The MANISTIQUE RIVER in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is not listed in any fishing guidebook that I know of as a premier fishing location. Hemmingway wrote about the Big Two Hearted River and other locations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and each year you can find fly fishermen that want to retrace Hemmingway’s adventures. I have never…
It was one of those perfect evenings on the Pere Marquette River in Baldwin, Michigan — the sun was sinking below the trees, stream temperature was in the mid 60’s, current flow was moderate and the canoe hatch was far downriver. As my fishing partner and I stood by the river to contemplate our plan…
Albright Knot, Arbor Knot, Bimini Twist, Blood Knot, Dropper Loop, Duncan (Uni) Knot, Improved Clinch Knot, Palomar Knot, Perfection Loop, San Diego Jam Knot Surgeon’s Loop. There are more than 30 different knots that a fly fisherman can use for attaching lines, leaders, tippets and flies. All of them have a reason for existence but…
Fly fishing methods are as varied as the number of anglers. If you examine any of these methods you realize that no matter what the method, there is always a thing called a “leader”–which is the all important connection between the fly (the part that catches the fish) and the fly line (the part that…
One of the current military strategies is to “Rule the Night”. Basically, this means that you take away from the enemy the ability to control the darkness and make it an advantage to you. While I never thought of trout fishing in a military sense, the thought might work if applied to the Michigan Mayfly…
Bugs, insects, and critters are all an integral part of the fly fishing process. If it wasn’t for the insects, fly fishers would be casting giant imitations of frogs or worms, in other words they would be bass fishermen. Its not that I don’t like bass fishermen, its just that they scare me in those…
I truly believe that Americans are driven to innovate. Collectively we feel that whatever “it” is, “it” can be improved. Fly tying is no exception. Vince Marinaro in his book “A Modern Dry Fly Code” gave us new and innovative terrestrial fly patterns. Other fly tyers since then have come up with saltwater patterns that…
One of the strengths of America is that we are never satisfied. A national mania for innovation is what drives our economic success. Collectively, Americans look at something and seem to say “I can do it better”. This “madness” extends to fly fishing in many ways. What was wrong with bamboo rods, canvas waders and…
It is currently popular to criticize the “gub’ment” for just about anything. Unfortunately I cannot blame them for many of the stupid things I’ve done in the last 65 years. In fact, ever since the Department of Defense developed the Internet, I think we should thank it profusely. Without GPS I can think of a…