Our first look at steelhead water was the huge Grand River and it wasn't pleasing to see a dirt brown torrent gushing through Grand Rapids. We drove on to a spot one of Ted's contacts had given him near the confluence of the Rogue River with the Grand. When we got there our excitement dropped even further when the river was running it's banks and flooding back into the timber. After a brief look we decided to scope the Rogue out a little further upstream closer to the dam in Rockford. The two of us worked streamers downstream of the dam and noted that this river is a fantastic looking stream, almost tailor made for flyfishing, if it wasn't chocolate brown with floodwater.
After a while with no sign of success Ted and I lost sight of one another. I headed back to the dam to wait for him. I wandered around throwing the odd cast out into the churned up water beneath the dam, wondering what I'd d it I actually hooked a fish. In fact, as my eyes passed along the steepsided concrete wall and fence that stood just high enough to make stepping over it very hard, I noticed I might be better off scaling the fence and heading along some rocks down to water level. As I contemplated this my limp line became taunt and as I took up the strain the line zipped upstream, slow at first and then with conviction. Convinced I was hooked up I lifted the rod and set the hooks and at that first strong resistance the fish rolled and I saw I was onto a solid fish.
Having lost any hope of catching fish in the mud I'd lazily tied on my big, gaudy clouser and now I was very worried the knot would pull. Being up by the dam I quickly had an audience and luckily one guy held my rod as I uncomfortably scaled the fence and then made my way down the rocks to where I had a chance of landing the fish. The audience grew and grew until a dozen or so angler and passers-by were watching the show. I played that fish so gingerly, almost sure it was only a matter of time until the hook pulled. Finally the colored up 27 inch buck came to hand and I had my first Michigan steelhead and just before I landed it Ted had noticed the commotion and witness the end stages of the fight. I figured if I could catch them in the muddy conditions we were going to catch them by the handful in the coming days as the water cleared.
My first Michigan Steelhead
We stayed throwing streamers and in a half hour or so Ted hooked up to a nice fish up closer to the dam itself. There were fish in there and it was funny that the fly guys were catching fish while the spawn and hardware guys weren't. We stayed as long as we thought we could and still have time to get to our motel near the mighty Muskegon River but didn't see another fish.
We stayed throwing streamers and in a half hour or so Ted hooked up to a nice fish up closer to the dam itself. There were fish in there and it was funny that the fly guys were catching fish while the spawn and hardware guys weren't. We stayed as long as we thought we could and still have time to get to our motel near the mighty Muskegon River but didn't see another fish.Ted's Rogue River Steel
The next morning we met our guide Tim early and were soon at the landing with his drift boat. The river is large, very large and certainly with the amount of water we were seeing it wasn't really a feasible river to wade. We were glad to have a guide and drift-boat. The river had its share of jetsleds but not much traffic. The water was off color but not too bad. Tim rigged us up with chuck-&-duck rigs and small stone and egg patterns. We plied some likely holes that have held fish for him before but all to no avail. Finally I hooked up on something that had some size, but the fight wasn't great. Our guide was quick to call steel and because I that I had some hope. The fight just wasn't there despite the size and when it became clear it was a large sucker I just busted it off. By mid morning the water muddied up considerably as they let one of the overflows of the dam go. Throughout the day they ended up letting three go and each time the water got dirtier. By the end of the day it was chocolate milk. Ted and I got a couple of suckers but our first day on the Muskegon was pretty disappointing. We finished our drift late afternoon and headed off to try our luck on the Rogue a little more but this time we were unsuccessful.
The next morning we met our guide Tim early and were soon at the landing with his drift boat. The river is large, very large and certainly with the amount of water we were seeing it wasn't really a feasible river to wade. We were glad to have a guide and drift-boat. The river had its share of jetsleds but not much traffic. The water was off color but not too bad. Tim rigged us up with chuck-&-duck rigs and small stone and egg patterns. We plied some likely holes that have held fish for him before but all to no avail. Finally I hooked up on something that had some size, but the fight wasn't great. Our guide was quick to call steel and because I that I had some hope. The fight just wasn't there despite the size and when it became clear it was a large sucker I just busted it off. By mid morning the water muddied up considerably as they let one of the overflows of the dam go. Throughout the day they ended up letting three go and each time the water got dirtier. By the end of the day it was chocolate milk. Ted and I got a couple of suckers but our first day on the Muskegon was pretty disappointing. We finished our drift late afternoon and headed off to try our luck on the Rogue a little more but this time we were unsuccessful.The excitement of a hook-up
The excitement goes sour
Ted Getting into the sucker action as well
The excitement goes sour
Ted Getting into the sucker action as well
With such bad conditions we knew our chances of success were low the following day but we wanted to be on the water. As it turns out our guide is more of a plug fisherman than fly fisherman so we opted to go with his best skills for our final day on big Mo'. We floated the same stretch of river with the same result and as it became clear the fish just weren't going to respond we opted to call it quits early. We can't blame the guide as the fishing was slow for everyone on the river. It was cool to actually see some of the famous guides you read about such as Matt Supinski and Chad Betts but our timing was terrible. It turns out that huge flush of water drew in a huge number of fish from Lake Michigan and the rest of the spring after a week or so was dynamite fishing. Oh well, you can't will all the time. Still, you could easily see how it is a beautiful river and a great place to spend time chasing steel.
It's not hard to see that this can be a beautiful river
After a brief stop to fish the White River, which was also blown out and dangerous to wade we headed up to our main destination, the Pere Marquette River. We got to our motel in Baldwin and immediately headed down to check the river. It was high and cloudy but definitely fishable. We were very excited and with a couple of hours or so this evening and two full days we were bound to get into some good fishing. Although not chocolate the water was high and strong and wading was dangerous to impossible in many places and we began to notice a familiar tell-tale of this river - the no trespassing signs. Some places actually employ guards to keep people from walking their banks. Trust me, these people are serious and it's a serious risk to wander over people's property. We didn't see much water but what we saw looked fantastic with plenty of gravel, deep shoots and pocket water and if the water would come down it would be amazing water to flyfish.
The next morning the water had dropped considerably but wading was still tough. We covered more water and even saw a few fish. After initially fishing up at near the "Rainbow Club" early we soon headed down to the famous "green cottage". The water there was perfect spawning gravel and there was plenty of guys fishing the gravel. Some had even hit fish but we didn't see any fish caught. There river has an armada of drift boats traverse it's narrow channel and as I walked upstream to get some water to myself I noticed a drift-boat pulled up and an angler being guided where to put his drift. They were clearly working visible fish. In no time they were hooked up and a nice steel came to hand. I watched those guys get four or five fish and they guarded that spot like lions. Every other drift-boat or shore angler had no chance at those fish. Ted and I fished hard and he hooked up briefly on some hot fish but none came to hand. I didn't hook a fish. There were a number of feisty resident brown trout to break up the day, which is much better by-catch than suckers. Towards the evening we noticed fish jump up on the gravel but mostly they were males and although sparring with one another we couldn't get them to bite.
A guide nets his clients steel on the P.M. upstream of the Green Cottage
Just another beautiful stretch of the P.M.
The day was long and tough but with water levels dropping we were sure the next day would be great. The flyshop mentioned there's been a big push of fish over the weir downstream and the river was filling up with fish fast. At this point we only needed one fish each to be happy. In the morning we had a plan and got up early to beat the drift-boats at "Armstrongs". I think I breifly hooked up with a heavy headshaker but upon feeling weight and a couple of throbs I came undone. It was enough to get me inspired though. unfortunately that was the last look I had. When I came back to the trail to wait for Ted I spoke with a guy who had fished downstream. He had a cabin on the river and knew it well. He'd gotten into fish and I later found out Ted had seen him hook and land a number of fish in just one hole. It turns out he's the guy from one of the DVD's I own and he said our plan of attack had been good but he also mentioned the fish in this stream are extremely pressure sensitive and it pays to know the good fish-holding lies and get your first drift in the right spot because every subsequent/wrong drift educates the fish to your presence. Obviously experience on this river is essential.
Just another beautiful stretch of the P.M.
We fished long and hard to visible fish most of the day. We fished broken water and deeper pools but again came up short. The fish were there but just not ready to feed. Our timing was probably only a few days off but I guess that's how it goes. That stream in particular is fantastic and we both agreed we'd love to fish it again and again. Even without catching fish it was a pleasure to be on that stream. We met a guy from Michigan that ties us flies and we had a good evening talking to him about flies and fishing and it would be nice to take him up on his offers to show us more of the river.
As we drove through Chicago on our way home we were a little disappointed with the number of fish but the scenery and streams are fantastic and if there is a place to get skunked, northern Michigan would be it.
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