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12-08-04

Cold, clear water equals slow fishing conditions! Steelhead are in the river systems but with the cold water they aren't moving to far out of their way to grab a bite to eat. Around Thanksgiving weekend we received a nice rainfall that pushed in a small wave of fish. This should be enough to keep us interested for the cold months ahead! The darker and deeper the water, the better the hiding area for the winter in the steelhead's mind. On another note rifle deer season is over up here and most are saying #'s are down. I personally belive so as well. I saw about a 1/3 of the deer I saw last season. I think our cold winter combined with late snows in spring put a hurt to our herd. But nonetheless I will tough it out and enjoy the late bow hunt! Winter is setting in here in the U.P.; this means time to sit down at the vise and get ready for spring. We are now offering gift certificates in all denominations! These make great christmas gifts for the fisherman in your family!

11-04-04

Late fall on the river is one of my favorite times of the season! It is really relaxing this time of the year because everyone else seems to have forgot about the sport of fishing! Steelhead, Lake Run Browns, Coho and Resident Trout have made up the menu as of lately. Not large #'s of fish are in the rivers right now by any means. But the ones that are in are gobbling up eggs, stoneflies, and woolies because they also know that winter is just around the corner! Take advantage of the fishing now before the white stuff comes and book a late fall steelhead trip.

10-18-04

Salmon fishing remains good on both Lake Michigan and Lake Superior streams right now! The fish have hit the gravel pretty hard in the last few days here so remember to try and not walk across areas where fish are actively spawning. The last rain we received brought in a small push of Steelhead and Lake Run Browns!! Sure is a nice surprise to put a drift through some dark water a hook up with one of these fighters! Overall right now egg patterns have been key, the rivers are full of eggs right now because of the actively spawning Salmon. The Browns and Steelhead have been hanging around the vicinity of the big Salmon. The forecast says the rain is supposed to keep up all week long, this should bring in even more Steelhead and Browns hopefully! We have some prime dates available during deer season for fall Steelhead. Instead of fighting the crowds in the woods, retreat to a quiet peaceful river!

10-04-04

The cold weather and rain we have been waiting for has finally shown up! This has dropped water temps to the mid fifties and has the salmon on the move upstream. There has been a good mix of fish actively spawning and fish in holes/behind spawning fish. Small egg patterns, hexes, stones, hares ears, and pheasant tails have been producing the best. The fall colors are starting to pick up, thus making for a classic backdrop for salmon fishing. In the attached's photo's you will see a photo of a size eight chartruese springs wiggler stuck in the meat of Matt's hand! This is what happens when you try and tail a fresh fish that is hooked with the first fly of a dropper rig. OUCH when the 8 lb. maxima broke!! I think he will be carrying a net now.. We have some good openings left for salmon season still. The fall in my opinion is when the u.p. can really be appreciated. Fall colors, cold mornings, no people, and salmon!
What are you waiting for??

09-22-04

Salmon fishing has been picking up steadily over the last week or so here in the U.P.. The summer temp's have slowed the run in my opinion down quite a bit from where it should typically be at this point in the season. The fish we have been getting have been really hot and fresh!! Seems that we have been seeing larger fish out of Lake Superior this year which is very promising for the future! Also a good push of Pink Salmon came in this last week which is really surprising. I haven't seen the #'s of Pinks like this year for at least 4 years. Hope it is a sign of good things to come for our fishery. On the Trout end of things fishing has been fair for the most part. Sporadic Blue Winged Olive and Ephron hatches are bringing up fish on a nightly basis. Get out and enjoy it because the season is closing here quickly! Also soon as the next rain comes I think it will bring a big push of fresh Salmon into our rivers. We still have great dates available for fall Salmon so drop us a line!

08-31-04

Trout fishing still continues to be our main focus up here in the northwoods but the salmon aren't to far behind I am happy to say! Terrestrials and attactors have been working well during the day time hours bringing up some fair trout. In the evening the white fly has been bringing up some nice fish as well. As for the salmon fishing I have been seeing a fish here and there. We have been getting rain and cold temps everyday so the fish are on the move. Surf casting is the key right now, fish in the rivers are freaked out for the most part. Large baitfish patterns are the fly of choice! The next two weeks are prime time for surf casting here in the u.p.!!

08-22-04

This August has produced some of the best trout fishing I can remember for years! The cool temp's and frequent rains have kept river and lake temps in the low 60's. Lately fish have been rising good for attractor patterns in the early evening and then once the sun hides behind the trees i have been seeing fair #'s of small (size 18-20) blue winged olives. I am surprised because I still have not fished a white fly hatch this season. I believe that the cool water temps have been holding this hatch off. This week they are calling for rain and warm temps. Maybe that will get the hatch in full swing?? Well salmon season is just around the corner! The soo is starting to get a few of the big boys around (salmon). The guys that are trolling are averaging about 2 fish it sounds like so the push is under way! Here in Marquette nothing is happening yet, should be about 2 weeks before there is any kind of fishable #'s around. The beginning part of the fall salmon run in my opinion is the best. We have started a new approach for staging fish by doing some surf casting with streamers and tube flies. This is some of the most intense fishing i have ever experienced! Come up and try for yourself!! brad

08-11-04

Trout fishing here in marquette county has been pretty good the last week! Water temps are good for this time of the year because of how cold it has been getting at night. I have been recording air temps as low as 46 degree's this last week! We still haven't seen any of the ephron luekon yet (white fly). I think this cold weather has been delaying the hatch a little bit?? But nonetheless the fish have been looking up! We had a great day on sunday fishing hoppers for brook trout. Seemed as if the fish were just waiting for them to fall off the banks to make an easy lunch for them. Jim took advantage of the windy day and placed the hopper perfectly all day into the fishy spots. All the fish were very healthy wild brook trout. A very nice way to spend a sunday. As salmon season approahes we have really good dates still available. Salmon fishing up here is great. Most people are done fishing for the year and out bird hunting or bow hunting. Fish with us and see what you've been missing......

07-20-04

Well it's a transitional time right now in the rivers. Not alot of dry fly activity other than a few caddis and the occasional cahill here in marquette county. Attractor patterns have been bringing the brook trout to the surface still. On the east end of the u.p. we have had downright spectacular fishing! This time of the year we spend alot of time pursuing what we rate as the best fighting fish in the great lakes; the atlantic salmon! The last week was very productive as fresh fish keep showing up every day. Fish have been very aggressive taking streamers and nymph's. Fish have been ranging this year from 3 to 7 lb.'s on average. I cannot say enough about how hard these guys fight. We had fish jumping above eye level from the boat! We are extremely lucky to have a fishery like this here in michigan. There is nothing like catching chrome atlantic salmon in 80 degree weather on the fly!!! Interested? Let us know we still have great openings!

07-07-04

Sorry for the lapse since the last report but with the winter like weather up here i have been hiding under a blanket!! Trout fishing has still been fairly good for this time of the season because of the cold temp's and rain. Our water levels were getting pretty low but this last blast of precipitation has brought them up to early summer levels. Cahills and a few caddis have been the bugs that the fish have been keying in on. Little to no action with nymhms and streamers. We just got back last night from a day trip over to the soo for atlantic salmon. Conditions were very tough with rain and wind. Seemed to me that there wasn't very many fish around yet. Normally right now is peak time but the weather has pushed it back about a week. We did manage to boat one nice atlantic and drew managed a trophy rainbow!! Small nymphs were key!! The weather seems like it should start cooperating once again late this week and maybe if we are lucky summer will arrive!
brad

06-22-04

Well this season will go down as one of the most irregular trout seasons we have had in a while! Cool nights has prolonged our brown drake hatch because water temps have stayed rather steady over the last week. Usually when we get these cool temp's it tames the mosquito population a little. I would have to say not the case this year!! The last week we have gotten into some real nice fish which have made it to the boat. yahoooo!!! The brown drake has still been the bug of choice but i have started seeing a few cahills. Presentation is key, fish are beginning to get a little spooky with the lower clear water. Fall salmon season is right around the corner, we have plenty of prime dates still available!!! Last chance to get into some huge fish before the snow flies to get your fishing fix!!!

06-17-04

The drakes are here! After a much anticipated wait the big bugs have arrived. Fishing has picked up and the rains have subsided. Water level is perfect and clarity is good. We been having good days and the evenings have been outstanding when the spinner fall happens. The large fish have been quite hungry because they haven't been feeding up top at all this year! But unfortunately the big guns have gotten the best of us in the fight dept. the last couple nights! The mosquitoes and ticks are still out in full force so be prepared! This week into next should be the very best of the season. After this it's time to head to the soo and chase the atlantic salmon......
brad

06-08-04

Tough going as of lately here in marquette county for dry fly fishing. The high water and lack of bugs lately has made for some unseasonably rough fishing. This last week is typically one of my favorite times to be out floating but this year the results were pretty slim. I think if we could just get some consistent weather the fishing is really going to heat up here soon. We are still seeing sulphurs but not as many as i would like! The drakes should be starting here within a week or so. Here is a couple photo's of Dr.Tom B. doing surgery on his arm and "salty" Bob with a dandy wild brown!!

06-01-04

Well the sulphurs are here!! We had an excellent weekend of dry fly fishing before the skies opened once again on monday! Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the water was covered with sulphurs ranging from size 12 to size 16. Lots of bugs despite the high water and the trout were very keyed in on them. Water temp's are cool @ 50-58 degree's. Yesterday we received a large amount of rain so the rivers are very high once again. As long as they aren't dirty the fish have been looking to the surface for dry fly activity.

05-28-04

Rain, rain and more rain! Thought i was going to have to build and ark for a while there! Well finally it has stopped raining and the river has begun to drop. I haven't seen the rivers as high as they were this time of the year ever I think. I would estimate that they were up a good 2 feet! Now that they are dropping and clearing wew should start seeing some sulphurs any day. This hatch is my personal favorite. Lots of bugs and hungry fish. While the rivers were blown out the brook trout were very cooperative in the inland lakes. We had a couple banner days in the pouring rain stripping streamers. During our voyage one evening i managed to lose three fly boxes. That was a feeling i never want to experience again.. Yuck! So if anyone finds 2 green (nymph and streamer) and 1 white box (dry) there is a healthy reward. June is almost here so get out and enjoy the best dry fly fishing of the year...... brad

05-14-04

Steelhead fishing has been winding down but the trout fishing has finally started! Rivers have been hit or miss with a few hendricksons coming off. So far the best results have been stripping streamers. We have taken some really nice brook trout in the last week. Levels were normal with water clarity being quite high. That is currently changing with cold temps and rains. Today it is only 36 degree's out!! Summer is welcome in the part of the woods!! We still have great dates available for june float trips!!

05-05-04

Water temp's are still pretty cool up here.. This morning i was surprised to see us still under 50 degrees! Steelhead are still the best thing going up here with fresh fish still showing up daily! I do think our big "push" of fish has already been through but with the cool temps at night the cold water will keep them in the streams for a while. The best patterns have been small eggs, black stones, and hex nymphs. I have been seeing a few (emphasize few!) blue winged olives on sunny afternoons , but nothing has been interested quite yet. Shouldn't be to much longer till the trout begin to get active!

  04-28-04

Opening day; crowds seemed to be a little lighter this year for some reason. Maybe it was the snow flurries or subzero temp's we had on sunday and monday! Fishing was good before opening day but since then we have had cold overnight temp's which have dropped water levels and water temp's down to low! Steelhead are in the rivers trying to spawn. When the water temp's come up we have been seeing a few fish on redds. The fish on redds are not interested for the most part. Try and leave them alone right now so in the future we have more wild steelhead! Trout fishing should pick up pretty soon here. I have attached a photo of a nice brown that was taken last week. Sure would be nice to see more of these guys around our lake superior tributaries. The weather is supposed to heat up here the next few days so should the water temp as well as the trout!!

04-08-04

Well not a whole lot of fresh activity since the last report! Seems that we received a small shot of fish and no new ones since! River levels have dropped and cleared considerably and the water temp is still hovering around the 32-36 degree mark on the thermometer. Small size 8 light colored eggs have been best with nymphs (stones & sparrows) also producing. We need some warmer temp's and rain!

03-31-04

Well spring has finally began to show herself up here. Snowmelt is going fast with the rain we received last night and some local rivers are listed at 'flood stage"! Fishing in the last week I would rate as "good" for this time of the year. There are a few fresh steelhead in the rivers with a nice mix of lake run browns also adding to the excitement. We haven't really received a good "push" of fresh steelhead yet, so a good day would be a hookup or two. So far egg patterns are the best bet and the browns have been interested in stones and bear' hex. Water temps are still downright frigid at 34 -37 degree's. From the looks of things the weather is supposed to turn cold again this week so the water temp should stay pretty stabile for the next week or so. There is quite a bit of snow in the woods still so the runoff should continue for quite some time..
brad