Newaygo Spey Clave

Just got back from the Spey Clave in Newaygo, MI hosted by great Lakes Fly Fishing. The event was awesome. This was my first officially organized spey clave (a gathering of spey fishing fanatics and newbies). I stayed at a friend Mojo's house where a good dozen other speyheads were staying. The folks were all from the Midwest including MI, WI, IL, IN. The comradery was abundant as I was welcomed in despite my relative spey inexperience. Everyone staying at Joe's brought something to contribute be it Scotch, fillet mignon or tubs of homemade salsa. There was some great tying with stories to match for each fly. Staying at the house allows access to some private stretches of the Muskegon not otherwise fish able via wading. Fishing was slow but I had plenty to work on.

The actual organized clave was great. I swore afterward that I will be a regular figure at them. Many of the manufacturers were represented offering demos and freebies. I was able to try several lines on my new rod a Scott LS2 15ft 9wt. To take things a step farther several of my housemates stepped up to check out my casting, give advice and make line suggestions. Rambo and Jamey hooked me up. I ended up buying a RIO Skagit 550gr from Rambo and it casts nice, for me. The highlight of the clave was hearing a lecture from legend Dec Hogan and seeing him cast. He gave pointers and had many inspirational things to say. It was nice to be immersed in a culture of respectful fisherman most of whom had knowledge that far surpassed my own. I cannot wait to apply my new found skills. Cheers, EJ

I recently took my daughters out for some bluegill and creek chub fishing on fly at the ponds across from our home. They really seemed to enjoy it and especially liked to see the take when they came up to hit the ant pattern we were using. I try to spend time daily to imprint the ideas of conservation and respect for nature on the girls. The walk to and from the ponds always includes some finding of snakes, frogs and other surprises. We caught many spring peepers and released them near our garden for future generations of bug control. I can't think of a better way to spend a sunny afternoon than hooking some fish with my two little pickles. If you have got some little ones get them hooked on the fly now. Cheers! EJ

Nothing like them mountain trout baby!

I just returned from my old haunts in Colorado. It felt very nice to be confident in my pursuit of trout in both quantity and quality. The fishing was incredible. The beer was incredible. I fished with two driven, fishing maniacs Nick Arnold and Marsh Thomson. They have gink in their veins. I fished the Colorado several days with great success and one particularly special day of banging fish on small dries in full sun. Next I fished the blue to some success on an ill prepared day where I had no nippers or hemos, ran out of 5x then 6x tippet. Not such a big deal unless you are on a tail water like the blue. The caper was fishing behind Marshes house on the Big Thomson. It was spectacular, wrapping up the trip with big numbers of fish caught in the dry-dry method. The variety of fishing experiences available here in Michigan have been an enjoyable challenge but when I get the itch, I need my Colorado trout fix. I got it. EJ

Back in the swing of things!

After a couple random warm days it seems that there is a hint of fall in the air. Migratory fish are beginning to make their push. I recently returned from a northern adventure seeking the elusive leaper. Fishing was fantastic, catching was a bit slower. A couple days swinging resulted in a couple good fish, a few other pulls and some unidentified nibbles. My casting continues to show improvement and I am becoming more steadfast in my commitment to the swing. Here's to a productive fall. Cheers! EJ

The summer is has flown by. At the time of my last post I was focused on swinging flies for steelhead. Since then carp season has come and gone, smallies, many hatches and now the migratory fish are beginning to return. I am finding myself somehow becoming more of a spey fisherman. It just so happens that my favorite waters (The mighty St Mary's, near Sault Ste Marie) are conducive to throwing the long lines. I have found no other river as challenging and potentially rewarding. I have struggled with spey casting and it has become part of the appeal. I have not been able to pick up the rod, throw some line out and slay them as with the single hand rod. I have also noticed that my hobbies are taylored to my surroundings. In Michigan the migratory fish are plenty and the spinnerfalls (with feeding fish) few. Thus enters carping, smallies and the spey rod. I am not forgetting my dry dropper roots, just growing some new ones of the two handed variety. EJ

Today Jonnie and I fished the big river. We hiked in to Suicide Bend although we probably could have driven in. We played it safe since I got my truck seriously stuck to the tune of $200. The fishing was slow given the number of fish which seem to be in the system. We had only one pull on the swing between the two of us. Jonnie hooked a brownie on the retrieve. I caught one small steelie and a pork chop brown on the indicator rig. Not quiet what we had planned although we fished a short day. Thats steelhead season. EJ

Fly Fish Film Tour

Yesterday I attended the Fly Fish Film Tour stop at the State Theater in Traverse City, Michigan near where I live. I had a great time and got a much needed dose of fish porn. The even featured a series of snippets from a handful of different fly related movies ranging from fresh to saltwater, steelhead to redfish. There were many incredible places featured and two of them peaked my interest. First was a clip which featured mid winter dry fly fishing during a midge hatch on the Roaring Fork River near Aspen. That struck a cord very near the epicenter of my ff soul as it is something I have done many times. The other clip which was outstanding was dry fly fishing for steelhead in BC. The boys were catching ocean run steel on drakes! The state theater provided an incredible venue to see the film as it does for any. Now that I am all jonesed up, I plan to hook some fish tomorrow. Jonnie Pow Pow and I are swinging Suicide Bend. EJ

Welcome to the world of blogging eh?

If there is anyone out there who cares to be entertained with the fish chasing exploits of a middle aged fly fish junkie, this is the blog for you. I will try to keep it informative and somewhat exciting but lets face it, you gotta have the disease. I have the disease. I first realized just how bad it was one day while fishing the Williams Fork River near Hot Sulphur Springs Colorado. I was with my good friend Nick Arnold. We had drove up from Denver knowing that it was a cold day. The sign at the bank in Winter Park said -38 when we went by so we decided to have some breakfast and let things warm up a bit. After breakfast we drove to our entry point on the Colorado at Parshal. When we got out of the car the temp said -30 flipping degrees. To our surprise the river was full of anchor ice. No fishing here! We proceed to cross the Colorado, don our snowshoes and get the hike on. It is about a mile in to the Williams Fork in a hella lot of snow and cold temps. We got to the river and eyed up the usual spots and hooked a good deal of brownies per usual on the WF. The temps made handling the fish a chore as we tried not to expose their gills to the frigid air meaning our hands got wet with each fish. The scene was surreal with the trees looking like giant sticks of white cotton candy and the river billowing steam. Nick and I shared some bourbon and had a hell of a day when most fly fishers were at the vise or otherwise entertained. On the drive home we began to talk of the day and just how crazy it was. We talked about each fish, where and how it was hooked landed and released. We talked about we may have exercised poor judgement exposing ourselves to potential dangers in an isolated environment. We talked about how we had done the same many other times to catch fish and would many more times, light willing. EJ