Happy Easter!

Good Morning,

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter. It is a beautiful morning up here in the U.P., clear skies and a wonderful sunrise. The snow is melting and the streams are starting to open up, so hopefully we can get out fishing soon. 

Enjoy!

Melting Snow!

So....It has been awhile. I apologize for not getting any fresh posts up lately. My final semester at Michigan Tech has been the hardest yet and I haven't been out ice fishing in over a month. I hope people were able to get out and get some good fishing in before the seasons started to close.

Pike and Walleye season finished up a couple of weeks ago now and it will be time to get new licenses for 2013 in a couple of days, so keep that in mind. Finally, it appears that the snow is started to melt, so hopefully there will be a run of steelhead starting. I've seen some really great pics of steelhead from downstate that are already running.

Once again I hope all is well with everyone and I'm sorry for not getting posts out. I've got a few cool items to post in the next few days so stay tuned.

Tight Lines

CopperDog150

Hey everyone!
I just wanted to let everyone know that this weekend is the CopperDog150. For those of you who aren't familiar the CopperDog150 is a pro and recreational circuit for sled dog mushers. It is a great race in a great area. I definitely would encourage you all to come out and enjoy the fun!

Please check out the website below for more information.
There are still race slots open!
There are also still some volunteer slots open, so if you want to come and hang out, meet great people, and see some really amazing dogs please come out. The weather should be pretty awesome, too.

The race goes March 1-3, which is this Friday through Sunday, with pit stops in Calumet, Eagle Harbor, and Copper Harbor.

CopperDog150 Website

Ask About Fly Fishing Rescheduled

Unfortunately, the host of Ask About Fly Fishing has come down with a cold and will not be able to put on the radio show this evening. It has been rescheduled for next week, Wednesday the thirteenth. Hope you can make it next week.

Thanks

Ask About Fly Fishing: Golden Trout 2/6/13

Golden Trout of the High Sierras

From AskAboutFlyFishing.com: "Ralph Cutter spent his nine month honeymoon hiking through the Sierras with his new wife Lisa going through nearly every pass and fishing many of the waters.  The Sierras are the home of the golden trout, California's state fish, but it's not easy to fish for them. Listen in to hear Ralph tell his secrets about fly fishing the Sierras for the golden trout."

Please Tune in by clicking the link below: 

Fly Fishing - Internet Radio
Join us on our next LIVE Broadcast! We've brought together The Experts on fly fishing to tell you in their own words the secrets to their success in both Freshwater and Saltwater. Covering fish from Trout to Tarpon, from tying flies to casting them you'll find it all right here on Ask About Fly Fishing - Internet Radio.

Enjoy!

www.pikepoke.com

 

Buggy Whips

This morning I found a pretty cool video with a very funny title. Have you ever heard the term "buggy whip"? Apparently, it is some sort of alternative term for fly fishing, and maybe it could be taken as slightly offensive. Enjoy the video. Let me know what you think. 

Finally a Clear Day

The weather seems to finally have broke. It was a beautiful day and much warmer.  Check out the picture below that was floating about the net of Michigan during the last week of freezing weather. We got pounded in the U.P. Can you find the Keweenaw?

Anyway, we tried to go out fish today on Lac La Belle. It was perfect except that we didn't get anything. For some reason, I haven't had much luck there in a few years now. Hopefully we will be more successful somewhere else this weekend.

Also found a couple cool links for people to check out. Enjoy!

Michigan Flies
Classic Michigan Flies (Great Artwork!) 

Here is a great link

Ice Fishing 1/20/13

After that first awesome day of walleye fishing, we returned to gratiot a couple days later to find some unsavory conditions. It was very cold with temps around three or four degrees. We had several bites but were only able to catch one small, baby walleye.  Since that first day, a lot of snow had fallen on the lake, making the hike out to our spot a little more difficult. I'm sure with all the snow we have received the last few days it will be even more difficult. I certainly suggest bringing a snow sled of some sort to carry your gear.

I'm hoping to get out this afternoon since the weather is finally looking up. Hopefully the fish will feel the same way and give some good bites!


Good luck,

Enjoy.

Walleye Season Begins!

So, today I made a pit stop after school to pick up bait from Northwoods in Hancock, and then my girlfriend and I headed off to Gratiot Lake to hopefully catch some walleye. Everything today just seemed to feel good, and after talking briefly with the clerk at Northwoods, I also picked up a few new jigs to try on the ice today.

We got onto the ice a around three thirty and immediately put a few tip-ups down. Then we headed off to deeper water. I put down a jigging rod with one of the new jigs. It's called a forage minnow, and I put a suck on the hook of the jig. My girlfriend got a bite within just a few minutes, which was very exciting, but we could not get anything to stick. Finally, just before dark, I caught two walleye on the jig line and missed a third. The bites were very light and hard to feel. What was surprising, however, was that they never set off a tip-up, which leads me to believe I had them too far off bottom. All in all, it was a great evening and a great start to the fishing season.

Good Luck! Enjoy. 

First Fish of the Season

On Thursday, my girlfriend and her little sister went out to enjoy some of the first ice fishing this year. We traveled to a little lake north of Calumet. There was good ice and we got set up quickly, shortly after four p.m. Her little sister was set up with a perch rig and we went out to set up a few tip-ups. Not long after, her little sister was letting out whoops and hollars and we looked back to see her pole doubled over the hole. She had hooked something and was very excited. I ran back and helped her to pull a 16" pike through the hole. It was a big fish for her and it was great to see her so excited. We caught another similar sized pike on a tip-up just before we left for the evening. It was a great first day.

We returned the next day but were unsuccessful. There must have been some sort of low pressure moving in because there were no bites at all.

Hopefully we can get out again soon. The ice should be firmed up again with the return of this colder weather.

Enjoy and get out fishing.  

Janns Netcraft

I may be a little late to the party, but I wanted to let everyone know about a great site that I just found. It is called Janns Netcraft and they have an abundant supply of everything you could ever need for fishing. If you have not visited this site before, you may want to check it out because they have so much stuff for fishing hobbyists, fly tiers, lure makers, and net builders. Check it out and let me know what you think. You can find the link below or on the links page.

Thanks!

http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/

Ice Report 1/10/13

Good Morning All!

It is a bright and beautiful day up in the Keewenaw! I hope you're enjoying the nice weather and are heading out ice fishing soon. But before you do, please post a few comments letting people know how the ice conditions are. It seems to have been a bit warm lately and not much ice. My girlfriend and I stopped in Lake Linden last night to check the ice. It was very clear which is exciting but not terribly thick. We are planning on getting out soon though!

Also look back shortly as I plan to put up a few more how to posts. Thanks and enjoy!


Happy New Year Everyone!

Back in the U.P.

I have finished my time in the Twin Cities. It has been fun, but I'm excited to be back up north. I tried to keep tabs on the rivers as I drove up 63 through Wisconsin. Many of the rivers appeared to be moving but were littered with small icebergs. As I got into Michigan, I noticed how many of the lakes were froze over. It must have gotten cold here shortly before I returned home. But that is good news, because hopefully we will be able to ice fish soon. I have stopped by a few of my spots but with no real luck. Flyfishing is still quite new for me, especially fly fishing in the Winter. I hope everyone is keeping busy and getting out to fish. Happy Holidays. This is a great time of year.

DIY Fly Tying Table?

Hey there everyone. I'm thinking about trying to build a nice homemade fly tying table. I was just wondering if anyone had any good pictures or ideas of how to make one. I made up a couple nice ideas but they just keep getting more elaborate. But that is part of the fun I suppose. Post any comments, let me know what you think. Thanks!

More Good Stuff

More searching around the net (kind of an awesome pun) has led me to a couple more great resources for you all to check out. First off is the Trout Unlimited Magazine archive. For anyone who didn't know, who hasn't had the time or funds to get a subscription, you can actually check out the past magazines online. I was so excited to find them, that I have read through most of them already. I would definitely recommend checking it out. They offer a lot of great information on different fish species, special interest pieces, and keep the readers up to date on several stream restoration projects.

Secondly, I recently came across a website that hosts a public television show called: Fly Tying: The Anglers Art. It is a neat little show put on by two gentlemen who love to tie flies and talk about fishing. I have already learned several great tips from these two and I think no matter what level of tier you are, it can be a helpful show to watch. Let me know what you think!

Please use the links below. I will also post this on the links portion of the website!

Fly Tying The Anglers Art

Trout Unlimited Magazine Archive

Enjoy!

A Warm November and Afternoon Rainbows

This past Saturday, I took advantage of the warm weather that is sweeping across the Twin Cities area. I headed to one of my favorite local lakes to do some fly fishing. Most of the time it has just been for practice aiming for panfish like bluegill and pumpkinseed. But with the cooler temps that we have seen the last couple weeks many of the panfish have receded to greater depths and I can't reach them anymore. But, feeling quite optimistic, I visited the lake anyway hoping that I could catch one of the trout that rumor has it, inhabit the lake I was visiting. As I proceeded to make my way around the lake I found a large amount of wildlife also out, enjoying the warm weather. There were numerous geese and muskrats paddling around on the water surface. I had ventured to a part of the lake that was sheltered from the breeze and therefore quite calm. The surface was very undisturbed and I threw out my popper hoping for some action from a bluegill. I was greeted with a little sunny almost immediately and as I worked to get it from the hook a large splash caught my attention. Something had made a decent ripple farther out from shore. As I continued to watch several more ripples began to appear. I hastily searched for a different fly in my box not sure what to pick because I didn't really see any bugs to speak of. In the process of switching flies I saw several fish jump out of the water, including a trout that jumped three times from the water within a span of just seconds. It was truly magnificent. Finally I settled on a fly that I had made my self which you can see below. To my absolute amazement, it worked, and I caught two very nice Rainbow Trout. They were roughly 16" and quite fat. They fought hard and it was truly exhilarating to catch a fish on something that I had made. I'll leave you with my best picture.

Enjoy.

Happy Halloween!!!

Hello everyone and Happy Halloween. Hopefully your out and about picking up candy or at a fun party somewhere. I just wanted to let people know that I made a few updates to the site. There are some new links on the Fly Tying page. There is also a new search box for the site, which should give visitors the ability to search for something in particular if they don't feel like looking.

That's all for now folks. Please be safe and have fun this evening. Also, take a moment to think about those who are unable to enjoy the festivities this evening due to the recent hurricane that hit the East coast. They have been through a lot and could definitely use some prayers there way. 

Like the pic? Here is the article if you wish to read further. Have a great night!

Finally, Some Updates.

I have been quite busy the last few weeks, if you haven't noticed by the gap in my posts. Working on the passenger rail in the Twin Cities is a lot of work. But I have tried to fish when I can. A couple weeks ago, I was able to make it up into the U.P. of Michigan. My girlfriend and I finished moving and I was able to get out for a bit of fishing. It was very exciting and quite surprising to see some steelhead moving up river! But sadly, I had a little mishap and fell in the river. I think I may have startled the fish because I was unable to get any bites.

I also had a great fall fly fishing for "sunnies". That is one good thing about the lakes here around Eagan. They are loaded with panfish and that provides many good fly fishing opportunities.



I wanted to chuck ad in for this knot tying tool because it looks to be a very good and useful tool. Please check it out if your interested. Let me know what you think. I also included the link below because this gentleman has a fabulous website with many designs regarding tube flies. I'm very anxious to tie some of his creations.

Steelhead Alley Flytying


Do enjoy and please stop by again, I'm hoping to get some more pictures up.

Enjoy!

Bring on the Fall Colors!

Although I have been a little sick lately, I have been trying to enjoy some of the fall colors that are starting to appear around Eagan. I have sought a sort of refuge in Lebanon Hills Park, because frankly, it reminds me of home. It is a big park and there is not many people around. I have been enjoying some fly fishing, walking the shores casting out for bluegill and bass. It has been a real treat and hopefully it will get me on my way to becoming a better fly fisherman and hopefully catch some of those sneaky trout.

The fall colors and smells are quite something this time of year. The air is getting cooler and crisper. The smells of wild apple waft through the woods. Critters skitter upon the fallen leaves. I think this is my favorite season. Whats yours?


Enjoy!

Fish Lake Adventures

So here are some pictures of my adventure at Fish Lake today. I've been out the past couple days there, but I haven't had my camera. Today I finally brought it. Fly fishing has been good, but the wind was a bit of an inconvenience sometimes. I also met this cool kid name Carl who is a really good fisherman for how young he is. He caught quite a few bass, bull heads, and panfish.
Hopefully all this fly fishing I've been doing is helping to improve my skills.I also paid a visit to Holland lake to see what that looks like and I'm very excited to do some fishing there this week. They have a very nice dock to cast off of and a great park in general. Finally, I got a picture up of a brown trout I tried to draw last night along with some new zonker flies I tied. Let me know what you think.

Enjoy.