Monday Morning Coffee- April 18

ahhhhh.....the agony.  Yawn, stretch, scratch, repeat..... Monday again?  Is it April? or February?  Because it's getting hard to tell.  There's two inches of snow clinging stubbornly to the ground and the forecast is for a major winter storm tomorrow night with significant snowfall.  You've got to be kidding me.

Now, one of the oddities (to my mind) of life in Trout Country here, is how much the residents complain about the weather.  It never ends and is constant.  I would have thought they were used to and expecting the cold hard winter.  Wait until this summer comes and it hits 85 degrees- I'll hear nothing but complaining about how hot it is.  I must admit however, that when winter wants to hang on this long she has overstayed her welcome by some measure.  I've already cleared my throat a couple times and said "Oh dear, look at the time...".  But as with any clueless guest I think I may have actually come out and say something.  So here goes.

 Winter- I know that you are necessary and even good.  You are very, very beautiful in your own special way- No, I really  mean that.  You're just as pretty as the other seasons, of course you are.  It's been nice having you for all of these months.  And months.  But trout season opens week after next, and we haven't even had a proper steelhead season yet.  Oh, don't get upset just because I'm asking you to leave- you know it has to end sometime.  I know- I know that you're having fun and don't want to go... what?  That's how you're going to play it?  Real mature, start throwing things.  All right, get it out of your system, have one more fling.  Trash the place, we'll clean up.  But when you're finished Wednesday, grab your coat and don't let the door hit you on your way out.

Wow that wasn't easy- it seems like I always get the hard jobs.  Have you ever had to explain to someone why they're not "photogenic"?  Moving on.

I was sick all last week right through the weekend, and working 11 hour days, so not much fishing got done- one cold fruitless trip Wednesday night.  My weekend float was cancelled due to illness.  I did manage to get some bench time in and hope that continues.  The pace has definitely picked up on the boat build over at Croff Craft, so look for at least one and probably two posts on that.  I tied up a nice looking bevy of Zoo Cougars this weekend including this 4" articulated job that I have high hopes for.  This weeks FR Fly Tying Tip of the Week- never shave deer hair heads wearing fleece pajamas.  Consider yourself warned.  However, I'm pretty pleased with these ties, and so I'm considering giving a few away starting Wednesday, so look for that.  What do you think-  the Zoo Cougar color collection?  Or a broader set of streamers?  I'll give away 6 on Wednesday.  You're not getting that articulated one, though.

prediction: this one catches the brown of the year

Mike Davis over at Life on the Fly will be hosting a trip to the Nicholas Dean Lodge in BC- we're waiting for him to come out with dates, but if you've always wanted to fish steelhead and salmon in their native setting, you couldn't ask for a better place.  It's definitely on my must-do list.  I'll share that one as soon as the details gel.

Did I mention how good this coffee is?  It's Sumatra, and I ground it fresh myself.  But it's almost done, and I have a 12 hour work day.  Something about not showing up Saturday because I couldn't breathe.  So let's get after it.....

I'm calling this one Wolf Man Jack

Croff Craft Chronicles: Form

After a brief interruption the build is back on.  Building a drift boat is a study in form and symmetry, the love of wood and good tools.  It's about dreams of floating down a river on warm summer days with a cooler, two friends and some fly rods.  Building anything is about hope, but building a drift boat is a very special kind of hope- the hope of whole days spent listening to a river whispering sweet nothings in your ear, not just to fish for trout, but to really see a river, let it take you where it will and show you its true self.  A wood drift boat is a natural object, shaped and honed to nestle gently into a river, not to defeat it, but work with it, play on it, to become another bubble on its surface, to carry us in that bubble, keep us in it for the day and release us sun-rouged, trout-odored and happy.

I see all of that and more in this boat.  In this rough form I see the hazy outline of streamer floats, afternoons full of brook trout, nights spent roll casting a pillow-on-a-hook for browns, shore lunches, salmon madness, carp stalking, and steelhead dreams.  It's going to be a great boat, you can see it all in this form.

slot canyon or drift boat?

it was only half a boat this morning

The Greatest State Debate

big king from an unsung river

 Looks like Kirk Deeter over at Field and Stream has opened a can of (San Juan) worms with his blog post "FlyTalk Picks the 12 Best States for Flyfishing in the U.S.A.".  In this post he puts Michigan at the top of the pile- a ranking I approve and agree with.
Now Alex Cerveniak weighs in with his rebuttal, listing New York first, Florida second, then Michigan.

While it may be early to reply to this, as he plans to expand on this in coming days, I think I will anyhow.

In Michigan the furthest point from surface water is six miles.  Michigan has what is perhaps the most diverse fishery in the U.S.- 12,000 plus miles of trout stream, 120 streams managed for steelhead, naturally returning chinook and coho fisheries, coaster brook trout, lake run browns, one of which recently brought the world record back to Michigan.  Go check out Kelly Neuman's pictures of the lake trout and monster browns he gets throwing streamers in Lake Huron- the diversity of fishing in this state goes on and on.  Is the Au Sable the only trout stream in Michigan?  Granted, it is a fantastic and fabled hydra of a river, but the Manistee, Muskegon and Pere Marquette are nothing to sneeze at and hold large populations of large resident fish.  There are dozens of unsung rivers scattered all over the state- I find fantastic fishing wherever I go, all I have to do is get away from the access points.  Michigans Upper Peninsula has fishing that may never get fully explored, and rather than being all cedar swamp as he suggests, there are a number of streams that do flow through low mountains, or at least bear that resemblance.  I haven't even gotten to the warm water species.  There are areas on the Lake Michigan coast that hold monster smallmouth that will NEVER be fished- the coast is too remote and the surf too rough.  Grand Traverse Bay flats fishing for carp is world class- beautiful crystalline water, hordes of large fish that are just shy enough to make it a challenge, but plentiful enough to make it fun. Pike, muskie, largemouth, 'gills, white bass. Want Atlantic salmon? Call Brad Petzke and fish the St Mary's river with him.

In the end, I think it's truly difficult to compare states.  Choosing between Michigan and North Dakota is easy, comparing it to a state with such a similar fishery like New York is much more difficult.  When you consider all of the criteria Field and Stream used, including a fly fishing heritage that gave rise to Trout Unlimited, you understand their ranking.  New York is a great state to fly fish- I would love to toss the salt for stripers and bluefish.  I still think Michigan has it in spades.

Sorry Alex, I disagree.

this ain't no cedar swamp

Monday Morning Coffee-April 11

If todays coffee looks a little garish, well, it feels a little garish.  All night wind and thunder can give you some strange dreams.  Hard to believe another Monday has come round, but here it is.
The fishing has definitely picked up around here, which helps explain the dearth of posting on my part.  Those of you connected with me on Facebook have doubtless seen this weeks pictures, but I'm going to share a couple here anyway- it was a great week of fishing and even better one for photography.  I'm really proud of a couple of these shots.  They're at the bottom of this post.






We received over an inch of rain Saturday which has blown out even the small streams, so maybe I can get some typing done the next couple of days while the rivers come down.

I finally finished and posted last night my review of my beloved Peak Rotary Vise and have added links to Peak.  If you're looking for a vise definitely consider this one, and if you're looking for something less expensive then check out their non-rotary vise.  For about $80 you can't go wrong, and I don't think you'll get much of anything worth tying on for less than that.

I had promised another post last week on the latest wood drift boat build from Croff Craft and I'm hoping to do so this week.  Some things like work, fishing and sickness have interfered with progress, but as soon as it moves forward I'll get something up.

For those with an eye for detail, you may have noticed that I did indeed add a Jealousy Counter to the sidebar.  It tracks the number of times I've been fishing this year.  Standing at 8 so far, I doubt it would instill a whole lot of jealousy in anyone, but expect that number to climb steadily now that warm weather and productive fishing have arrived.

Ok, here's some pictures.  Expect more and bigger fish in the weeks to come, it's just getting started here in Trout Country.

Proudly wearing my TFM colors

nice small stream buck

my coolest shot of the week- what a great fish!

Gear Review- Peak Rotary Vise

It took me awhile to decide what piece of gear to review first.  When fly fishing is your hobby, every thing you own is your favorite.  But then I thought of the one beautiful thing I own that brings me hours of satisfaction day or night, summer or winter, rain or shine- my Peak rotary vise.

When I started shopping for a vise I did a lot of research online.  What I wanted was something portable, all metal construction (no major plastic components) rotary function, for less than $200.  I looked very hard at the Renzetti Traveler, perhaps the most popular vise out there.  One thing I did find in my searching was a website called Fly Fish Ohio that had a fairly exhaustive review of dozens of different vises at various price points.  Being able to compare features and prices led me to decide on the vise for me- the Peak rotary vise, and at just under $150, it left room in my budget to buy some tying tools and materials.

Take a look at it- beautiful, simple, clean lines.  They managed to work their logo into the bobbin holder.  When you take it out of the package it feels very solid and heavy, and it is solid.  Bullet proof would be the phrase.  It features stainless steel construction with a heavy duty hardened jaw aligned with the axis for true rotary function.  According to their literature it ties from a size 2 down to the smallest hook made.  Personally I tie up to a size 3/O hook with no ill effects or loss of function.  The jaw closure and adjustment are easy to manipulate and operate smoothly.  It takes a matter of seconds to figure out how to operate, unlike some other vises out there.
When I was looking for a vise my friends warned me that I would hate the base that is included, that it would be unstable, lightweight, that I needed to get a granite base from The Granite Fly.  I did get a granite base and I love it.  I have used extensively the coated metal base that came with my Peak vise and must say that it was entirely adequate- it appears to be coated cast iron, is very stable and heavy and works very well.  I just like my granite base better.

this monster is tied on a 2/O

partridge and orange soft hackle with that classic Peak jaw

I'm going to spin a tale of customer service and hope I don't offend the fine folks at Peak.  You see, when my vise first came in the mail, it was broken.  When I opened it and took it out of the box, the pivot pin that the cam lever attaches to fell out in two pieces.  I went to my local hardware store, bought a compression pin, tapped it in and the vise has worked beautifully ever since.  I contacted Peak that morning via email and let them know, not because I was upset, but in case it was a problem with a faulty material or supplier.  I was very pleased with the vise.  What happened- how Peak handled it, was what impressed me.  They replied to my email within two hours, and within 48 hours (I think it was 24) I had a new hinge pin with their apology in my mail box.  I'd dare to say that that kind of customer service is extremely rare, even in the best of companies.  I was incredibly impressed with their handling of that situation, and continue to be impressed with my vise.  I met Al Ritt at the 2011 Midwest Fly Fishing Expo and was able to thank him.  What a nice guy.

Peak Fishing is located in Loveland Colorado, and you can feel good about buying an American made product.  Peak makes a variety of accessories and tools.  I'll eventually order the salt water jaws for all of this over-sized stuff I'm tying- I hope I'm not pushing the standard jaw too far.  So far, so good.  They make a fixed jaw (non-rotary) vise that sells for about $80 with the same rock solid construction that should be a must for every beginning tier, and I would think it would come in handy for shops to use in the tying classes they offer.  If I had one reservation about my vise it would be that they sell brass set screws for the rotary function and the bobbin holder as accessories to replace the plastic ones that come with it, instead of making them standard.  I'll order a set, but it would be nice if the brass came standard with such a nice vise.  If it's an issue of keeping the vise within a target price point then I understand.

As far as I'm concerned, Peak has hit a home run with this vise.  There are a lot of vises out there on the market, some good some bad, some of it depends on how much you want to spend. At less than $150 this vise packs a lot of bang for the buck.  I tie a lot, and I won't be shopping for a vise any time soon. 

I call this one Guido's Ferrari

Croff Craft Video

Andy Schmidt of The Granite Fly has posted a video of the CC Drifter (the wood drift boat by Croff Craft) in action on a winter float.  It's definitely worth a look- the boat is beautiful, and it documents what looks like a great day on the water.  Check it out.

An End to Fish Pouting

I have to admit I've been a little mopey lately- fish pouting. It's true- when the drought goes this long, I get a little down.  I try not to be that way, I really can enjoy a day on the water; I don't mind taking pictures of my friends fish.  But every now and then, it's nice to be in the pictures.
 The problem has been compounded lately by a stressful work schedule and tight deadline that I'm afraid will entirely crowd out my spring steelhead fishing.  You look forward to something all year, and then a silly thing like work, and the need to pay bills gets in the way.  I keep saying, though, that the nice thing about living in Trout Country is proximity- being minutes from first class streams.

At some point this morning I decided that the moment I got out of work I was pointing my truck north and going fishing.  The plan was to go to an obscure stretch of Lake Michigan beach and toss streamers for pre-spawn steelhead and maybe some browns.  With sunset being well after 8 pm I'd have time even with a long work day.  I forgot about the list of things waiting for me at home, left it all behind, changed clothes, wadered up and drove to the Straits of Mackinac.  The Straits area is incredibly beautiful, and steeped in history- the French had missions and a fort there over 300 years ago, and the area was considered militarily strategic, as it was the gateway to the northern fur trade.  It's an incredible backdrop for an outing.

I went to my obscure stretch of beach and found- ice.  Not only that, but I couldn't cast to save my life.  It never helps to have a strong wind at your back, but I just couldn't get my rhythm down, couldn't feel the rod load.  Too much pent up frustration.  So I canned that idea, grabbed my other rod and chucked egg patterns in the creek that flows out there.  I'm not choosy yet, I just want to fish.  I caught a couple of small rainbows, and then, as the sun was going down, I drifted a dark seam of water and on the second pass my line came firmly to a stop, and when I tried to dislodge it from the "rock" it came up shaking.  It was a small fish- 4 pounds, but it went a couple of rounds before coming to hand.

the only ice left in the Straits

I needed that- I needed a night that wasn't caught up in work, business and bills.  I needed a secluded place, the sounds of geese and gulls, to see bald eagles in courtship flight, the sunlight filtered out through high clouds in a place that always seems a world apart even so close to home.  It was good to land a fish between sand dunes on a pleasant early spring day.  It was good to land a fish.

chrome on ice

So, I'm done fish pouting.  What has been a long drought has broken, and with spring just coming to Trout Country, I'm looking forward to a great year.

the smile is back