Perserverance

I Didn't Fish Last Week 

It's Monday morning as I start this blog. Last week i scrambled to vomit 600 words on a Saturday morning and it wasn't my best post. I just hadn't given it a ton of thought. 

This week I will put out a better product. 

All last week the evening temperatures dipped into the low 40s and high 30s. Rumors of fish stacking up kept coming to me via text and FB. Life happens in strange ways.

The rain has come in a nice steady way just as everyone said it needed to happen. The big lake temperatures have dropped and the fish are running and everyone is following them. All but me. 

This week I drove by several closed streams filled with fish knowing that the big rivers are open and loading up. 

I have been thinking about this time of year all summer and preparing to do salmon season and steelhead "right". To actually target those fish instead of trout. It's here and I seem to be stuck out of the water.

I've got a deck to build and a floor to install and a sliding glass door to put in and a remodel to quote. Kids games and practice which I've ranted about plenty. 

Bottom line I imagine I felt a lot like my friends did in September when I was trying to do the "20 days of September challenge" from Orvis. I made 15 days. That's a pretty good month!

Now more than half way through October the table is flipped. I have been out a little more than 5 days. 

On top of being busy I have been slightly detoured by a video a Pensilvania dwelling FB friend posted. The video shows a small river, about the width of an average side street, as he pans the camera and whistles the circus song showing anglers lined up above and below him both sides of the river nearly shoulder to shoulder.  Assembly line fishing. Not for me! Not the experience I want. How can that be enjoyable?  

I most likely will head to the river in spite of these obstacles. The heart wants what the heart wants. My heart wants, no it needs, an untamable sea creature at the end of the line jumping and running to escape me. Fighting for its life not knowing that I will only set it free when I have it in my hands. 

Pause over, and it's Saturday evening. I got to some good water today.

As I was preparing gear for this trip I had my 6 wt phillipson the "sweetheart" as she is know by me and I was gonna put her in my truck but  I'm committed to learning Spey and focusing on big fish. I put it down against my better judgement.  I can catch browns in the Muskegon river with my eyes closed with that rod and handful of hares ears seriously it's one of those things I can almost count on. 

 But here I go again with a rod reel combo and big flies that I don't get yet.  It's tough to deal with in my mind, the scarcity of catching these big fish. I must prepare my mind for a long winter standing in waist deep water a few degrees above freezing. Ice in my guides, frozen reels and fingers. Trust that THOSE fish do exist THOSE fish that will eat a fly on the swing. Be a swinger, my mantra must be.

Seriously, I'm finding that this is a mental game.  I must persevere.

Swag

The new blog posts are here http://www.outersoulfiber.com/blog/

Gear

Summer is the time for camping. It's great to get out when it's warm and all the field and fauna are active. When there is little worry of storm or cold. When you can pretty much just sleep under the stars without a care. 

My wife doesn't enjoy camping. My two oldest are out of the house. My two middle kids are at the age where anything with a parent involved is "lame and boring" and one doesn't like bugs especially mosquitos ( who really does?) 

my youngest son probably would go if I asked him but with all the others saying "no" I have written camping off. None of them want to fish

. 

http://greatlakesspeyshop.com/Spey%20Fest%204.html

 

With Speyfest this week I'm looking forward to camping even it is only "car camping" , not backpacking. This past weekend was full of thoughts about gear. digging through camping gear that I haven't touched in a year. 

I know my stuff is strewn from one corner of the basement to the other and stashed in cabinets in the shop avoiding dust. 

 

Every time I pack to camp I am right back with the 307th ENG BN 82nd Airborne INF DIV. Half moon black and gold subdued version on my shoulder. A voice in my head screaming "travel light freeze at night" so there is room for demolitions, but I'm not walking all night this weekend I'm car camping. I have room for a lantern and a double burner Colman stove and even a cooler.  Better because gone are the days when I could put my head on my canteen on a pile of rocks and red clay and sleep like a baby. 20 minutes ready to rock. Nope, my body aches in the morning my joints need two cups of coffee for proper lubrication. The beauty of this is I have space in the truck for a coffee pot. (Laughing sinisterly)

 

Certainly, I wish the perverbial "fish wagon", a 1966 ford econoline camper top super van was complete but to no avail remains untouched this summer. It's a tent for sleeping quarters this year.

 

https://kelty.com/tents-shelters/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PPC%3EBrand%3ETents&utm_term=kelty+tents&utm_content=Tents

 

 A reliable tent though, a Kelty, this same tent survived a Father's Day weekend trip up the Manistee River from red bridge in the worst down poor of the last 100 years.

 

http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/06/ludington_flooding_washes_out.html

 

 Over night US31 washed out and the river came up so high we nearly couldn't get back under the bridge. The DNR heard we were up there and came up to see if we survived. The river was a torrent of bubbly chocolate milk with full trees rootball to tip spinning in corner eddies. Not a single drop of moisture in that tent. 

 

Other gear isn't quite as reliable. For instance the inflatable sleep pad from Walmart. I've used it for nearly 10 years and every year I say to myself and anyone that will listen. "This thing is junk". I wake up in the middle of the night with sore hips and my shoulder popping out of socket. I roll from one side to the other trying to stay on the mat that I have over inflated hoping for better cushion between me and the cold hard ground and that one root under the exact spot I'm sleeping.

 

Emotionally draining. I'm a far cry from who I was in the 90s. the beauty of that, perspective. Having those years humping a 100lbs of ammunition and demolitions and a spare pair of socks through the dark cold night only to lie down on a fire ants nest gives perspective. Perspective that says keep this "junk" mat "it's better than nothing".

http://taskandpurpose.com/why-the-woobie-is-the-greatest-military-invention-ever-fielded/

 An appreciation for the best tent I've ever owned and a longing for my old woobie.
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Quest for Spey session 1

I finally got out on the water with my Spey set up. An echo TR 8136-4 and Ross CLA 6 that I bought used but in excellent condition. The reel came with backing and a 520 grain skagit head. I purchased a 1mm running line and two additional heads from eBay (me being me). 

On the grass. 

I learned quickly that yard casting a Spey rod is not like yard casting a single handed rod. The problem is anchor. When casting a single handed rod you develop load from gradually increasing the length of line. In Spey load is generated from surface tension and on the grass there isn't much.

A friend told me how to make a grass leader to help with this but I haven't yet. 

https://www.deneki.com/2014/12/grass-leaders/

On the water

The first thought I had was " how am I gonna move this much line without hitting myself in the face" answer, start short. As I started I realized my hands already knew some of these movements. This seams, at the beginning to be glorified roll casting. Casters that frequently fish tight skinny water with 6-7' rods know most of the moves. You have to use them in skinny water or risk snagging the salad.  I don't recall hearing anyone on these waters saying anything fancy like the "snap t" . They just say flip your line up stream and roll cast. 

With the line short it really seams the same.  Roll casts to control your line and where your fly is on the water.  Used so you don't snag the brush or yourself. 

Then you get some line out and you can really feel what this big stick can do. First cast, I threw the distance of my mid to long overhead cast. And the benefit of no back cast ... Awesome!!

Now let me be clear because everyone says no back cast but in reality you can't spay cast against a brick wall. (Absolute... ??) you need space for your "D loop" and keep in mind 13-15' overhead(given your sanding in the water)

Line control, line control, line control.  Obviously important. Second nature maybe if you double haul often or throw streamers where you need to strip as soon as the fly hits the water. I'm somewhere in between.  In Spey seams that you need your bottom hand on the line almost always. It's either stripping line in or holding loops. 

And while we are talking about line. How bout the welded loop to loop connections, all the smart people out there in the industry and we can't figure out a better connection or better guides that won't hang up coming in or out. Click click click when there isn't any pressure and better hope you get that thing through the tiptop when the fish gives you the chance. Still better than knots I guess. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/240312029702981/?ti=icl

I'm headed to Spey fest in Newaygo, MI at the end of the month hopefully the gurus will have answers for my complex questions like which is better anchoring up stream or down stream in opposing wind. Hmmm 

Hoping to be a better Spey caster by months end. 

I'm interested in your thoughts so Please leave comments.

The Quest for Spey

On the road in wandering I've found the surf casters. Their cults form in places like Montauk, Tybee island, Fire island, Newport Beach, and Kalalock. Big rods, big reels, big lures, and long casts. Its a formula for success. Success to a fisherman ... Fishing.  

The idea is big water, big empty water filled with fish. Wait... What?The beaches of Lake Michigan in my case, or the mighty Muskegon River. 

The idea, in all its glory, of course has a wingman, the long cast. Dressed for success with an important tool, a big rod.

 

I was afraid of Spey rods because of all the big numbers and I'm not just talking about the ones written on the rods. When you talk about big Spey rods you must also talk about big reels and those have big numbers to. I just didn't want to face Spey like a man. So I didn't I convinced myself that a big spinning rod and reel would satisfy me. Maybe some big lures to go with it. 

So in my usual way I started surfing the web. What gear would I need to surf cast. (Lake Michigan) 

Clearly, I have a disorder that involves being different. (Another story some other time) 

There isn't any info out there about this silly thing, surf casting a lake. Who does that? Next best thing, Atlantic coast surf casting.  

Stripers are just big bass, really big bass and salmon are ocean fish anyway so the gear has to be close enough. Right? 

So in my usual way I got back on the web and promptly found a 12' vintage glass surf rod. A Garcia. Then I set to finding an enormous spinning reel, a DAM Quick 550n. (your nuts if you think I'm gonna learn to use a bait caster on top of it all) I had a few other spinning rods in the shop covered in saw  dust and cobwebs even a reel attached to one.  I dug them out and lined them up. 

I'm like a kid in a candy store with my new gear and my big plan. Wide eyed and naïve. "I'm gonna catch big fish on the big water," grinning ear to ear. 

I loaded up my spinning gear (that sounds strange) and headed to the lake hoping no one would be there. I definitely didn't want other fishermen to see that I had no idea what I was doing. I was fine but my ego was taking this hard. 

Who knew, 2 PM on a 85+ degree Thursday, the only fisherman besides me is a 12 year old with his escort, mom. 

It's the middle of summer the water is too hot the Sun is too bright and there are too many people on the pier. I fished and found that I still wasn't satisfied. 

I'm cutting this fishing story off right there because I could go on but this is about gear. 

Spey Spey Spey !!!

Calling me. 

Me being who I am wanted fiberglass. How many rod manufactures are rolling fiberglass these days. Well, a growing number but seems that not very many of the companies are rolling big glass. Most aren't even rolling switch length. I didn't want a short rod. I wanted full Spey length I wanted 15'. That's just where I was. Compensation for shortcomings? Maybe.  

Honestly, I was having my very first reservations about fiberglass being the best rod material available. I love the deep bend feel of glass both in the cast and when there is a fish on, but I was beginning to think maybe it wouldn't cast as far as I wanted it to. 

In addition there aren't as many guys as you would imagine selling used fiberglass Spey rods. 

I wasn't gonna drop those big numbers on something I may hate casting. 

I quested onward. Scouring for sale adds on all the major pages and FB but the right fit wasn't out there. I thought to myself, "I'm not gonna find this rod until I spend $1000." Not gonna happen right now!

Then, a rod dangled on the web in front of my face and I pulled the trigger. 

It's not glass. it's not vintage. I don't care. I'm going to learn to Spey cast! I can't wait to get it in my hand. 

Naïvely grinning ear to ear, "I'm gonna catch big fish on big water!"

Lake temps examined

I geeked out this week!! 

I, like so many of you, watch the lake surface temps. I hope for temperatures to drop into the 50s so the salmon will come to shallow water. During the time that I have been watching lake temps I notice an interesting occurrence temps at the surface several miles off shore dropping to the 40s. First I thought that these must be false readings caused by some phantom equipment malfunction, but I continued to notice them and what seams to be a loose pattern. 

https://youtu.be/DlT51AosbcA

It seems that a day or two after we have heavy winds and storms these cold "spots" appear on the surface. The geek in me wanted to know why.

Was it the influx of rain water from the rivers, was only a portion of the lake doing the notorious "flip" I didn't know. 

https://youtu.be/X26ocQkhNH4

So I started some investigative work.

I'm was thinking lake currents could be one cause, pushing the cold water up from the depths, an upwelling. As I searched the web I ran across a video about stratification which is fancy for the layers in the lake, three layers to be precise. I'm not gonna go too deep here you can learn like I did through the video. But the interesting part is that the density of water causing these layers relates directly to temperature. It is the dividing factor, and the dictating factor in the thermocline. Which is located in the center layer of the three.

Deep water fishermen take note if you aren't already informed. Winds push warmer surface waters towards the shore where the depth of this warm water "builds" basically tilting the layers and the thermocline. Bring it closer to the surface at the other end of tilt. As the wind stops the water driven towards the shore recedes like water in a tipped bucket returning upright. It then rocks back and forth under the surface each rocking motion tilts the layers and the thermocline AND mixes the layers. 

That is an important factor in these upwellings  as it mixes and rocks warm surface water seems to roll to the bottom under the force of the wind as this happens cold water is driven to the surface in an upwelling. 

If we agree that the fish follow the thermocline and these cold water upwellings knowing where they are can hugely effect finding fish. 

Coho prefer temperatures in the mid-50s F. and generally are found nearer the surface than chinook. After 60 degrees F. coho tend to go deeper or lakeware in finding their preferred temperature. Coho may be found in water temperatures from 45 to 60 degrees F., with a peak feeding temperature at 54 degrees F.

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I think most experienced boat captains already know this, but for a weekend warrior learning this can be helpful as opposed to going where the other boats go. 

The implications of these things for a shore and pier fisherman can be figured as well. I'm sure hydrology has some wicked formula for calculating how long it will take for the rocking motion to occur given an average sustained wind and the size of a body of water including depth. Please hydrologist help us understand. 

There is another thought that comes to my geek head. How the salmon move may be less tied to water temp in itself and more tied to food. Thus it may be less important to know what temp the salmon like and more important to know what temp their food likes. 

http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/wdb/pub/hsi/hsi-058.pdf

. 

Mid August

Well the water temps on the big lake(Michigan) are still in the mid 70s and the only thing biting off the pier seems to be white drum and catfish.

http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/glcfs/ncast/mswt-00.gif

I talked with an old timer that said he had taken a handful of perch but those are few and far between. Everyone in a boat says the salmon are big this year. So it should be a blast when they come in. 

A week ago I fished in the heaviest rain of my life. For about three hours it came down in buckets very intense. I was wearing a new rain jacket by a major player in the water repellent industry. Shoulders were dry head was dry but everything in my pockets was soaked, wallet, fishing license, phone, gum, etc. I have been withholding my scathing review with thoughts of revisiting this jacket in a less intense down poor to gauge its performance. Another part of me  feels like it had the most trying test and failed. I was and am still unhappy. I know that most will say that I should have spent the $500 bucks on a Simms and been dry. I'm not sure. http://www.fishusa.com/product/-Simms-ProDry-Gore-Tex-Jackets

I have been trying to weasel my way into a Spey rig. Actually I don't think it's weaseling just trying to sell some gear to fund the new rig or trade into it. Seems as if no one wants what I have which leads me into dropping the prices below what the products are worth and still not selling. So I still don't have a Spey rig. http://m.orvis.com/p/clearwater-spey-8-weight-13-6-fly-rod/8p5l

Orvis had a nice package deal on Clearwater and battenkill package. Even though I am a fiberglass guy I was considering it. Pros and cons glass in a Spey?  I don't know. I have very limited experience. I have a 12' Milwards bamboo rod that is a two handed rod but I doubt that casting glass or graphite at that length will be comparable?

Lastly on an angry note, I was fishing Wednesday night off the holland harbor pier channel side, right before dark a boat came weaving through the channel with one guy aboard adjusting his trolling gear and being unable to steer and adjust gear he snagged all three of my lines as I yelled and cursed at him he was oblivious. With the help of a bystander I kept my rods out of the water loosing only terminal rigs.  If I had 2 oz of lead in my hand i would have put it through his boat. No other boats in sight so he had the rest of the chennel to avoid my tackle. He did not!

3 more rods, 3 more reels, 1 fish closer

I've been sticking to the plan. 

I was told to put a 2 oz pyramid weight on a snap swivel at the end of my main line. Above that a float above that a barrel swivel slip style with a 4' leader split shot, 2/0 octopus hook and cooked shrimp as bait. Above all of that a bead and a bobber stop adjusted to water depth. I did all of it. 

http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/twomichigans.html

I have checked water temp everyday for weeks hoping for magical currents and storm winds to "flip" the lake but it's hasn't happened, and still I have fished 30 hours from the Holland harbor pier in those same few weeks. 

I have back doored and bartered 3 new reels, and 3 new rods, all vintage, all fiberglass because that's my style. 

#glassisnotdead Instagram: @innate_boats ; angling iq: @fiberglassnate 

I have battled high waves, high winds, heavy rain, lightning, tourists, and darkness. 

I have gathered intelligence from Internet sorces, hole in the wall shops and sketchy skateboard kids about when they saw fish taken and what kind. 

I met people, with names I don't remember, in the darkness and traded information carefully always holding a little back. 

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/332604083794042/

I started a club, Great Lakes Surf Casters, 23 members now, although I don't think some are aware of their membership. 

I am learning, bobber stops don't stay where you put them and floats can't be seen in the dark or when you cast too far.  I've learned that shrimp spin and twist leaders regardless of the barrel swivel. Even with 2 1/2 oz weight on the bottom the line will not stay tight in heavy wind. I've learned how to use my old wheeled hockey bag as a pier cart for the mile walk when the park gates are closed. 

All of this and one cat fish are enough to keep going. To keep searching for chrome, for lakers or Browns. 

GLSC Great Lakes Surf Casters

I am a fly fisherman.

I grew up throwing a spinning rod and reel but was never very serious about it.  

I'd go with a friend if he was going or fish off the dock at a family thing because there weren't any kids my age. I never had a huge desire to just go fishing. 

Flash forward 15 years I finished school and did a quick 8+ years in the United States Army and went west. Yakima, WA, it was a strange time but I wanted to fish. Fly fish. I was busy with work and kept thinking that these casting techniques  take a lifetime to learn, so I put it off, I didn't buy a rod a reel or even hold one. Then Washington was in the rear view mirror.

 Hood River, OR. Salmon season. I friend of mine, a spin caster, kept asking me to go fish with him but I didn't want to be just a "regular" fisherman I wanted to be a fly fisherman. I told him "no thanks" so many times I don't know why he kept asking.

 Turns out my moms husband had an old glass fly rod buried in the garage and a copy of the "Curtis Creek Manifesto" in the book case. In her back yard overlooking the mighty Columbia River I threw my first line and a tiny red yarn on the end at a bucket just 30' away.  It was October and only getting colder. I'm a Michigan boy but I had just spent the better part of the last 10 years in Georgia and North Carolina and my blood was thin. I hung up the rod determined that I would get to it in the spring.

I left the fabled Columbia River basin three days after the new year in the dead cold winter, never to stand in the river and wave a stick.

Back in Michigan it was cold but I was fixated on the task. I poured my self into the outdoors. I was single with no hobbies. Heavy boot foot neoprene waders and a shotgun, wait, what I thought this was about fishing, I was cold and there wasn't any way I was gonna get into some fridged half frozen river and shrivel up my ego.  Madd Dogg and Remington were my "gateway" gear, after that it was a slippery slope. 

 Snow shoes, back packs, ammunition, sleeping bags, tents, camp stoves, boots, etc. etc. and oh that's right the fly rod, the reel, the line, and all that goes with it? I don't know to this day if it's the gear or the lifestyle the gear allows that's the addiction?   No matter I'm an addict  one way or the other. 

I study and learn. I spend hours on the web looking at products weighing them against each other. Reading reviews and technical data and studying techniques for using said product. It's research. My wife calls it an obsession. Obsessed is a heavy word, but I guess I should embrace it, after all I've already admitted I'm an addict. 

I want more, I want more gear and I want to fish more. I want to make it my work but I haven't.  I'm 40 minutes to the waters edge rod in hand from the nearest trout water. I have three kids at home, all in sports after school and other extra caricular activities. I run my own business. I play hockey a couple times a week. I'm busy. I try to get to the trout water every other weekend, but it doesn't seem like enough. I want to fish more.  

I live 10 minutes to the waters edge rod in hand from the 5th largest body of fresh water in the world! Lake Michigan. Hmmm can you see where I'm going? I grew up walking distance from this lake and can probably count the number of fish Ive caught out of it on one hand. It's a travesty! 

I want to fish more.... And so began the investigation. 

My first thought was fly fish it, a Spey rod and some big bugs. There is a reference book already written. I don't know if any of my fly fish buddies are doing this except for carp in grand traverse bay and beaver island. The whole "fresh water bonefish" thing. I want salmon, steelhead, and Browns. Reaching those fish is a little more tricky. Casting distance and water depth are obstacles that can be overcome by fishing from the piers but that's not perfect either given the traffic of beach goers and "regular" fisherman. Top that, if I only fish the piers I have just eliminated 99.9% of the Lake Michigan coastline reachable on foot.

What's left?  I'm no ordinary "regular" fisherman. I don't know if I can stomach being the guy with spawn drifting under a bobber off the pier. I don't know that I want to fight that crowd. I don't know why. It's some sort of prejudice that exists in my head. I'll call it bobber fear.

Lake Michigan is big water. There are guys fishing in big water out east that aren't using a bobber. They are surf casting the Atlantic Ocean. Can I do that here?  How?

So began the research. There's not much info out there about surf casting the Great Lakes. A few videos of guys catching Browns from the beach early spring. I read from surf casters journal and joined som surf casting FB pages and hit the stripers online forum. Spent hours on the web "researching" I bought a big rod, probably too big, I bought a big reel, probably too big, and I got some big lures, probably too big.  There's just no info out there or its "fight club".

I'm breaking the rules, I want to wade to the second sandbar and throw a big lure 200 feet into the black night. I want to feel the tug of sport fish as they turn and run. I want to feel the kinship, the brotherhood, the night shift. GLSC,(Great Lakes Surf Casters) a FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/332604083794042/ I made to gather info and knowledge, if it exists, or to document that it can't be done, which ever comes first.

Meanwhile, the waters warm and they say the salmon won't come till it cools and I am on the pier with my oversized gear drifting shrimp under a bobber and watching the guy next to me pull out catfish. 

Turns out, I AM a "regular" fisherman!

Past

Whiskey filled hearts of fire and cheeks burned by acid tears,

Distorted truths spew forth in agony,

Lies and anger crush worlds and futures,

Broken glass and plaster, torn photos and blood on the carpet,

The knock of an officer,

Remorseful sadness and regret tangled with reality.

This should have never been.

this morning

This Morning

the snow encrusted earth rests silently this morning,
only the tick of the clock and the rush of air from the humidifier,
awaiting the rising sun, I am alone in my thoughts.

What temperatures will the creeping golden glow bring?
warmth for black Stoneflies at noon?
midges to small to tie bouncing along?
a snow covered drive that I should shovel and salt while its melting.

"too much to do", I hear my wife in my mind,
but she is off to work, only my sons here to discuss the should and shouldn't,
hmmmmm, can I squeeze it in before afternoon hockey?
I know better, A marathon fisher I am,

slow down and sip hot coffee,
build a fire in the woodstove and count to ten,
lower my heart rate, this will not be the day
copyright Nathan McLeod 2016