Hey guys, per usual, it’s been a minute, and I don’t have much of an excuse other than I’ve simply been trying to hold out for a few more Steelhead photos… (Fact is, most people don’t actually read these reports, they just look for recent photos. 🙄🤣) Problem is, while there are a good number in the system now, most have been kind of hard to hold onto lately! 🤷♂️👍
With a few recent rains that brought some bumps in water levels we saw some pretty good pushes of both Steelhead and Silvers (Cohos) as well as a trickle of new Kings believe it or not. (That being said, most of the Kings in the system are probably not the ones you’d want to target.) We got another bump in water again last night, but over-all she’s low and clear again.
I want to toss out a huge thank you to everyone that took the time to help us out for BBT’s 29th annual fall River Cleanup and to those that made donations in one way or another. (Harold Nichols for the beverage donation, David Morris, manager for the Wesco in town for the Coffee, Doughnuts and Popcorn and Baldwin Canoe Rental for the reduced-price car spots as always!)
I did not make a full list of the participants, but we had something like 23 that made the morning photo as well as a few more that didn’t and you all have our sincerest gratitude as well as the rivers! Every little bit makes a difference and once again we’ve made a huge one. So happy to have many of you stick around for the appreciation BBQ at my place afterwards as well. Good times for a great cause!! 😎👊
I understand that the usual suspects of egg flies as well as stones, hexes, etc. have been working and even a few swinging or stripping, but I’ve been heavy on the pitching (crank baits and spinners) program and float fishing with beads. The shop, open from 8am – 6pm daily right now, has a pretty good stock of all the above and much more! Give us a call if you’d like to check on something, book a motel room or a guide trip… (231) 745-3529
I had one full day trip after that trip with Dennis but the only fish that made it to hand was a hammer handle (small pike) that we didn’t photograph. That being said, we lost a few nice ones to a comedy of errors before realizing they’d brought bananas in the boat… 🙄😲 (I know, many of you scoff at that silly old superstition and even like to post photos of fish in your boat with your bananas but I swear, it seems to be true with me! 🤣)
I’ve got a couple of days off (or open) now before I get busy again and then head out to deer camp for a bit but then I’ve got the 19th and some more openings again after November 23rd. (Prime November dates are filling in but if you call the shop, we still have some great stuff available between the five of us. John K, John R, Donnie, Kam and myself but we have a nice stable of independent fill in guides when needed as well!) I will probably get in a little more scouting in the next couple of days if they don’t fill…
I’m going to cut this short now and see if I can get a few “honey dos” in with time to spare for a quick ride. Please try to be nice to one another out there, be safe and above all, have a bunch of fun!!
-Steve-
