Fly fishing the Lake Michigan & Lake Superior tributaries for migratory salmonids has become incredibly popular. Thirty pound salmon, brown trout that can top twenty pounds, and the Silver Bullets: steelhead, are all available to the late season angler. Coho and brook trout round out the menu, providing action for the light tackle fly fisher. Speycasting swinging flies for steelhead, browns, & cohos is a game for the dedicated angler. Don't expect big numbers! The abundant huge fish bring out terrible behavior among the "sportsmen", so I will not book guide trips dutring the October "Salmon Rodeo". |
Busman's Holiday:Fellow Guide Clay Riness with a 9# "friend".
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"dp" from the VFS Chat Room, releasing a Chinook.
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A perfect October day: sunshine, salmon, and a fly rod.
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Rising water from September rains attracts salmon to their spawning streams.
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Writer/Friend John Beth with a 24# Brown.
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Rising water from an early November rain flushes the rivers. Decaying Chinook carcasses, leaves, and silt are carried downstream, leaving bright gravel and clean rock. The river's scent spreads and mixes with Lake Michigan's water, attracting wandering steelhead, cohos, and late spawning browns. The cohos and browns are intent on spawning; easy targets for a well presented fly, since they are very territorial. Months away from spawning, the steelies are actively feeding, viciously striking flies and lures. These are the hard bodies of the rivers, solid muscle ready to pump an angler's adrenaline. |
Webmeister with a Spey-caught Chinook.
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Webmeister & a Seaforellen.
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"Dark day, dark fly" payed off in a 22# Skamania that crushed a Purple Heron Spey.
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My favorite fishing partner with her first Coho.
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Speycasting is an effective, graceful way to cover big water.
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Chromer
Photo by Jamie DeBoer
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