Shop hours 9am – 6pm everyday
The river has cooled off nicely and we are back on the water again. Please keep an eye on water temps throughout the summer if you are practicing catch and release. Thanks for giving the fish a break during the heatwave and I appreciate all the clients understanding the situation. The river is low and clear throughout the system…perfect dry fly time!!!
The hex hatch is a fond memory now, but the daytime terrestrial fishing and night time mousing is peaking. I love pounding the banks at this time of year with damsels, hoppers, ants and other rubber legged attractor patterns. The more I do it…the more I love it! “Knocking on doors” and seeing the attack leaves you smiling for days. Of course, somedays are better then others…but that is fishing.
It is a great time to spend time outside. Treat yourself to some fresh, clean air on the Wild and Scenic Pere Marquette River trout fishing. I plan on being out there whether I am guiding or not when the conditions are right. We are currently running full and half day trips and have availability with guides and lodging…give us a call 231-745-3529. Plus, it is not too early to lock in your fall salmon and steelhead dates with guides and lodging. We are about a month out from starting the scout the lower river for early kings. Tossing hardware is our preferred method for the front runners.
Please align your leader/tippet with the size of your pattern. If your hopper fishing use 3 or 4X to land the fish quickly and scale down for your trico and BWO fishing. We still have some bugs hatching, but they are smaller olives and tricos in the mornings. Nymphing in the heat of the day will get a bend in the rod. But if you can cover water and bang the banks with a hopper/attractor bug you might be surprised what pokes it’s head out. Hoppers, ants, foam bugs, twitch bugs (both dry and wet) and stimulators are great searching patterns at this point in the season.
I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. We are doing well and taking precautions to keep you safe in the shop, motel and our boats. These uncertain times are nerve-racking for sure! Due to the COVID chaos we will NOT be going to Alaska this summer (all clients have decided to reschedule for next year). Therefore, I have lots of open dates in early August to trout fish the Pere Marquette. However, the Naknek River Camp is fully operational and would love to see you. They are up and running with plenty of availability!!!
We are looking to hire a shop employee to help this fall and in the future…please give us a call or e-mail to inquire.
Thanks & good luck out there!
John
