Bruno called fellow board member Acristickid on his cell phone as we headed up Route 79 North from Pittsburgh and Acristickid told us to turn left when we got to Erie and head for Michigan!
The heart of the fishing near Wellston in Northwest Michigan is 8 hours driving time from Pittsburgh which compares favorably to the seven hour drive to Pulaski New York for anglers in Western Pennsylvania. We fished October 10-12 in 2010 which was a little late for the salmon in Michigan.
This year Bruno, Brian Charlie and I made our way north again. We fished September 18-21 which was close to the peak of the Chinook Run. The Coho salmon also were out to play this year. Our trip was a little early for the steelhead, they run late October to late April. Part of the appeal of fishing in Northwest Michigan is that nearly all of these fish are naturally reproducing from ancestors stocked decades ago. The spawning gravel in these rivers and streams is immaculate!
We caught a few King salmon on our own, but the best day of the trip was our day our on driftboats with guides from Schmidt Outfitters on the Manistee River. They put us over a Coho hotspot. Bruno and I hooked and landed many of these wonderful fish that really love to take a fly. We also hooked a few King salmon with the guides, but the landing of Kings was more difficult.
The nature of these rivers and streams is that a lot of fallen trees litter the streambed. The fish know where these obstacles lay and seek them out to ensure their freedom. The resident trout, browns, rainbows, and brooks, can all be caught with egg patterns once the salmon start getting active on the redds. We caught some smaller trout this way, but many of the locals look forward to the opportunity to catch bigger resident and lake run trout into his manner.
The bigger rivers in this region are tough for the wading angler and a driftboat is almost a requirement. But there are smaller rivers and streams suitable for the wading angler. Bruno and I were fortunate to meet a pair of anglers from West Virginia while fishing the Betsie River. One of the anglers had a nasty tear in his neoprene waders. I was able to patch his waders with the UV adhesive I carry, which made us instant friends with this pair. They shared a shot of bourbon with us and promised us a mule trip on the Cranberry River in West Virginia. Always nice to make a new friend!
More pictures from our trip can be found here.
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