Hex Hatch / Lake Fishing

Hi All

As many of you may know the night fishing Trout program is in full swing. The Hex Hatch has been going for the last week pretty good. It should keep going for about another week or so. Night fishing is your best opportunity to catch trophy Trout in the summer, all summer long. Here's the catch you have to be able to cast large dry flies or mice patterns in the dark with consistency and accuracy. Daytime fishing for Trout is good as well. Use Nymphing as your main tool and you should catch some Trout. If you want to dry fly fish during the day use stimulator's and terrestrials ( Stones, Hex, Hoppers, Ants, Rubber Legged Creatures etc.) Larger patterns for larger fish.

My big lake boat is doing well and still has no name. Been buying a few new rods and doing some rigging and getting a program down for all 12 rods. Most days I run 9. Been getting some use out of it. It's ready for my first oil change with 50 hours on it and all of last years gas long gone. This weeks project, boat maintenance and getting a lettering guy hired..Big Lake Fishing has been going good. Lots of pups/ guppy's around this year. About 4-8 pups a trip out. The only way to keep the guppy's off is to run mag. size spoons and run meat and flies off spin doctors too.I have done this a couple trips out, tired of those little craps. You think your fishing with 9 lines when 2 or 3 have guppy's your dragging around.

Most of the boxes have been a mixed box with 6 to 12 fish with keepers + the released pups. No huge fish yet biggest I've caught is around 14 lb.- 16 lb...Lots of 4 lb.-10 lb. fish hitting the coffin. Which is fine they are the better eating size anyways. Big fish wise at Captain Chucks leader board 2014 is a 20 lb. King, a 30 lb. Brown Trout out of Ludington this Spring and a 32 lb. Laker caught on Thursday the 26th. after the tournament out of Manistee port.. Big fish in the Budweiser Classic Tournament in Manistee June 20th.-22nd was a 20.8 lb King caught by the Job Site crew. AM winners was Almost Paradise and PRO was Verdict III..Big Laker was 14.85 lb. and big Steelhead was 10.15 lb..I think 38 boats in total. It's never a big tournament kinda a shake down tournament for most guys.

Had a really fun trip on a private lake this past Wednesday the 24th.. I had one guy and it was actually really fun teaching him how to cast a fly rod on a lake. Scott went from A to Z in a few hours. Poppers for Blue Gills and Bass was on the menu. A lake and my yard is the best place to learn to cast a fly rod in my opinion. He learned how to roll cast, forward cast , hook set, strip line to catch fish, then set & strip play fish to hand. Over and over and over, Scott put about 20-25 Gills and Bass to the boat in 5 hours one Blue Gill was 10". One of the best casting secession I've taught in years. A 39" Trophy Pike was also caught by Peter trolling body baits out of a wooden row boat. Plus countless Largemouth Bass were caught on other boats that were out on this trip as well..It was a great outing for all..

I have also done some Carp fishing with Pete Hodgman of GoldenBoneFish.com  up on Travers Bay a few weeks ago. Also joined a friend Chuck Howell over of Saginaw Bay for a day of Walleye fishing a few weeks ago where we caught a 3 man limit. Even got my wife Debi out fishing on the big boat a few times for some Salmon action a couple evenings.On June 10 th. Debi and I also celebrated our 20 year wedding anniversary.. A great start to summer so far..Starting to get hot up here. Yesterday we saw 90 deg. which is pretty hot for Baldwin Mi.

                                                                      Tight Lines
                                                                         Clint

Hatch Season

Hi All

For those of you who like to dry fly fish NOW is the time for the next 6 weeks ! Good hatches have started a week or so ago. I'm watching 4 fish feed as I type. Hungry little to med. size guys. Bigger fish have been caught in the evenings 16"- 20". The last few trips I was still streamer fishing, while nymphing and egging behind the Steelhead. The water has cleared and heated up and the cork has came off the "preverbial" bottle and released the Hatch..Steelhead are finally done around here.. Bugs are everything all at once, sulfers, caddis,stones, henny's and drake's right before dark have been best for the big guys..

Been working on my big lake boat the last week or so. It was done on the 22nd. and I put it in the water on the 25th. we fished for 5 hours with Steve from H&H Excavation and went 6 for 7 mixed bag then slipped it in a marina for the summer in Ludington. I'm at Thompson Marina and Ed has been a very nice owner..It's not 5 star but has all I need at a reasonable price. Need to finish up some more Spring cleaning and updating safety equipment for my coast guard inspection and I'll be ready for the summer on Lake Michigan..

                                                                     Tight Lines
                                                                         Clint

Spring Trout

Hi All

I hope the nice weather is here to stay. Suppose to warm up nicely this week and that will get the dry flies going. We have had a few hatches but cold temps have made them less than consistent. Streamers have been the name of the game along with all the high dirty water, also with some leftover late run Steelhead. I have been out about 3 days a week and the lodge has been fairly busy which is good..Mushroom hunting has been epic this year for some reason. Been seening wheelbarrels and trash cans full with 4 guys picking..

The Blessing of the Bikes is over and the town is sleepy quiet last night. The contrast is Friday night super noisy rumbling biker sounds & super busy to crickets by Sunday night. It's nice that it's not some week long event. I wound up fishing the Muskegon River on Saturday with a group and there is still a few good Steelhead spots going down there along with some great Trout fishing as well..

Haven't been riding my dirt bike sense I got stuck in the sand..Been nursing a cold/ allergies and trying to keep up on my guide trips. Been Spring cleaning closets a few days. Donated a bunch of cloths to St. Ann's Catholic Church in Baldwin. Cleaned up my Harley's and put a for sale sign on them. Don't have time to ride them and want to put that hobby money towards my big lake boat..Just switching hobbies more or less..If interested I'm asking $12,500 obo. for my 100 year anniversary 2003 Electra Glide Standard never been dropped original owner and $4500 obo. for a 1999 883 Hugger Sportster second owner both are in good to great condition and low miles with extras..

Big Lake boat was suppose to be ready May 1st. but still sitting in the marina waiting for about 10 lights to be wired up, (that was suppose to be Winter work, not a Spring project)..It's ready to run at any time just would be nice to have marina work all done..Sean Mc Donald ( KatchMe Charters) has been catching Browns and Lakers mix and last time out was Browns,Steelhead, and Kings. So a nice mixed bag. A week or so ago a official 30.4 lb. Lake Run Brown was caught out of Ludington..That's a monster Lake Run Brown Trout. Makes you want to throw Streamers around the peir heads.. The last big one prior to this one Sean caught in 2012 Ludington tournament 24 lb.Brown Trout won big fish in that years tourney..So the big lake is still cold but fish are being caught close to shore in the warmer water..Plugs and spoons are working well..

Tight Lines
Clint

Back To Spring

Hi All

Spring is back on track after the big flood. The water was dropped a few days ago and was getting kinda clear. Then we got a good rain Monday night and showers on Tuesday and back up to the red line yesterday at Green Cottage..The red line gage water was very fishable yesterday and to me means use caution especially when wading..I think it has leveled off and started to drop already. It was just some heavy showers..The river had a nice stain yesterday. The lawn is getting green and the bulbs are starting to bloom.

Fishing has remained strong. Last week was really busy with make up trips from the flood and the water became a wadeable level without arctic temps for the first time. So we were busy..Streamer fishing has picked up and Steelhead fishing remains good. The fish are not the bright fresh ones but they are feisty with the warmer water. Dropback fishing is good as well. Don't be surprised if you get a few of them each day as well. The dropback Steelhead are hungry,hungry hippos..Eating there way back to the lake..They don't miss to many meals..

Some friends started picking morel mushrooms. Turkey season has begun for the second season and the first season is over already. Jeff and I went out for a ride on our dirt bikes the other day. It was going good till I got stuck 12 miles from the truck..Never been stuck in quick sand before. Sand and water was running down a hillside and  filled in a wash out, I come along and got buried in wet loose sand on a hillside..As it rained the hole kept filling in with water and more sand.. 4 hours later I was out with the help of a shovel and my 4x4 quad with tow straps..Kinda of a mess and this was on the 50" ATV trail, not off the trail. So be careful, this last Winter/ Spring has not only effected the rivers but the woods too..

Tight Lines

Clint