May 30, 2023

Well, once again, you’ll have to forgive me as I’ve let social media take place of writing here for the most part for a while, but I do have a some things to share here that haven’t already been seen there. 🤪

For those of you that really want to stay up to date you can follow me personally on Instagram here at this link and on Facebook here at this link… I often do crossover post as well and/or double up. Follow the shop on Instagram here at this link and on Facebook here at this one but I will “try” to do better here as well.

Brandon and I took Dennis out for a little float the next day after the cleanup and let’s just say that all the good river Karma he has built up over the years paid off! Below here is seriously just a sampling of the fish he caught…

Had a great time with Tanner and his dad Tom just on the front end of the Drakes coming on strong. (They are still going strong!) Below here are some of the stills of fish Tanner got and below that is a “Reel” I made from some of those and shared on social media at the time. Those are the type of things you’ll find more often only on those media pages as they are hard to transfer here…

 

Back in the mid to late 90s when I was a serving board member of the Pere Marquette Watershed Council (My partner John still has my old seat there btw.) we came up with an idea for a program that was implemented and still goes on to this day. (It used to be a literal war between the landowners, guides, canoe liveries, Forrest Service, DNR, etc. as to what should get cut along the river and then how it should be done.)

By getting everyone together each spring that war has just about completely subsided, much has been learned from one another and we’re pretty much all fast friends! 😎 I am proud to say that every one of our current summer guides (John R. John K, Kam and I) took place in it this year (We always have at least one or two, John of course.) and it was a huge success.

I really liked the way that the Conservation Resource Alliance – CRA put it in their Facebook post and I loved a few of their photos. So, the wording below is from them as well as the arial shots. Thanks CRA!!

“Each spring, the US Forest Service, Pere Marquette Watershed Council, local river guides, and partners float a section of the Pere Marquette River with one intention: proper wood management. The goal remains to support recreational boating while minimizing cutting to ensure instream aquatic habitat.  

Qualified USFS sawyers are on hand to cut instream wood as needed for safe river navigation by recreationists in the coming year. The successful partnership approach helps to manage log jams that developed over the winter and spring seasons.

Last week’s float included representatives from the Conservation Resource Alliance, U.S. Forest Service, Pere Marquette Watershed Council, Baldwin Bait & Tackle, Baldwin Canoe Rental, Fly Fishers International, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and Michigan Trout Unlimited.  Partners also utilize the float trip to discuss future river restoration needs and recently completed projects.”

Ever since we opened our doors on July 4th of 1996 (27 years fast approaching! 😲) our goal at here at BBT has always been first and foremost to protect and preserve this fantastic resource that we all share and that many of us make our living from for generations to come… We hope that our actions, rather than words, past, present and future will continue to show that and that at least some of you will join us at times when you can! (We also participate in many community events, projects and charities that you will likely not hear about…)

Took a little time off the water over the Blessing of the Bikes weekend and a few days before/after to hang with friends. Was once again honored to be part of the escort ride for the traveling Middle Eastern Conflicts Wall & Michigan Vietnam Wall back to Baldwin from Newaygo for the Blessing. This is always a truly emotional experience especially in those areas where spectators line the street, wave flags, shout thanks, salute, etc…

The only fishing I’ve done since was a quick trip with Steve and Kam, but a couple of fish is all we managed on a so so night… I’ve spent the past few days getting a trailer ready to haul our bikes down to Tennessee on Thursday morning for a family reunion/vacation. A monster huge thanks to our shop manager Jake as usual for house and dog sitting or this would not be possible!!

Shop hours are currently 8am to 6pm daily and we are stocked up with all the goods you’ll need or possibly just want for the summer season be it lake, river or stream! Please stop in and see us… I will be back in Baldwin on the 11th or 12th at the latest (And possibly as early as the 9th tba) and I am looking forward to the trout season here at home!

My open dates are just starting to fill, but I’ve still got plenty of prime spots open for any kind of trout fishing you’d like to do. (spin, fly, hatches, hexes, mousing, terrestrials, streamers, etc.) After having missed so many summers at home it’s going to be a job to build back my trout base so grab a date to get in on those books and maybe even hold that prime spot for years to come… 👊👍😎

Current water conditions are low and clear and most hatches are currently a bit ahead of schedule… Check out our hatch chart here for more info, but stop in or call the shop to verify it’s happening. Hope to see you around the BBT compound, in the shop, on the river or in my boat soon! Till then, have a great season…

-Steve-