Finally some relief from the heat & drought conditions here in the Upper Peninsula, over the last few days some descent rains & much colder temps has it feeling more like Fall!  Lots of options to choose from for the angler right now as this is such a fun time of the year to be out on the water.  The final countdown has begun for Trout season, only a couple days left to get your fix in!  Brook Trout fishing remains fairly solid & should be good for the last few days of the season with the cooler weather & less sunshine. Sporadic insect activity has a few fish looking up, but most Trout are primarily focused on nymphs & baitfish.  Chinook Salmon migrations have kicked in a bit more with the new rainfall & colder temps-surf casting as well as river fishing has been producing some nice fish.

Fall=Fly Fishers Delight!

The warm weather continues as some clouds & rain are very needed here across the Upper Peninsula.  Seems like every single day is no clouds & hot air temps for this time of the year.  Rivers are low & in need of a good refreshening.  A few new arrivals in the Salmon Department have shown up, not any real significant numbers have come screaming upstream.  No real relief is in sight with the 10 day forecast-this week being the final week of resident Trout season will find us chasing Trout instead of migratory fish.  The final farewell to yet another season of U.P. Trout fishing, seems like just yesterday we were getting excited about the big Brown Trout that followed our streamer or the first rising Brook Trout of the year.  Now, it is nearing the end of September & the leaves are beginning to color up. Wow, the fishing season sure does move by quickly. Resident Brook Trout are getting their spawning colors on & some great fish are currently available.  As the Trout season is ending yet another season beings, won’t be long & the chromest of chrome will be dancing on the end of our fly lines.  Fall Steelhead-sure can’t wait to feel the tug!

Rain Please!!

This past week I was joined by legendary fly fisherman & all around nice guy Bob Clouser.  Bob is known across the fly fishing world as one of the most innovative fly tiers & the inventor of several patterns that are staples in every serious streamer fisherman’s fly box.  To say it was a treat to have him in the boat would be an understatement!  He & his fishing partner Linda joined me as we traveled across the U.P. targeting different species with the fly rods.  Using Bob’s different patterns & custom line of fly rods during their visit to the U.P., they caught Atlantic Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass & Northern Pike.  Fishing with an angler like Bob who fished all over the planet is priceless- learning new techniques to add to the arsenal & hearing stories of worldwide angling is what fishing is all about!

Currently we are in some need of cooler weather & rain here in the U.P.  It seems as if lately it has been in the mid to upper 70’s with sun shine everyday. Great weather to enjoy fishing in, but some clouds would be very welcome!  Forecast is calling for a cool down starting later this week with some rain.  This should help bring in some new fish to the rivers.  Until then enjoy the sunshine, Winter is coming!

Bring on the rain!

Increased fishing pressure with the holiday weekend made for some busier mornings on the water with the other anglers pursuing the Chinook Salmon.  The annual Salmon fishing tournament on the St.Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, MI created a large amount of traffic which has not been the norm as of lately.  Well I guess anytime you throw $2,000 up on the line for the biggest Salmon, anglers are going to try & win the loot!  Regardless some good opportunities existed for the patient angler.  Chinook & Pink Salmon numbers have semed to hit a lull as of this week.  The high sun & warm temps has kept river temps @ 62-64 degrees & not many new fish have migrated upstream.  Some good fish are still present which made for some very nice days on the water.  A few Steelhead are also present now & Atlantic Salmon have also been providing for some excitement!  The Atlantic’s are entering into their prespawn mode now & a few fish are really starting to show some cool spawning colors-a real treat to get a colored up male into the net this time of the year!  I expect once this warm weather spell we are under leaves us that we will start seeing more new fish enter the rivers here across the U.P..  This month will hold some great fishing for both migratory species as well as resident Trout.  Trout streams have been maintaining a fair level this Summer as the cooler weather has kept water temps moderate-we will be targeting some Fall Trout here soon – the official Trout season only has a few more weeks left.  A Brook Trout in full spawning colors is about as magnificent as a fish comes…..

One Specie, Two Specie, Three Specie-starting to sound like a Dr.Seuss book up here!