Jim Robertson decided that last Wednesday’s weather and marine forecast were just too nice to not go fishing, so he invited Clyde Schoen and Jim Maddux to join him for a couple days in St. Joe. The guys thought they would catch some cohos, but had no idea of what would really happen. After the drive to St. Joe, we launched Jim’s boat and of course it started to rain the minute we headed out, but the seas were calm and we had rain gear. Before leaving the dock, we had talked to some guys who had just came off the water with their LIMIT of Kings. They were fishing in 140 - 170 feet of water and running Green Dolphins spoons 60 down. Jim M also talked to one of his friends who is a first mate on a St. Joe charter boat and got the same story. So we headed out and put lines in at 130’. No sooner had we hit the 140’ mark and the fish started to bite, and bite and bite. After 3 hours we had caught 18 kings and 1 coho - of course we threw back three of the small ones and lost one at the boat, but still ended up with our limit of salmon. What a day !
The next morning was calling for increased winds and seas, so we headed out at 7am and went back to where we left off the day before. Same program - same results. The waves grew by a foot per hour, so by 10am it was time to head in - a little bumpy and wet ride back to port. But we came in with another 13 kings - averaging 6 - 7 lbs.
This was a great trip and we plan to try it again next spring. Who would have guessed that you can catch your limit of kings on the 25th of April.
Happy fishing to all.
April 7th Clinton River Steelhead Outing
Sixteen Metro West Members along with Jeremy Geist of Clinton River Watershed Council hosted the public in learning about the Clinton River and how to fish for steelhead. Jason Davis and other talented river anglers shared there experiences with our visitors. It was a beautiful day on the river. There were no steelhead caught but lots of knowldge was shared and a good time was had by all.
Mark Davis with his 11.8 lbs brown trout caught between the pier heads on the Manistee River on March 31, 2012. He caught this beauty while trolling his little red cherokee drifter for the first time ever! He was fishing with Jim Robertson and Henry Nabors. Mark finished in first place in the MWS River Tournament! Congratulations Mark!
Seventeen Metro West Anglers and twelve Detroit Steelheaders particpated in the annual team challenge; Detroit won again. Detroit had 10 steelhead and Metro West had five fish including the brown.
Fabian Sepulveda came in second in the MW tournament with a 7.5 lbs steelhead and Scott Borchelt came in third with two steelhead for a total weight of 7.45 lbs.
Total attendance for the three day weekend was 33 anglers and friends!
John “FlyFace” Andersen with a beauty from the PM. John said “(Kip Streeton and I) headed down the river, fishing a couple other stretches, hooking a few fish that we didn’t get to net. Our midday stop was the stairs above the Green Cottage. … We fished while the two guides prepared shore lunch. Kip and I continued fishing. Right before our break, I hooked into a dark male steelie and brought him to net. In the picture you can see Kip upstream. … Our final count for the day was 5-20 (appx).”
The rest of the story will be in the April Newsletter!!!
Kip Stretton Steelhead fishing on the PM with John Andersen. John said ” Kip’s was a female in the 8# range. ”
The full story will be in the April Newsletter. See John’s Fish above.
Mark Davis with his Huron River Steelhead
12.3 pounds! Beautiful Fish!! As of now it is the Big River Steelhead of the Year!!
Congratulations Mark!!
Mark tells The Story: Did I mention I really like the drift boat? Well I sure do! Thanks Jim Chamberlain for selling me the Cherokee Drifter. What a great time it is on the river.
I’ve been delighted to have a number of guests on the water on two rivers in just a few months. The Huron River is only 40 minutes from home and has yielded the largest steelhead I’ve had the pleasure of catching. I woke up dreaming of catching fat strong fish again this morning. Can’t wait to get out again
In just over two dozen hours on the water this drift boat has helped us land five steelies with nine hookups. Only with my good friend and professional charter captain Freddie Bolton have I had so much productivity on the rivers. I can hardly wait to return the favor to him.
I have to give thanks to several other people who have been very important in teaching how to read the rivers and rig the gear.
First, thank you Lance Hinatsu who has generously given so many hours of great instruction on rigging and deploying plugs. Next thanks to Bob Thomas, Bill King, Mark Platt, Henry Nabors and others from whom I’ve learned so much about reading the rivers and figuring out where those beautiful silver bullets are hiding. I look forward to learning a whole lot more.
I’ve also learned safe boating and trailering and countless other lessons from Jim Roberts, Clyde Schoen, Dom Liparoto, Matt Lubaway, Bob Olari, Gary Towns, Karl Szulczewski, Lenard Pietila, Mike Hartrick, Phil Bustos, Jeff Bustos and more.
What an awesome club! Best organization I’ve ever joined. Looking forward to the Manistee at the end of March.
Dennis Traczyk’s Manistee River Steelhead
7lbs. 7 ounces; lure- flatfish type lure with chrome and bright green coloring; air temp 38 degrees; water temp 30 degrees.
The Story: It was the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, and as everyone knows no red meat, fish is the order of the day. The pressure was on as Bill King and myself set out on the Manistee River to catch fresh fish for dinner. We set sail, only allowing two hours to fulfill our destiny.
There were only 15 minutes left of fishing time when the following ensued.
1. The wind suddenly gusted pushing our boat off course and closer to shore.
2. Our lines became snagged on a log.
3. The boat was floating toward a partially submerged log.
4. We put the engine into reverse and to our surprise there was no reverse.
It was all hands on deck as John Paul Jones would have been proud of us. The electric motor and anchor winch was worked to stabilize the situation. The snags were undone and we treacherously floated and slid over the submerged log. Our lines had been tangled and our wits mangled but there was still time to catch “da big one.”
And then it happened. After just dropping the lure in the river and putting the rod in it’s holster the reel sung out that sweet sound that can only mean “fish on!” And the rest is history.
The Farm Manistee River Tournament - Feb 11, 2012
1st Place Henry Nabors with a 10 Lbs Steelhead fishing with Captain Mark Davis.
2nd Place Mark Lewallen with a 7.9 Lbs Steelhead fishing with Captain Mark Platt.
3rd Place Dominic Liparoto with 5.8 Lbs Steelhead fishing with Captain Mark Platt.
Eighteen Metro West members had an outstanding weekend at The Farm fishing with Host Bill King, Jim Yoo and Ramo Rossetti.
See the Photo Tab for more pictures.
Manistee River Tournament 2nd Place was Mark Lewallen with 7.9 Lbs. Steelhead and Dominic Liparoto was 3rd place (l) with a 5.8 Lbs. Steelhead. Mark Platt was the captain of his Drift Boat “Little Willie” and did all the work to put the boys on the fish. Congratulations Team!!
