Although my trip was centered around smallmouth bass on the fly, when in Rome, (Michigan) one must spend some quality time pursuing freshwater bonefish, (Carp).
Back to Bassin'
If you know anything about me you know I chase Bass! I've spent half a lifetime pursuing these freshwater pugnacious species in any body of water from farm ponds to great lakes, from creeks to rivers and every puddle in between. It's in my blood and I make no apologies for it!
In the last few years while living in trout country I've slowly slipped away from the bronze family. Trout angling has been good for me. It has broadened my skills and allowed me to build a solid respect for the coldwater species.
On a cold winter day while sifting through the hundreds of Columbia River bass photos obtained throughout the years of guiding and fishing the big water an overwhelming need to get back to the bronze kind had finally surfaced. I felt this day coming long ago. It was just a matter of time until the right opportunity surfaced.
Good Company, Good Times
I found that opportunity in an email. Schultz Outfitters' newsletter hit my inbox and while scanning the highlights there it was, the SO annual Upper Peninsula (U.P.) Smallmouth trip and by the time I called Schultzy there was one spot remaining. You know that spot was meant for me!
I've always wanted to fish in the U.P. I don't know why I never did. I've fished all around it into Ontario and the great lakes but for some reason the U.P. was never a destination. I think the reason is, in that region, there is so much water that it takes a lifetime to explore.
The trip was everything you look for in a group event. Great fishing, scenery, lodging, guides, friends and food. Plenty of everything and best of all plenty of smallmouth. Early one morning I watched a black bear swim across the river right outside the lodge that overlooks the river. Plenty of wildlife and of course plenty of mosquitoes too! Bring your deet!
Like Topwater?
About 99% of the fishing is topwater divers, poppers and assorted foam bugs fished from drift boats with non stop casting to every undercut, tree root, boulder and grass line looking for that classic bass attack. I've got to tell you there is nothing that stirs the adrenaline like watching the water move when your bug hits the surface.
No shortage of quality fish
Equipment
20" Brute
James Cook 20" Smallie
My Sage Bass II Series of rods did the bulk of the work for me. The Largemouth size handles the big hair bugs with ease and the shorter length really helps the accuracy of putting those big bugs under the trees. My Smallmouth size was pure magic with the popping bugs and foam critters. I also used a Sage Method 890-4 for some of the subsurface minnow work. This rod can really deliver the distance. Reels are not a huge deal in this game. Once hooked up you need to be concerned with pulling the fish away from entanglement and not worry about getting it on the reel. The line of choice throughout the group is the S/A Mastery Textured Titan Taper. The Titan has a powerful head for big bug delivery and also has a long rear taper to make easy work of picking up a lot of line for a the next cast. To explain better, most presentations involve hitting a target and after settling, making 1-2 moves before recasting to a new spot. The long taper of this line all but eliminates the need to strip back to a casting point common with short head lines.
The fish here are quality. Sure you could find more trophies in the big lakes but they couldn't match the experience of these river dwellers. A 20" or over here will get strong recognition. I was fortunate to catch one of the two caught this week. Too many to count 19's" came to hand and I didn't hear a single complaint about too many dinks.
About that Carp photo at the start of this article...
Release!
As if a great week of smallie fishing with a great crew of anglers and guides in a great lodge with great food and drink and yada, yada, yada wasn't enough...the next stop just a couple hours away is the flats of lake Michigan. I've always wanted to wade in this great lake and hunt these submarine size monsters. It was everything I'd ever dreamed about. The first thing I kept marveling over is the fact that I am wading in Lake Michigan with miles of flats one can walk with crystal clear water all around. Next was learning to spot the fish which is in fact the easy part. Just look for giant dark shadows that are moving. Bring out your best cast, these critters are smart. I had many refusals before I played it cool enough to have one commit. Be sure to have a good disc drag reel. My old Nautilus FW (which I can proudly say has caught more fish than most fly reels will ever see) was just fine for the bass we were hauling in but I was a bit concerned when I locked the drag down as tight as it would go and this fish was still running deep into backing until I only had maybe 20 yards to spare when I finally got it to turn. It is my advice that if you find yourself in the great lakes region don't pass up this opportunity and if you have it penciled in on your bucket list go ahead and ink it. You won't be disappointed.
A Giant THANK YOU goes out to my friends out Schultz Outfitters. These guys eat sleep and live all the great fly fishing in this area of the country. Also want to thank the guides from Tight Lines Fly Fishing Company. These guys know their water, know their fish and work hard to ensure you a great day of fishing. And a special Thanks to Schultzy for sharing a little bit of his Great Lakes carp wisdom.
This trip won't be forgotten anytime soon and I hope to have the opportunity to do it again.
The Guys at Rio Fly Lines invited several guys up to Craig, Montana for three days of incredible Missouri River Trout fishing.
Montana Sunrise
Sunrise in the eastern sky lights the way to a most memorable trip. A trip that would include new experiences, new friends, beautiful landscape and Trout! Lots of Trout; Big Browns, Big Rainbows slamming streamers and sipping Baetis all day until darkness pulls the shade and leads to the tribute paid for the lifelong memories in the making!
Sasquatch? No! Just me trying to keep up with Simon
We arrived at the Helena, Montana airport on Thursday around noon. Collected our gear and headed on our way to Craig, Montana. Craig is only about 30-40 minutes from Helena airport. Immediately after unloading Simon asked "who wants to go wet a line?" So we grabbed our gear and took off down the dirt road and found a pull off. A short distance trek and we were in the water wetting our lines. Fish were rising everywhere! Simon eased into position for a quality cast and laid out a presentation this rainbow couldn't resist.
The hatch is on!
Even at this angle the smile on Simon’s face is quite identifiable. Not sure if it is due to being the first hookup of the trip or the sound of a Sage Click reel screaming its way to the backing on a beautiful 20 inch Rainbow!
First of many!
Launch
Day one greeted us with blue skies and sunshine and just a touch of morning fog. Immediately after launch we started the day chuckin’ Streamers. Blue skies made fishing a bit slow but still managed to get several grabs and land a couple chunkies. Later that day the Callibaetis started hatching and we started seeing heads rising. Wasn't long and we started hooking fish on dry flies and the bite carried on the rest of the day.
Mark Raisler of Headhunters Fly Shop guided Aaron Stiny (Rio) and me on day one. The only rules I heard mentioned went like this…
The Missouri is an amazing river. It’s loaded with fish and the Montana scenery is breathtaking, wildlife of all types make their living here. I watched everything from eagles soaring to deer getting a drink at water’s edge.
Accommodations was this cool lodge called Lookout Lodge operated by www.thetroutshop.com. It has a great view overlooking the river with river access also. You can rent the top or the bottom separately or rent the whole thing for larger parties. Its situated a couple miles from town down a dirt road with very little traffic.
The Sage One really is a sweet rod and handles average size streamers with ease. The Sage Method was my rod of choice for all day Rio StreamerTip line casting of the larger breed of streamers.
Large Streamers caught some large fish as seen here…
Day Two
This Beauty came on day two brought to hand by Steve Dally of Dally’s Ozark Fly Fisher. Steve Operates on the White River, AR… big Brown Trout waters. I hope to catch up with him soon for some of that Streamer action.
The line of choice for all the dry fly fishing. It floats high on the water for excellent drag free drifts and the long range hook sets are positive and secure due to the ConnectCore technology. I also want to note how well this line cast on a variety of rods. It loads great, shoots great and presents flawlessly. Without any doubt this is my new “go to” favorite dry line.
Clear and chilly = Extreme Headwear
Mike Kuhnert of Evolution Fly Fishing guiding John Harder (RIO R&D Manager) and Leo Siren of Fish First out of the bay area. It was a clear blue sky chilly day and I was a bit envious of Leo’s Simms Gore-Tex Extream Hat he was sportin’.
Mike Schultz of Schultz Outfitters in Ypsilanti, Michigan has my attention with his knowledge of Streamer fishing. We also share the Steelhead affliction and swinging flies with two hands rods. Mike guides Steelhead Alley in the Midwest, the very place I connected with my first Steelhead which changed my view of fly fishing forever.
Mike and Steve putting together a game plan for the day.
Sage One 4116 Switch test swing
Simon brought his Sage One 4116 switch rod and I had to give it a swing. Equipped with aScandi Short VersiTip using the intermediate tip and a tandem rig of soft hackles I managed to swing up my first Brown Trout. I went on to swing up several more Rainbows that day. I think swinging for Trout is becoming a new passion for me. I felt connected to this rod and could really feel the fly. As Simon put it “The tug is the drug” and he couldn't be more right! I've since added to my arsenal my own 4116 and plan on putting it to use on my Southwest home waters of the San Juan and Rio Grande rivers as well as the Northwest waters of the Deschutes River Redsides come next spring. Call it my homework for the winter. Stay tuned for updates on what I find.
Montana Sunset
Our trip ends with a fire in the sky shot as we round the last bend before the takeout. Not a minute was wasted as darkness overtook the light. We loaded boats in the dark and headed back to Craig, Montana. We celebrated our trip with a barley toast at the corner bar and relived our favorite moments of the past three days. Back to the lodge for incredible feast presented to us by Sherri Walls of Canyon Cooking Catering. Special thank you goes out to Sherri for keeping all of us healthy and well-nourished for our stay.
I’ll finish this up with this, There is something magical about a group that comes together all sharing the same passion for the sport. I have experienced it a few times before and can’t explain what it is but I can say that it is very real and I witnessed it again on this trip. All of us came from different areas and a couple even born and raised abroad but the bond of the sport ties us all together with a sense of total unselfish passion to teach and share the sport that has hooked us for life.
The trip was everything you look for in a group event. Great fishing, scenery, lodging, guides, friends and food. Plenty of everything and best of all plenty of smallmouth. Early one morning I watched a black bear swim across the river right outside the lodge that overlooks the river. Plenty of wildlife and of course plenty of mosquitoes too! Bring your deet!
