Michigan Fishing

2008-06-22T17:52:00.002-04:00

I've been using furled leaders for the past 7 or 8 years and think they are vastly superior to a single stranded mono leader. I've recently been experimenting with using clear nylon sewing thread as a material. I've been very happy with the results.

2008-05-15T14:07:00.003-04:00

Flip Flops make a great source for fly tying foam. They come in alot of colors, and you can usually buy a pair for a buck. One pair of Flip Flops will make hundreds of bugs.

I cut the flip flops into strips using a power scroll saw. You can then cut the strips into appropriate sized chunks. Round off the corners a bit, and attach to a hook. Add a few rubber legs, and you're ready to fish.

2008-05-04T09:26:00.001-04:00

Rod Weight Considerations

Start off by understanding that everyone has their own opinion. Here's mine, so you know my bias, I fish 80% trout, 10 % bass, 10% panfish.

Your rod serves several different purposes - casting, manipulating the fly, hooking, and then fighting the fish.

A heavier rod is going to encourage you to cast farther, depending on what you are fishing for, in some situations, that's good, in many/most it's bad. Particularly for stream trout, most of the people I see who aren't catching fish are fishing too far away. It effects the way the fly is fished, see next paragraph.

With perhaps the exception of a bass bug/large fly, most flys are better manipulated with a lighter rod. In most stream trout circumstances, the way you manipulate your fly may be more important than the pattern you choose. I fish the same pattern 85% of the time, early spring thru late fall. It's very impressionistic, and the way it's manipulated is what makes it effective. There are some match the hatch situations, but those tend to be the exception rather than the rule. Heavy rods tend to make subtle manipulations difficult if not impossible, they are effectively too stiff.

Again with the exceptions of large flys, most hook ups are better accomplished with a lighter rod. Again a heavier rod will often jerk the fly out of the fishes mouth. Trout flys don't take much to penetrate the fish.

Again with the exception of LARGE fish, a lighter rod fights the fish just as effectively, sometimes more so, than a heavier rod.

2008-05-04T09:14:00.001-04:00

Corkers

Manufactured by Bill McIntyre of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

2008-04-05T21:28:00.001-04:00

303 Aerospace Protectant - Best fly line conditioner there is, hands down!

http://www.303products.com/tech/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=428

2008-04-05T21:25:00.002-04:00

Less than a dollar's worth of foam ties alot of flies -

2008-03-30T13:38:00.003-04:00

When all is said and done, it's hard to have more fun fishing than catching Bluegills on Foam Spyders. These bugs are easy and cheap to tie, fish well on a light rod, and catch fish.

2006-11-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

Michigan's Hersey Dam Removed
As small dams around the country approach the end of their life spans, at-risk communities are finally recognizing the value in their removal. Such is the case with the Hersey River dam in Michigan, recently removed as part of an effort to restore flows in Muskegon River and its tributaries. "The first Hersey Dam was built in 1858, a mile from where the Hersey flows into Muskegon River and in the general vicinity of where Arctic grayling were discovered in Michigan in the 1850s." The challenge? There are 93 more dams to go. Jeff Alexander writes about it in the Muskegon Chronicle

2006-07-28T17:38:00.000-04:00

Great Bass "Bug"

This "bug" is easy and cheap to tie, and great to cast and fish.

2006-05-22T20:43:00.000-04:00

European Nymphing notes by Paul Prentiss

2006-03-08T13:08:00.000-05:00

Destination - Muskegon River

At over 227 miles long, 300 feet wide, in places over 20 feet deep, and falling 575 feet in height from start to finish, the mighty Muskegon is Michigan's longest river. The Michigan Natural Rivers program is currently considering the Muskegon for Natural River status. The section of river downstream from Croton dam to the city of Newaygo is considered by some to be one of Michigan's finest trout and steelhead rivers. Many knowledgeable anglers feel that the mighty Muskegon has yet to reach its full potential as a cold water fishery.

For many years, the Muskegon has been considered a text book example of a rich and diverse environment in regards to the food that trout eat. Its caddis fly populations have been well studied and documented. Over the course of the past few years, the variety of insect life found in the river has been increasing at a rapid pace. This is solely due to the terms and conditions of the July 1994 relicensing agreement for the operation of the Croton dam by Consumer Power Co, now called CMS Energy. The agreement regulated and moderated the water released from the dam, resulting in a constant and steady environment ideally suited for a wide range, variety and quantity of aquatic insects. This in turn directly results in a healthy population of wide bodied brown and rainbow trout which have grown to be extremely selective in their feeding habits.

2006-02-14T21:34:00.000-05:00

Free Fishing Weekend

From the Michigan DNR site - http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153--135326--,00.html

Michigan's annual Winter Free Fishing Weekend, Feb. 18-19, is a great time for families to bundle up, get outdoors and go fishing. For these two days, residents and nonresidents can fish without purchasing a fishing license, though all other fishing regulations still apply. Anglers 17 or older who plan to fish on the President's Day holiday, Monday, Feb. 20, must possess a valid fishing license.

Winter Free Fishing Weekend is designed to invite people out to discover that Michigan provides great fishing fun even in winter. Although recent mild temperatures have made it unsafe for ice fishing in many parts of the state, there still is plenty of angling opportunity from piers; from shore along rivers, streams and canals and from boats where there is plenty of open water.

2006-01-30T17:52:00.000-05:00

Orange Caddis Ice Fly

This ice fishing fly is particularly effective on bluegills thru the ice. Fish it on light line, preferably 1# test, and tip it with a spike.

When fishing, lower it to the bottom, slowly lift up, with frequent pauses.

Recipe

Hook - Mustad 92553 Size 8
Bead - 5/32 Black Clyclops
Body - seed beads

2006-01-30T11:13:00.000-05:00

The Forage Fly

This is a great fly to use when fishing for trout and steelhead. Fish it dead drift or on the swing. It resembles a little bit of everything - hex, crawdad, leech, minnow.

The recipe is as follows-

Eyes - brass or lead dumbells
Tail - Tan rabbit strip
body - eyelash yarn
collar - hackle

The secret to this fly is the use of eyelash yarn. It comes in alot of styles and colors. Try to find some that contains mohair, for some reason it seems to outpreform other materials. Also I like to use yarn that contains some tinsel, it gives a very subdued flash to the fly.

2006-01-29T07:02:00.000-05:00

A good article regarding fishing the Muskegon River -

http://hatchesmagazine.com/page/january2006/99

2006-01-29T06:59:00.000-05:00

Abel Pushing Volunteer Cleanup

Abel Products is encouraging fly fishers to join its "Gimme Five" initiative to help clean up the angler's environment. "As you leave the stream, as you climb out of your boat or float tube, as you break down your pontoon, as you stop for lunch, as you walk up the beach, as you stow your gear in the trunk, take five – just five minutes – to pick up any litter and leave the area cleaner than you found it," Steve Abel suggests.

Read the full press release in the extended entry.

CAMARILLO, Calif. – In an effort to rid stream banks, beaches, camp grounds and parking areas of litter and debris, Abel Quality Products is sponsoring “Gimme Five,” a yearlong volunteer program in which participants agree to give five minutes back to Mother Nature at the end of each fishing day.
In announcing the volunteer project, Steve Abel wrote, “All it takes is five.
“As you leave the stream, as you climb out of your boat or float tube, as you break down your pontoon, as you stop for lunch, as you walk up the beach, as you stow your gear in the trunk, take five – just five minutes – to pick up any litter and leave the area cleaner than you found it.
“Gina [Abel] and I resolved to do it around our Home Waters on the Bitterroot River in Montana. We don’t care who accidentally dropped the empty leader pack, if either of us see it we’ll pick it up; if we spot a beer bottle cap, we’ll pick it up.
“Filters from snuffed-out cigarettes are rampant on a beach I fish in Baja. I grab as many as I can. Bits and pieces from polystyrene coffee cups, debris from cruise ships, and monofilament line all find their way into my trash bag.
“If we each carry a little trash bag, take five minutes and if we each enlist five fishing friends to take five minutes, it won’t be long before we clean up every fishing access, beach, boat landing, camp ground, parking lot and river bank.
“No government, no mandates, no committees. It’s just us. Just your five friends, our five friends, their five friends and a commitment to do something to make our fishing world a little better than the way we found it.
“Is it a deal? Gimme Five,” he said.
Abel feels that upwards of 1,000,000 anglers – fly, spin, bait or any form of fishing – will participate in the project during 2006 if each person that volunteers enlists five other people.
“This is environmental volunteerism at its best and I truly believe it will work,” said the reel designer and manufacturer.