Fishing Report

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April 26, 2006

It has been a very busy spring here at the Red Moose Lodge. Business started to pick up in March. The ice was getting thin and Steelhead started to show themselves. This Steelhead season has been very good. The Weir was holding a lot of fish from coming up. Thank god we had a warm winter with a lot of melt offs. There were more Fall/Winter run fish up here I have seen in many years. By late March, the water temps. were still below 42 degrees. Not many fish had passed the Weir but we still managed to have some great days of steelheading. In April, the Weir numbers shot up with water temps. above 42 degrees. We have been catching some very nice silver fish ever since. My hopes are that we get some more rain and another good shot of fish.

My wife (Debi) and son (Adam) went for a trip over Easter in the lower river. Debi likes to pitch spinners and caught a few nice browns. She tied into a good one (over 20"). It tied her up in some lumber and now makes for a wonderful "it got away" story. I spent the rest of the night consoling her.

At nine years old, Adam is becoming quite the spinning rod caster. Up until now, he has mostly used a fly rod. I couldn't help but think "chip off the old block" as I watched him put that spinner inches from the bank and structure. I look forward to spending a majority of this summer with him. He loves to stay up late and sleep all day which makes for some great trout fishing evenings. Once he reels in a few big browns, he will get hooked on fishing. I hope it goes well. At this age kids are very impressionable. It's a good time to make some special memories that will remain with them well into adulthood.

The river is in good shape and has an impressive water flow. I had a 3 man trip yesterday in the lower bug water and never scraped bottom. I had been prepared for a long day of getting out of the boat and walking it down through the shallow gravels but was pleasantly surprised. Water temps. have ranged between the high 40's and low 50's. The water is still dark enough that you can not see the bottoms of the holes. Some of the pocket waters are dark enough to hide a fish or two. The mornings and evenings are best, especially on the bluebird days with high pressure systems. The river traffic is slowing. The fishing should only get better each day as we approach May. I believe there are still going to be a lot of fish passing the Weir. A good thunder storm will boost that chance significantly.

Many people have been throwing streamers for the larger Brown Trout. A good number of fish have been falling for the big evil looking ones. The best one I have heard of so far was a 26" trout caught by Tom Lynch. The dry flies have been hatching. There have been a few times I wish I had a 4 weight and some dries with me. Stone Flies, Hendrickson and BWO have been the majority. There are some Black Caddis flying around as well. The trout still like eggs the best but a few are looking up and doing some feeding on warm days. I am ready to go nocturnal for those big night time Browns. Just thinking about Hex and Hair Ball season puts a smile on my face.

Turkey season just ended for me. I had the early hunt from April 17th thru April 23rd. I had a great hunt! Opening day was slow but I was entertained by a rooster Pheasant answering my calls and coming inside of 10 yards of me. Day 2 I called in 3 Tom's and thought I had them at 50 yards. Then out of nowhere, a Coyote comes in and almost jumps my decoy. Needless to say he spooked off all my birds. Day 3 was quiet. I walked into a strutting field to set up my decoy and the Turkey I was going after was strutting 75 yards away. I hit the deck but received no response to my calls. Day 4 I hit the snooze and decided to give myself (and the Turkeys) a break. Day 5 I called in 2 Tom's into 30 yards and they were not going to come any closer. They looked more interested in kick in' some Turkey butt (I had three other gobblers at 100 yards). I took a shot and didn't connect. After 15 minutes and some good calling the 12 gauge was ringing again. There were two Turkey's in full strut 10 feet from the decoy at 15 yards. This one did not have the chance to get away. It was a nice bird, 20 lbs., 8 3/4" beard and 7/8" spurs. His feathers are at Pine Fur Taxidermy (another addition to the ever growing mounts in our breakfast room). The meat is at the Meat Shack getting smoked.

Lastly.....The Red Moose Lodge has joined forces with BBT to offer an all inclusive Summer Fly Fishing school. What better way to spend a weekend than introducing fly fishing to your family and friends. Learn fly fishing skills from two of the areas best guides ..Steve Frailey and John Kluesing. Classes are forming now. Contact Baldwin Bait and Tackle at 231-745-3529 or go to fishbaldwin.com to register.

Tight Lines and Shoot Straight

Clint

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January 12, 2006
November 29, 2005
July 26th, 2005