MIichigan fish story
- Thread starter rockriver
- Start date
dennyk
Well-known member
Thanks rockriver, I'm old enough to remember that. I recall the first Coho salmon my dad brought home, that fish made Bluegill fishing look pretty puny.
Denny
Denny
Flyfisher for men
Well-known member
Yeah, neat story. My early childhood was spent in Michigan and an early childhood is him bringing home salmon from fishing trips. Another one is bringing home the catch from smelt dipping.
Of course, on the other side of the coin, Tanner's DNR also actively promoted and encouraged the idea of "sport" snagging in Michigan rivers.
One very popular pattern that was developed during this "enlightened" time was the Newaygo Spider. A very effective all species pattern
One very popular pattern that was developed during this "enlightened" time was the Newaygo Spider. A very effective all species pattern
ejsell
Well-known member
Found a couple of those patterns and a lead minnow a few years ago stuck to our boots. I bet the minnow worked well
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The rivers used to be littered with those things. When the "sportsmen" happened to jerk into a snag, if they couldn't drag in whatever log they had snagged into, the only option was to break off.
Of course, when fishing the spider, it's important to get a natural drift, so in clear water conditions, you often had to go with a light leader, nothing over 65lb test. So in addition to all the lead debris that was left behind, there were also miles and miles of monofilament cable (flouro hadn't been invented yet). I often think those times may have truly been the golden age of sport fishing.
Of course, when fishing the spider, it's important to get a natural drift, so in clear water conditions, you often had to go with a light leader, nothing over 65lb test. So in addition to all the lead debris that was left behind, there were also miles and miles of monofilament cable (flouro hadn't been invented yet). I often think those times may have truly been the golden age of sport fishing.
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dennyk
Well-known member
Last fall I lost a nice Steelhead because it got caught up in a tangle of old snagging cable. After I got over losing the fish I waded across the river and started pulling all that old mono out, there was quite a bit of it. The stuff was thick enough to pull a car out of a ditch. I waded it all up and put in in a plastic bag for disposal.
Denny
Interesting read.
Lake Superior was always good to me growing up, though there was a lot of discussion about the mercury levels and eating older fish.
Lot's of salmon, trout, whitefish and other species.
I've seen Pike approaching 6' in length from that lake; big game for sure!
Lake Superior was always good to me growing up, though there was a lot of discussion about the mercury levels and eating older fish.
Lot's of salmon, trout, whitefish and other species.
I've seen Pike approaching 6' in length from that lake; big game for sure!
goodtimes2
Well-known member
I remember in the early years when many of us fished with a 13 foot noodle rod using a plastic egg pattern or live mayfly wiggler on 4 to 6 pound leader with split shot using the old close face Shakespeare spinning reel catching 10 pound plus steelhead and numerous coho salmon in the Platte and Betsie river.One of the gurus back then was person name Dick Swan who made these noodle rods with an almost parabolic bend for the entire rod .