I trust this note finds you all well and having enjoyed a successful fishing season. 

 At our Rochester Hills meeting I made an announcement regarding the Childhelp Michigan Pull! for Kids to be held at the Detroit Gun Club, September 30, 2010.  I am taking this opportunity to send each of you information on the event: an overview of the September 30 activities and a Registration and Sponsorship Form.  Please review the attachments and get back to me if you are interested in attending the event.  If you cannot attend, please consider a donation to Childhelp or providing something for the silent auction.  

 You may find out more about Childhelp by visiting their web site:  http://www.childhelp.org/events/entry/pull-for-kids-sporting-clayshoot/.

 Your time in consideration of this event is appreciated.  Hope to hear from you soon.

 Sincerely,

Peter Albertson

… or get it here!

July 2010 Hatch

By Todd A.Schotts

The Michigan Fly Fishing Clubs annual Smallmouth outing took place once again, on June 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th 2010 around Port Austin and Eagle Bay in Huron County, with a total of 18 total attendees (members and their guest).

Before I get into detail on the outing here is a bit of information about Eagle Bay/Eagle Point where we do most of our predatory type of fishing for Smallmouth. This bay was once home to a Coast Guard Station before the name of Eagle Bay was given to this area. This station was in charge of patrolling the shores of Lake Huron and surrounding areas; Capt. Henry Gill was in charge of this station. The Boarding house and Superintendent’s House are still standing today (not exactly sure where at). Besides having a Coast Guard Station in this bay, there were also 2 Grindstone Quarry’s that operated for sometime before closing there doors, and all of this was took place in the 1800’s. One of the Quarry’s was run by the Wallace Brothers; this Quarry ran the longer of the two. The other Quarry was run under the Constitution Stone Company; with head office located in Ohio, and this Quarry only operated for 3 years.

Now if you do fish this area, there is a cobble stone road that extends out past the Bay into Lake Huron; sort of like the road to now where. This road actually at one time extended all the way into Grindstone City when there was very little water in this area in Lake Huron. Most of the rocks that once built this unique roadway for Horse and Buggy are gone from the elements or scavengers; but there are still a few remnants left.

As we fish this Bay, there is structure scattered around, like rock fields, Boulders and a part of an old Fore and Aft Schooner Ship, the “ Leander”. This ship went down in 1853 according to the historical records, and in 1854 the owners tried to retrieve this ship, but a severe storm re-wrecked the Leander and that is when it broke up. The ice flows during the many Michigan Winters brought in 2 huge pieces and other little pieces scattered in the Bay of this once gallant ship. The remainder of the Leander lies in the shallow waters near Hardwood Point. This is a great area for all summer long to fish Green and Black Bass which hide beneath its sides. .

Now for the Club members, we didn’t need a history lesson, but a lesson in Biology. We had our fly boxes stuffed with Clousers and Crawfish patterns that we have used with great success over the last 8 years to land Eagle Bay’s Finest. But thanks to Mother Nature this year she threw us a nasty screwball, which was sort of schooling in Biology. With the extra warm weather we have already enjoyed, the Eagle Bays residents of Smallmouth also enjoyed this nice weather. First thing we did notice rock bass on the beds, and very few Smallmouths’s (a lot smaller in size than last year); which meant we were entering the Post Spawn on the bay. The nasty screw ball, which we really didn’t mind, being fly fishers that we are, there was an abundance of a Brown Drake Hatch (or as the locals call it “The Stinking Fish Flies are back). The funny thing was, you could hear the slurping of the fish amongst the rain and winds, but also you could hear the closing and opening of the Club Members Fly Boxes trying to find something like a Hex Nymph amongst our Clousers. With the conditions being not great, we did find out nymphs worked pretty good. One rock bass, Scott Freeburg caught, using the Jack Gartside famed fly “The Sparrow”, Hex Nymphs and Brown Drake Spinners were falling out of his mouth, but he still wanted more. I was using a pattern that Art Dittmar gave me, “Hex Emerger”, and had success in hooking up and landing a couple of Smallmouth. Now, Jim Weakland had the biggest fish on, and decided to practice the art of a Long Distance Gentleman’s Release (or as the fish said, see you next year). But as we wrapped up our first day of fishing or getting schooled, we still managed to land or have on some of the Bay’s inhabitants.  Our weather conditions were wet and windy. We had off and on rain coming down the whole time while fishing on Friday evening. As Jim Weakland mentioned, it wouldn’t be the Smallmouth Outing unless the rain and winds were abundant.

For our Saturday weather conditions, we had Sunny Conditions, pretty much most of the time until about 4:00pm after we got done with our get-together lunch. The sunny day brought out our Clousers and we found fish hanging around the shipwreck that was in the bay. I ended up with 6 smallies, 2 rock bass;  Scott Freeburg was up to 12 smallies, I thing Jim Weakland was at 8 or 9; from the pictures Ken Harfoot was bringing in fish also; and Rick & Paul Gillette each landed there first Eagle Bay Smallie in the wonderful sun that was shining down on the bay.

After our Get-To-Together Lunch/Dinner on Saturday, (4pm) the clouds came back in and we were all scouring our phones for the most current weather radar. After much discussion we figured we had a window of clear for at least a few hours, so we finally decided to head back to the bay. This time we parked at another access point off of County Road, which is just east of our normal turn off. On the bay we were on the south east side of the deep hole from our little walk from our new entrance. The Brown Drakes were still coming off, and back to the arsenal of Hex Nymphs. You could hear “The Wohoos” in between the howling of the gusting wind and waves that were crashing into us, as we were bringing in fish. Our group of diehards, did learn a new retrieve method from one of our fellow fly fishers; he called it the Caribou Retrieve (sorry forgot who it was that came up with this, darn memory loss). As for the Nymphing method was a real, real slow retrieve, but the end result was fish. The biggest fish of the outing wasn’t a bass, or even a carp; and I ended up hooking this fish. This fish had no intention of coming in once he found out he was hooked, which was a really nice battle. By this time, Mother Nature decided to let the rain was start falling from the darken skies. I finally ended landing this fish, and it was a “Fresh Water Drum Sheepshead” (this is one ugly fish). Since I didn’t have a net I ended up bear hugging it with one arm; which put me in an awkward predicament; fish bear hugged in one arm, and fly rod in other hand, in deep water. But you could say I overcame, got a quick picture and let this ugliness go back to the waters of Eagle Bay. We stayed out for a few more cast, but by now the rain became heavier, the winds became harder, and we had more waves coming at us, so we called it a night.

We did give it a try on Sunday, but the winds forced us to wrap it up a lot quicker than what we wanted, and without any takers from the fish of Eagle Bay. On our way in we did try to hook into, but without any success the carp that were up in the shallows. You could say it was one last effort before we actually brought this outing to a close.

As in usual Traditions of Michigan Fly Fishing Club Outings, we did eat really well and have abundance food. For Friday night we had my Vegetarian Chili (or as it got renamed Shroom Chili), Cheesy Potatoes, Tuna/Shrimp Mac Salad, and Apple Pie. For our Saturday meal, it consisted of 2 different flavors of Grilled marinated Chicken Boneless Breast and Boneless Thighs, home made Polish Kielbasa,  Meatballs, Potato Salad, Steve’s Fluff Dish, Apple Pie, Cherry Pie, and Brownies. I would like to thank everyone that participated in this awesome event. I would also like to thank the owners of the Port Austin Motel for letting us invade their motel again this year. The accommodations were excellent, as was their hospitality.

Until next time,

Tight Lines & Snazzy Flies,

Todd

To see pictures of this event head over to MFFC on Flickr, or simply click this link:  MFFC 2010 Smallmouth Outing

Over the past 2 years Michigan TU has brought you information on changes to trout regulations for our streams, and has been active in working with the DNRE to modify them. Now is the time to provide the DNRE with your personal comments on their proposed changes. They will be holding local townhall meetings around the state during the month of June, and this is your time to be heard.

The DNRE has produced a document explaining the changes they plan to make, and explaining the changes they will not be making. This document is largely a response to the public input they received for “gear-restricted” waters nominations several months ago. This document can be found at http://bit.ly/9z6pJB. A press release directly from the DNRE on this process can be found at http://bit.ly/acffRA. Additional information on MITU’s involvement in this process can be found online at http://bit.ly/bJMbNn, and in our past issues of MICHIGAN TROUT magazine ( which can be found online at http://bit.ly/cNmByK).

An important component of deciding which regulations are best is understanding what to manage the fishery for (e.g., lots of fish, big fish, or the chance to keep lots of fish). This is inherently based in social desires, and is exactly why the DNRE now needs your help to understand how to modify their proposal. They will be depending on these townhall meetings to hear from the public on what the public wants. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU ATTEND ONE OF THESE MEETINGS TO LET YOUR OPINIONS BE HEARD. Each meeting will focus on the rivers nearest to the meeting, but at each meeting you can provide your comments about ANY river. Below is a list of the meeting times and locations – please attend and provide your comments. If you want more detailed information on TU positions for particular rivers, please contact the local TU chapter in the area (http://bit.ly/9jG0d0). Thanks for taking an active role in improving inland trout stream regulations!

The schedule of public meetings is:

Southern Lake Huron Management Unit:

• • 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, at the Bay City State Recreation Area Visitors Center, 3585 State Park Dr., Bay City

Northern Lake Huron Management Unit:

• • 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, at the Crawford Au Sable Primary School Cafeteria, 306 Plum St., Grayling
  • 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, at the Mio Community Center, 305 East 9th Street, Mio
  • 7 p.m. Thursday, June 10, at the Northland Sportsmans Club, Old Alba Road, Gaylord

Eastern Lake Superior Management Unit:

• • 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 10 at the Newberry Public Library , 700 Newberry Ave., Newberry

Western Lake Superior Management Unit:

• • 7 p.m. (Eastern) Tuesday, June 22, at the Negaunee Township Hall, 42 M-35, Negaunee
  • 6 p.m. (Central) Thursday, June 24, at Gogebic Community College, E4946 Jackson St., Ironwood

Lake Erie Management Unit:

• • 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 23, at the Rochester City Hall Auditorium, 1000 Rochester Hills Dr., Rochester Hills

Northern Lake Michigan Management Unit:

• • 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 16, at the Dickinson County Library, 401 Iron Mountain St., Iron Mountain
  • 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, at the Escanaba DNRE Pocket Park, 2401 12th Ave. North, Escanaba

Central Lake Michigan Management Unit:

• • 7 p.m. Monday, June 7, at the Bitely Conservation Club, 12016 Woodbridge (M-37) in Bitely
  • 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 8, at the Crawford Au Sable Primary School Cafeteria, 306 Plum St., Grayling
  • 7 p.m.Thursday, June 10, at the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center, 6093 E. M-115, Cadillac

Southern Lake Michigan Management Unit:

• • 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, at the Wolf Lake Fish Hatchery Interpretive Center, 34270 CR 652, Mattawan
  • 7 p.m. Thursday, June 24, at the Maud Preston Memorial Library, 500 Market St., St. Joseph

Sincerely,

Dr. Bryan Burroughs Kimberly Wetton
Executive Director Michigan TU Chair

WOMC 104.3, WYCD 99.5, 98.7 AMP RADIO, WXYT AM 1270, 97.1 The Ticket.
The show runs Sunday March 28, 2010 sometime during the hour of 6am to 7am.

You can also listen online at these stations:
http://www.971theticket.com
http://www.womc.com (click listen live)

If you live out of state the broadcast is available at www.westwoodone.com

If you miss the broadcast check back here after the 28th for the recorded podcast. ]]> http://mffc.org/blog/?feed=rss2&p=120 0 http://mffc.org/blog/?p=117 http://mffc.org/blog/?p=117#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:07:40 +0000 Webmaster http://mffc.org/blog/?p=117 Quick reminder to all, the annual East Side Meeting is tonight, February 17th. Our guest speaker will be Matt Supinski. Matt is a published author of such books as “Steelhead Dreams”, “Pere Marquette River Journal”, and “The Orvis Pocket Guide to Great Lakes Salmon and Steelhead: Tips, Tactics, and Techniques * Plus, Where To Fish and When”. He owns the “Grey Drake Lodge” on the Muskegon River and still manages to guide and lecture.

Unfortunately the meeting to identify the possible stretches of Paint Creek to be nominated is Thursday, Jan. 14. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the the Rochester Hills Environmental Education Center (1115 W. Avon Road; south of Avon, west of Livernois).

Here’s the message that went out from the Michigan Council of TU:

For nearly the last year, Michigan Trout Unlimited and other coldwater fisheries stakeholder groups have been working in cooperation with the MDNR Fisheries Division to improve the current regulations for inland trout and salmon streams. As part of this process, the MDNR is now soliciting public input on sections of streams that would be good candidates for addition into gear-restrictions.

By definition, “gear-restricted” waters are where only artificial lures and flies are allowed to be used. State law limits the maximum number of river miles that may fall into this designation to approximately 212 miles. Presently only 97 miles of river have been designated with gear restrictions. It is the intent of the MDNR Fisheries Division to undertake a comprehensive review of possible candidates for addition to this category.

Starting on January 7, 2010 an internet email address, dnr-gearrestricted@michigan.gov, has been established for the public to provide these nominations directly to Fisheries Division staff. They will be accepting input until February 5, 2010. They are requesting that nominations be as specific as possible and include information such as; the specific section of stream being suggested (use road/bridge or landmark boundaries to identify the section being nominated), brief description of the rationale for why you believe the nomination is justified, and what you think the gear-restricted regulation should entail. Fisheries Order 213 is useful in providing general criteria to be considered for gear-restricted waters, and can be found at http://www.michigantu.org/index.php/conservation/54-resource-management.

Please take the opportunity to have your thoughts and opinions heard on this topic. Michigan TU will continue to be involved in the review process for those stream sections that become nominated. Thanks for taking the time to participate!

- from Bruce Kramer, MFFC Corresponding Secretary

A Searcher trained in the ways of the river will lead you and a few friends to find the elusive Winter Stoneflies. These underwater creatures cannot be found during most of the year; they come to life only during the winter months when most fish are too sluggish to eat them.
Register by January 11th to be placed on a team.

For more info and to register for this event please go to the Huron River Watershed Council’s WINTER STONEFLY SEARCH page.