Water Rising

Hi All

The water is on the rise. It's not over it's banks yet in my back yard but it's headed that direction..With that said use caution while boating and wading. Bring a little extra anchor and your "A" game rowing. Throw in a pair of work gloves to help pull your heavy anchor rope. Extra weight for your flyrods too..We had a nice day here yesterday and it was almost 60 deg..It stayed warm overnight for the first time in a while. The last few weeks have been winter temps during the day and arctic temps overnight and that kept the river at a slow melt till last Thursday.

We had a inch of rain last Thursday night and sense then the water has been stained and fishing was very good on Thursday 27th./ Friday 28 th. during the rise . I had a slow bite on Saturday and Sundays trips but most of that was due to LOTS of traffic and bright sun. The fishing improved some on Sunday night and Monday. The fish needed to adjust to the extra water and debris so knowing there next move is important for a good day..

I had 4 days open up for next week due to changes in peoples schedules and they all re-booked for later dates in April.  April open dates are 8,9,10,11,20,21,29,30..

Here are some pictures from Thursday/ Friday last week..We caught some nice trout and hooked some Steelhead over the weekend but like I said above boat traffic and bright sun got the best of us..The fish are in the system but some days they hide very well..

Tight Lines, Good Luck Fishing 

Clint

Still Cold

Hi All

Well the fly fishing remains good. Still fishing holes and runs for the most part with eggs and nymphs. The fish in the system would love to be spawning in 38 to 42 deg. water by now but those days are still weeks away. There is some spawning going on in 34 deg water but not much. We still have a foot of ice and crusty snow left in the woods and lots of thick ice on lakes to melt. So far it has been a slow melt but unseasonably cold. The guys doing guided trips with us on the river have been toughing it out despite the cold and for that we all thank them. The fish have been biting which helps keep them in the game and there mind off there cold fingers and constant ice build up in the guides.

My guide schedule has shifted around some.. My open dates are March 25,26,27,30,31..
                                                                                                April 1,9,10,11,18,20--24, 29,30

I have some great later season dates for those wishing to get in on some warmer weather and more Trout fishing mixed in with the later part of the Steelhead season.. We also have some great room openings here at the lodge as well..Give us a call...

Tight Lines
Clint

Much nicer than last week..

Hi All

With the warm up we have had some good water open up. Fish are moving up slowly from the lake. Lower river is still locked up, some is starting to open up where the sun hits it. From reports I've herd from car spotters is the Pere Marquette River open river from M-37 to Walhalla.

Today I ice fished with Sean Mc Donald, Chris R. and Jeff S.. We all caught Perch and Crappy mostly on minnows. It was wicked cold and windy, 30+ mph on the lake shore. If we didn't have shanty's we wouldn't have lasted very long out there. Today it felt like below zero and yesterday it was 42 deg.( go figure). Yesterday I was on the river with John Robinson fun fishing /scouting for Steelhead. The PM fished well and was a very nice day to bend a rod. All the fish were on egg flies. They were picky about the egg fly, you needed the right ones.

In a couple days we will warm up again and hopefully it will stay around a while longer. There is a few more fishermen/ fisher women showing up. But it's not what I would call busy out there yet. A few fish are working on some beds but most are still in the holes and runs. There is still a foot of dense snow to melt in the woods so until that's all gone the water is pretty chilly.

Spring Steelhead are here and the fish are acting like it too even if it's cold, there are still chomping flies and plugs. My open dates are March 14--19, 21,24,27,30,31
                                       April 1,2,11,15--18, 20--24,26,29,30

The Spring run is near and fishing is improving. Get out and fish!! Last ice is near too, decisions, decisions..


Tight Lines
Clint

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