Entries by Jon Ray

Northern Michigan Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth Bass Smallmouth bass fishing on Grand Traverse Bay the past month has been solid. I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about the post spawn habits of these bass.  Which has been great.    This opportunity to target post spawn smallmouth in what I would consider shallow water, has been a great […]

Match the Hatch with Ed McCoy

Ed McCoy Podcast Since Jim Bashline wrote the Bible on night fishing in 1973: “Night Fishing for Trout”, our passion for stalking big Truttasaurus browns at night on big mayfly hatches like drakes, Hexes, Isonychia and big stoneflies has become an obsession! Add in the whole new mousing craze, you now have fly fishing in […]

Grand Traverse Bay Smallmouth Bass Fishing

Grand Traverse Bay Throughout the year, the changing seasons play a significant role in smallmouth bass fishing.  Seasonal change affects both the behavior of the fish and the strategies employed by anglers. In particular, the optimal month for Grand Traverse Bay smallmouth bass fishing can vary depending on the season. Spring often boasts a period […]

Top Steelhead Hooks

Hooks for Steelhead Top picks for steelhead hooks, talk about a sticky topic! I’m sure this is going to open a can of worms, but I wanted to address this topic as it gets a lot of attention amongst our guide staff. Every day, no matter what we are fishing, every rig we tie starts […]

First Snow of 2023 and Steelhead Fishing

Steelhead and Snow Something about the first snow of the year and turning on the bite window of our Northern Michigan Steelhead.  Not only does the first snow of the year bring some much needed cover up to all the brown landscape, but it does seem to trigger a good bite from our local steelhead […]

Birds Eye View Fall Steelhead

Taking a look from above down on the Big Manistee River  while we step thru a run looking for a steelhead.  Fall colors are about done, as heavy winds have really blown away our fall colors.  Water levels continue to be low and clear this 2023 Fall Steelhead season.  But we keep grind out most days […]

Late Summer or Early Fall Smallmouth

Smallmouth fishing in Late Sumer or Early Fall can be one of the best times of the year.  Smallmouth bass are putting on the feed bag as they are starting to anticipate the winter months.  After a nice long summer of a diversified diet smallmouth want to put on as much weight as possible for […]