We just got back from our annual "Tour of Michigan" summer trip, and although I am glad to be home I have to say that I had a fantastic time exploring our great state with my family. We visited a lot of different landmarks, and did a lot of driving with two little ones in the backseat. It was an epic trip!
I received a few orders while I was gone, and will make them up, and get them sent out by Monday. Thanks for your patience while I got some quality family time in. Here are some pictures of some of he different areas we visited over the last week.
I received a few orders while I was gone, and will make them up, and get them sent out by Monday. Thanks for your patience while I got some quality family time in. Here are some pictures of some of he different areas we visited over the last week.
My first fishing excursion of the trip was swinging mouse patterns at night for large Burt Lake run Browns. We stayed in the Petoskey area, and fished a Blue Ribbon Stream nearby. All star guide Phil Croff (check out his page in my links section) took me out on one of his handmade wooden drift boats. We floated from about 10pm until 5am. Phil is always a pleasure to fish with. I make a habit of booking him whenever we are in the area. Floating in one of his gorgeous hand made boats is worth it alone. He also introdcued me to night fishing with mousies, and I have to say that it is one of the most intense methods of fishing there is. The take from one of these pigs on a surface fly in the dead of night kicks the adrenaline into high gear. I ended up catching a few trout, but the big male pictured above was the highlight of the night. This hook jawed carnivore had a beak like some predator dinosaur. He gave me three solid runs, but finally came to net. Phil got a couple good pictures, and we released him to fight another day. What a blast!
After Petoskey we headed to Marquette, and stayed a few nights in the Landmark hotel downtown. Marquette is a special place to us as my wife and I met there over 10 years ago. I was also born there, and lived almost 10 years of my life in that gem of a city. I was able to get a few fishing trips in, managing a trifecta (bow-brook-brown) one day. Nothing of enormous size, but the Trout Trifecta is always an accomplishment.
After Marquette we made the long drive over to Bessemer. I have a lot of family in that town, and there are also a lot of Brookie streams. I was able to get on the streams two mornings until I was rained out on my last day. My brother and my father both fished with me, and we tossed DFTannheimer spinners to hungry Brookies on Powdermill Creek. We caught a ton of 8-10 inchers which ended up on the frying pan. I also caught a decent 13 incher that actually slipped out of my hands just after I snapped a picture. It's always nice fishing Powdermill. It's a stream I spent a lot of time on as a child., and I have a lot of fond memories of swimming in its falls, and finding red bellied Brook Trout along its boulder ridden bends.