March 12th, 2019 - Spring Forward

Lots of fish showing up! We are seeing some bright chrome fish lately, and more are on the way. Warm air and rain are coming this week, which will help draw more steelhead upriver. Watch the river levels before you go out, as the thawing snow combined with heavy rain can make for dangerous wading conditions. Many rivers will probably blow out, but it's a blessing and a curse because nothing draws more fish inland like a good spring flood. 

We are entering peak steelhead season. Once the water resides next week, things should be primed for an epic 2 month window. After the winter we've endured, everyone is anxious to get outside and enjoy it. The time change has been great, and allows for some quick evening sessions before it gets dark at 8pm.

Clown eggs and nuke eggs caught a few fish over the weekend. We also got them on hexes and other nymphs. Many of the riverside snowbanks are teeming with small stoneflies, most in the size 14-16 range, some bigger, some smaller. Water clarity this past weekend was about perfect. Although most rivers were surprisingly low, the clarity was about 3 feet which is great.

 Brad got this beauty on a pink glo bug. Well done.

Drew got this hawg out of a deep corner pocket on a clown egg. This fish swam down 30 yards in about 3 seconds. We were lucky to get it in the net. They are large this year!

We encountered and lost a few other fish, and got some decent trout mixed in. 

Indicator setups did most of the damage over the weekend. Brad got this one from a long dark run on a small hex nymph.

The warm weather and rain will take things to the next level. Look for fish to be in all sorts of water types, not just the winter holes. Water is still fairly cold, but once it hits 45-50 degrees, the fish become much more willing to move for a fly.

We are looking forward to other options opening up as well, like trout, bass, and pike. Early season trout fishing can be amazing, and a good way to escape the Spring Steelhead chaos.

We've got copies of Summer Haze in both shops! Really cool footage of what this region offers during the dog days of summer. 

This weekend is the Grand Rapids Ultimate Sport Show. It starts on Thursday and runs through Sunday. It's a great event with lots of cool seminars and classes. Come on down!

Thanks for the support! Good luck out there!