20 pound steelhead

Best Fishing Images of 2021

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best fishing of 2021
Best Fishing of 2021

Best Fishing Images of 2021

I thought I would take a moment to reflect on a “best of our fishing images” collage from 2021 from our Instagram Feed. These are the highest liked images from 2021. If you’re not on Instagram or do not follow us via social media, here is a chance to see some of our best liked images. I thought I would go thru a couple of images and expand upon their meanings to us this year.

Also make sure to read until the end, as Ed McCoy goes into detail about a sea monster he has captured two years in a row on the Upper Manistee while mousing the last two years.

  • 20 Pound Steelhead – top left image and I believe the most liked image from the whole year. First these don’t come along very often, actually for me personally I have never seen a 20 pounder in the boat. With 20+ years of guiding, and too many personal casts to count I’m still on the hunt. Read more about this awesome guide trip below as Steve Pels goes into more depth about this once in a lifetime fish.
  • Big Muskie – Always a great adventure is our month of Muskie fishing, this year was no different as Brian Pitser of The Northern Angler landed the biggest fish on the season, middle image on the top row. This fish was pretty cool, because it was a blind figure 8. Brian did an amazing job of making the big circles required to get this fish to eat his fly. Not only do these fish make great images, but the flies we throw are fun to photograph as well. As you can see on the middle bottom row. Chicken’ sized offerings are sometimes required, bring your big boy rods to this party.
  • Underwater Image – every year I always wish I shot more of these, well this year I made a small purchase of new equipment and so far so good. Top right was my first day using the Axis Go and even though a few of my other shots didn’t make the top 2021 images they are my personal favorites.
  • Middle Row – is all about the steelhead and for Best Fishing Images steelhead are some of the best images I can get for the likes on the Instagram. Middle row shows of a big spring buck, a true awesome winter specimen , and a big late fall buck that we recently just landed. We are lucky to have these fish in Michigan, and thank you to all that helped us with the new regs and let the DNR and NRC that these fish mean so much to us.

20 Pound Steelhead Highlights

20 pound steelhead
20 pounder on the swing

One of the more memorable days in my boat occurred in mid November 2021. My clients were new to me and from our correspondence they have always wanted to try spey fishing but were unsure about it on this trip, thinking indicator fishing could be a good alternative. The night before our trip I double checked about spey fishing and told them that the conditions had been tough, with very low and clear water, not a huge amount of new fish coming in from the lake and a major temperature drop over night. After a short conversation about the challenges we were facing, they responded, ‘let’s go for it.”

On the run upriver in the morning my motor was acting up so I decided to stop sooner than I would have liked at a new run that I had not fished very much. I knew from conversations with my peers that the spot had major swing potential. After arriving to our first spot, we rigged up the spey rods and I began going through the basic mechanics of the cast, how we rig our rods and I jokingly explained rules numbers one, two and three if your fly gets grabbed. Rule 1: “Don’t do anything.” Rule number 2: “Don’t do anything.” Rule number 3: “Only do something when Steve tells you to.” We were getting into a good rhythm of cast, swing and step. My clients caught on quick and were getting their casts and swings dialed in. On our 8th anchor drop, the morning silence was broken by the most gratifying sound of short reel bursts, “ZZZzztt, ZZZzzt, ZZZzzt.” My first response is always, “leave it, leave it, leave it” but at this point, the fish was most likely already hooked. After a few more solid pulls and one sustained scream of the reel, I said, “go ahead and give me a light lift, it’s on!” The fish was clearly not pleased with its situation and proceeded to take multiple runs, jump 7 times and once we thought we had it beat, gator rolled and threw the hook.

Again silence filled the boat. We remained positive throughout the remainder of the day and had a lot of fun telling jokes and getting to know each other. Runs number two through four produced no action and I knew we were losing time. Run number five was a confidence spot and on our 3rd anchor drop my client fishing from the bow gets a promising rip. Then nothing. We worked that spot thoroughly, while thinking that was our last chance. Our time was up for the day but on the way out I thought, we have to hit one more, another confidence spot. We fished another hour after quitting time and I announced “two more casts guys.” On the last casts we were letting the flies hang down a little longer than normal and we admitted that it turned out to be a good swing day – they were pleased they learned how to cast and both got to feel the raw power of a swung fly take. Out of nowhere, the client fishing from the stern froze, his reel was screaming, I said nothing and he confidently lifted the rod, knowing that fish was on.

Its first run took us nearly to backing and each time it neared the boat, ran downriver like it was headed back to the big lake. The fish was tiring, never jumped, but as we were winning the battle, it would make large boils on the surface with its attempt to flee. Finally, the fish neared the boat and I saw a massive silver flash of its flank, I said “big lift!” and with a swift scoop of the net, we had it. This was not an average steelhead, I thought to myself, easy 16-18 pounds. But after lifting it out of the water for a quick photo and measurements, it turned out to be a 36.25” by 20 pound gorgeous wild female. A personal guide/client best in my boat and one that my client and I will never forget.

Two Years in a Row, same trout

Upper Manistee Trout Fishing Report
Robert P. From 2021
Night Fishing
Tim O. From 2020

2021 posed a lot of “interesting” scenarios on our local Trout water.  Low water, big cold fronts in May, intense heat in early June, then followed by a wet and warm late season.  Robert P. Joined me for a couple of nights mousing in August and he landed a personal best and the season’s best Brown Trout on our second night.  This fish was truly a treasure, but after further inspection and a gut instinct, it occurred to me that Tim O. landed this same fish in 2020!  So what’s the big deal? You knew the exact location where this fish lived, right?  The cool part of the story is this fish was caught about 13 miles upstream from her 2020 location!  

Kind of a cool story and it makes you think, why the big move?  There are lots of factors that play into fish movement, but my best guess is this fish is just nomadic by nature. It also illustrates the importance of catch and release angling allowing future anglers to enjoy the opportunity at a fish of a lifetime!

This is Fly

This is Fly latest edition

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Check out the latest This Is Fly, great photography and some interesting stories.

This is Fly

Fish Weight – Pic of the Day

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Fish Weight

Its been a year of big water and big steelhead. This pic of the day symbolizes some of the size that we have been encountering. This year has been tough for me to judge the weight of some of these giants. As I’m not a fan of the boga grip to determine weight, for a variety of reasons.  Even hanging the fish in the net and then weighting the net and fish doesn’t feel very accurate. I usually go be lenght of the fish to determine the weight. As from my previous experiences a 30 inch fish was about 10 pounds, and every inch after that added a pound. But this year the fish are dimensionally / proportionally different.  Seeing girth’s on these fish that I have not seen before.  They are “thick” as we call it.

Fishing Apps

As a few fish that we caught yesterday suggest.  With length’s of 32 inches and girths of 17.5 inches.  With the help of the a little math.  We figured we had fish in the 14 pound range.  Doing some research looks like there are App’s available http://www.fishweight.net , that you don’t even need a tape measure.  I might spend the $5 and try this app, and do a product review.  More to come later.  In the mean time, I’m using this app currently to help do the math – also has a feature to choose your fish species.  As weight has to be different based on species?  I would think.  But I’m trying to learn all this, as fish this year are special, and with the colder temps, we are staring to land a few more of the giants now.

this is fly

New Issue of This is Fly

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If you have a few extra minutes, make sure to check out the new issue of This is Fly.  Grant Wiswell is the featured photographer, I have fished with Grant a few times and besides being a great guy, he is a bad a$$ photographer.  You will not be disappointed with his images from Bikini Atoll.

http://www.thisisfly.com

this is fly

river otter

My Encounter with a River Otter

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One of the hidden benefits of being a fishing guide is the opportunity to witness cool moments in nature.    Wildlife photography is a side hobby of mine, and for years I have been hoping to capture a good photograph a river otter.

A lot of times you see otters on TV and they appear to be social, gregarious animals that are friendly and curious.   On the contrary, our local river otters are reclusive.   Though they are always present, I only see them a few times of the year if I am lucky.   Not only are they reclusive, but they are fast.   They are as much land animals as water animals.  Often when I see them they are running off onto dry land after catching a juicy trout.

Recently, I saw such an otter running down the bank.    I had my camera handy and snapped a couple shots as the otter galloped by.

This was a typical otter encounter, and soon the otter disappeared into the brush.    They are extremely fast!

I took the boat upriver and started to wade and spey cast, hoping for an early October steelhead.    As I waded down the run, I heard a strange crackling noise.    I looked upriver into some tangled brush to see the otter.   He was crunching on a salmon carcass.

I was amazed to see the brutal efficiency of the animal.    Otters are fierce animals.    The otter had bright white teeth, and fed undisturbed for about ten minutes.   I was able to get fairly close but did not want to ruin the animal’s dinner.

A lot of the wildlife that I see on the river is  easily overlooked while fishing.    It is often only when you look at the small details that some of the coolest things you can see on the river appear.   Soon after they appear, they are gone.

Thanks for looking!

Kevin Feenstra

through the guides

I’m a guide, because

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Best quote of this short film for me was ” I’m a guide, because I like guiding”.  Great short film by Noble Labs

Through The Guides from The Noble Lab on Vimeo.

winter steelhead

The Dead of Winter and Fishing Tactics

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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

fishing sunglass repair

Fishing Sunglass Repair

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fishing sunglass repair

These sunglasses are in need of repair. This is not the first time, as you can see if you look carefully…

When you think of destructive forces in nature, you think of various storms and earthquakes, etc.     On a smaller scale, you could argue that a two year old is similar.   Our son Zach is a wonderful source of joy in our lives.   However, he possesses a unique destructive ability, and some pieces of gear have fallen prey to him in recent months.

Most recently, my favorite sunglasses are the victim.        I mistakenly set them down in a reachable spot, and before I knew it, they were vaulting majestically across the room, only to break upon impact on the wood floor.   I find that rather than send things back for repair, I will try to fix them myself if at all possible.    Sending a piece of gear back to the factory takes time, and that time is valuable with useful things like sunglasses.    Also, my experience with sunglasses is that after you send them back, they might not be repairable.     A few weeks down the road, you might hear that they are being sent back to you unfixed.   Thus, Do-It-Yourself repair might be an option.

There is a simple, inexpensive way to fix the broken arm of a sunglass.   Here is a list of things you need to make this happen:

  1.   1″ of heat shrink tube, just larger than the arm of the sunglasses.    This is available in many colors, including clear, though black is the most common.
  2. A heat source; a heat gun is your best option because it usually won’t melt any part of the sunglasses (can’t make any promises, so you are on your own with this).    A small butane torch could also be used, as well as a lighter.  However, these are more likely to cause damage to your glasses (I have most unfortunately learned this the hard way).
  3. Gorilla Tape or other similar product:     This is optional.   You could also use glue to prep the arm.   The shrink tube itself may be sufficient.

Sunglass repair tools

This is all you need for a simple repair of most sunglass arms

Here are the steps to fixing them, in images:

Step one

Step 1: Measure an inch or so of tape

Step 2 sunglass repair

Step 2: Wrap the tape over the broken arm. This by itself would not make the arm strong enough.

Step 3 of repair

Step 3: Using an electric heat gun on its lowest setting, slowly heat the shrink tubing until tight around the end

finished with sunglass repair!

That’s it, you are done!

That’s all there is to it!    It may not look pretty.  However, usually it blends in quite well and no one is looking at your ears.    This is especially true if you are catching fish…

Thanks for looking!

Kevin Feenstra

 

Crying the Blues – by Jerome Seid

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Jerome shares his fishing adventure from the summer, thank you Jerome. If anybody in the Mangled Fly community would like to share there fishing adventures just let me know.

Crying the Blues? Singing the Blues!

Had the opportunity to book a half-day trip during my vacation, with Captain Ken Rafferty out of East Hampton yesterday. A native New Yorker, Ken has been guiding on the east end of Long Island for 35 years, after careers in the music industry in Manhattan and construction business on the Island. I figured a half day would be enough. With a warm day in store for us and bluebird skies, and warm water temps, I had no idea how things would go, in the waters between the north and south forks of Long Island. After a short run to a sand bar, I hooked into a bluefish that was following a surface plug Ken threw out into the rough water on the edge of the bar. Lost that one quickly with a less than stellar strip set due to the early “jitters”. With few fish showing willingness to strike at the plug, we decided to hit “The Ruins”, a bombed out remnant of an historic lighthouse and Fort Tyler that was used by the military for target practice during World War II. We switched to a 450 grain sink-tip, and tied on an epoxy head yellow streamer. Within two casts at about 9 feet depth, I had hooked into what was definitely a good sized fish. Several minutes playing the fish was all that toothy bastard needed to bite thru the leader, leaving nothing but the frayed end as my proof. Several more drifts through the run produced no repeat, so it was off to several other sites off Gardiners Island, a large (5-plus square miles) privately owned piece of real estate in the same family and descendants for nearly 400 years, part of a British Royal Grant of the 1600’s. Trying to bring fish to the surface to provide target was the method for a few hours. The fish were sparse all the way out to Montauk harbor and not cooperating despite my single and double-haul casts. By this time we had travelled 20 miles or so, and had to gas up. I was tempted to grab a lobster roll from Gosman’s on the way back out but thought better of it. So, it was back out to the bay, working our way westward , watching for birds to point out the baitfish schools. A couple of hours of frustration later and I was considering calling it a day, when a flock of terns swirled in the distance, swooping to feast. We quickly made our way over and wouldn’t you know it, a tern tangled in my line! After Ken released it uninjured (no picture, sorry), the onslaught began, with blues in the 4-5 pound range hitting my chartreuse Cockroach pattern left and right. I learned that long quick strips without a pause got the best results. The runs were not that of the hundred yard, reel screaming, bonefish variety, but thrilling, nonetheless. Following the birds kept me in fish for the next hour or so, and a half-day soon, became a full day, and I had landed nearly a dozen nice-sized fish, all released successfully and I had my fill. Alas, no striper to show for my efforts, but I got that bluefish on the fly off my bucket list, and I ‘sang’ the blues all the way back to the dock. Next up, the September/October Striper Blitz – maybe even the Striper Derby!

Jerome Seid