Short Casts

Ice In The Guides

2008-02-12T19:40:00.002-05:00

Went to the Rogue back on the 9th of Feb. and then hopped on the Pere Marquette last weekend the 16th. Two very beautiful days on the river. It was just cold enough to ice up my guides on my rod every 15 minutes or so (sorry no picture).
I was able to fish my flies that I tied up for the first time.
The Rogue had a ton of stoneflies crawling all over the banks in the snow.

I saw a bald eagle on the Pere Marguette and loads of deer tracks on the banks.
It was a sunny day on the PM.
Sorry for the short entry, but I at least wanted to post and put some pictures up.

Cheers~

jvk

Snow

2008-01-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

Saturday my son and our 1yr old German Shepherd Dog went for a hike on some local trails.
It has been snowing really good the past week or so and I have tried to get out on some hikes with the dog. My son joined me this time. It was a great time, the dog really loves getting out and going on the trail with the nose to the ground. My son and I got to spend some time together and that is never often enough.
The trail started out deep but the further we got into it the better it got. We saw a few cross country skiers and snow shoer's as well.

Stay warm...

Cheers~

jvk

Week Three Dries

2008-01-23T21:36:00.001-05:00

I had to take a make up class last week for my third week of fly tying.
Tim was the instructor again and we tied caddis dry flies. Tim used to tie production flies for Craig Mathews of the Blue Ribbon Fly Shop, so we started with Craig's X-Caddis.
This a very simple pattern but I found the Deer hair a little tuff to work with. I guess I will have to tie a bunch of these to get it down.
The second tie we did I think was Craig's Cripple Caddis. This one was a very simple tie and I look forward tying these. If I remember correctly, Tim said that it is a great pattern to fish. I still need to buy some materials for the Cripple.

Got some nymph tying done while watching the NFL playoffs last weekend as well. Made an ok dent into the pheasant tails and got some hare's ear's done as well. We are slowing building the collection, now we just need to get out on the water. It is suppose to warm up the beginning of next week so it may be a good chance to go.

Happy tying!

Cheers~
jvk

Nymphing...

2008-01-11T23:31:00.000-05:00

Week Two of fly tying class. This past Thursday I had my second class, Bob is the Thursday night instructor and was a lot of fun and very helpful.
We tied two patterns, the Pheasant Tail Nymph and the Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear Nymph.
Compared to the last class where we tied streamers on size 6 hooks 3XL, these nymphs were a little trickier. We tied these on a size 10 1XL. The Pheasant Tail wasn't bad at all the only thing that didn't go good for me the first time around was the copper wire on the body. I was suppose to wrap it into about 3 to 4 segments and I wrapped maybe twice that. This was a pretty cool pattern and from what I understand it is very versatile in its imitation, Mayfly nymph, stonefly nymph, Hex nymph. My favorite part of this one is the legs that you make with the left over pheasant feather.

The second fly we tied was the Hare's Ear. We used the hair off a real Hare's mask with a Turkey feather as the thorax casing. We learned how to dub with the Hare's fur. Maybe I didn't get a good piece of hair but this fly was a little trickier than the Pheasant Tail because of the Hare fur. I found it hard to work with. This fly didn't turn out well at all, I was not impressed with my results. I will have to tie a bunch of these to get some practice at it.

After class everyone wanted to pick up the materials to make these flies so we all gathered up what we needed and Bob cashed us out.
I had been really debating whether I wanted to buy a vise or not and if I did, what vise was I to buy. 95% of the people I talked to told me to buy the Renzetti Traveler. The cost of the Renzetti is pretty hefty but I wouldn't have to buy a new vise for a long time.
Bob made mention that the new Traveler model was coming out and that he had one left from last years model and that he would sell it at 20% off. I had been looking on Ebay, and every where else on the internet and no where could I find a Renzetti Travler for less than retail pricing so I decided, what the heck, lets do it. So I am the proud owner of a new Renzetti Traveler Fly Tying Vise. This was a late Christmas present to myself. :)

I am really enjoying the fly tying and am looking forward to crafting and honing those creative skills and maybe catch some fish on them. I am pretty Dutch, so losing flies is no fun for me, but maybe if I tie them it won't be so back.
The Grand and the Rogue are up right now so the Steelhead will easily be able to move up and into the Rogue. I look forward to getting on the Rogue sometime in the next seven days for sure to try these nymphs out.

Cheers~
jvk

Fly Tying Begins

2008-01-08T13:31:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I started a fly tying class that will last for 5 weeks.
I have always been a creative and all growing up and through high school I would draw, paint, and create things. The past 15 years those creatives have been expressed through work or other non hobby things in my life. Since I started fly fishing, I have always been interested in fly tying. I have learned that it is not something that you can justify spending money on with the idea that "if I tie my own flies I will save myself money"... WRONG. Its like trying to justify getting your pilots license. An acquaintance once told me that if you want to learn to fly you can't try and justify spending the amount of money with being able to fly everywhere yourself, it doesn't work that way. You have to want to learn just for the the flying.

I have come to the conclusion that that is how it is with fly tying. I am dutch, so I am always trying to pinch my pennies, but thats not going to work here.

I had my first class this past Saturday. I am taking the class at Great Lakes Fly Fishing Company in Rockford, Mi.. I chose them for a few reasons... I fish the Rogue River a lot and that is the shop I go to for things and a second is Glenn Blackwood owns the shop and I used to watch his Fly Fishing show on the local PBS channel all the time (I have a bunch of episodes on my Tivo still). The show was great because Glenn would be fishing somewhere in the States and they would fish a specific fly or set up and half way through the show Glenn would show you how to tie that curtain fly pattern.

I had a good time. Tim was my instructor and is a great teacher.
We tied a Brown Spruce and a Wooly Bugger. These are my first flies I have ever tied in my life.
It was fun and and I look forward to the remaining weeks.

Oh and of course I went over to the Rogue to fish for a few hours after class.
Didn't see anything, but it was nice to get on the river, it had been a month.

Cheers~

The Rogue 10.27

2007-10-30T15:11:00.000-04:00

I spent a few hours on the Rogue this past Saturday fishing for some salmon.
It was a really nice day for fishing, overcast mid 50's although it was a bit windy.
I got on the river about 1p and went down stream. at first I just started to fish obvious holding water and behind boulders. Nothing.
I moved further down stream and spotted some salmon hanging out. I was fishing C&D with a egg fly and a green caddis. They were not interested in what I had to offer. I switched up egg colors and tried a few different nymphs. I have learned that either I am not fishing the C&D method right or I just don't like that it. I kept getting hung up on the rocks on the bottom of the stream, I was changing weight and it just seemed like I couldn't get it right.
As I kept moving down stream, I ran into a half dozen fish holding on a redd. I abandoned the C&D and tied on a streamer and fished that and the salmon were interested. I ended up hook 2 of them hogs with no luck hauling them in.
I promised the wife that I would be home around 6p so I hiked back to the car.

It was a great day on the water, it was much needed.

Cheers~

jvk

Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia and Tom Brokaw at Zeitgeist '07

2007-10-29T16:35:00.001-04:00

Very interesting video. Its worth taking the time to watch.
Cheers~

The PM

2007-10-26T16:54:00.000-04:00

So Friday Oct 12th, I got up at 430am to drive 2 hours to meet up with my friend Joel and his Dad and brother to spend the morning on the Pere Marquette.
I had never been on the the PM before and was excited to fish it. I met up with Joel at 730a at there motel, we geared up and headed over to the fly's only section. Joel had fished it many times and knew where to go and where there would be fish. After a short 20 minute hike, we came to the first spot. There were about a dozen to a half dozen salmon holding in this spot.
Joel was kind enough to let me have a go at while he and the other guys walked farther down stream to look for fish.
It was a beautiful morning, the color was changing, the air was crisp and there were fish.
I spent a short stint of about 3 hours fishing that spot with not much to show for it. I had about 6 legit hook ups but they got away. There was a brown sitting just below the salmon assuming that he was feeding on eggs. I had never seen a brown before, I'd have to say that they are one of the most beautiful fish out there. Their colors are so rich.
I didnt land any fish. I had to be back home by 130p that day, so it was alittle crazy to even try and drive that far to fish for such a short time. I guess when you are passionate about something you do stupid things, like when I fell in love with my wife.

I am itching to get back on the PM. The steelhead are showing up now, so I will have to try and get up there soon to relax and enjoy.

I would really like to get up to the Muskegon tomorrow, but I have not even attempted to make that come to fruision yet.

Cheers~

jvk

I think Fall may be here to stay.

2007-10-10T09:09:00.000-04:00

48 degrees, silver overcast skies, lite drizzle, and a little bite to the steady wind.
As I walked my dogs this morning, I felt a sense of peace. Fall is finally here.
Fall is my favorite time of year. The color and smell of the leaves and the cold bite to the wind. I love to bundle up in warm clothes and get outside.

It is suppose to rain today and tomorrow, tempretures in the high 40's to low 50's. Friday is going to be partly cloudy and mid 50's. I think with a moderate amount of rain, the salmon might be worth a go at. We are camping this weekend up in Newaygo, I may try and fish the Muskegon Saturday morning for late Saturday night when ever I can get away without disturbing family time. Friday looks like it would be a perfect day to spend on the a river so I may try and round up a few guys and head up north for a go at some salmon.

Hopefully I will have another post after the weekend to report back.

Cheers!

JVK

SWMTU Salmon Outing 2007

2007-10-07T11:41:00.000-04:00

I joined Trout Unlimited a few weeks back in an effort to connect with Fly Fishing addicts in my neck of the woods and to learn more about West Michigan trout stream conservation.
I was invited by my local chapter (Schrems WMTU) on the annual Salmon Float down the Muskegon River.
My wife was gracious enough to let me take the day to go, so I headed up to Newaygo early Saturday morning stopping at Parsley's for a few flies. I got to Croton Dam around 9am and introduced myself to a handful of members. There was about 20 people present which were spread out in about 7 drift boats. After we moved some cars to the take out at Thornapple, we pushed off.

I was in Dave's boat with him and Sandy. We were one of the first boats to set out. We went down a little bit looking for salmon holding. Dave got us to a place that was holding a half dozen salmon, so we got our rods out and started casting to them. Sandy and I had never been salmon fishing on the fly before. We were using the Chuck and Duck method. It took me at least fifteen minutes or so to get the hang of cast the rig. I got a few pretty good drifts but no strikes. Salmon were coming and going in and out of the hole but no takers for me.
Dave cast out a couple of drifts and had one strike. We moved on.
A little further upriver Sarah, a woman from our group, landed a salmon.

We drifted down on the lookout for salmon. The river wasn't too busy, but it seemed like every corner we went around there would be someone in the spots that Dave wanted to fish.
Have I mentioned yet that it was unseaonably hot for Oct 6 in West Michigan? I'd say by 11 or 12p it was easily in the mid 80's.

After trying a few runs and holes drifting, we stopped at piano rock and got out of the boat and waded all though we hadn't seen anything. Off by my self, I wasn't so sure what or how I was to fish, so I just used common sense and looked for gravel and drifted my flies through (the muskegon was very weedy).

At 2p, we all met up at piano beach for a shore lunch. It was so warm that waders started coming off. I have to say that 2p is a little late for me to have lunch. With it being so hot and not eating but a poptart in the car on the way up, I was getting a very serious migraine. It didn't help that I didn't bring enough water to drink either.

Well after a great lunch of tasty half pound hamburgers, we put the waders back on and jumped back into the boats and set off down stream. At this point, the group had only one landed fish (sarah), and so the word was that from here to the take out was the better fishing and that we should run into plenty of fish, or at least that was the case for a few members who had been on the river a few days earlier.
Fish were non existent for the remainder of the float. It was an unusually beautiful day for the beginning of October and we certainly enjoyed the weather. The color was very pretty making the scenery peaceful and relaxing. I did have a great time and met some new friends that I look forward to getting to know a little better. For my first float on the Muskegon River it was a great time, as they say the best time to go fishing is when ever you can and not necessarily when the fish are stacked on top of each other (although it helps).

Thanks SWMTU and thanks Dave for having me join you!

Until next time.

JVK