Lamprey match the hatch

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With the official start of lamprey season (chestnut lamprey),  the biggest match the hatch we have here in Michigan for our streamer program.  Not that there is really a season for lamprey, but I just happened to notice they the crawled out of the mud this week. Some people have told me trout don’t eat lamprey.  Okay.  If they don’t eat them, I’m fine with that, but they sure don’t like them.  Pictured below is a trout we caught this weekend on an imitation lamprey streamer pattern.  This trout had 11 different lamprey attached to him and out of anger destroyed my simple fur and feather pattern.

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So close I can taste it.

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With a look ahead I see temps that are going to provide some of the first dry fly fishing of the season, and I can’t wait!  A little video that brings back flash backs to last season’s memories.  Can’t wait to burn new memories into film and mind.

 

The Rise from Vak Magasin on Vimeo.

Muskegon River – Film by Andy Maser

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Good friend Kevin Feenstra in a short video by Andy Maser about the Muskegon River. Great video very well done!

Michigan Hydropower Success Story from Andy Maser on Vimeo.

POD – Hoydenpyle Trout

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Picture of the Day – Hoydenpyle Trout

One thing about fishing the Hoydenpyle is that you need to come to that section with a full cup of belief and a whole bunch of desire.  Stripping streamers on a bright sunny blue bird day will test all that desire in this section.  Trout below came in the bottom of the 9th with two outs.

Let trout season begin – Picture of the Day

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POD was actually taken Monday with a last minute cancellation, I personally had a chance to venture out and throw some fur and feathers around.  Great to throw overhead again, and get back into the game.  With my spring steelhead season officially over for the year, time to focus on other species, hatches, and inland lake mysteries.

Fish Eye Len

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Good news and bad news, first the good news bought a new lens this month. Now I have a Canon EF 15mm f.2.8 Fisheye Lensthat is going to add some creative shots to the picture gallery. Now for the bad news, my Canon EF 16-35 is in the shop, with a busted screw. I have grown to love my 16-35, it was my widest lens before buying the new fisheye. The fisheye is going to be fun to play with but I know I’m going to have to be careful, as distortion is one of it’s draw backs. Distortion as a fishing guide can give your photo’s a different look a creative look, but I also know it can loose you credibility if you are not careful. Holding and shooting your catch of the day in a particular way is creative art, but the line can be crossed if you use your shots for bragging rights. As the shot above shows, the focal point is the chartreuse fly and the brown trouts head. While the depth of field is shallow as I was trying to blend out the angler and emphasize the trout. Hoping to create a different look, while maintaining the size and shape of the trout without distortion. I think I did okay. I took this shot with an ISO of 200 at 15mm with a f/ 5.6 at 1/125.

Myth or Legand? The Hex Hatch

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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 hold dear.

I do find it funny that like so many different hatches in michigan when hunting big trout, we are so dependent on the “bug”. When the bug hatches and the big fish are feeding you look like a hero. But when no “bugs” fly (for whatever reason, even though it’s the right temp, the right night, the right everything) and no fish feed, this myth of a hatch creeps into your mind. The power one bug has over so many of us as we try to hunt her down, and use her power to catch the biggest trout of the season on a dry fly.
Just like all things that are good, there is over hype. I would put the hex hatch in the over hyped category as everybody wants a shot at the title of biggest trout caught. As each bend in the river can hold an angler with a rod, a headlamp, and the hope that the hex will fly tonight. Then when the hex don’t show, there is always the reasons, too cold, too early, dew point came too fast, and/or must be the wrong spot tonight.
But like all these that are good, they keep us coming back for more. No matter the hype.

Hendrickson’s have started

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With my first ever Mangled Fly Media (MFM) post I talked about the big bad stone-fly that will start showing in early May until mid June. I talked about the stone-fly being the first real big bug of the year. Big meaning size wise.

But for traditional trout anglers the start of the trout season starts with the Hendrickson dun. Well ring the alarm, you can officially start the beginning of trout season now, because the Hendrickson are popping. I had heard they had started on traditionally early starting sections of the Au Sable but to see them on the Upper Manistee and other smaller rivers on the west side, i.e. the Platte River. You know water temps through-out the state will all have Hendrickson popping. Look for mid morning spinner falls, say around 10am, with the emergence from mid morning until late afternoon. Then clouds of spinners will form on warmer than average evenings in early spring. This is a wonderful time of year for trout anglers. Let dry fly season beginning!