Still Snowing

Hi All

Just plowed again. It has been a very cold week. Most of the shelf ice has reformed with lots of anchor ice and slush rolling down the Pere Marquette River. Walked in for a hour or so and went 1 for 1. It was more for exercise than anything. Lots of narrow spots and no place to pull over and park a boat. It was barely fishable. I gave it a go and cracked one on a egg fly. Said that's enough after another half hour. Fished 2 spots. Herd from a friend Gleasons Landing was down to a very narrow path and pretty much froze across, you would have a hard time getting a boat out of there without some man power.

So that being said warmer weather is near. I see some 29-34 deg..Heat wave kinda stuff.. It will take a couple warm days to get things back to where they were about 7-10 days ago when launches were opening up a little and shelf ice and anchor ice was gone. I'm guessing if we get the warm up there calling for things will be ok to good by Friday or Saturday and get back to somewhat fishable here on the PM..

I'm open to guide any day next week if you want to get in a half or full day and take advantage of the warm up..It's been a long cold winter..

Spring dates are filling.. March open dates 15-19,21,24,27,30,31.
                                    April open dates  1,2,11,15-18,20,21,23-30.

Tight Lines
Clint

WANTED " Warning graphic pictures below"

Hi All

I have some bad news. There is a WANTED man/ woman on the loose here in Lake County. He/ she has been killing WILD female/ hen Steelhead for the past few weeks out of the Flies Only No Kill section of the Pere Marquette River ONLY for there eggs and throwing the fish back in the river or on the banks to rot. Chances are very good there using bait to catch the fish. Chances are pretty good there running a spinning or centerpin rig also. So keep on the lookout and please call the Report All Poaching line 1-800-292-7800  if you have any information from the past month you can share that may help lead to a arrest. We have found 3 or 4 carcases total in these locations Miss Smiths, Tom Jacks,Spruce holes all 3 spots are between the Baldwin River mouth and the Claybanks. Here is a picture below of the poachers work.

I'm not against people keeping a fish to eat and using the eggs/spawn to catch more fish. But this is poaching in this section of river. Also a ethics issue of discarding a fish or animal just to lay to rot. Same as when people kill animals just for horns, or kill Deer just to leave them lay with a Block Permit that farmers get to thin the herd 20-100 Deer at a time to cut back on crop damage. These folks just don't understand rules are rules. There is hundreds and thousands of miles of river out there where you can perform this vulgar crap without a hitch. This person wants to make a statement. So we need to make ours and catch this piece of crap ! He obviously doesn't remember or never took a Hunters Safety course. Chapter #1 Ethics in 1984 when I took the course.

Beads are another hot topic in the Flies Only No Kill section of the Pere Marquette. We are finding them in the trees and also in the snags. Beads are not flies, glue beads are not flies, Otter eggs are not flies but all 3 can be used in the artificals only section Gleasons to Rainbow Rapids and Rainbow Rapids to Lake Michigan. The rigging on beads/ plastics must be on the hook or slid right to the eye of the hook. Rigging a bead 1/2" to 6" up from the hook is illegal. The Otter eggs I like they go right on the hook. Once again there is hundreds and thousands of miles of rivers in the State of Michigan where beads and Otter eggs are fine. These folks just don't understand rules are rules.

So the DNR needs help from the sportsman and sportswomen to educate people that don't know how to read, or just think the rules don't apply to them and there Special. So let's try to make them feel Special with there name & picture in the news and a court date with fines.

On a BRIGHTER note I have been catching Steelhead. I have walked in a few times when the weather was nice last week and had 2 days without chipping ice out of the guides. Now were back to winter and another arctic blast with single digits and sub-zero temps for the next week or so. The phones are ringing for Spring reservations on rooms and trips. So don't wait till the last min. to book.

I still have some peak Steelhead dates open to Guide March 24th.--28th., March 30th.--April 4 th., April 14th.--18th. Weekday openings mostly Sundays -Fridays when traffic is less and fishing is best!

Sorry about the Bad news and the Rant but it is ALL OF OUR resource to protect and we all have cameras, video cameras, and phones. Please make the call and help. 1-800-292-7800

Tight Lines
Clint

Burried in snow

Hi All

We have been getting clobbered with snow.. Last Friday it started and by this Friday we have had over 20" fall. Most of it fell last weekend and then we have had a bunch of small storms all week. I finally broke down and called in the Backhoe. Ran out of places to put it and needed to make room for parking and the remainder of the season. Spent all day digging out paths, hot tub, plowing the driveway excavation in general. Looks like I declared war on snow at the end of the day. That Backhoe turned mountains out of molehills..Dug out and ready for business..

Went Perch fishing on Hardy Pond this week, it was slow. Heading over to the west side tomorrow a.m. to Perch fish. Decided to stay home this weekend while my friends went up to the U.P. for another ride. Figured we have over 2' on the ground why drive up there. I went out for a ride with Jeff Hubbard this Wednesday and the snow is major deep for the Baldwin area. We have more now than any of the 10 years I've been living here running the lodge. The groomed trails were great on Wednesday, like Highways..Off trail riding, the Indy 500 carb had a little trouble with the deep snow and my 136" 600 shift almost got stuck but managed to paddle out of trouble a couple times.

Haven't wet a line for Steelhead in over 2 weeks. We have been dealing with cold temps and lots of snow. So you just run with it and snowmobile and ice fish while the cold weather prevails. We took a few pictures while riding around with Jeff. Gleasons Landing is locked up tight to the Don King hole and has a ice jam backing water up the boat launch, it's a mess. Rainbow to Upper Branch is open, as it is the fastest section on the P.M... Rainbow Rapids is plowed out good. Sulak is plowed the best I've ever seen, all the way down the hill to the boat ramp from the State DNR guy.  He has been doing a GREAT job at M-37 this year as well. Upper Branch has been plowed but not seance last Friday or Saturday. There was over a foot of snow in that lot Wednesday afternoon. The Pic. is Gleasons, Rainbow then Sulak " you"ll need a rope" didn't take a shot of Upper Branch..

Tight Lines
Clint

Deep Powder Weekend

Hi All

Just got home a couple days ago. All I can say is the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.P. of Michigan has a snow problem. No Place to put it all. In Houghton the banks were around 3' and the banks on Calumet were 6' and strait up. They were shaving and blowing snow over the top making walls of snow.Also keep in mind it is only January 17th--20th.... They will continue to get snow thru the end of April..

 The deep powder riding was great some areas were 4' other areas we rode the snow was 6 feet +.. The groomed trail were perfect all but once or twice the groomed trail #3 got a little bumpy at the end of the day going into Calumet were we stayed but every morning it was perfect leaving. The groomed trail towards Gay, Mohawk, and Copper Harbor were in perfect condition. I've never rode better groomed trails EVER..

Here is a few stuck pictures of Brett and one of Ryan doing some carving and got a little carried away..Snow is always to the belly pan or over the hood. We walked into a gas stop and all of us were head to toe snow balls. That powder gets everywhere like sand at the beach. The cashier was like where have you guys been riding. Keep in mind we all have 136" paddle tracks I wouldn't recommend going off trail with a 121" in the Keweenaw. Just stay on the groomed trails with standard 121" tracks. Saw a few guys with 144" Skidoo Summits and Polaris RMK. I get around with a 600/ 136 IQ Shift and my other 2 friends I ride with have 600 and 800 Skidoo Renegade Backcountrys. Sorry no pictures of me stuck those are on there cameras. I get stuck plenty. It's not to bad if we take turns getting stuck one at a time. But if 2 or 3 of us get stuck all at once, that sucks..

Snowmobiling is good around here. We have around 15" to 18" with a good base and fresh powder on top..It's as good as it gets for the lower Michigan !!! So why do I have 4 rooms open for the weekend beats the hell out of me..My only guess is the groomed trail is 3 miles to far away. Everyone wants to be right on the trail or less than a mile from it..

Ice fishing has been good. We have 8" to 11" on most lakes now. I have been on local small lakes and have been to some big water like Higgins, Hamlin and Pentwater Lakes.. Haven't been on P.M. Lake yet but will have to try there soon.. Have caught pan fish mostly Perch, Blue Gills, Crappy, and the occasional Bass or Pike. Sean Mc Donald and I were fishen Perch in the Perch Shack where we kept about 30 keepers and put back 15 or 20, some solid Perch fishen. Thanks for the invite Sean..

Steelhead fishing has been hit or miss. The last report I had from a guide out last Thursday he had a good outing. The last couple time I was out walking in with friends it was a tough bite with decent to good fishing conditions. You just have to try. The fish are there it's just getting them to bite..

Have A Great Winter !!

Clint

Winter Mix Weekend

Hi All

Not a lot new going on around here. Tommy Lynch is having a nice Steelhead School here this weekend. They seam to be having a great time. The weather is helping out with this nice little thaw were having, opening up the river bank to bank up here in the upper river ridding us of shelf ice and anchor ice "for the moment". They should do well when they hit the river for some casting time also the ice in the guides should be at a minimal today and tommrow too..

I may actually have to get out and Steelhead fish some this week before we freeze up again..Went ice fishing localy with friends John Robinson and Jeff Hubbard yesterday.. We got 10 perch, 2 gills and 2 crappy not a huge haul but enough for dinner and some fun..After this thaw the next freeze should make the ice real thick. Yesterday we were all good for ice 6"-8" everywhere we drilled. GOOD ICE around here..

Next weekend is a big Dog Sled Race up here. We have a few Mushers/ sled dogs staying with us next weekend. I'm going back up to the U.P for some more snowmobiling next weekend to Copper Harbor and Calumet area..I was up to Munising just before the New Years holiday and put on a few miles. The snow was 2.5'-3' a couple weeks ago. Hope they get a bunch of new fluffy snow this week because I'm sure they based up this weekend as well even up there..

I'm Open to fish if anyone intrested in Ice Fishing or Steelheading here this winter. Both are doing good and beat the heck out of sitting in the house going crazy..

Tight Lines
Clint 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays !

Hi All

First I'd like to say Thank You from Clint, Debi and Adam Anderson here at the Red Moose Lodge for helping us have a great 2013 season and hope to see you all again next year in 2014. Second is come up and enjoy all the great outdoor activities this Winter. We are buried with snow !!!! Compared to many other December's. We have around 12"-14" of fluffy stuff last week that settled into a good base around 8"-10" over last weekend when we hit 30-34 deg... Sence then we have had another 6"+ of fresh fluffy land on that base to bring us to well over a foot of snow in the woods..That's pretty good for this early in Baldwin..Trails are groomed and ready for you to ride your snowmobiles..

Ice fishing : still be extra careful. The ice isn't super great around here...I went on one local lake last week on Thursday the 16 th. and it was iffy..We had 2" of hard ice and 1.5" of soft slush on top..We just have had to much snow to have real good ice. I'll bet were around 30" of snowfall for December so far..My driveway looks like February.. 4' banks that are built out 8' and already missing 2 or 3 parking spaces..We still have parking but the lot's not getting larger it's getting smaller. We'll probably have to have a front end loader come in by the middle of January if it continues to snow like it has..

Steelhead and Trout fishing continues to be good. There are days when the bite is off totally. Other days when the bite is good..You just have to go !! To find out.. The fish are in the system and when they feel like feeding you have to be there in the right spot with the right stuff on the end of your line. Hiring a guide is the best thing to do even if it's for a half day. That way your in the right spot with the right thing on the end of your line. You have 2 out of 3 things you need covered, now all you need to wait for the fish to decide to feed on your offering. Then the real fun begins..A good guide is a very skilled net man and has a warm camera ready to take your picture also a heater to warm your hands back up. This time of year is when good guide can make the difference in getting skunked (which is a bummer but happens) or landing a couple Steelhead and having a great time..Plus you will learn new skills each trip despite the number of years you have been doing this sport..

Have fun and enjoy the outdoors this winter !

Tight Lines
Clint

Been Hunting and Fishing Fool

December 10, 2013

It's cold up here 7 deg. this a.m.. Winter is here ! We have had about 15"-20" of snowfall. Most of it melted last week in a 50 deg. warm up. When I got home there was still some crusty banks and a dusting on the driveway.I'll bet we have plowed 6- 8 times since Nov. 20th. More snow is on the way tonight and we have flurries going on now. 5" of super fluffy stuff is on the ground now and another 4"-6" is predicted overnight.

My Steelhead trips thru November and December were good when I was home. I missed a lot of good fishing while in Missouri bow hunting Deer for 2 weeks. I got a buck a decent 9 pt at 30 yds. with my bow.. The Deer numbers were down really bad this year. The Deer had a second summer where it was hot and dry and as a result EHD or ( blue tong) reared it's ugly head. Last season there were a few less Deer but we had a pretty good hunt all and all. This season SUCKED my Deer sightings were down 60-70%..

I hunt 3 or 4 different farms and all were the same and so were the farms my friends were hunting. Trail camera photo's were down too. My cousin had a family of 10 doe's coming into his green field last season everyday..This season it's the same 3 or 4 doe's coming in everyday. Big bucks took a hit also, very few of them survived. A sickness like EHD affects the young and old the hardest. There was a few medium size bucks left and a few doe's left but I never laid eyes on a giant buck in 2 weeks of hunting hard.

6 guys total hunted. I bow hunted for 2 weeks and 5 other guys went down for 1 week of bow and 1 week of firearm. All in all our group killed 5 bucks, 2 doe's, and 1 wild turkey. 2 Bucks were killed with a gun the rest was with bows and crossbows. Everyone killed something or had shots but the big buck sightings were way down and so was the overall sightings and opportunities. It can only get better next year, but I'm thinking it's going to take 3 to 5 years to get back to normal good/ great hunting again..

Steelhead fishing this past weekend was good. There was a good bite both Saturday and Sunday. It was mostly on eggs. Even saw a  zombie Salmon or 2 floating around. Probably why eggs were good. Had only 1 or 2 fish on the nymphs. One of the 2 days we hooked into 10. Most of the bite was afternoon. So getting out and being the first guy wasn't a factor at all..The 4 guys were cold but they made it and were glad they came up for some solid days of Winter Steelheading on the Pere Marquette River..

That's all for now. I need to put away my hunting stuff, clean the basement and barn and get ready for snowmobiling and ice fishing. Some lakes are already reporting 3"-5" of good ice. Still be careful for the next week or so and I wouldn't try snowmobiling on any of the lakes yet.They just barely have enough to walk on.

Tight Lines
Clint