After some downright nasty weather a warm up & sunny skies have entered the U.P..  This nice weather is just a cruel reminder of what is to come in the near future (snow)!!  Water temps & levels have stayed the same for the most part & fishing continues to be good to fair depending upon river. Steelhead continue to move into the rivers in fishable numbers & fishing any dark water with good presentations has been productive. Taking a break from the nymphing & tossing the big rod around with streamers has been getting more productive & exciting.  Pictured below is John with his first fish on the Spey/Streamer- a trophy Lake Run Brown Trout & some bright chrome!

Fish sofly & carry a big rod!

Steelhead numbers have increased with the recent precip & dropping water temps!  Water temps are currently in the mid to lower 40’s depending upon river system-precipation in the forms of both rain & snow has added a bit more water to the streams which has a few more Steelhead midgrating upstream.  Well placed drifts & good technique has paid dividends in the form of chrome-there is some damn nice Steelhead around this Fall.  A few fish over the 10 lb mark already & the average has been around 8 lbs-this is much larger than we are traditionally used to.  I cannot say enough good things about fall Steelhead-a special fish that can humble even the most seasoned fly angler in mere seconds.

Hook up & hold on- Fall Steel!!

When I looked @ the thermometer this morning I almost wanted to climb back into bed-21 degrees @ 5 am!  Ice in the guides & nobody else on the river-must be Steelhead season now here in the U.P.!  Salmon numbers are thinning out very quickly with the rapidly dropping water temps & our focus in now on Steelhead, Lake Run Brown Trout & some resident Trout.  Egg patterns have been providing the most action & streamers have been getting some fish excited enough to give a good tug on the other end of the line!  We did receive a decent amount of rain that helped out water levels a small amount.  More rain is forecasted for the weekend along with some heavy winds & snow.  The central U.P. did receive a small amount of snow yesterday- way to early for that stuff!  I have had the pleasure of fishing with several upland bird hunters this fall- though i do not bird hunt, everyone has reported good numbers of Grouse & Woodcock here in the U.P. (attached photo is of local bird dog Ricky Bobby’s first Grouse!).

Upland birds & Steelhead fly fishing in the U.P.-reserve your day for next Fall!

From the looks of the thermometer our warm spell is now over-the next couple nights air temps will be getting into the low 30’s & water temps should be steadily dropping.  Water temps are currently in the lower 50’s and we are in need of rain badly as levels are low.  Chinook Salmon are actively spawning and numbers are going to be dropping daily as peak happened this past week.  There is a large amount of eggs currently in the rivers-Steelhead and Trout have been taking opportunity from the buffet!  Knowing where to cast can increase your chances for Steel right now-there isn’t a lot of chrome around, but those that are present are aggressive towards a good presentation.  The cooling water temps should bring in more Steelhead & Lake Run Browns-a good rain will immensely help the fish find their way upstream.

Bye bye Salmon-hello chrome!

Summer like air temps in the mid 70’s over the past couple days has been weird to say the least-the nice weather has angler pressure high for this time of the year. Regardless there is a good amount of Chinook Salmon available-many fish are currently spawning & some fresh fish can be found in deeper staging water.  Low numbers of Steelhead are around in certain rivers across the U.P.-with the groves of fisherman out chasing Salmon, the careless angler that parades through every dark piece of water looking to spot Salmon is making it challenging to target chrome.  Low light levels have provided the best opportunities to fish Steelhead-the high bright sun has limited mid day hookups. The forecast is calling for a cool down starting tomorrow & some rain-our rivers are overdue for a good soaking rain that will bring them up to ideal Fall levels.

 

 

The leaves have begun to fall-that means Steelhead & Lake Run Browns are next!

Recent cold air temps/precip have water temps down and levels up a bit.  This years class of Chinook Salmon from Lake Michigan is the largest size fish I have seen in a very long time!  Salmon are averaging around the 12 lb mark and some absolutley magnum sized fish are available around the 20 lb plus range-keeping a hold of them can be quite interesting!  Some chrome has been making an appearance-both Steelhead & Coho are present, but a good amount of skill and or luck is in order to get these feisty guys into the net!  A warm up & sun is in the forecast here in the U.P. over the next week-it has been nice to have clouds/rain on a daily basis so the changing conditions should make for some interesting reactions from our finned friends.

October fly fishing in the U.P.-big fish on the fly!!