Exhaused...but alive

The past couple of weeks have been challenging to say the least.  I got food poisoning in Mexico and upon my return to the real world contacted that nasty Flu virus of 2013.  For over two weeks I have had the uncanny ability to shit through the eye of a needle at 100 yards...and on demand..."Farts that Spray" if you will...  I have only recently  regained my ability to confidently break wind without fear of having to contact a HazMat team or the Ministry of Environment. 

As funny as it may sound being sick is a drag and I wish my past two weeks upon nobody.  I have finally broke free from the Crud but remain somewhat exhausted.
I spent the better part of this morning puttering around the garage at the cabin.  The van was at the shop getting some long over due work performed so I took advantage of the forced idle time and hooked up some plugs and altered my work bench. 

The garage chores had left me somewhat tired and I almost opted for a late afternoon nap instead of a trip to the river but the call of the wild was too much to resist.
The access lot was full but my favoured section of river was empty.  Everyone was either above or below me so I had the place to myself.  The wind was trying at times but I toughed it out.  I threw everything I had with no avail until finally I pulled  a small peach Chinook roe bag from my waist pack. 

The rest was history and over the course of the next hour two fine slabs made the bank.  It's been a tough winter of fishing for me this year so it felt nice to feel a bend in the rod again.  The Roe bite is back and peace and balance have been restored to the world.  Its been a long winter and Spring is a much welcomed sight.  Tonight the clocks move forward and we regain an hour of daylight.  Bring on the Spring Pushes...

Mexico 02/13

Winter escapes have become somewhat of a necessity for us. 

It's a nice break from the cold and life. 

One minute you are shovelling snow to load the luggage in the truck and the next you are lying on a beach sweating under the Caribbean sun. 

It would be nice to leave for the entire month of February but for now a week in paradise will have to suffice.

It's good to be back but I will miss the sounds of the Ocean, lounging on the beach, and the never ending Cerveza.

More Winter Distraction...

Michigan winters are amazing but in recent years can be very unpredictable.  January and February should be a given for the white stuff but these days what is here today can quickly be gone tomorrow.  Much like fishing one has to take advantage of prime conditions for snowmobiling and make tracks while possible.   

That is why we found ourselves on the road again Friday after work in search of the white stuff and some fun on the trails.  My youngest wanted to bring a friend up to share in the fun while my oldest hand to stay home and work her part time job.  At the same time my wife wanted to get things in order for our upcoming warm weather winter escape.  So it was Dad and two eighth graders at the cabin for some weekend fun. 

The kids were very excited about the prospect of riding the sleds.  I had gotten mixed reports of a decent dumping early Friday morning and was excited to see yet another 8-10” on top of the base we already had.  We arrived under darkness but it was apparent by the three foot banks of snow lining the now narrow drive that the lake affect phenomena certainly had arrived. 

As we unpacked the truck we all marvelled at the multitude of stars in the clear northern sky as well as the utter silence of the snow covered forest.  We lit the woodstove and settled down to a movie for the remainder of the night.   After Dad’s stern warnings, threats, and safety training the better part of Saturday saw the kids take advantage of the prime conditions on the sleds.   It was nice to see them enjoying themselves and having the opportunity. 

Later Saturday afternoon afforded me a few hours to slip down to the river so I seized the chance.  The fishing was tough and I failed to elicit any strikes during my brief visit.  Saturday night once again saw us settle down to some movies in front of the woodstove but not until we put a night ride on the trails behind us.  Snowmobiling at night takes on a totally different aspect and is quite enjoyable.  My wife prefers it to daytime sledding. 

Myself I’m impartial and enjoy both.  Sunday morning saw another opportunity to slip down to the river for a couple of hours.  This time I managed to turn a decent trout in the 16-17” range along with some smaller Browns but again no Steelhead.  It was nice to feel a bend in the rod but certainly would have been nicer to have banked a Steelie or two.  Again this winter season has been trying for me and I am beginning to look forward to getting the boat back out of hibernation.  After a few hours I returned to the cabin to see how the kids were making out and get them back on the machines for another good ride before we had to pack up.  Another stellar weekend was had by all at the cabin.  The kids put some miles on the sleds,  nobody got injured, and Dad got to visit the river for a few drifts.  Good times…

Winter Distraction

Well the snow has finally decided to stick around but not without an honest attempt at escape.

Last weeks unprecedented January thaw resulted in half of the snow base finding the water table and rivers.

All of the west side flows are gigantic but the following cold snap has locked up any runoff and the rivers have leveled out and started to drop. 

There might even be a small window of opportunity for a drift or two. 

A nice series of lake effect dumpings have re-blanketed the forest and that  means one thing...Time to hit the trails and take advantage of the fine snowmobiling conditions.

Last weekend saw the girls back on the sleds accompanied by ear to ear grins.

Yesterday saw mom and dad out on the trails for the better part of the day with plans of a night ride later this evening.

Winter in Northern Michigan...it don't get better than this.

Snow

One of the greatest things about owning a cabin in the Manistee National Forest is the abundance of recreational opportunities essentially at your door step.  One of our favourite winter distractions is snowmobiling.  Last winter I decided the girls were old enough to learn how to run the sleds on their own.  I will never forget the ear to ear grins that day as then ran the circuit I had laid out for them on the acreage back behind our property.  I remember when my father let me run his John Deere 440 by myself for the first time.  It's a feeling of freedom one never forgets and I was so happy and proud of my girls that day for embracing the opportunity.  Later that night it was all the girls could talk about and the ride home was filled with comments about the next weekend opportunity and the remainder of winter.  Well the next weekend never really happened nor did winter for that matter.  A major warming trend moved in, melted the base and put an end to winters fun.  Aside from one late major dumping the snowmobiling season really never came to be and the girls never got back on the sleds in 2012. 

Certainly 2013 would be different...perhaps another winter to remember... but once again the snow gods had other thoughts.  The snow events this year have been meagre and late coming to say the least.  That is until last week.  Finally a serious of lake effect dumping on top of extremely cold weather allowed for a decent base and cap conducive to prime snowmobile conditions.  We seized the opportunity and made the trek up to the cabin late Friday evening.  Saturday we awoke to a magical winter wonderland.  The trees were adorning  mass amounts of wintery white and there was no doubt about it that the trails would be prime.  This trip was about the girls and getting them on the sleds so we hastily got our cottage chores done  and geared up for some fun.  After a quick safety talk and once over on the controls we were off and exploring the fairy tale countryside.  The girls are naturals and run the sleds very well.  They even remembered their hand signals and exercised that courtesy readily on the trails.  We did a series of short runs and found ourselves back at the cabin late in the afternoon.  The girls had some school work they wanted to tend to and I immediately saw an opportunity to slip down to the river for a few drifts.
Surprisingly, there was a couple of people on the water and the number tracks in the deep snow spoke to a fair amount of traffic earlier in the day.

Having not expected to fish today I was quite excited to drop in the river and try my luck.  The wax worms failed to turn any players so I reverted back to an old friend and tied on a black and red marabou Norland Jig.  I picked away at the fast water seam down the middle progressively working my way out further and further into the flow.  I started to think about switching to a white jig and work the minnow pattern approach when the GLX was almost ripped from my hands.  I set up and the rod loaded up nicely followed by an explosion in the middle of the river.  There was no mistaking what was on the end of the line.  A short while later a magnificent double striper lay in the shallows at my feet.  It was a great fish and an equally great feeling.  As anyone that reads this blog knows this season has been a trying one for me.  The river has been fishing tough so this fish was a small victory and a welcomed blessing.  I did my photo thing and we politely parted ways.  I couldn't help but think that handsome fellow wasn't out there alone and that there had to be a few more fish in that run. 

I worked it some more and decided to let the run sit while I explored the rest of my rounds.  As like much of this season the lower water didn't produce aside from a shaker steelie so I decided to double back and hit the fast water again with a different offering.  I tied on my washed egg 10mm bead and a fresh wide gap #8 and hiked up to the top of the run.  I fished the closer lines first to eliminate any potential surprises then refocused back to that center chute.  My first cast hit the line dead center and 3 seconds into the drift the float dropped and I had my second fish of the day on the line.  Once again there was a warming sense of accomplishment flowing through my body and a certainty that this fish would find the bank.  A little while later a pretty winter hen was posing for her picture.  I had spent an impromptu hour and a half on the river and had two magnificent fish to show for my efforts.  The daylight was now nearing failure and I decided to make the hike out.  On the drive back to the cabin I couldn't help but think how blessed I am to have the ability to slip down on a moments notice and bring two amazing specimens to hand.  For a day that I had no preconceived plans to fish it certainly played out nice.

Bucket List...Situk River

We all have our "Bucket Lists".  Whimsical "must do before I die" dreams.  The idea is noble and to dream is ever so healthy.  Especially in this day and age of darkness and despair.  The problem is the majority seem to leave these things as such...mere dreams.  I made a conscious decision a few years back to start realizing my dreams.

 I did the right things in my financial and working life when I was younger.  I made sacrifices and didn't do what a lot of my so called peers were doing...big trips, new cars, gigantic homes etc...  I focused on paying down debt and living a comfortable but modest lifestyle. 

I am not and never will be one on a pulpit preaching that my methodology was correct but it has put me in a position that I can start to realize my life long ambitions and dreams...my "Bucket List" if you will.  The Cottage was the first and foremost important item on the list.  The Harley...well I didn't even see that one coming LOL!

But now it is time to travel.  Time to experience the world and fish the magical waters that dreams are made of...
I have been considering a trip to Alaska for a while.  In particular to Yakutak to fish the world famous Situk River.  Yesterday marked a giant step towards realizing this dream. 

I booked the flights and made reservations at the Yakutat Lodge for a party of 3 in late April.  Some expected highlights...Hubbard Glacier, Bald Eagles, Grizzly Bears, Mt St.Elias and the World Famous Situk River Steelhead. 

The Situk River boasts the highest Steelhead population in all of Alaska and arguably the world.  The river is smaller and easily self-guided with provided drift boats.  The entire scenario is right down my alley.  I have so much homework ahead of me but the spark has been ignited and the countdown is officially on!

January Warm

January has been  a crazy weather month so far so it was no wonder this morning I awoke to the sound of water dripping off the roof.  Friday mornings deep winter chill was nothing more than a distant memory and the days steelheading adventure was looking rather promising.  I knew this warm spell was to be short lived as the weatherman had already predicted a frigid lock down come Sunday and running well into next week accompanied with lots of snow.  It was looking like winter was going to seriously make a run at it and today was going to be the last gift on the river.  Gary Melzer from Schmidt's Outfitters was so kind as to extend an offer of a day on the river in his Jet Sled.  I fished with Gary back in the spring out of Bear Creek in my Hyde and was eager to get together with him again on the water. 

Gary is serious into the Centerpin Scene over here on  the West side and now offers it as an option for his guide service out of Schmidt's.  Gary picked me up at 8:30 and we made out way to the High Bridge launch.  The winds were non existent and the river was dead still.  There was no traffic to speak of and we made our way up river to some favourable water.  The scenery was magnificent and we couldn't have asked for a better day.  The only problem was neither of us could convince a finned friend to hand.  We threw everything we had at them to no avail.  I could tell Gary was feeling pressured to put us on some fish but I had to explain to him this was all on me and my recent funk.  We laughed it off and spent the remainder of the day with great weather, conversation and scenery. 
We parted ways around 1:30 in my driveway.  I still had time for an afternoon session at the dam so I got my gear together and made my way to the access. 

As expected there was a decent amount of traffic on this section.  Arriving to the river it was apparent this  water fished better than our earlier choice.  There were a few nice steelhead on ropes destined for the dinner table.  I dropped in and worked my A-game trying hard to turn a willing participant.  Nothing was happening.  I continued on around the big bend and fished all of my usual haunts in a half mile or so of river with only a few trout and an acrobatic 15" shaker steelie to hand.  With an hour or so of remaining fishable light I made the turn and decided to walk all the way back up to the dam and see if I could get out on the bar.  When I arrived I was pleased to see only one other fisherman below the coffer and well above my destination. 

I had already re-rigged with a 10mm washed egg bead prior to hiking  back up and was ready to pick away the lines as a last ditch effort.  I slowly worked my way out to on the bar working line after line.  I could see an unfamiliar seam far out toward the other side in the middle slack water section and I pushed myself further out onto the bar so I could reach the line with my next cast.  The throw was perfect and as my float entered the anomaly it jetted below the surface and I set up hard fully expecting a float and bead in my face.   I was shocked as the rod loaded up and a very hot fish raced frantically for the big bend.  The 13' 6" RV9 I am reviewing for Raven loaded up very nicely and was  now getting a legitimate workout.  This rod has been pitched as a big water stick with plenty of backbone so I was seriously thinking I had one hell of a beastie on the end of the line as it was all I could do to stop this fish from hitting the bend.  I started to back my way out of the flow and see if I could persuade the fish away from the center currents. 

I knew it was a ways down river but I immediately became concerned when it rolled on the surface well down by the  log jam.  I had managed to stop the fish but another run would spell certain disaster so I clamped down a little more and continued to work my way to the bank.  Once on the shore I worked my way down towards the fish and managed to convince it to come back into a deep slack section.  It wasn't long there after I made the swing and felt that almost forgotten feeling of success.  It was a very long and lean speed machines of a Steelhead.  The tail was freakishly large and the taper of the fish was reminiscent of a Skam.  This fish was built for speed and it was not wonder it beat me up so bad.  It had to easily push 30" mark but the girth was not conducive to a 10lb fish but more that of a 7.  Dressed in full winter apparel it was obviously this beast had done prior battle with some Pluggers judging by the battle scars on his mandible. 

This time it was a washed egg bead and a #8 Owner hook tucked perfectly in the corner of his mouth that deceived him.  I was now exhausted and relieved.  Finally a decent battle and finally a decent reward.  It has been a tough run this winter and I have come up short more than not on these seemingly rare opportunities.  Under the circumstances and sheer power this fish exhibited it certainly was a wonder we got to meet...no doubt a certain amount of luck was involved.
As I collect my thoughts and rest my weary bones I can't help but think that these are the fish that you remember...these are  memories that stay with you for life...you cant buy this sh*t...and that only makes it that much more priceless.

January Cold

I checked the weekend weather forecast mid week and was pleased to see a mild warming trend for the weekend.  On the heels of  it was what appeared to be a deep freeze cycle moving in.  It wasn't a hard decision to cut from work and make the drive up Thursday evening for a few more days on the big river before the deep freeze sets in. 
Friday morning was alot colder than I had anticipated and as a result I found myself alone on the river.  The fishing was tough but at the 11th hour I managed to pull a rabbit out of a hat with a giant Resident Brown.  Another 20" 3+ lb piggy.  There has been a fair amount of giant Resi's in the river lately and I have lost a few that continue to haunt me so I was very excited to put this one on the bank.  The biting cold squeezed me off the river by noon and forced an impromptu warm up session at the cabin. 
My afternoon option saw me down at Udell looking for a change of pace and some Steelhead vindication.  Within 10 mins I hooked up with a large hot hen that jumped three times before heading for the lumber and breaking me off clean in the wood.  The remainder of the outing was spent retying from the multiple submersed hazards of the locale. 
As I type this the warming trend has arrived.  The forecasted low for the night is in the positive ... the morning looks promising...