Hey guys, figure it’s about time for another update. I missed the better part of a week there being down with the flu or something like it, but I’m back up to speed now as is the fishing and the weather seems to have straightened itself out also. In other words, we are back on track…
Here’s a fun little video from a fish I’ve been targeting for a while now. Mission accomplished two nights ago…
The water is quite low and clear again and we could use for some of that rain they keep forecasting to actually make it on the ground around here for more than just a few sprinkles, but other than that the fish don’t seem to mind and are feasting on a number of different hatches, nymphs, other fish and waking flies at night mimicking frogs, mice or whatever else might cause a stir in the evening.
A friend and colleague of mine actually sent me a picture of a frog that a trout he had just landed on a mouse threw up in his boat and apparently it actually hopped off just fine… Crazy, it must have been eaten just prior to the fly. (The other frogs are never gonna believe this story! 🤣🤪)
The DNR did its usual supplemental planting of some hatchery brown trout below the flies only water a while back and those little guys that haven’t been eaten by the larger residents already have been getting bold and hitting all sorts of stuff just up and downstream from the various locations where they were put in.
Our wild fish are still finding pods of fry to munch on as well as those planters so streamer size is all over the board for now. Check out our emergence schedule here at this link for a full list of the bugs that are active, but the two best bets at the moment as far as mayflies go are the Sulphurs and Drakes IMHO that are making their way up the system. During the day we’ve had some pretty good luck on various foam bodied attractor type patterns and an assortment of terrestrials or “twitch” type bugs.
We’ve got more openings for guide trips right now than I care to admit really and some prime hatch dates at that so if you’ve ever thought of trying a guide trip on our awesome river give us a shout and put us to work! We’ll be out there either way, but I am not lying when I say that I take more enjoyment and pride out of putting people on fish and teaching them what I can than I do from sore mouthing them all myself, but of course, that’s pretty darn fun too! 😉
It never ceases to amaze me how much busier in general our very cool and talented counterparts stay over on the east side of the state for trout trips compared to all the same caliber guides right here on the Pere Marquette River, the actual birthplace of publicly accessible Brown Trout in America. There is certainly nothing wrong with our fish or the hatches here, we’re just a little less “storied” as far as I can tell… Anyway! Give us a shout and let’s go enjoy some quality time on the water! (231) 745-3529 8am to 6pm daily. (Motel rooms are available also.)
Don’t have much more for you right now, but I do hope see some of you soon if not in my boat at least around the shop/motel compound or just on the river and having a great time! The shop guys have been getting out both on the river and the local lakes as shown above if you’re interested in that at all. Stop in any time and they’ll be happy to drop some knowledge on you. Sounds like the bluegill fishing is revving up nicely and we carry everything you’ll need for lakes or streams… 👊😎👍
I’ll leave you now with some random photos and my very best wishes for a safe, fun and productive summer! -Steve-
Take care! I’ll post again soon…
