National Fishing and Boating Week- FR Takes the Challenge.

I'm always looking for an excuse to spend a week fishing and what better time to do it than National Fishing & Boating Week?  OBN has put its members up to blogging about our outdoor activities that week, with the opportunity to win some cool stuff and good exposure from the folks at Take Me Fishing.  I'm game.  The question is, what does one do for National Fishing & Boating Week?

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm a big fan of the fishing here in Northern Michigan.  There's far more opportunities here than I am ever able to take advantage of.  What I will do are the following:

• I'll attempt to fish every day that week for at least a little while.

• I will attempt to catch as many species as possible.  When I catch one species I will roll on to the next.

• I will fly fish as many styles as possible- dries, topwater, streamers, nymphs etc.

• I will fly fish as many waters as possible- rivers, lakes, ponds, creeks, the Great Lakes.

• I will share all of these experiences, something I don't normally do.
• If I get drawn in this contest I'll photograph, video and share as much of this as possible.

Species? Brown, brook, and rainbow trout for starters.  Pike, large and smallmouth bass, and bluegills.  Then what? Carp, perch, maybe even walleye on the fly? Muskies?  Who knows.  There's all kinds of sub-categories- stream browns, night browns, lake browns, stream smallmouth etc.  The point is that I will fish as many and varied waters and species in order to highlight what we have.

Sound fair? Here's the proviso.  I still have a day job, like most of you, and don't think I'll have any time off that week, but what better way to highlight the fishing experiences of the average angler?  So my fishing that week will be done before and after work, at night and on the weekend.  By doing this I'll be able to demonstrate that fishing doesn't have to take a lot of time and expense, you just have to be willing to get out there.  See you on the water.

This is my National Fishing and Boating Week contest entry sponsored by Take Me Fishing and the Outdoor Blogger Network.

Oh, the possibilities

So, You Think You Want To Fly Fish

What is wrong with you.... I mean welcome.  Welcome to the fold.  Come right this way.  Over here you have our $500 waders.  Here you see the rod that you must have to properly catch the trout- it's $700.  Did I mention that you need these $400 dollar boots?  This Abel reel will suit nicely, it's only $860, pissant for someone such as you. Now we'll move on to accessories.

Not for you?  Me neither.  I have other things to spend my money on, like cameras and kayaks and fishing trips.  But you've always wanted to try this fly fishing thing.  You've seen "A River Runs Through It" or maybe even "Eastern Rises" and now you want to give it a go. 

Here's the deal.  You don't have to spend $1000 to get started, but you do have to spend something.  Too many times I've seen people buy crappy gear to "try out" fly fishing and then give it up because they didn't enjoy it.  While you shouldn't do this, you don't have to sell a kidney either in order to start fly fishing- there's lots of great gear to be had for reasonable prices.  Remember, you will get what you pay for, but the law of diminishing returns also applies ($700 doesn't get you that much more in a rod than $300 in my opinion). 

Don't go to Joe Boxer sports shop and just buy a rod- there's a lot of junk out there for $29 that will just frustrate you.  Buy an entry level rod from a reputable source. Don't spend less than $50 for the rod. Do go to Joe Boxer sports shop for the reel- I bought a $130 Pflueger reel at Dunham's for $20 two years ago.  Deals like that come along every day.

Wait, I'll write the list.

5 weight rod, 9' in medium action.
A cheap reel from any source- those old Pflueger Medalists are classic, cheap, and they still sell them for $20.
5 weight, weight forward floating fly line.

I am not writing a compendium of gear here, I just want to help you get started with gear I'm familiar with.  I'm going to make a couple of assumptions here- you're mostly interested in fishing dry flies for trout, you'd also like to dink around with bluegills or bass and pike, and you want one outfit to do all this.  One size does not fit all, but the closest you'll come is a 5 weight.  It will handle a lot of different situations, is a fair match for most trout, with some finesse it will handle bass and small pike, and is still fun for the bluegills.  It will throw small streamers, but be warned it is not intended to be a streamer rod.  It's a perfect middle of the road, daytime setup.  I've used my 5 weight Temple Fork travel rod for local trout, panfish and bass, took it out west and indy fished big San Juan rainbows with no problems, and caught a huge brown at night with it last season.

The reel doesn't matter, by the way- it's there just to store line.  If you're just getting started, and chasing small to moderate sized fish, drag isn't a factor.  Definitely do not drop a pile on a reel if you're just dipping a toe in the waters.  I'd spend $200 on a rod and put a $30 reel on it and be perfectly happy for this kind of fishing.
I am not sponsored in any way by any gear manufacturers, but I'm going to drop some names.  Like Redington.  Their Crosswater rod sells for $60-$90, and is a great entry level rod.  $129 gets you the Crosswater combo at Cabela's.  LL Bean has a beginners combo for $100 to $120.
If you want a really sweet casting, under-priced rod for a little more dough, you'll love the Redington Classic Trout series.  I have one in 3 weight, and it brings tears of joy to my eyes when I cast it.  I got in on the ground level when they were only $130, now they sell for $150.

As for the line, it's not hard to find a basic weight forward floating line for $30-40, but if you go the combo route they often come with the fly line and backing.  Combos can be a good way to go, as long as you didn't buy the one in the clear plastic box at Walmart.

So let's say you bought the 2-piece Crosswater for $60, the Pflueger Medalist for $20, and a fly line for $30.  My calculations say that's $110.  Not bad.  Sure, you probably need waders (get breathables. $100-$150), you need flies and leaders, skip the net if you want, you'll want some line nippers, floatant and a few other things, but by my calculations you could pull this off for less than $300.  Get a friend to teach you to cast.  Spend your evenings on the internet learning- Fly Anglers Online, Youtube, and Midcurrent are great resources. Obviously you could spend a lot more on gear, classes and guides if you like.  I'm just trying to get you out the door and on the water.  This post should get you a rod, reel and line, I'll continue this as a series and give my thoughts on waders next.

Monday Morning Coffee: May 9

Aaauuuaaauuauagggghhhh!!!!! Monday again already? Yawn, stretch, scratch, repeat... Did this weekend really happen? or was it just a dream? I dreamed of floating down a river and camping in this beautiful spot, then catching steelhead, sitting around the campfire, my buddies fishing rod was a spruce tree.  There were mushrooms, lots and lots of mushrooms.  It all runs together.  I need some coffee.  I'm running a little cafe Estima in the press this morning, we'll see how that stacks up against the others.
Wait, let me check- yup, I have pictures, so it must have happened.  What  a whirlwind weekend- work Friday, then load up the truck and run north, kayak into a remote location and camp, fish (successfully) Saturday, then kayaked back out.  Worked Sunday afternoon, and then found morels by the POUND.  It felt a little like a charmed life this weekend.  My kayaking adventure was only 24 hours long, but was one of the great trips of my life.  Good things come in small packages I guess.  I'll do a post about it soon.

one of the great campfires of all time

With temps warming into the 70's this week, the bug hatches will start soon.  Hendricksons have started on the Au Sable I hear and the trout fishing here should be pretty sweet from here on out.

In other outdoor related news, the morels have started in earnest- I found 4 pounds last night in an hour, and it looks like it's going to be a banner year.  This is a good thing, the last two years have been awful for morels.  By saying this, of course, I am inviting all people from Ohio to come up and trespass on private property.  We used to have people wandering around our back yard every spring, they were always from Ohio, and their answer was always the same- "Oh, we thought this was state land."  Right.  You can always tell the state land here by the vegetable gardens and the houses spaced every quarter mile on the road.  I had thought this behavior a little odd, but when I lived in Ohio for two years (also known as the Dark Ages) I found out that they teach their kids to say this in the public schools.  So yeah, come on up, wander wherever you want.  Yeah, that dog is friendly.  Go ahead, pet him.

They're back!

So let's see, in this weeks pipeline there should be another Croff Craft post, I should probably do a post about morels, and I'll try to put together a trip report from the weekend.  Phil had a major setback in his schedule for the boat, and you would never guess why- it's because of the tornadoes in Alabama.  I know it sounds like a lame excuse, but it turns out that the material he's coating the hull with comes from a warehouse in Tuscaloosa or thereabouts, and the phones and even the roadways were down.  They just got the material in and they're spraying the hull today. I'm going to make one last push for steelhead this week if I can, but work is a major factor now, so we'll see, and my thoughts are increasingly turning to 3 weights and trout.

Oh yeah, some of this went on

So have a great week, let's get after it.

it's a little blurry, but you get the point

Rise Fishing Rod Demo

I'm very excited to have received a rod to test from Rise Fishing.  I was looking for an 8 weight rod to use in a variety of situations- sight fishing flats for carp and smallmouth, throwing streamers long distances for browns and steelhead in surf at river mouths, and possibly even rolling big flies at night for big trout.  I must thank Cameron Mortenson of The Fiberglass Manifesto for putting me in touch with Amanda Switzer at Rise Fishing.  He may be the Guru of Glass, but Cameron definitely has his ear to the ground in the world of fly fishing.

First impressions are positive- The case is sharp, the rod is a beautiful glossy dark blue blank, the reel fits snugly  in the seat with dual up-locking rings.  It seems to balance well, and I like the dual stripping guides.  I love the laser etched fish logo in the reel seat. I also like the fact that each rod comes with an extra tip section.  The ferrules fit very snugly without binding, and it has alignment dots.  I took it to the water front park in Boyne City on massive Lake Charlevoix.  I was able to punch some 40 foot casts, but the wind was blowing so hard that the ducks were struggling, so I'll have to wait to give it a proper test. I'll definitely take it back down there to chase some of the massive smallmouth that call this lake home.

I plan on giving this rod a workout at the Carp Derby being put on by The Northern Angler in Traverse City May 21.  I really hope to be able to lean into some Grand Traverse Bay golden bones with this one.  I'm also planning a "secret" outing to a more remote location later where it should really be put to the test.

Again, my thanks to Cameron, Amanda Switzer, and Rise Fishing.

Monday Morning Coffee- May 2

So look, I did five posts this weekend- FIVE.  I have to get some early morning steelhead fishing in before work and then get to two jobs today.  It's going to be a long day, a long week.  So here's a cup of coffee on me.  It's very hot, very delish, so sip it, savor it, and if you like, take a look at what I've posted already.  I did a new post on the drift boat build at Croff Craft, two this weekend on the new whitewater park (on a fly fishing blog? I know, but the pictures in yesterdays post are killer) in Petoskey, yesterday I continued the Anglers Year series on cute little May, and Friday I finally published the shocking untold story of Cardboard Kirk with some juicy gossip he told me about Rebecca and The River Damsel, so check it out.

Some of you may have noticed that I didn't do my overnight kayak/fly fishing extravaganza, solo or otherwise- it got postponed due to high water and scheduling.

I'm going to go way, waaay off topic and send a little blog love out to Betsy at bRaYcon Love.  It's not an outdoors blog, but if you love good writing, check it out.  I've long had this gripe that Michigan is sadly lacking in literary culture- even Steven Rinella moved to Montana, or is it New York now?  Michigan is full of stories that no one is telling, and Betsy has gotten in on the ground level.  Her latest post is called "The Decapitation" and if that doesn't get your interest I don't know what will.  I loved "The Butcher", an inside look at growing up here and a coming of age of sorts.  bRaYcon Love is only six posts long, so check them all out.  I hope she'll keep writing.

All right I'm off, but before I go, I can't resist posting a couple more pictures from this weekend.

All right, I'm out the door.  I have steelhead to catch.  Let's get after it.

'Yak Attack!

As promised, I returned to Petoskey's new whitewater park.  It did not disappoint.  My post yesterday did not do it justice- I walked the whole thing today and it is beautiful, very well planned and laid out, and judging by the crowds of people using it I'd say it's a home run.

The kayakers were out today and the action was a blast to watch.  I'll shut up now and share some pictures.












First to come along were this awesome father and son team in a tandem whitewater boat, which I've never seen before.  I hope you can see in the pictures that they totally disappeared behind these waves- it was awesome.

They really are in this picture

Here they come

That smile really says it all.  That's some quality family time there.



Next up were these two guys in play boats.

It was impressive watching them appear then disappear behind the standing waves.  Next I caught up with them as they did a little play boating in the standing waves near the takeout.

he's up...

he's over...

and he's good!

It was worth coming down for all the right reasons- beautiful sunny weather, a pleasant walk in the park, and whitewater action that makes me want to run out and buy an old Subaru and a play boat.  I'd better go fishing before I act on that.

The Angler's Year- May

Oh May, the gentlest of months.  If April is my favorite fishing month (and she didn't treat me very well this year) then May is my favorite seasonally.  May is April's cute little sister, she never says much, but she is always sweet.  The weather is always nice, the spring storms are over, and usually the violent thunderstorms haven't started yet, nor has the heat.  May is not too skinny, not too fat, not too hot, not too cold.  May is just right.  May dresses herself in the bright, almost fluorescent, greens of budding leaves, spring flowers, blue skies and a boreal nightgown.

Some May flowers

May let's you just relax.  Pleasant air, warm sun, the smell of the earth waking up, lilacs, mown grass, moist dirt.  Trout.  The major steelhead runs are winding down, but the trout are turning on in force.  As the water temperature warms, cranking up metabolisms the trout come out of winter mode and so do the insects.  And insects, after all, are what the fly fishing fuss is all about.  Now it's time to break out the 3 to 5 weights and cast those delicate dries.  You know something?  I actually like tying on a size 18 sulfur or BWO on a warm May morning while trout dimple the river all around me.  I like not wearing every stitch of fleece I own.  I like catching ten inch trout on a 3 weight.  I like catching my first brook trout (salvelinus fontinalis, my namesake) of the year.  After the hubbub of the April trout opener here, May tends to be quiet, with the next flurry of activity not occurring until the Hex hatch in June.  If you show up with some flowers and ask her nicely, May will demurely show you some incredibly pleasant trout fishing.

Some May fish

May has other charms- morchella esculenta- the morel mushroom.  I know, it takes time away from fishing, but hey, what would a May trout breakfast be without morels?  I have to take time out of fishing every year to find these things, and let me tell you- I know how to find them.  If you've never had a morel you've missed out on one of the great flavors of the culinary world.  So delicately fragrant, so rich.  My morel leek soup is to die for.  Morel hunting helps get me in shape for a lot of my other summer activities, as I typically take off through the woods at a good clip and travel straight up and over the hills for miles in search of May's greatest gift (besides the fishing).

A nice May brown

May is not all about small trout and dries.  The water is still cool and high enough that it is a great month to toss streamers for big browns, and for steelhead that haven't left the rivers yet.  There's other, more unique opportunities here in Michigan.  The Great Lakes are still cold, but warming, and big, BIG browns, steelhead, salmon and even lakers can be found cruising the shorelines even at mid-day and some fantastic action can be had double hauling streamers in the surf.  May kicks off another season entirely, one which I intend to get in on this year- carp.  I'll be attending my first carp derby on May 21, put on by The Northern Angler in Traverse City.  If you're thinking of green weedy ponds or muddy ditches, you're dead wrong.  Grand Traverse bay is crystal clear blue water with hordes of large carp working miles of flats like bonefish or redfish.  It is one of the most exciting undersung fisheries anywhere, and I can't wait to give it a go.

I fish a lot at night, it's one of my specialties, and May is when I start.  I know that July and August are the traditional months for that, but my first night fish always comes in May.  There's nothing I like more than tying on a big ugly foam-backed fly and hooking into a brawling brown, one so big you wouldn't think it could live in the stream you're fishing, a brown that makes a sound like a bowling ball being thrown in the river when it hits.

May has other opportunities- here in Trout Country the pike season has just opened, and casting shallow bays with emergent weeds can be some of the most exciting sight fishing anywhere.  As the water warms the bluegills become active and very aggressively take the foam spiders I tie.  I may have to give some of those spiders away this month.  Bluegills are to me one of the guilty pleasures of fly fishing- not large, not traditional, but aggressive and feisty, with an attitude and strength that belies their size.  On a 3 weight they are positively a blast.  If you are wanting to introduce a young person or significant other to the sport it's a great place to start- lots of casting practice, no mending to learn, lots of strikes and hook-ups, powerful fish.  And tasty, if one is so inclined. 

As a matter of fact there's not much that you can't fish for in May, so get out there and see what she has to offer.  Enjoy the warmth, the sun, tie on a petite dry, relax. May is always that month that gives me that spring fever feeling, so try something new, experiment, fish new waters, pursue new species.  But get out there and enjoy May.

more May flowers- why not?