Tuesday Morning Joe- January 10 "Wha Happened?" edition

Aaaaachchhhhhhhh.  That's the kind of sound you make on a Tuesday.  Yawn, streeeetch, scraaa- wait a minute- it's Tuesday.  What happened? I somehow managed to skip Coffee yesterday.  I can't imagine all the bleary eyes out there.  The shock, horror, utter disbelief at having to start the week without your Monday Morning Coffee.  Now it's Tuesday, the worst day of the week, you haven't had your coffee, and you're angry as hell.

Please accept my apologies.  Ok, so I see your bloodshot eyes, smell the foul stench of your.... ok, that's going too far.  By the way, I've hired Fred Willard as a consultant for this blog and he offers some excellent blogging advice in the video.

Speaking of blogging advice,  I posted a survey asking my readers what they would like to see here at Fontinalis Rising.  I'm not proposing any full-scale changes here, and this is just a personal blog, but I would like to perhaps come up with a format and schedule so you know what to expect, and while I'll always write about what interests me, it's good to hear from readers what they like and  dislike.  The results came back as follows.

• 38% of you would just rather go read Troutrageous!.  This is fine- I'd rather do that too.  I see this as a self-solving problem, but if you like I can post a permanent link in case you find yourself lost again.
• 34% said "better photography.  Let me refer you to Russ Schnitzer's blog.  All kidding aside, I have been underwhelmed by the photo's I've been posting lately.  I'm finding that you can either fish or shoot pictures, but it's very difficult to do both.  I'm getting tired of the "blogger" shot- you know the one, fish in hand.  I'll definitely try to pick it up a little.
• 36% of you specifically mentioned that you want me to keep doing my Monday Morning Coffee feature.  I promise that MMC will always be a regular feature of this blog.... um, starting next week.
• 24% said they want me to focus on the creative writing.  I'll do my best.  Unfortunately for this blog at the moment, all of my brainpower has gone into articles for other publications.  Once those issues are no longer current I'll post those articles here if they're relevant.  Look for a piece on winter fishing this week.
• 42% of you said don't change a thing.  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  I'm looking to streamline and weed out some chaff here, not reinvent the wheel.
• 3% of you said you'd like to see adult content- something about naked women fishing.  Maybe that would improve my photography.  There's also a good chance all the pictures would be out of focus and askew.  I'll be taking applications for models.
• 10% want to see some fly fishing news.  I intend to start a weekly news post, just because I want to.  Anything I come across in the world of fly fishing I think is relevant or interesting- a good blog post, news items, video etc.  I'm thinking this will be a Thursday/Friday thing.
• all percentages (187%) were completely made up, as I didn't feel like actually figuring them out.   I'm a writer, not a math whiz.

To the person who wrote that they want me to post on Upper Peninsula fishing, especially  the Fox River near Seney Wildlife refuge- let me explain something.  If you've read my blog for any length of time, you may notice that I rarely mention a stream name.  I catch plenty of flack from friends and locals if I post here or in social media on specific streams, runs, hatches and locations.  There's a good reason for this.  Unlike our more famous rivers such as the Au Sable and Pere Marquette, the streams where I live in the tip of the Lower Peninsula are tiny and can't handle the same kind of pressure that those bigger streams can.  Yoopers (as UP locals are called) are even more militant.  If I started posting about UP streams, provided they would even let me cross the Mackinaw Bridge, I'm sure I could expect to find my truck vandalized and tires slashed.  I'll tell you that in general, the Fox is a fine and even famous brook trout stream, which I haven't fished in several years.  There's miles of it to explore, and I'm sure if you go in June you'll catch some trout.  If you contact me privately I may be able to share some info.

Winter is still a no-show here, which has made for some pleasant fishing.  I've gotten out twice so far.  Friday I was actually too warm in my fleece and ball cap and didn't need gloves.  I caught several small fish and was pretty disappointed in the day, but at the last minute came up with  three nice fish in four casts- a 17 " rainbow, a 22" steelhead, and 13" brown.  Talk about turning a day around.  I haven't been tying much yet, but the local TU chapter is tying tonight at City Park Grill, so if you're in the area, stop in, have an appetizer and a beverage and hang out.

I see that a few guys have been out ice fishing.  Not me.  We've had hardly any weather cold enough to make ice.  As of today it hasn't gotten below freezing in 48 hours, and it rained a good portion of yesterday.  They say it's going to get cold this weekend, but if you're coming up to visit and want to hit a lake use extreme caution!  Definitely do not go out without consulting the locals.  There's still not enough snow for snowmobiling, and don't think that because the lakes are ice covered that you can take your machine on them.  People die up here every year under normal condition, and this year is not normal.  At least my heat bill should be reasonable.  By the way, the ski resorts are open.

Well, this is getting long and it's time to get some things done.  I'll leave you with a fish pic, you know, like the ones I said I'd try to get away from.

last week's rainbow.

Monday Morning Coffee- December 19

Oh, do I have to get up?  I guess we all do, it's a new week. Hi-dilly ho-dilly.  In case you haven't noticed, I took a week off while I worked on other things.  I did get out and fish several times, with mixed success.  One day I caught about twenty fish, including eight that were 12-20 inches, the next day I caught 2 little dinkers.  The fishing can be hot or cold this time of year.  I didn't get any pictures as it was raining quite a bit, and the dry bag I store my camera in has developed several bad leaks.  I don't know if any of you keep track of it, but the Jealousy Counter to the right has crept up steadily- I'll come close to 100 outings this year.  I'll have to do a favorite trips/year in review post maybe.

I know everyone is distracted by the holidays, but I'll try to get a couple of posts up this week- I'll be conducting an interview of a Michigan artist and post that, and I have an overdue gear review coming out too.

Other than that, there's not much to report.  Winter has definitely been delayed around here.  We have almost no snow (we should have a foot or two), temps were in the 40's last week, it's 40 right now.  Who says global warming is a bad thing?  I feel a little bad for local businesses- the ski resorts are unable to open, and the snowmobile trails are bare.  La Nina hasn't been kind to us so far.  The flip side, is that fishing has been tolerable, and so I've gotten out on a regular basis, even if it's just for an hour or two.  (Correction- I see that some of the ski resorts are open.  The miracle of snow making.  Last week when it was so warm, you could see through their base, but they must have burned the midnight oil when we it was cold Friday and Saturday.)

Well, it's time to get something done- have a great week!

Monday Morning Coffee- September 19

Monday, Monday, MONDAY!!!  It's here again.  No sense crying about it.  Face it and move on.    Let's have some coffee.

After being gone from home four weekends in a row, I had to settle in and get some work done, including yesterday.  I did a car spot for Phil Friday on the Boyne River, and despite there being salmon present, I did not bring my gear.  It still amazes me to see yard-long fish in such a shallow clear stream.  Sunday I made myself go back out on my local brook trout water and see what I could do.

A nice selection from Angler's Choice Flies

The twist, is that I had contacted Michael Schmidt of Angler's Choice Flies some time back about getting some hopper patterns from him for an article I had in the works.  Mike went on a big trip to Alaska, and I did my Nipigon trip, but when I returned home from Detroit last week, I found an envelope in the mail with half a dozen flies in it.  With no real hatches happening, terrestrial is the only way to go right now, and the brook trout are feeding, trying to get ready for fall spawning.  Mike's flies didn't disappoint, and I had a rise on the very first cast. I managed to catch a couple of fish which was gratifying.  When I reached a very large beaver dam I had to change it up a bit.  It held fish, but they were very line shy, and not inclined toward naturals at all. That orange/black Chernobyl ended up producing.  I only caught a half-dozen fish, but with clear skies, very low and clear water, high wind and spooky fish, I counted the day as a success.

results

One thing I want to say about Angler's Choice Flies- Mike Schmidt is one of the best contemporary tiers out there.  He does it all, but his specialty is streamers, and his streamers are incredible.  Mike definitely has a style.  His streamers hit all the buttons, and if you're after big trout you need to check his website out and order some flies.  He has everything from classics, to modern patterns by Senyo and Galloup, to his own original creations which are on par with anything out there.  Check it out, get some.  Mike also has a blog that cover's his tying and fishing that I think you'll enjoy, if you're not following it already.

As I write this we're receiving our first big rain of the fall season, which will push the salmon into the rivers big-time.  I may have to head out this evening and see what I can find.  I also have to put together my September piece for my Angler's Year series, so I'll try to get that up this week.  I hope you all have a great week.

Let's get after it.

Monday Morning Coffee March 14

Phhhhnnnuuuuggghh....what happened?  Yawn, stretch, scratch, repeat..... where did this David Ruimveld mouse pad with a brook trout on it come from?  Ohhhhh....it's coming back...the drive, this big place full of people talking about fishing, Henry's wild tales, something about the worlds most expensive dubbing at Saks in Somerset, and Irish jigs at Conor O'neills.  I need some coffee, and so do you.  Have a sip.  Did I mention how good this french press stuff is?  I'll give you a minute.  Good?

Whewwww!!!, what a wild weekend at the 2011 Midwest Fly Fishing Expo.  Who knew that the fly fishing community were such hard partiers?  Kidding- I had a long list of friends to visit and get caught up with, and I didn't hardly get to see them all- next time.  I have a lot of exciting news, products and people to share with you, which I will dribble out over the next few weeks so as not to do one of my characteristic loooonngg posts.

I've decided that Monday Morning Coffee is a weekly feature, as it got such a positive response last week, and it allows me to address various odds n ends.  Such as...

Will the real fly give-away contest winner please step forward:  That's right, Shane, commenter #11, who won the egg fly give-away still hasn't contacted me, and I'm unable to contact him through his comment profile.  I've already sent his flies to The River Damsel (I know how to get in good with the ladies), but I'll tie more if he gets in touch with me.  It's fontinalisrising@gmail.com.

Fly tyers- I'm still running a contest to give away a granite pedestal base from The Granite Fly, so don't miss your chance to enter.  Story and details are in the Outdoor Profile post.

I'm very pleased with the modest success of this blog- thank you all by the way, for tuning in.  I'm starting to get a little cocky though, and now I have demands.

I want two widgets to add to my blog, and I need your help finding them.  The first is a jealousy counter- that's right, something that only I can click that will tally the number of times I've gone fishing this year, so that all you city-bound office types can seethe with jealous rage as you watch that number tick upwards on a daily basis while you wait for your one week off, IF your spouse doesn't "accidentally" remove your rod and waders from the car as you're leaving.  There'll be free FR stickers in it for the person who hooks me up.  fontinalisrising@gmail.com.

FR makes the save

The second widget I want has to do with my love of hockey, and yes, I am a Red Wings fan.  Now, I know that the Wings dropped out early in the play-offs last year, but so would any team who's played that much hockey over the last several years.  They've played an extra two months of hockey for years while your team is playing golf, so there.  So what I want is a widget that tracks their progress- their standings, playoff position, last score and next game.  I particularly want this out there to taunt my Vancouver, L.A. and San Jose friends-  I'll wager that San Jose is back to its old ways- stellar season, sucky playoff run.  Vancouver has been on a tear this year, but can they really keep it up?  With all the Wings key players healthy and looking sharp, I'd call it curtains on Luongo and Co.  Should be a great spring! Again, free FR Stickers to whoever hooks me up with this widget.

Lastly, I'm looking for a patron- that's right, someone who will pay all my bills and thus allow me to do nothing but write and go fishing do "research".  I'm not high maintenance, and there will be no wrecked hotel rooms/run-ins with the law/Charlie Sheenesque adventures or rants.  I just have some really good stories in the pipeline that are going to take six months at the current rate of burn.  So, if you're out there, are a sucker philanthropist/supporter-of-the-arts (I use this term loosely), then you know how to get a-hold of me.  Oh yeah- there's stickers in it for you as well.

Shop Talk: The Northern Angler and Brian Pitser

I'll never forget the first time I walked into The Northern Angler in Traverse City.  It was like....being home!  I let out a sigh of relief.  I was in my happy place.  I was there for several hours with a friend who was installing some displays.  Brian Pitser, the owner, was happy as all get out, as the longer we were there, the bigger my stack of tying materials got.  But here's the thing- it was like hanging out at a friends house.  The checkout counter doubles as a tying area, and Brian and Evan sat there and tied flies and shot the breeze, dealt with the couple of customers that came in and made an excellent pot of coffee that I went to work on.

What makes a great fly shop- is it price?  Selection? Cool hats?  Sure, and no.  I walk into some fly shops and walk straight back out- I can’t afford to be there and they want me to know that.  There are other shops who sell flies, but they sell so much beer and chips it’s hard to remember why they’re there.  Here’s what I want, and have found, in a fly shop.  I want a good selection of gear that I can afford, but still be able to drool over a Sage rod.  I want atmosphere but not a bunch of dusty deer mounts from 1927.  I want to be able to see and find what I’m looking for.  I want good advice.  I want a good cup of coffee.  The shop dog has to be friendly but polite.  I want a thorough selection of flies, even the ones I’ll never use.  I want to be able to find a decent selection of books.  They have to offer a decent range of services including tying classes, seminars and guide service.

 There's those other fly shops.  You've been there.  You walk in and can hardly see, there's an unhappy person behind the counter, there's a lot of dust and clutter and you don't DARE touch anything.  You've also been to the big and bigger box outdoor stores and found some of the things you need and no one to help you.

Back to our happy place.  Meet proprietor and guide Brian Pitser.  Brian gets it, he gets you- what you want and need in a fly shop.  In the space he has he's managed to pack in an incredible variety of gear, flies, tying materials, rods, reels and apparel.  The tying materials really stagger me, as I always seem to be able to find what I need, and Brian has assured me (before we ever talked about this post, I might add) that he can and will get me anything I need.  While he does stock high-end gear, The Northern Angler does not come across as high-end or stuffy.  It is always neat, clean, well-lit, well organized.

 They also offer a lot of services, not the least of which is guide service.  Right now the shop has 3 guides fishing the Upper and Lower Manistee, the Betsie, Platte and Boardman rivers and Grand Traverse Bay.  They pursue steelhead, salmon, trout, smallmouth bass and do sight fishing for carp that has to be seen to be believed- the water is so clear and such a shade of fluorescent aquamarine you would swear that you are stalking bones on the flats somewhere (I’ll finagle a trip somehow).  With casting and tying workshops and classes in the mix, there's always something going on to keep you coming back. The Northern Angler even has a shop dog.

Shop dog Casey- what a face!

 Brian had this to say about his shop and their philosophy:  “I’ve tried to build the kind of place that caters to the hardcore guys, but still welcomes the novice.  We all started somewhere.  Let’s face it- as fly fishermen we’re all a bunch of geeks, but we know we’re geeks here and so I try to make this shop as inclusive as possible.  Fly fishermen come from all walks of life, it’s not just a high-end sport, and so we try to welcome everyone.  I have a great staff here, and I am always here when I'm not out guiding.  I just want to earn peoples business, and you can only do that through good customer service.”  I can vouch that Brian and his staff walk the walk (or is it cast the cast?).  By the way- the coffee is that good, and he has mugs and not styrofoam.

The Northern Angler really is my favorite fly shop in Northern Michigan.  I don't mean this as a slight to other shops- there's plenty of good ones in the state.  I just feel that Brian has done an excellent job of putting together a shop that meets all of my personal criteria.  Too many local fly shops have gone the way of the dodo.  Everyone is shopping online, or going to the Big Boxes, but the soul of fly fishing is not found in those places.  Fly fishing is a hands-on, interactive sport, and fly fishing is always local.  You can get your gear online, but websites will never be able to tell you local conditions, hatches and patterns that you need to know to have success.  We need local shops and all that they bring, and The Northern Angler brings it.  Somehow I think The Northern Angler will be around for awhile.


 Visit their Website by clicking on the links below and look for them on the Friends of Fontinalis Rising sidebar.

The Northern Angler Fly Shop and Outfitters

426 W. Front Street

Traverse City, MI  49684

231-933-4730
877-627-4080
http://www.thenorthernangler.com

flyshop@thenorthernangler.com  

Monday Morning Coffee

Ahhhhh.....good morning....yawn, stretch, scratch, repeat...coffee, definitely needs must coffee.  Wait-  mmmm... that's better.  You can smell it can't you?  It's french press- my morning tradition.  MMMaaannnn is that good.  I have an extra cup here- want some?  Ok.  There you go.  Let's talk.
Well, that was an exciting weekend- I survived the big catch and release post and I'm pleasantly surprised at the positive response.  I found out that it had been posted on the Michigan Sportsman forum with some interesting member comments here.
I think I could sum up that whole post by saying that while there is a lot of low moral ground on that issue, there is no high moral ground- we all catch and release whether we like it or not because the law says so, and we all kill fish whether we like it or not because of the inherent mortality.  When you remove the notion of taking the high ground from the mix, we're then left with being able to make a rational decision on whether to keep or release fish depending on the situation, the species, and the fishery, rather than being wedded to a specific philosophy.  What? You haven't finished that cup of coffee and I'm giving you a headache? Sorry.  Let me top that off.  Better?
Moving on.  I was very pleasantly surprised to go catch up on my Troutrageous! reading only to find I was the recipient of some blog love- that explains the huge spike in views on Wednesday.  And I thought it was my pretty face.  Thanks Mike- I'll take all the love I can get on this end, I just hope to be able to give back some day, somehow.
The drawing was a big success (for the winner) and I realized too late that I should have advertised that we would be posting to Facebook live as it progressed.  My thanks to those who just happened to be tuned in at the right time- you all helped make it fun.  Some guy named Shane won it, but I can't contact him through his comment- there has to be a better way to handle entries- any suggestions?  My thanks as well to Keith, Amy, Lorin, and Jayme for being such good sports and letting me take over their house for an evening.  Keith and I are plotting kayaking trips and trips to Colorado.

my best kayaking friend Keith

It looks like I have posts happening daily this week, with a possible response to the Unaccomplished Angler's post on stupid fly fishing cars and how mine might qualify, and a surprise announcement later in the week, but....

I just want to address one issue- this is not a "selling" blog, but, if you check my mission statement, I have said that I will be doing product reviews and covering the people and businesses I believe in.  (I think I said that... I meant that)  Our outdoor experiences enrich our lives, and I want to highlight here those things that enrich my outdoor experience.  So this week I'll be highlighting two people and businesses you should know about.  I'm doing a feature Wednesday on a good friend who has a great product for fly tyers and I'm coupling it with a give-away contest.  Whoever wins this one will definitely agree that it's the single best thing they've ever added to their bench besides their vise itself. I'll also be featuring my favorite fly shop this week, so look for it.  I have not been solicited by either one for coverage-  these are things that I believe in and love.  I will be adding links to my site and it will be a list that will be increasingly hard to get on.  I will probably add a page to give props to other blogs and businesses that I like or have been helpful, but I want to stay true to that original vision for this blog.

Bloggers take note- I'm adding a book to my Fontinalis Reader page that is for you, and may seem a little strange.  It's called "For Entrepreneurs Only" by Wilson Harrell.  What does this have to do with you?  In my view, if you are a blogger, you are an entrepreneur period, whether you benefit fiscally from your blog or not.  I don't know about you, but I experience an overwhelming wave of stark raving terror (his words, my feelings) every time I hit the "Publish" button.  Mr. Harrell addresses that issue, how to deal with it, and how not to drive your family and friends crazy with it in the opening chapters.  The rest of the book may or may not apply to you, but give it a read.  I'm also giving a shout out to Mr. Steven Rinella as the best outdoor author to come along in a decade- I love everything he writes.  I still have yet to see his show.  It's called.... something.... on that...channel.  I better do some homework.

All right- coffee is done.  Let's get after it.....