New World Record Brown Trout Landed From Manistee River, Michigan

The Great Lakes does it again!

This 43.75 inch 41 pound 7.25 oz. monster Brown Trout was landed on the Manistee River, Michigan yesterday. The fish was taken on a crank bait and was landed by Tom Healy while fishing with Tim Roller's charter service. I'll bet that's a few hundred dollars he doesn't regret spending.

This link will take you on over to Tim Roller's Guide Service : http://www.ultimateoutfitters.com/

I would imagine that the increasing biomass of Round Goby we have seen in recent years has contributed to so many large fish being taken this year. I myself have noticed an increase in the size of both King Salmon and Brown Trout that I have personally caught or seen landed. Let us hope that the fish continue to get larger and chip away at the ever present carpet of Round Goby in the lake.

The Manistee River is just south of the Betsie River, which I fished much of last week, looks like I should have headed an hour south and threw cranks all day for a shot at this big fellow.

Things on the Betsie have been constant, a slow trickle of King Salmon moving from big hole to big deep hole on a daily basis. The next big rain should drive them up in droves. My cousin says that fish are at the dam and jumping, and that anglers on the piers in Frankfort were occasionally hooking up.

Crystal Lake (Michigan) Fishing Report : 9/5/2009

Today I took a younger cousin out to a family secret bit of structure in Crystal Lake, Michigan that used to be a secret spot for Yellow Perch. We took a few minnows from the wire minnow trap and oared out past the blue line to spot X.

Within seconds my little cousin Lieschen had a killer rock bass on the end of her rod. Over the next hour or so we pulled in 50 rock bass between the two of us. None smaller than 6", and the biggest being around 12".

Foot long rock bass fight hard, and it's really a nice change to just pull in fish after fish all afternoon long while laying with our backs against the gunwale of the aluminum row boat. A perfect afternoon on a perfect lake. The only thing that could have been better would have been to bring in some surprise Perch, Small Mouth Bass, or Lake Trout.

I might have one last shot at Frankfort Shore Salmon, I'm not counting on landing one, but if anything happens, you'll be the first to know.

Until then, I'll see ya out there!

Lake Michigan Salmon Fishing Report : Frankfort

Put the Kayak into the water this afternoon around 1:00 p.m. not exactly prime Salmon fishing time but I thought it would be worth it to log another hour or two dragging Dipsy Divers in the Kayak.

Paddled out to around 20 feet of water, dropped the #1 Dipsy, set at 0, put it down around 15 feet and headed toward the gap at Frankfort Harbor. One fisherman on the south pier reported no action. I trolled through the harbor and around the mudline. Two other boaters out dragging lines with no action. I decided to pull lines and recover a couple of spoons from the rocks that I saw as I floated over them. I successfully nabbed a nice glowing K/O wobbler and a Wonderbread 3/4 oz. Krocodile. Sweet.

Paddled back and was content as I got some things figured out, such as that clamp on rod holders will not suffice, and that it is possible to secure the rod by putting it through my knees and using a fishing box to keep it in place. I have yet to land a Michigan King Salmon and my days are very numbered. Keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow will be the day.

Until then, see you on the water.

600 Trees to be Dropped into Brule River via Helicopter

From TV:6 Fox U.P.

DNR drops trees to attract trout.

By Brad Soroka Wednesday, September 02, 2009 at 3:56 p.m.

SCOTT LAKE -- The Brule River was once known as a blue ribbon trout stream. Recent logging practices along its banks, however, have taken away the trout's natural habitats.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is taking matters into its own hands by dropping entire trees into the river to attract the fish.

"The large, woody debris installations are trees, full size trees, root ball intact, flown in from an off-site area and put in the river and along its banks using a helicopter. This mimics what would happen in nature--naturally--if logging didn't reduce the number of trees along the river corridor," said Mark Mylchreest, DNR Fisheries Technician.

So with the cooperation of the Wisconsin DNR, the U.S. Forest Service and a $70,000 grant from Wisconsin Electric, the chopper was airborne, and it was time to drop some trees.

"They can lift up to 4,500 pounds, which would be an 8 to 10 inch (wide) tree with the root ball intact. They'll be placed in the river at strategic locations to narrow the river, increase the flow, the depth and provide trout habitats," Mylchreest said.

A total of 600 trees will be dropped along three miles of the river over the next three years. The DNR said they hope where there are fish habitats, there will be fish; and where there are fish, there will be fishermen.

It's always nice to see someone going (flying) the extra mile for trout.

This is Fly and Catch Magazine : September Issues

Hot off the virtual presses, available cover to cover online.

This is Fly: http://www.thisisfly.com/

Catch Magazine: http://www.catchmagazine.net/

This is fly, in my humble opinion, has a better lay out, is cleaner, and is more highly designed. The photography in Catch Magazine, however, far surpasses that of This is Fly. The articles in both magazines are fun to read and some may enlighten you in technique and location, even how to take fishing photographs.

Both are worth a read or at least a quick glance to get those fishing muscles pumping.

Insane Montana Brook Trout Photograph

The Great Lakes Angler's family has a proud tradition of fishing. The men in our family are no strangers to the rod and reel. This photograph of a bull of a Montana brook trout was sent to me from my good cousin Carson Klemp. He went backpacking to a spot I've been to a couple of times, and one he has been to on 4 or 5 trips over the last decade or so. The mountain lakes and connecting rivers of Montana flow thick with trout. The 4 day excursion that I last took I recall landing somewhere around 200 trout. The biggest Brook Trout of mine was 19", and the largest Cut-Throat Trout I landed from the shore of a large lake was pushing 22".

My hats off to Carson for not only landing such a beauty, but also for getting such a great photograph of it and releasing it unharmed.

This photo he sent me shows a whole school of brook trout sunning in the shallows, a rare sight indeed.

Thanks for the photographs Carson, I hope we can join forces sometime soon and lay down the Klemp law on some fish.

The Gates to the Betsie River

Every King Salmon, Coho Salmon, Steelhead, and Brown Trout that runs up the Betsie River to spawn must swim through here, from Lake Michigan, past Frankfort into Betsie Lake, and then on up the river where fisherman await them with rods, nets, flies, stringers, spoons, and waders.

The Great Lakes Angler's Home Turf

Today was a rare day, a day where at one time, there were zero clouds over any of the lakes. The sun was shining on every square inch of the great lakes this afternoon. Here are the satellite photographs to prove it. Amazing.

Lake Superior

Lake Michigan

Lake Huron

Lake Erie

Lake Ontario

Really amazing, these were taken from the Laurentian Great Lakes MODIS imagery, at Coastwatch.

Crystal Lake Perch Fishing Report : 9/2/2009

I hopped in the Kayak today and headed out toward the blue line. Rock bass were plentiful near structure in 25 feet of water. Perch were caught further out, in 40-50 feet of water. I tested out the Dipsey Diver, flasher/fly setup I've made for Lake Trout trolling and will head out for that as soon as conditions are favorable.

Sorry there are no photographs today, the camera needs to be charged.

See ya out there.

Betsie River Michigan Salmon Fishing Report : 9/1/2009

The alarm sounded at 6:00 a.m. Eastern time this morning, I sprung from the sheets and found my long johns, 41 degrees on the thermometer, the first of many days to come wearing long underwear this year.

I hoisted the kayak on the car and headed out to do some scouting on the Betsie river, as I know the King Salmon have started their annual migration up the rivers.. I put in off of Traverse road between Beulah and Frankfort. There were a couple of fellows drifting spawn and casting spinners there under a bridge who said they had been there all night with no success.

The fog was rising from the water, which was warmer than the frigid air, and there was little movement of fish to be seen. I few bends down the river I ran across what looked to be a husband and wife duo of anglers, they were fishing a beautiful 90 degree bend in the river that had a good deep channel. The woman hooked up while I was chatting with her husband but lost the fish right away. She was drifting a large hunk of skein.

I found that there were some nice log jam channels and holes around, but not like the rivers in Wisconsin. Wisconsin rivers are mainly clay and gravel, while the rivers here, such as the Au Sable, Betsie, Muskegan, Grand, and Manistee rivers are much sandier bottoms, making less riffle and rapid areas that I am more accustomed to fishing.

The technique here will be to find deep, cool, shady holes in the sand and drift spawn sacs, rip streamers, or run spinners through them. Additionally log jams can produce fish, but are dangerous as it is very easy to snap a line when a fish takes you for a ride directly into the logs.

Once I made the (much harder) paddle back up river I got in my car and promptly lost my sunglasses by leaving them on the roof. I then headed out to Lake Michigan to see if there were many boats trolling for Salmon in the harbor or at the gap in the piers. There were around 40 boats out trolling the mouth of the breakwater, most around a half mile out. Many boats were headed back in already, early limits or bad fishing... The fellows at the Frankfort Tackle Box seemed to think that the fishing was poor this morning.

I've got all my gear for trolling this week. I'm going to try for Lake Trout in Crystal Lake, and I'll probably drift for Perch as well. It's going to be a cool, sunny week, beautiful conditions for being on the water.