Been playing with Gray Drakes on a couple different rivers, and by far the best pattern I’ve found is the Real McCoy Gray Drake Spinner, today’s picture is by Ann Miller. Make sure to check out the video and tie up a few Gray Drake patterns.
photo by Ann Miller
Cool blues on the cheek of this dry fly eating Michigan Brown Trout. Put down the streamer rods and broke out the Scott G2 once again to capture this resectable 16″+ Hendrickson sipper. Also every day more and more impressed with the SA GPX Sharkwave taper. Day in and day out putting it in new clients hand this line is amazing.
Had to get down and dirty on the Upper Manistee, with a slower than normal couple days of trout fishing. Had to bust out all the tricks. Have honestly not thrown the worm, the san juan worm, since my Colorado days some 15 years ago. Used to fish the worm on the Upper Colorado River on my days off.
Bobber Down!
This week on the Big Manistee was surprised to find the USFS crew with a power washer at the High Bridge boat ramp, handing out information about AIS (Aquatic Invasive Species). Through a cooperative effort of the USFS, Manistee County, and local watershed groups; they are providing education and suppression efforts for the AIS. Suppression efforts include this specially designed heated power washer for decontaminating boats and trailers.
USFS spraying down the “tiny dancer”
Here is the pamphlet that the USFS was handing out, have scanned it into a PDF. (save_MI_water ) Please view it over if you are a boater. With all the water here in MI, it is important to wash boats and trailers if you visit different waters. Wanted to thank the USFS for there willingness to help stop the spread of AIS, and getting out on the Big Manistee. Thank you!
Chasing chrome in the spring with the Scott 1108 T3H. Perfect switch rod for the spring, easy to switch out the sink tip for the bobber/indy rig on those high pressure sunny spring days. Throw on the SA 420 Evolution and your good to go. Spring fish are on the move, and even though it’s been cold fishing has been good.
Getting a double header is a pretty unique experience, but something in the fall we actually do see with waves of curious steelhead pushing up the river and grabbing the first piece of food they see. I love curious steelhead! So getting a double header steelhead combo I would say is not a hard combination to come by. But the Lake-Run Brown steelhead combo I’ver personally only had the chance to see twice here in Michigan. I’m sure in other parts of the country the combo is more common. But for us currently with a declining LRB population the past 10 years the opportunities are very rare. Well last week (in the spring season no less) my clients Blake and Steve put a LRB / Steelhead combo in the net. It true was a surprise.
The only other time I’ve had a chance to catch this combo is a day I will never forget. With good friends and great guides Kevin Feenstra and Jeff Hubbard. We were fishing on Kevin’s b-day when Jeff and I put these two great fish in the net while fishing streamers on the Muskegon River. Photo below courtesy of Kevin Feenstra.
Jon Ray
Had the chance to guide the past couple days for spring steelhead. Felt so good to get back on the water and do what I love to do. Also I will not lie yesterday’s sun felt so so good. Bill pictured below with a very nice Michigan spring lake-run rainbow.
So I have to admit I probably could of gone farther out into the river, but I was a scaredy cat. I am pictured below at the boat ramp of rainbow bend standing out pasted the end of the ramp in about 4-5 foot of water. That was enough for me. To say the least the lower end of the Manistee River has some shelf ice.
