March 27, 09 - Dowagiac Steelhead - Michigan

March 27, 2009.

I fished the Dowagiac River in Michigan today with Kyle Kamp from work, and guide Jay Anglin. I had fished with Jay before, and this was the first time Kyle and I had fished together. Jay is a fun guide who is passionate and knowlegable about the environment which shines through during a day on the water. And, as always, this time put us over fish. We met Jay at the river takeout before sunrise, jumped in his truck and headed upstream to put the boat in. As we turned a corner on one of the back roads, a low hanging fog in front of a tree line covered a cut corn field with shades of grey-blue, while a bright burning red sun rose behind.

Walking down the bank to get into the boat I noticed the water was higher than I've seen it before, but still with decent visibility, and saw newly sprung skunk cabbage bursting its thick, crunchy green and purple leaves upward through the dark ,muddy ground.

We launched Jay's red and white Clackacraft drift boat for a short
ten minute ride downstream as a quiet warm mist rose off the water and
worked its way around us. We anchored the boat on a small mid-stream
sand bar island and set up, with Kyle upstream and me down. We saw a gobbler fly across the river about 300 yards upstream, and a lone
Canada goose fly upstream a little more than rod length above us.

I was getting good drifts, feeling the weight tick, tick, tick off the bottom of the river in my rod hand, building up confidence for the day. I quickly hooked what I thought was a snag and, while I was
trying to free myself of it, the snag decided to shake its head and jump out of the water - lost fish number one. A few minutes later a had a good sized brown on and it worked its way off the hook as well - number two.

Then I looked up and saw Kyle into a good fish. I walked upstream to get the camera and watch Kyle play the fish. It ran downstream through swift current and Kyle followed, and then upstream to pull Kyle back up. He angled the rod nicely, high and quartering away, and
went after the fish like a pro. Hard to believe it was his first steelhead. As he grabbed the net Jay mentioned to me that Kyle was playing the fish well, and obviously had landed some big fish before. They landed Kyle's first steelhead which was about 8-10lbs.

Kyle found a few fish upstream and called me up to them. Tried for a few across stream behind an overhanging tree which required a tight laser beam cast to plop the fly right behind the tree, followed by an immediate upstream mend. Good drift. Nothing. Fish got skittish as
the sun popped out so we decided to rest the run and started to back away. On the way out of the run we saw two large fish. Ok, we decided we could rest the run another time. Nothing like sight fishing for big fish and the hunt was on! I let rip a cast 90 degrees across stream, threw a big upstream mend, and the line stopped as it entered the fish's zone. Fish on, a big long hen, but fowl hooked. I pulled the hook free as she ran upstream. Fish off - number three. A
few more casts and boom, fish on which we landed back down at the
boat. Nice fish of about 10 lbs - number four.

I caught a small brown of about 2-3 lbs from the same run which I started the day. It was a beautiful butter colored brown with sharp, dark black spots marking its side. As Kyle and Jay released the fish I went back to work and was soon into another fish. I yelled, "Fish on!, Fish on!" as the fish began taking out line quickly. By the time Jay was at my side the fish had taken a good deal of line out so we went down stream after it. He ran, and ran, and ran, pulling the drag as we quickly moved down stream after it. He went toward the right bank and into some downed tree limbs and then everything stopped. The fish did not move, we did not move. Jay grabbed the line and pulled the fish out of the limbs and the fight was back on. Down stream some more. Finally, we found a place to move to the side and Jay went below me and netted the fish. What a fish! A buck of at least 15lbs. We got out of the water and walked about 150 yards back upstream to our original starting point. Number 5.

As our shore lunch was cooking I fished a bit downstream and had 2 others on briefly. Numbers 6 and 7. After lunch we went back upstream and fished for a bit. Kyle had one fish on, which broke the line. And another which snapped the long shank hook. And another
which pulled free. I saw a few more fish and began working them. I looked downstream to see Kyle playing another fish and then a cast later I was into one. A double for us and my eight hook up. Kyle landed his, a small rainbow, while I played mine, which we landed and
was a buck of about 10 lbs. It twas time to go so we decided to leave the river on a good note.

Overall, a good day I thought. I not only got to land some nice fish, but got to fish with Kyle for the first time and got to catch up with Jay (a.k.a. The Story Teller) again. The worst part of the trip? You guessed it, the traffic jam on the expressway as we crawled back
through Chicago.

Dowagiac Steelhead 2007

First trip after being back from Europe, nearly 2 yrs since last casting a line. Went to SW Michigan for Skamanias w/ Frank and guide Jay. Was a bit slow, but I landed a heavy buck of about 10lbs with a little bit of color (this is not a picture of him below). Caught him with a traditional orange salmon fly using a down and across swing technique. He struck about 5 yds from me so as soon as he hit I saw him. Unfortunately no picture, as when the guide transferred the fish from the net to me the fish woke up and slipped away.

The second day was even slower, so I switched to a spinning rod at times which was actually quite fun. Hooked an even larger cromer from the boat in a pool by the bank - he struck as I cast upstream and started the retrieve back. He was a tail walker....saw him subsurface at first, then he came down parallel to the boat and tail walked about five splashes, went under, came up downstream from the boat for five more tail wags. Then the line went limp. The spinner shaft, a big one too, actually bent at the hook and the hook came off of the spinner body. Anyway, was good to feel a big fish after 2 yrs.

That fall, we went back and I caught this fish. As well, in the exact same spot I lost the spring cromer, I hooked another huge bright fish, but this time on a flyrod. He screamed downstream, jumped out of the water and hit himself on a branch overhang, then down stream about 75yards. then he came off. What a rush, and what a let-down.

Cowlitz River, Seattle July 2007

Fished with guide Ryan on the Cowlitz River, Washington state. Met at 5:00 am in front of my Seattle hotel, where I was staying for business. the early morning stillness was overpowered by Ryan's big white Dodge 2500 diesel pulling a Hyde style drift boat. Hopped in an introduced ourselves and drove about 2 hours south. Nice sunrise over the mountain range in the east. Lot's of big trucks and boats in the launch area. Drifted the river all day double-hand casting 13ft 8wt spey rod but did not connect with any steelhead. The half dozen or so small cutthroat trout we no match for the big rod. Had a great streamside grill out - brats I think, with Washington state apple and peach slices. Ryan is a great guide and instructor who is a pleasure to work with. His good natured personality, knowledge of the outdoors, and professional guidance made the day very enjoyable.

The Keys

I went out flats fishing for bonefish last month. I boarded Steve's 18 foot skiff at the dock in Key Biscane at 7:30 am and already there was a stiff breeze. We started out drifting for tarpon throwing an 11 wt rod and I had a nice ladyfish on the line after an hour, which took line out at a tremendous rate and cleared the water 100 yds away. A relatively small fish of about 40", she broke the surface and hovered horizontally like a bar of silver against the dark water backdrop.

Steve then powered up the boat and his 115 hp 4 stroke pushed us with power through the chop for about 30 minutes. My first time on the flats, I was amazed to cross over flats in the middle of nowhere, with no land around at all. I had envisioned the flats being close to land of some sort. We passed over dozens of flats and even more channels between them. the water color chaged to different shades of blue depending on the depth. Every once in a while Steve would slow the boat and explain somethign about the Keys, such as the stilt houses we passed which are part of the Biscane Bay National Park. The government wanted to tear them down but the owners won out, although they cannot be modified and can't be handed down to another family member more than once.

We found our way along the lee side of a key. Steve staked the boat on a white sand bottom flat and chummed for a bit. A baracuda slowly appeared from somewhere, we saw several large rays pass by and a few lemon sharks but no bonefish. At another flat we finally got a chance at bonefish several times through the day on different drifts. Unfortunately, almost all of the schools of fish were not only required me to cast into the 20 knot wind but also cast backward as the fish appeard on the weak side of the boat.

I still have a hard time accepting that I did indeed see bonefish. They appeared as ghost images, kind of like when your eyes play tricks on you at last light while waiting for a deer to pass under your stand. Once a few fish were seen, when they spooked those few fish suddenly turned into many more as they quickly scattered like uncontolled rockets in every direction and evaporated out of sight.

The flats seem a contradiction. At first glance you see only sky and a few green slivers of mangroves held up above the water line. But after a while, you see that the sky is everchanging as the clouds roll by, the mangroves are filled with birdlife and, under the surface of the water, there are beautiful sharks, rays, fish, coral and turtle grass.

Leaderdale Bridge, River Tweed Scotland

Salmon 2005

When I think of my 2005 flyfishing season, bridges and fishing huts readily come to mind. 2005 was the year of the salmon for me.

Spanning across many of the salmon rivers in Sweden and the UK are wonderful bridges. There is the Tulbron bridge crossing the Atran in Falkenberg Sweden, a beautiful grey stoned arch bridge with its cobblestone deck carrying one lane of cars and foot traffic before the river meets the harbor. There are the famous bridges on the River Tweed in Scotland like Union Bridge, a strong wrought iron suspension bridge carrying the occasional car across its one lane from Horncliffe, England to Fishwick, Scotland. These bridges represent a bridging of my flyfishing experience from one one type of flyfishing to another type, from trout to salmon.

The fishing huts found along the length of these rivers at various intervals are points where fishers gather to rest, watch others and sometimes socialize with one another. Often made of wood, usually with a bench and sometimes a fire pit with a cord of wood behind the structure, they seem to call out, offering you the pleasure of sitting for a short while, forcing you to take some time, slow down and reflect.

After catching my first Altlantic salmon in 2004 on the River Atran in Falkenberg Sweden, I decided to focus 2005 on really learning about salmon fishing. I set two goals for the season. The first was to learn to cast a two handed rod well enough to keep up with the salmon fishers on the River Tweed, Scotland. The second was to catch 6 salmon in one season.

I attended a day-class on two handed casting from Mattias Drugge of Loop Flyfishing in 2004 on the banks of the River Saevaan near Gothenburg Sweden together with 15 or so locals. A cold April day it was, with the instruction in Swedish made even more difficult due to it being muffled by the brisk wind. Even so, by day's end I was able to gather enough information to make halfway decent casts across and down the river.

A bit more than a year later I was in the Atran for my first solo attempt at casting. A little concious about how well I could cast in front of other more experienced fishers, I found a relatively secluded part of the river and began casting from the left bank using a simple underhand, or single spey type cast, which is easier for a left handed caster moving down the left bank. By the end of the day I had gained skill and confidence enought to take on the right bank which required a double spey type cast. No fish, but I had fun casting and was on my way.

I spent the season mostly on the Atran and Orekile rivers in western Sweden which feed into the Kattegat and Skagerrak Straights running into the North Sea. I watched the weather, tracked the rise and fall of the rivers and read the internet catch reports over the season in attempt to enter the river at times when the fish were most ready. I learned about when to use certain colors of flies depending on the river color, sky color and water flow. I learned how to fish effectively down and across to get the fly to swing broadside to a fish at the right speed. I thought about how to cast in order to place my line relative to the current speed and length of the cast. I thought about the water column and how well the fly was covering it. I became mezmerized when casting, feeling the relaxation that comes from repetition and good execution, and at times contiunued to cast just because the rythm of the cast was present even though I had already covered the water well. All of this helped me become a better caster, not only with the 2 handed rod, but with a single handed rod as well.

Well, lets say 2005 it was a year of learning more than catching. I did catch a fresh grisle with sea lice and seal marks on him out of the River Tweed's Tweedhill beat, as well as a sea trout on the Boleside beat, in September. Alas, I did catch a good size salmon early one morning on the Orekile, as well, in September. This one was with a single handed rod in a confined area using adapted spey casting techniques I had practiced all summer. Had I not learned to cast the two handed rod I never would have reached the fish.

So although I did not hit the 6 fish goal, I did learn alot and met my goal of being able to cast well enough to match those on the River Tweed. More importantly, I have started a journey that crosses into another dimension of flyfishing.

Sweden, Orekil River Sept 11, 2005

(an email I wrote my dad)
Dad,

I finally landed a decent sized fish this morning at about 0730, which was w/in five minutes of when I started fishing. He was not a monster but weighed about 8.5 lbs and was almost 30 inches long. I caught him on a small black and silver single hook called a Stoat's Tail, not the big double/treble orange shrimp patterns everyone else uses. The fish was a male with a slightly hooked jaw and had some color on him so he had been in the river a while. He pulled hard, especially on my single handed rod, in the swift run but did not jump at all, which is typical of fish who are not fresh run. A little tricky landing him since the bank was full of trees hanging out into the water. It was a nice sunny morning with the river still in shade with mist coming off as the sun touched the tops of the hillsides. I was fishing this stretch of the river for the first time and liked it because it required some hiking to get back and down into it. I did not see any fish jump all day.

This should do it for my season this year as I doubt I will go out before the closing day at the end of the month. I did not meet my goal of 6 fish, but had only three. However, I did meet my
goal of being able to cast well enough with a spey rod to keep up with those on the River Tweed. As well, I feel I added another diminsion to my river fishing and casting techniques.

The link to the catch report is below - not big enough for a picture
though. If the link doesn't work, just remove the part after ".com" and click on the "fangster" button on the web page. The other two fish were caught on a spinner in a section that was reserved for only three fishers today. In my section, there were 17 fishers total.
http://www.orekil.com/fangster/def.htm
DAL