Top Five Spring Steelhead Flies Many fly anglers eagerly await the start of the spring steelhead run. In this blog post I will point out what I believe are the top five spring steelhead flies. I will show you how to tie them and explain when to use them. Any list of the top five […]
Little Rascal Last spring, I was fishing below Tippy Dam throwing streamers for trout. There were lots of bank anglers fishing spawn sacks and a lot of heavy pressure from boat anglers. The trout were refusing most of our offerings of big streamers and we hadn’t had any steelhead activity. It was a sunny day […]
Shortly after the Christmas holidays ten of us took off from the USA and headed to Argentine Patagonia. Our airport destination was San Marin de las Andes. Our ultimate goal was to arrive at Spring Creek Lodge in Junin de los Andes. As a result we would spend the next eight to eleven days pursuing […]
Staying Warm during Winter Fishing Steelhead are cold-water critters. Steelhead anglers need to learn how to Stay Warm during the Winter while chasing them. Steelhead can be caught all winter long in water temperatures as low as 33 degrees. Steelhead will feed all winter long, fight extremely hard when hooked and don’t seem to give […]
Argentina Anticipation Very often during this time of year I find myself anticipating my annual trek to Argentina. I go to Patagonia every year to fish for Brook, Rainbow and Brown Trout in lakes, rivers and spring creeks. We base out of Spring Creek Lodge near Junin de los Andes. Most trips also include a […]
Alaska, the last frontier! I’ve just returned from two weeks in Alaska. The first week I spent chasing rainbows, Arctic char, silver, pink and chum salmon. We were at Angry Eagle Lodge with Hawkins Guide, Jeff Topp, General Manager, Derek Boschma, and Owner, Andy Miller along with several long time Hawkins Outfitters friends. The Fishing […]
Fly Fishing in Grand Traverse Bay Just recently myself and two of my new guides, Steve Pels and Tim Gibs all had the same day off from the dry fly hunt. We decided to take a break from drift and river boats and go Fly Fishing in Grand Traverse Bay. We were on the hunt […]
Fly Fishing Friendly Salmon There are five species of Pacific and one Atlantic salmon. The King, Coho, Sockeye, Pink and Chum salmon. The biggest difference between Atlantic and Pacific salmon are Pacific salmon are semelparous, meaning they die after they spawn. Atlantic salmon are iteroparous which means they may recover, return to the sea, and […]
Pine River Pine River The Pine River, near Cadillac, Michigan is a tributary of the Manisttee River. It joins the Manistee in Tippy Pond above Tippy dam. The rive is 53.5 miles long. Dominated by groundwater inflows, it is the coldest, fastest river in Lower Michigan. This groundwater keeps the Pine River temperatures […]
Hendrickson Hatch The Hendrickson Hatch is the first major mayfly hatch of significance. It usually arrives around opening day in Northern Michigan. Being a size 12 or 14 it is a big bug that hatches at the beginning of the season. Many times on the Ausable below Mio dam, or the Upper to Lower Manisttee […]