Wherein I teach ...

Two weekends ago I broke my long standing prohibition on teaching any one fly fishing. Being a fly fisher of modest skill and less success, and a caster who's talents lie on the border between bad and execrable I feel I am not really qualified to teach any one about this.

On the other, the brother in law of 30 years wanted to go to fly fish for trout on the family property on the Escanaba. He has demonstrated some proficiency with other loathsome arts a spinning rod and since he already occupied a position as a university professor and Dean of the College of Art and Sciences at Dominican University, I felt his basic life skill set was already as useless as one could possibly conceive so what difference did it make if he learned to fly fish poorly? you know, when you are at the bottom you can only go up right?

To his credit he did say he would use one of the broom handles that masquerade as resident fly poles as he didn't want to risk breaking one of my "good" rods. I gave him a quick casting lesson and after 5 minutes on the lawn at the cabin, I said why not try my Scott G2 8 foot 4 inch 4 weight ? after one bad false cast - he did agree to use that rod instead of the telephone pole he had been waving around in the air.

The man carefully positioned above the tailout of the big pool on the family water. This spot always holds a trout or two, except for those times when it doesn't. He's dropping a dry fly fished down and across in traditional U.P. style.



This time the tail out contained a trout. First trout on a fly rod and a dry fly.






He fortunately went on to get about another five trout to rise to the fly hooking several including one nice one, but failed to land any of them thank dog.

Bluegs and troots

Memday trip to the cabin.

From last weekend - the boys trip to the U.P.
Yes - its a late recap post from last weekend.
But at least its being posted in the same month.


The seven year old is convinced he knows how to fly cast like a pro and can catch as many bluegs as he wants to prove it to me.


The 85 yr old man stayed at the lake cabin, l to r, the nephew, the dried out husk of his former shell recovering from calihanoichicagoU.P. jetlag, the seven year old, and the bro on the way down to the trout stream


Flinging that spinner on the family bit of the escy river


I can catch troots too...


Tuesday morning hard frost on the dock, after snow monday night


barefootin in the frost

All 2007 TR - more June ...

This was from the first week of June. The annual trip with the boys to the U.P. place, the old man, my brother and I and the seven year old. I landed in Chicago at 5PM after 22 hours and three planes and 13 timezones, and put the boy in the car and headed north to the cabin at 5AM the next morning.

When we got there, the pink moccasin flowers were blooming.

Morning remains of one of the many lakeside bonfires.

These guys were popping out all over.



Went to the river with the boy.


He caught alot of these.

I caught a lot of these.

The one fishing incident of note took place here:
That grandfather rock in the middle of the stream has a set of submerged little sisters all in a nice row, about two feet below the surface. I can usually tag a couple of nice brookies here, off of the rocks, but got nothing. I swung a robo-tripper through the tag elders on the right and was feeling it tick along the bottom. It hung up - on a big brown - that came up and swirled on the strike, nosed shaking down into the river bed and ran that tippet along each of the edges of those submerged sister rocks. Me and the fly parted ways. I saw the fish on the swirl at the surface. It would've been the biggest trout I ever caught on this trib of the Escy. If you're ever in the area, it's a small trib that flows into the branch that comes from the north out of Gwinn, about 8 - 10 miles on the second dirt road past the cemetery road turn off. There is a spot where the road does this funny sort of not needed hairpin, after the soil changes from really red and sandy to just sort of red and sandy with maybe a hint of ochre and if you walk about 200 yards through the woods, that fish is still there.

Of course, we ate these.

All 2007 TR - more August ...

I's apparent that this chrono mashup is not really working but here is another August UP report, from AUG 27...

The trout hunters are geared up and ready for action
You - Human - where are my treats ?


Walking down river

Leah working the long rod ( bamboo with a worm )

The big bear enjoying being out in the river in his waders.

Climbing out - and back up to car - No Trout tonight but a good time walking the river.

our evening trout fishing

The trout hunters are geared up and ready for action
You - Human - where are my treats ?


Walking down river

Leah working the long rod ( bamboo with a worm )

The big bear enjoying being out in the river in his waders.

Climbing out - and back up to car - No Trout tonight but a good time walking the river.

a dry morning

jonah: slept good

leah:ok except when jonah slept on me with his head

tent chess

headin out

the dirt road

canyon

lunch

@little camp

A toast

to ju-si-ba-be-ma-pa