Biggest Trout Memories

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Being a fishing guide first and photographer second, being part of somebodiesbiggest trout ever is always something special. First to be there and walk them through the experience of the the fish you can hear but just can’t see. Helping them locate what log the fish is sitting near, how to wade into location, how to make the cast, how to mend the fly, and what to do if the fish eats your fly. As a fly fishing caddy, helping the angler choose the correct angle like a pro golfer working with his caddy before a really important putt on a difficult green.

Guiding is my love, I have so many special memories of so many people’s firsts. The first day they went fly fishing seeing their cast progress, the first day they landed a steelhead and got that monkey off their back, the first time they heard a big trout eating hex in the middle of the night and they calmed their nerves and made the cast. All are so special is actually why I love my job so much.
But now being a photographer to be able to capture the image, to see the joy in the anglers eye, as they beam with joy. To burn these memories onto film and to have these memories for the rest of our angling days. Now to have been the guide and the photographer is making these experiences even more special.

What color are Damsel Flies?

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Had a pretty impressive damsel fly hatch yesterday, when you slow down and watch these are pretty amazing bugs. Have you have watched a damsel destroy a sulphur, eating the helpless yellow mayfly whole! Usually leaving just the wings of the yellow mayfly behind.

See hundreds lined up on the shore line in the tall grass, looking and waiting for the next helpless mayfly. And what color is damsel? That blueish green armor they wear is so cool. But so hard to match on the vise, new colors of flashabou are helping, but still mother nature creates such cool color combo’s.

Anyway the damsel is one of the secondary bugs on a river, when you slow your day down and watch that bring life to the shore line. It is a fly that you don’t find in every catalog or fly shop, but if you throw one long enough the trout takes on a damsel are veracious. I never can have enough of the big fly take from a trout. And with so many lining the banks, and so many other anglers just throwing the mayfly. Think and fish differently!

Myth or Legand? The Hex Hatch

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The michigan hex hatch is like so many great things, it’s so hard to predict and just when you think you have it figured out. She will throw you a curve ball. Knowing different hex flats, and understanding which ones hex should pop from first is part of the game, and the information that we hold dear.

I do find it funny that like so many different hatches in michigan when hunting big trout, we are so dependent on the “bug”. When the bug hatches and the big fish are feeding you look like a hero. But when no “bugs” fly (for whatever reason, even though it’s the right temp, the right night, the right everything) and no fish feed, this myth of a hatch creeps into your mind. The power one bug has over so many of us as we try to hunt her down, and use her power to catch the biggest trout of the season on a dry fly.
Just like all things that are good, there is over hype. I would put the hex hatch in the over hyped category as everybody wants a shot at the title of biggest trout caught. As each bend in the river can hold an angler with a rod, a headlamp, and the hope that the hex will fly tonight. Then when the hex don’t show, there is always the reasons, too cold, too early, dew point came too fast, and/or must be the wrong spot tonight.
But like all these that are good, they keep us coming back for more. No matter the hype.