The countdown is getting close. Saturday is the day we fish the very first No-Mo (No motor) Kayak Fishing Challenge. No live bait is allowed and it's CPR-catch, photograph, release.
Nice prizes go along with this first attempt at staging this sort of tournament. Whether or not this is the very first or not is beside the point. It is the first No-Mo!
Come what may, I'll have a report in the next couple of weeks of the winners and how things went including any wrinkles that are bound to happen.
Next week's column is shaping up to take in the return of the walleye pros to Bay City. It's the second AIM tournament and promises to be as big as last years. Remember Tommy Skarlis walked away with the win weighing in 100 pounds. That is a credit to the bay fishery.
Right on the heels of the AIM tournament Mark's Martin and Brumbaugh will host an open water school on Saginaw River and the Bay. For details go to www.markmartins.net and click on open water schools.
At this time there is room for a couple more students.
Until next week, remember to be successful as an angler keep a line in the water!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Mom and Pop Tackle shop
This week it's final prep for the first No-Mo Kayak fishing tournament. It will be held this Saturday May 8 with all festivities being centered at Riverside Kayak Connection (RKC) in Wyandotte.
Going along with tournament fishing comes the tools to hopefully make one competitive. There is no better place to use as a sounding board than a local tackle shop. Unfortunately, we have seen a demise in these operations over the past several years.
But KD Outdoors in Waterford continues to stand the test of time. Owner Ken Neeley is visible in the shop when not fishing one tournament trail or another.
It's that kind of one-on-one service and advice you can depend on from such a store. Neeley fishes and hunts, in other words he he walks the talk.
I went in to get some line spooled on a a couple of reels recently and to ask him to basically explain line differences and when to use which type.
Instead of a few minutes I wound up spending a couple of hours going from line to knots to rods, to lures, -well, you get the idea-and in between, answering customers questions.
KD Outdoors is a great place to get the word on all of these things along with where to go to try them out, straight from the horses mouth.
Read more in this Thursday's column about KD Outdoors and what to expect when you walk in.
Going along with tournament fishing comes the tools to hopefully make one competitive. There is no better place to use as a sounding board than a local tackle shop. Unfortunately, we have seen a demise in these operations over the past several years.
But KD Outdoors in Waterford continues to stand the test of time. Owner Ken Neeley is visible in the shop when not fishing one tournament trail or another.
It's that kind of one-on-one service and advice you can depend on from such a store. Neeley fishes and hunts, in other words he he walks the talk.
I went in to get some line spooled on a a couple of reels recently and to ask him to basically explain line differences and when to use which type.
Instead of a few minutes I wound up spending a couple of hours going from line to knots to rods, to lures, -well, you get the idea-and in between, answering customers questions.
KD Outdoors is a great place to get the word on all of these things along with where to go to try them out, straight from the horses mouth.
Read more in this Thursday's column about KD Outdoors and what to expect when you walk in.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Fishing Memories
While this week's column dealt with the school of birding at Nettie Bay Lodge, son Matt and I were enjoying bird watching while throwing flies to small trout.
Fishing the South Branch of the AuSable River, we waded in thin water after equally thin fish. Bugs were hatching all over the place. Could they be hendricksons, caddis or something else? I'm at a loss with bug ID and equally at a loss with fly selection.
I'm one of those that ties on something that looks good to me and start fishing it. Matt picked right up where he left off over ten years ago.
He learned wading and fly casting at the hand of the late Frank Love, guide, but more importantly, a great friend. The two would spend hours talking about fishing, life, and more fishing.
The good thing for Matt was they got in the river and practiced a lot of what Frank tried to impart. The lessons were well placed.
How good was this trip? Matt wants to come back next year and bring his wife along to fish. Being German, she's not fished as that country has strict rules about who fishes.
Here's looking forward to another year on the stream with Matt.
Fishing the South Branch of the AuSable River, we waded in thin water after equally thin fish. Bugs were hatching all over the place. Could they be hendricksons, caddis or something else? I'm at a loss with bug ID and equally at a loss with fly selection.
I'm one of those that ties on something that looks good to me and start fishing it. Matt picked right up where he left off over ten years ago.
He learned wading and fly casting at the hand of the late Frank Love, guide, but more importantly, a great friend. The two would spend hours talking about fishing, life, and more fishing.
The good thing for Matt was they got in the river and practiced a lot of what Frank tried to impart. The lessons were well placed.
How good was this trip? Matt wants to come back next year and bring his wife along to fish. Being German, she's not fished as that country has strict rules about who fishes.
Here's looking forward to another year on the stream with Matt.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A special homecoming
Last Saturday my son Matt, his wife Petra and mother-in-law Lore arrived for a visit from Germany. It was Lore's first trip to the US. And she speaks no English. Matt and Petra have been home several times.
Matt hasn't fly fished since 2002 when we floated the Manistee River with Sam Surre. He caught several nice browns during the trip. It's a time that he always remembers.
So it didn't take much arm twisting to get him interested in another trip north. This time we are staying in Roscommon along the South Branch of the AuSable River.
So far, the weather hasn't been cooperative. It's been cold which translates into no bugs hatching or trout feeding.
Not to worry though. There are fish taking those bugs they find underwater. That will be our plan today after a late breakfast.
Surre tied us up some pheasant tail and bead head nymphs, size 14. If the hennies aren't around, we'll go underwater and start dredging.
One thing in our favor is that the South Branch typically heats up sooner than the mainstream or North Branch. This could produce a hatch, allowing us to fish some dry flies.
We're headed to the river with a cooler to make sandwiches from, plenty of flies, and a healthy dose of optimism.
After all, it isn't every day I can fish with one of my boys who came all the way from Germany. In this case, it's been years.
Matt hasn't fly fished since 2002 when we floated the Manistee River with Sam Surre. He caught several nice browns during the trip. It's a time that he always remembers.
So it didn't take much arm twisting to get him interested in another trip north. This time we are staying in Roscommon along the South Branch of the AuSable River.
So far, the weather hasn't been cooperative. It's been cold which translates into no bugs hatching or trout feeding.
Not to worry though. There are fish taking those bugs they find underwater. That will be our plan today after a late breakfast.
Surre tied us up some pheasant tail and bead head nymphs, size 14. If the hennies aren't around, we'll go underwater and start dredging.
One thing in our favor is that the South Branch typically heats up sooner than the mainstream or North Branch. This could produce a hatch, allowing us to fish some dry flies.
We're headed to the river with a cooler to make sandwiches from, plenty of flies, and a healthy dose of optimism.
After all, it isn't every day I can fish with one of my boys who came all the way from Germany. In this case, it's been years.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Reflective Trout Opener
This past weekend and the annual trout opener was a tad subdued around Bob Ward's cabin near the banks of the Manistee River.
That was no doubt due to a couple of reasons. First, our group, one that has been together for many years, was missing several stalwart members.
During the past year we lost Mike Caparon and Fred Roeser. Caparon from Midland was active right up until he passed from cancer on the state level with Trout Unlimited.
Roeser, who passed away suddenly was a character in every sense of the word, enjoying himself no matter what he was doing.
The third member, John Long, all ninety some odd years of him, just physically couldn't make the trip anymore. "My legs and hips won't let me," he said joking that "I have fished my share over these years."
While these three were missed they weren't forgotten. References were made to the trio throughout the week.
And Todd Roeser, one of Fred's sons, made the trip not only to be with us, but in a certain, very personal way, be closer to his dad.
Todd and I were suiting up to fish when he showed me a rod that had been under construction for his dad. Learning his dad had died the builder completed it with the admonition that Todd get it.
"Do you think I should use this rod," Todd asked me? "You bet you should. Go out there and catch a trout with it. Your dad will be right there with you all the time," I replied.
Whether Todd caught a trout on it I can't say. But I'm sure his dad was right there on the stream with him.
Memories like these are all good and are part of what keep us coming back year after year.
That was no doubt due to a couple of reasons. First, our group, one that has been together for many years, was missing several stalwart members.
During the past year we lost Mike Caparon and Fred Roeser. Caparon from Midland was active right up until he passed from cancer on the state level with Trout Unlimited.
Roeser, who passed away suddenly was a character in every sense of the word, enjoying himself no matter what he was doing.
The third member, John Long, all ninety some odd years of him, just physically couldn't make the trip anymore. "My legs and hips won't let me," he said joking that "I have fished my share over these years."
While these three were missed they weren't forgotten. References were made to the trio throughout the week.
And Todd Roeser, one of Fred's sons, made the trip not only to be with us, but in a certain, very personal way, be closer to his dad.
Todd and I were suiting up to fish when he showed me a rod that had been under construction for his dad. Learning his dad had died the builder completed it with the admonition that Todd get it.
"Do you think I should use this rod," Todd asked me? "You bet you should. Go out there and catch a trout with it. Your dad will be right there with you all the time," I replied.
Whether Todd caught a trout on it I can't say. But I'm sure his dad was right there on the stream with him.
Memories like these are all good and are part of what keep us coming back year after year.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Trout opening remembrances
GRAYLING-The annual trout opener group is in the process of gathering for another year of friendship, good food, stories-some good, many oft repeated-a nd memories of those no longer with us.
I think it's this last group that has put our group in a quieter frame of mind this year. While many "regulars" will drift in throughout the day, several of us arrived a day early for the chance to compare notes since we were together last year.
Sometime this afternoon, during lunch, we'll pause for a moment to remember Brooke Bennett, Mike Caparon, Fred Roeser, and John Long.
It was the 92-year-old Long that turned over hosting the opening lunch to Clarkston resident Bob Ward with a simple request: Please carry on the lunch.
Long said via phone this winter that he had definitely fished his share and that his tired legs would no longer allow him to get in or out of the river.
So with the sun's warmth, the river close by and the rest of our gang ready to hear the old stories again, along with some new ones, the opening day tradition lives on.
A little later, we'll get in the river one more time to continue the season that means so much to us.
As the fly drifts silently by, each will pause in his own way to remember a time when life was different and this special time was shared by those no longer with us.
I think it's this last group that has put our group in a quieter frame of mind this year. While many "regulars" will drift in throughout the day, several of us arrived a day early for the chance to compare notes since we were together last year.
Sometime this afternoon, during lunch, we'll pause for a moment to remember Brooke Bennett, Mike Caparon, Fred Roeser, and John Long.
It was the 92-year-old Long that turned over hosting the opening lunch to Clarkston resident Bob Ward with a simple request: Please carry on the lunch.
Long said via phone this winter that he had definitely fished his share and that his tired legs would no longer allow him to get in or out of the river.
So with the sun's warmth, the river close by and the rest of our gang ready to hear the old stories again, along with some new ones, the opening day tradition lives on.
A little later, we'll get in the river one more time to continue the season that means so much to us.
As the fly drifts silently by, each will pause in his own way to remember a time when life was different and this special time was shared by those no longer with us.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Whether (weather) or not
With forecasts for the weather over the next few days being all over the place your best bet is to get out when it's nice and take the spring in.
Whether that means getting the garden ready, or digging the fly tackle out for the opener on Saturday, take advantage of conditions when they are favorable. Or as they say, "Make haste when the sun shines."
At our house we have been doing just that for several weeks now in preparation for our son, daughter-in-law and her mom's arrival this Saturday from Germany.
My son Matt hasn't had a fly rod in his hand in a long time. Now with the volcano eruption in Europe, we both hope it won't be much longer, that they will be able to make their flight and have a safe trip.
To further compound things, yesterday I took a big chunk out of one finger, cutting it nearly to the bone. It's going to make for difficult fly fishing, not to mention typing and the chores I have left to do before heading north.
In any event, it no doubt will all work out. Like I mentioned earlier, take advantage of the weather this weekend when you can and get outside.
I'll give you a report from the Grayling/Frederic area on Friday.
Whether that means getting the garden ready, or digging the fly tackle out for the opener on Saturday, take advantage of conditions when they are favorable. Or as they say, "Make haste when the sun shines."
At our house we have been doing just that for several weeks now in preparation for our son, daughter-in-law and her mom's arrival this Saturday from Germany.
My son Matt hasn't had a fly rod in his hand in a long time. Now with the volcano eruption in Europe, we both hope it won't be much longer, that they will be able to make their flight and have a safe trip.
To further compound things, yesterday I took a big chunk out of one finger, cutting it nearly to the bone. It's going to make for difficult fly fishing, not to mention typing and the chores I have left to do before heading north.
In any event, it no doubt will all work out. Like I mentioned earlier, take advantage of the weather this weekend when you can and get outside.
I'll give you a report from the Grayling/Frederic area on Friday.
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