Shop Hours 8am – 6pm Daily
We will be hosting our Spring Clean-Up this Saturday…Please help us keep our amazing resource “Wild & Scenic”! Every little bit counts towards good river karma. Plan on meeting at the shop at 9am, select sections and then divide & conquer! The shop will be covering the cost of the car spots, provide trash bags and a post float BBQ at Steve’s pole barn (next door to the shop) afterwards (6pm and dinner around 7). If you are available to join us for a float and/or dinner please let the shop know, so we can get a “ballpark” head-count…231-745-3529.
Sorry for the big lapse is fishing reports…we had a very, very busy spring steelhead season. I took a small break to rest up and catch up with family and friends. Thank you to all our clients, guests and customers (weather you were in our boats, staying at the Motel or just stopping by the shop)…THANK YOU!!!! We appreciate your loyalty and business. It was a fun and productive season. Caught plenty, lost more and had a blast doing it!!! The Pere Marquette River is an amazing resource!!!
Had a wonderful weekend celebrating the “Trout Opener” with friends, both on and off the river! It feels good to be switching gears and re-tooling the boat. Over the weekend, it was fun reliving past floats, talking about hatches and swapping patterns. I love trout season and we are on the front edge of it right now. The river is in great shape…running at normal flows and clear.
Streamers have been the tactic of choice. Smaller to medium patterns have been getting the most looks, but once we get some water the medium to larger patterns will fish better. Natural color tones and fry/minnow patterns have been my primary selections lately. We are coming out of a cold front, so we should have some bugs popping with this next warm up. Look for black stones, BWO’s, hennies and probably sulphurs not too far out. I am looking forward to spending evenings on the river waiting for bugs. That is such a magical experience of anticipation, excitement, hunting, tuning into the river and waiting for it to come alive!!!
The shop is ready for trout season as well. The fly bins are filling up with dries, nymphs, mice and streamers. We have what you need and want for our area. Our lure selection is loaded up too…we got you covered!!! As the season develops and the hatches start rolling, please stop by for a report or just give us a call on your way…the shop crew has their finger on the pulse! We have plenty of availability for guide trips this spring and summer…give us a call to lock in a trip (231)-745-3529. Most trips will be an afternoon start & fishing until dark or after dark, but morning and mid-day trips are also an option.
As stated earlier, we are just on the front edge of our dry fly season. Stay tuned for developments! The season is like a great piece of music…starting off slowly with hendricksons; then sulphurs begin popping; now toss in a bunch of drakes & Iso’s; peaking with hexes (but NOT over); transitioning into amazing and explosive terrestrial fishing…plus, the after-dark action throughout. I am excited and ready!!! June will be here soon and that’s one of my favorite months on the Pere Marquette river for a dry fly fisher. I was on the river until dark last night and it felt really good!
We have a full staff of guides rowing all summer. Steve, John Robinson, Kam (until he heads to AK in June) and myself…groups, beginners, fly, spinning gear…whatever…no problem. Day or night we do it all! It’s going to be a great year with some big fish caught. Here we go and good luck out there!!!
Later,
John