May 1, 2009

April was a spotty month for me this year. Normally, the Sturgeon gets “blown out” with a sudden thaw, followed by rain, then ice-off on Burt Lake. Not so on this slow-in-coming, drawn out spring. The thaw was slow and prolonged, keeping the river just outside my comfort zone for wading. Now that the river is back to wade-able levels, I see a myriad of spawning redds left behind by those chrome torpedoes.

Some of the spawn/worm guys did pretty well. Those of us that relish swinging streamers, though, will have to look ahead to September. Oh, there will no likely be the random drop-back steelie caught in May while ripping streamers for browns, but its the German transplant that now become the target of choice.

The last 10 days in April found me swinging and twitching soft 6-Inch Planter Brownhackles. The Au Sable River Holy Water gave up a few browns, the largest about 13 inches. And, then, there was the annual pilgrimage to the Deward Tract on the Manistee River. That’s where I got my start in dry fly fishing about 40 years ago. The brookies there are very happy to overlook sloppy presentation, as long as the fly is a size 14 or smaller.

To round out the month, I slipped into (literally) Weber Lake in Cheboygan County. Each year the state dumps in about 2,500 brownies. They must have just visited the lake last week, because there were HUNDREDS of the 6-inch fish swimming around within 10 feet of the shoreline. I couldn't resist. In about 2 hours, I had a 30-fish day.