guided trout trip - 1/30/12

Milan w/ a stout brown trout

strike confirmed

Milan w/ his first Steelhead; nice work

Today was Milan's first day of winter nymph/trout fishing and what a day it was.  After getting the basics down he was fast into fish.  Working on the nuances of nymph fishing throughout the day paid off as he continued to get better.  He even thought it might be a good idea to throw in a nice steelhead to complete a Muskegon River sampler!

guided trout trip - 1/26/12

John's good cheer seems to always drive our fluvial friends crazy!

Josh...you can be my friend

A fly-fishermans version of antique bronze

"that's a good fish!"

variation on a theme

Fishing today was great despite high water levels.  After the water shot up to 3,000 cfs yesterday I had my worries but John and Josh, undaunted, managed to work the slow seams and present some flies that the trout could not, or should I say would not, refuse.  Fished some attractor nymphs but once again the Muskegon River scud(gammarus scud) #16-#18 put the majority of the hurt on the boys.  That along with John's "hair-trigger" that begged to be tripped.  Woe unto the unsuspecting trout that grabs his loaded scud!   John maybe the only person I know who can give a trout whirlings disease by mechanical means.  Actually , if you've seen John on my blog before it's because he often ends up with some nice fish.  What a great day to be out; saw some nice trout caught, had reasonable winter weather, made a new friend.  My apologies to those of you who missed it.

Muskegon River trout update - 1/18/12

Do big browns still have an appetite when it's cold?

This stomach pump answers that question

Steelhead love scuds

What's the next trout gonna look like? The question that drives us

winter has arrived - 1/14/12

Snow can't stop this girl

Open your eyes, breathe in deep, take it all in

Heather had three fish in the net before I could get a fly wet!

just like a guy; trying to catch up

perfection! tell me there is no Creator...

what's that...scuds got your tongue

winter trout trip - 1/10/12

Gary with a nice brown; what a nice day

another fine brown in the winter!

well worth the "work"

Spent a wonderful day on the river with Gary.  Taking time to get out and soak it all in was just what he needed.  It was fun to be with an angler with his passion to get out and enjoy the day doing what he loves to do.  Water was up but not too bad; clarity was good.  Fished a scud/sow combo rig most of the day and caught equal numbers of fish on the flies.  Fish were pushed into slightly deeper water most likely due to the water fluctuation.  Caught a good number of browns to go along with the rainbows.  What a perfect day to be on the water & catch some nice trout.

winter trout fishing hitting "the zone" - 1/5/12

steelhead on a scud!

I'll take these all day long

Special guest appearance by Heather

Well rewarded for a good drift!

butterball; thought this brown might cluck

perfect winter run on a calm day

Out on the water the past few days and fish seem to be heading even further into their winter feeding patterns.  Water temp drop should keep things only getting better for winter fishing.  Muskegon River scuds(#16-#18) still producing best.  Fish size right now is excellent; lots of plump, healthy ones.  When the weather is decent you can't beat being on the river this time of year!

New years resolution - 1/2/12

brown that fell to a #16 Muskegon scud

Bringing in the New Year on the Muskegon!  Fishing continues to be full of surprises.  Trout fishing is steadily gaining momentum with higher numbers of fat rainbows and browns being caught.  Fished this afternoon and air temp maxed out at 26 deg/f.  Fished in late afternoon and found a good number of fish considering the amount of time spent on the water.  Don't overlook inside seams on big bends.  Located a good pod of browns in that type of water today.  Happy New Year!

Spey caught brown