John kneading a nice bow

John + fly + water = fish on!

hold-over apparition

   If big browns, organic french roast coffee,  and sunshine finished with a piece of blackberry cheesecake sounds good, today might have been for you.  The fish showing up on the MO this season make you wonder how good it could get.  Spent the afternoon with good friend John and new friend Ron poking at as many trout as we could get to oblige.  Weather was fantastic, fish furious, and company a pleasure(even factoring in the A++ knot).  Thanks guys for the great day.

Jay Allen, guide