Entries by Jon Ray

Bring on the veggies

Enjoying the fruits or should I say veggies of our labor. Some of the first produce showing up in our first garden. It has been a very enjoyable process, digging, racking, planting, pruning, weeding, watering and now finally starting the eating. As the intent of the blog is to show the many joys of out […]

Biggest Trout Memories

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 […]

What color are Damsel Flies?

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 […]

Myth or Legand? The Hex Hatch

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 […]

Grand Traverse Bay Carp

Had the opportunity to film and photograph Ed McCoy today on the Grand Traverse Bay for the big boy carp that swim the waters of the great lakes. Working with Chuck Hawkins and Ed we are trying to put together a short 2-3 minute carp fishing video. So I shot a couple hundred pictures and […]

Trout fishing with Dry Flies

Warmer days have really kicked in the dry fly fishing the past three or four days! Is there a better way to catch a trout than with a Dry Fly? Watching a trout no matter what size come up and taking a dry fly is such a special part of fly fishing. With May and […]

Now that May is here..

May is here and mother nature and trout fishing are rolling around nicely. Morels will be popping with warm temperatures and this past weekends thunderstorms. Most trees have buds popping, almost looks like fall in some spots with the multi-colors. Bright days have the sky line screaming insane colors of blue. Hard for me to […]

Beaver Ponds

Spring is a great time of year to reconnect with the outdoors, after spending most of Oct – April on the same sections of water looking for my friendly little steelhead, I am now on the hunt for the mighty brown trout. This past Saturday marked the opening of all waters in Michigan to trout […]

Trillium and Black Caddis are early this year!

I do find it interesting the relationship between aquatic insects and wild flowers. How certain bugs and certain flowers appear at the same time year in and year out. The Black Caddis and the Trillium share this relationship. Trillium grandiflorum is often the first wildflower noticed by casual walkers; other spring wildflowers are much less […]

Catch and Release

There is something special about holding onto a very big fish and feeling the power of the fish as it swims away. Working with Chuck Hawkins today, on a two boat streamer trip on the Manistee River. I had the chance to photograph Chuck as he let this 21″ brown go. The experience of catching […]