That's Fishing

As in life, just when you think you have it all figured out, something unexpected happens that leaves you scratching your head.  Why would fishing be any different?

We launched the Hyde on the lower river yesterday morning with grand hopes of finding an early Steelhead to kick the season off.  Young Scott from work came up on this trip with aspirations of catching some fish.  I was eager to put us on some but honestly wasn't prepared for what was about to unfold.  Not more than 5 casts into the first stop of the drift Scott hesitantly proclaimed he had a fish. 

The fight wasn't conducive to a hot steelhead. There were  times we questioned weather or not he was snagged only to be redirected by some stern head shakes.  I was becoming certain it was a stale dying King or Coho when the beast broke the surface near the back of the boat.  I must say I was nervous netting this fish.  Big pike like this don't come along my way often and I didn't want to lose this fish for my now stoked fishing partner. 

Needless to say...We got the job done!!!...Man!!!! I hate netting fish!  LOL!
Fishing...go figure!

Colors of Fall

 A time of sensory overload...

2012 Rubefest Weekend

As in much of life everything has it's own inherent challenges.  Why should a fishing trip be any different?  Aside from trying to align the boys schedules Mother Nature certainly has to be contended with.  This past weekend proved no different.  The September fishery has always been a hit or miss scenerio for me.  Going into this weekend I had no greater expectations other than a peaceful drift in the Hydes shared with friends and the beauty of the river.  Although no epic fish came to hand Norland managed to boat a nice Eater Coho for the Weber.  It was a brilliant surprise and delicious.  They say laughter is medicinal and there certainly was no shortage on this adventure. 
This trip marks the beginning of the 2012 Fall Fishing season for me.  Although I do not expect to dive in head over heals I do expect the odd river encounter over the coming weeks.  With the carnage the Salmon bring to the river banks I expect these encounters to be limited and brief but take note...when the later part of October rolls around and that familiar chill resides in the air it will be game on once again.

Here Chinny Chinny Chinny...

The recent rain that fell on Friday was enough to inspire a few more fish to push their way up the Little Manistee.  From last weekends visit it was apparent that there were twice as many fish in the river.  "Surreal" is the only way to describe the sight for someone not accustomed to the madness called the fall Salmon migration.  If this spectacle is any precursor for what is to come this fall I cannot wait.  Good times lie ahead.  Tree's are turning, there is a mild chill in the morning air, and the rivers are filling up nicely...

A never ending stream of kings...
2012 Little Man King Run from Brian M on Vimeo.


A spooked king sets off a chain reaction amongst the school...
Spooked Kings... from Brian M on Vimeo.

Fish R Dum

Fish R dum...
So is Norland.

The fish from keith trimm on Vimeo.

I think Norland eats his own crap too...

Ahhh Memories

They're Here!!

The 2012 Salmon migration has started here on the West Side.  Although in it's infancy there are a healthy amount of King's in the rivers.  It only gets better from here on in.  As the days grow shorter and nights fall colder the rivers will continue to fill with migratory species on a mission to procreate.  My fishing hiatus is nearing it's end and soon I will find myself back on the rivers where I belong.  It has been a wonderful summer reprieve but I look forward to the cooler temps and getting back in tune with my thoughts.  I used to dread the off season but have come to learn it serves an important role in rekindling my passion.  There is no urgency to chase the early runs but over the coming weeks I hope to gradually slip back into fishing mode.  Until then I plan to enjoy what is left of summer and let nature run it's course.  Stay tuned...

Deep Water Kings

It’s been a while since I have put pen to paper for this blog. To be honest it certainly has been a nice venue for me to explore my literary and photographic aspirations. I understand the pleasure it brings to many as well as the void it fills in some peoples existence.  Not everyone is as fortunate and blessed to have the means to experience what they love and cherish to the extent that I have been. The problem is the efforts that go into documenting the outings that we all crave so much can be exhausting at times.

They may appear to be a few words scribbled down in text with some random pics of the day thrown in for visual stimulus but for any facsimile of quality there are some decent hours spent editing and fueling the creative spirit.  This coupled with the fact that I have a full time Career and Family life can make it tough.   By the time the steelheading season wraps up and the countless hours of neglected home work have amassed the material and desire to force a blog entry have all but diminished. Late spring turns into summer which inherently offers distractions of a different venue.

Life takes a moderate shift. In years past I felt an obligation and desire to keep the entries somewhat current but this year I was not about to force the issue. There was no imagery or adventure I saw fit or compelled to share. There was no drive to pursue material just for the sake of the blog. That is until a few weekend’s past and a trip to the Cabin with Norland. The offer of a guided Lake MI Deep-water Salmon adventure on JBR’s Blackwidow was too much to resist and the dates were penciled on to the calendar. The prospect of an extended guys weekend is always appealing but the added opportunity that JB so graciously put forward could not be passed by.
 I had caught a fair amount of King Salmon in my day. Most of them in Rivers during their annual migration or out of my father’s fishing boat at the same times of the year. But until this weekend I had never experienced aggressively feeding Summer Kings out in the lake and I was really looking forward to it.

The times were agreed upon and saw us out of bed at a bright and early 3:00am. We wearily met up with our host at the Frankfurt Municipal launch by 5:00am. The number of truck and trailer rigs filling the launch parking lot made it apparent we had a shot at some decent fishing. After launching the boat we fell in line and taxied out of the harbor with a multitude of boats in all shapes and sizes. Passing the Coastguard station and clearing the Frankfurt break wall it was obvious we would not be fishing alone. For as far as the eye could see the bow and stern lights from a hundred or so Salmon fishing boats lit up the dark horizon.

JB was quick to inform us that every majoy port south of Frankfurt would be the same all summer long. We motored out 3 miles to the “grounds” and began to set the gear in 120 FOW. JB informed us we would be running downriggers, Dipsy’s, and planer boards with copper and lead-core. The full gamut if you will in order to cover the bases. We had just nicely got one rigger set and the second one deployed when it was fish on!!!! I was up and after a healthy battle on the heavy gear a 7-lb dime bright Steelie was at the boat.

The sun hadn’t cleared the bluffs and the lines weren’t in the water for 10 mins and we had the first fish to the boat. JB reset the rigger rod and proceeded to set up the Dipsey’s and planer board rigs. He may have nicely gotten the 4th rod set when we were into another Steelie. For the next hour the rods were popping off consistently every 5 mins or so and we ended up going 8 for 9 with 6 healthy kings to the box, two chrome steelies released and one fish long line released.

I can say without a word of a lie there was a brief moment when I was wishing for a break in the action as my arms were killing me. As I had previously witnessed in JB’s videos and now had experienced first hand it can get silly crazy out there. It’s a good crazy and I am so thankful to our host for his hospitality and my opportunity to experience it. I honestly can’t wait to do it again! Great Fishing, Great Friends, and Great Times! Damn I love Michigan!