Quick look at Michigan – Video
Having been to many of these places in Michigan this is a great look into the beauty of the Mitten state.
Burst Into Northern Michigan from Chris Zuker on Vimeo.
Book Review: Strip-Set: Fly-Fishing Techniques, Tactics, Patterns for Streamers
It’s been over a decade since Bob Linsenman and Kelly Galloup’s “Modern Streamers for Trophy Trout” really took the idea of targeting big trout with big flies to the mainstream. Since then there have been tremendous advances – in gear, in fly design, in knowledge, and in the number of anglers hucking big meal to entice the river monsters out from under the log.
Now a new book from Pennsylvania’s George Daniel has added to the must-read list for the streamer angler. In “Strip-Set: Fly-Fishing Techniques, Tactics, Patterns for Streamers” Mr. Daniel takes all of these advances, mixes them with some insights from some of today’s top streamer purists, and delivers a tool to take your streamer fishing to the next level.
Interestingly, the title topic – strip setting – is mentioned only briefly. As a recent convert to the muskie game, I understand the advantage of the strip set. But it also makes a ton of sense when pursuing trout. Trout-setting only moves the fly away from the fish, adds slack in the line, and generally lowers your odds of a solid hook-up. By contrast, a strip set creates immediate, positive contact. Makes perfect sense! This is but one example of the pragmatic, direct insight that Daniel presents in the book. Can’t wait for this Spring’s big trout hunt! Missed hooksets have been my nemesis in the past.
For years a couple of my friends who are knowledgeable anglers have extolled to “fish the fly, not the line”. In principle, that sounds simple. But what does it MEAN? And how do you actually accomplish that goal? George Daniel delivers that answers at a level that totally changed my thinking and strategy. The book includes extensive discussions of line types – floating, sink-tip, and full-sinking – as well as when to deploy each type.
Another interesting area is his extensive discussion of floating lines. Here in Michigan, we seldom fish streamers on a floating line. It’s generally a sink-tip or intermediate line match to current, depth, etc. At first I thought this to be just a quirk due to the fact the he spends most of his time fishing his native Pennsylvania (though it is clear from his book that he LOVES fishing Michigan) where the waters are typically not as deep. But before long I realized that he was really taking my knowledge to the next level – in some situations, even in deep water, there are significant advantages floating lines offer. This is a recurring theme in this book. There are a lot of tactics that can impact your success; consider them all carefully!
These are but a few of the excellent topics covered in this solid book on the streamer game. Mr. Daniel writes in an engaging style, covers concepts thoroughly but not too extensively, and really addresses the gamut of issues, challenges, and conditions the streamer angler may encounter.
This week I had the opportunity to meet and tie with George Daniel. His personality really reflected the book – straightforward, but with plenty of friendliness and no need for excessive flash. Speaking of flash; his patterns seem incredibly sparse alongside what we’re used to seeing here in Michigan.
I’m eager to put my new knowledge, skills, and insights to work on my next streamer trip! If you’re a streamer angler, put this book on your “must have” list. You won’t be disappointed!
-Sean-
Fly Tying Beverages
Well, it’s that time of year again. I’ve inventoried my fly boxes and I am scrambling to fill my spring, summer & fall fly boxes for the upcoming seasons, as old man winter starts thinking about taking his nap, I hope! This winter has been full of tinkering with new materials and techniques for favorite fishing, steelhead on the swing. Per usual, I completely forgot to do what I always intend, which is to fill the holes in my boxes from a spring, summer and fall of fishing. Ugh, production tying. Not a fan.
The most enjoyable part of tying for me is the development stage or learning of new patterns. When I sit down to let my mind wander and relax into it’s artistic side & start free styling, my default is steelhead streamers. The array of colors and materials that one could imagine using and attracting this quarry is astounding. So I play with color combos and styles of flies deep into the night while sipping on something brown. Bourbon, rye and scotch being the likely suspects. Sometimes the next day I awake with a headache, grab some coffee and go critique my flies from the night before. The bigger the headache, the more likely it’s “WTF was I thinking!” Sometimes I impress myself and sometimes the razor comes out & the hook is shorn of the monstrosity.
Which begets a question that I hinted to in the title- what are my beverages for tying flies? Sure, whiskey has turned my brain and fingers into madness & what transpired on the vice was abominable, but some nights it’s more about the drink than the tying. Then there are the nights that a neat dram of whiskey is the perfect accompaniment, as a sip every so often soothes my soul and the whiskey’s temperature does not change & some of the resulting flies have found permanent places in my boxes.
So, here’s my guide to what to drink when tying flies. Yours may very as we all have preferences.
- Production/Repetitive tying- I have three schools of thought here…
#1 Drink coffee to keep you rolling and the mind free from the numbing effects of doing a dozens of the same pattern. I know a few guides who really like tying production, as it gives them a “check out time” when they don’t have to think about what they are doing as they done the fly hundreds or thousands of times. Especially the dreaded egg patterns.
#2 Drink water- no better time to hydrate. Until it catches up with you and you spend more time in the bathroom than at the vice.
#3 Drink a low alcohol beer. Think macro brew or old world Pilsener. Pabst has been a fly tying staple for some for many years. Personally, I go with a craft “Session” beer. Short’s “Ale la Reverend” is my favorite when it’s available and Founders “All Day IPA” is good to go all year long and comes in 12 pack cans. - Dry Flies/Nymphs- kind of falls in to the same category as above. They are not my strong point, so I stick to H2O. Sometimes red wine is a good option. It’s a sipper, doesn’t loose it’s temperature and gets better as the air mixes in and it “opens up”.
- Wet flies/Soft Hackles- tradition would call for a fine dram of Irish or Scotch as these patterns were originally from the British Isles. But be careful, as once you start working on the wet flies with tented or married wings, your fingers and mind need to be nimble. On the other hand, simple soft hackles like the Partridge and Red/Yellow/ Orange that work so well, can be done when a wee bit addled. The other traditional drink that I partake in if it’s summer and I am refilling the Wheatley box would be a tall Gin and Tonic. Nothing says summer like a G&T while tying wets/soft hackles!
- Traditional Steelhead and Atlantic Flies- Once again a glass of whiskey does well and for me, it has to be a Single Malt Scotch, likely from Speyside and even more likely it’s Mortlach 15yr or Macallan 10yr Fine Oak. I savor this traditional beverage slowly, maybe only taking a sip as I put the hook in the vice and when I take the finished fly out. I need all my wits about me when trying some of these complicated beauties.
- Streamers- Beer, beer and more beer! I love tying streamers and nothing goes better than beer. Likely something with a little kick, like a Stone IPA or a Ballast Point “Sculpin IPA”. Beer keeps my juices flowing and my thirst quenched. I tend to wet down and pull back materials on my streamers as they can get in the way of the next step. Usually all that is needed is a little saliva and beer aides in this process!
- Freestyle/Creative Session- Bourbon…on the rocks. When I’m messing around testing new ideas or materials, bourbon fuels the fire! It is also my go to spirit, period. When I am creating new flies, my concern is not for the immediate finished product, as it’s very rare that something comes off the vice and doesn’t get tweaked and refined. Most of the time it’s put somewhere on the desk where I look at it and critique the shape, size & proportions of materials. Then I tie it a second time with my improvements. Then I repeat this a third time. But I stop there until I can see them all on or in the water. Some patterns of mine have looked great until water tested and afterwards, straight into the garbage or under the razor.
One last thought…when it comes time to clean up your tying area, as I know most of us let it go until we can’t stand it, I advise a strong cocktail to ease the pain! Maybe a Dark & Stormy, a Moscow Mule or a Manhattan. My desk is a mess right now and will be until I knock out all my spring & summer flies. Then it will get cleaned up and likely stay that way until after the summer, as I will be too busy fishing & not tying. Unless I blow through a certain pattern that is lighting them up, then it’s back to it and the dreaded production tying begins. Ugh, production tying…and you better bet there will be an adult beverage involved!
Slainte!!!
Fragile Things
When I was growing up, my dad loved watching birds. I remember driving down a dirt road one day and seeing a wild turkey. At the time, wild turkeys were just being reintroduced and seeing one was an extremely rare occurrence. My dad screeched the car to a halt and fortunately no one was injured as cars sped bye (and gave obscene gestures).
The same can be said of bald eagles. When I first started fishing the Muskegon River, it was a very rare occurrence to see a bald eagle on the river. Now, it is a daily occurrence (this pic was just taken today). A lot of things have come back and there are great stories in our natural resources about these things.
One thing that is really obvious if you are a guide is how fragile nature is. Though many things have come back, others become increasingly rare. In the past 200 years, our rivers have changed drastically. Some fish, such as grayling and blue pike, are totally extirpated from our state. We have filled vacancies in our ecosystems with some great fish, such as the steelhead and brown trout. Other openings are filled with invasive species and our game fish are in a constant struggle to hold their place in the environment. We have to be careful to protect our great game fish, so that they will always have a prominent place in our rivers and streams.
Muskie Tee Shirt just added
A limited run of Mangled Fly Muskie wear. Check out the latest Tee Shirt. 3 new color combinations. More images are coming soon, if you have any questions feel free to contact me direct via the contact page.
The Dead of Winter and Fishing Tactics
The last week was one of the coldest of this winter. We didn’t get much snow but it sure was cold! After a couple of days indoors, I needed to get outside, if only for a little while. I know most of you can relate to this after being indoors for a while. I went down to the river to take some photos on a dreary day.
One of the things that I look for is falling water when it is very cold. Often times, falling water makes really cool ice formations along the banks of our great rivers.
Another great photo opportunity is when there is lake effect snow in the area. Often the sun will break few for a little while in the afternoon, making for a beautiful array of pastel colors in the dwindling light.
It may sound crazy but winter is one of my favorite times to photograph things underwater. The reason for this is that the water is extremely clear at normal water level in the winter. Additionally, most fish and insects move very slowly in the cold water, making them easy to photograph.
I sure was glad when the weather did finally break today, allowing me to hook a few steelhead. My favorite places to fish in the dead of winter are the inside of bends and behind fallen trees. Trout and steelhead to a lesser degree congregate in the slower water as it holds oxygen and food sources in the winter.
Last year, we were fishing quite large baitfish patterns as there was a lot of lake run browns in the Muskegon. Each year is different, and this winter we are fishing smaller patterns in the same types of water. These smaller patterns catch as many steelhead as last year’s larger flies. Since the lake runs aren’t as abundant, the smaller swung flies take advantage of the stream trout that are biters. A slight change in tactics makes for some relaxed fishing, sometimes with many bites in the course of a day.
A lot of times I look for sandy bends that have a bit of deeper, darker water between the lighter colored bottom and the swifter current. Often times these are productive places for a variety of game fish.
As spring gets closer, there will be a period of excellent fishing in these areas as stone fly nymphs move in close to shore, and king salmon begin to hatch. You don’t need to necessarily match these hatches below the surface, as the increase in subsurface activity makes the fish search out moving targets.
When you look at rivers every day, you see the subtle changes that occur day to day. Soon the signs of spring will be apparent. For now, I am happy to fish whenever the weather breaks.
Enjoy this time of the year!–Kevin Feenstra
Out of Touch Video
Great video by Shallow Water Expeditions , I still have a few places in Michigan that I guide where the phone doesn’t work. I cherish those moments, I hate being addicted to the iPhone. I pledge to be as phone free as possible. Great video
OUT OF TOUCH from SHALLOW WATER EXPEDITIONS on Vimeo.
New Mangled Fly Muskie T-shirt Coming Soon
Muskie T-shirt
New Mangled Fly Muskie T-shirt is Coming soon, check out the Shop page soon as we are working on a New Muskie Tee Shirt. Shirt will be available in Grey with the Black Muskie Logo, and a Black T-shirt with a Mangled Fly Green. New Muskie T-shirt coming soon!
Booking Smallmouth Trips on Traverse Bay
Grand Traverse Bay Smallmouth Bass