(Editor’s note: Dick Smith is a long-time board member of SWMTU and avid fisherman. This article first appeared in Trout Talk.) By Dick Smith My friend Evert VanderWal spent a lot of the first summer after he retired fishing the Muskegon River. He fished almost every day and he developed a system of fishing soft hackle flies that has worked extremely well on the Muskegon, the Manistee, and almost everywhere else we’ve tried it. The flies he uses are simple and easy to tie, and his method is easy to learn. He is better at it than I am, and...
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Nymph fishing for steelhead
(Editor’s note: Dick Smith is a long-time board member of SWMTU and avid fisherman. This article first appeared in Trout Talk.) By Dick Smith The farther upstream steelhead go, the more likely it is that small flies will be needed to catch them. If the water is very clear, or shallow, or cold, or the sun is shining brightly, it is more likely that an anadromous fish will take a small nymph or a single egg fly, than it is that the fish will take a larger fly, such as a streamer or wooly bugger. One of the most common...
Fishing streamers for steelhead
(Editor’s note: Dick Smith is a long-time board member of SWMTU and avid fisherman. This article first appeared in Trout Talk.) When steelhead come up the large rivers of Western Michigan in the fall, they are inclined to lie close to the bottom, near one of the main lines of current where they take up a resting or holding position. Those current lines can be identified easily because that is where the bubbles concentrate on the surface. In the fall, steelhead like water that is about three feet deep and moving at about three feet per second on the surface....
Great Lakes Steelhead history and tactics
(Editor’s note: This article first appeared in an edition of Trout Talk. Dick Smith is a long-time board member of SWMTU and avid fisherman.) Steelhead have been in Michigan since 1876. Rainbow trout have been a spectacular success in the Great Lakes. A lot of Atlantic salmon were planted in Michigan streams before rainbow trout were tried, but the Atlantics were a consistent failure. Atlantic salmon were native to Lake Ontario, and there were fabulous runs of them there in the middle of the nineteenth century, so it was assumed that they would do well in the Upper Great Lakes....
Weekend outing at Fuller’s NBOC
This is a great opportunity to visit and enjoy a weekend with friends and family at one of the most historic fly fishing destinations in the country.
Holiday Get Together
Please join with other members and friends of our chapter for an informal get together for the holidays. Bring your stories, fish photos, information to share and any questions you have that we might be able to answer. We will also have information on upcoming events. We will be providing salad, bread sticks, pizza and soft drinks for all. Cash bar will be available. Please RSVP by Saturday, December 6 by contacting Larry Risbridger at [email protected] or by phone (home) 616-891-0148 or (cell) 616-890-8327. LOCATION: Pietro’s Back Door Pizzeria (28th St. & Breton) DATE: Wednesday, December 10, 2008 TIME: 6:00pm...
Fly Tying Celebration 2009
Grand River Fly Tiers, a FFF/GLC club, is hosting a celebration of the arts, skills and lore of fly tying on Saturday, February 28, 2009 at the Knights of Columbus hall located at 5830 Clyde Park in Wyoming. Doors will be open from 9am to 4pm. SWMTU will be there in force representing Trout Unlimited. This is a GRFT and SWMTU event. This is not a fund-raiser and to that end there will be no auction or raffle. Cost: $10 for adults, $5 for ages 12-17, free for 11 and under. This is strictly a day for a select group...
Want to help with the next banquet?
The 2009 Banquet Committee Kick-off Meeting will be held at Pietro’s backdoor at 6 pm on September 16th. If you are interested in volunteering for the 2009 Schrems West Michigan Annual Banquet please contact Marc Montpetit at 616-560-8264 or at [email protected]. We are looking forward to another successful banquet on March 19th 2009 and would enjoy bringing new people onto the committee and invite fresh ideas for the event.
TU Condemns Pigeon River Fish Kill
Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited Condemns Pigeon River Fish Kill On June 22nd 2008, a massive fish kill occurred on the Pigeon River in northern Michigan east of Vanderbilt. A discharge of sediment and water from a dam is being blamed for the fish kill. The Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited voted to condemn this event at their quarterly meeting on July 12th and authorized the Executive Committee to investigate potential legal action. For further information, here are a couple of links to news articles: Fish Kill in Pigeon River blamed on dam. Detroit News: State Officials Meet over Fish...
Pigeon River Project Report
Thanks to the 18 volunteers who gave up a Saturday morning to help out with a stream cleanup and habitat project on the Pigeon River in Hemlock Park in Ottawa County on August 23rd. The group removed several tires, a couple of rusted out drums, and hundreds of glass bottles from a quarter mile stretch of the river. The group also removed a couple of log jams that restricted flow and cabled the removed logs to the river banks to protect against erosion and provide cover for trout. Some rock work was done to improve spawning habitat. Our plan is...
Upcoming Conservation Projects
Upcoming Conservation Projects Saturday, August 9 We will be joined by the Lansing and Kalamazoo TU chapters as we wrap up our work on Tyler Creek for the summer. The plan is to meet again at the golf course located at 13495 92nd Ave, Alto by 9:00 AM. Keep right as you enter the driveway till you reach the clubhouse and then turn right down to the rustic campground / zoo area. Park just past the animals as we have done in the past. Saturday, August 23rd Explore some new water as the SWMTU chapter moves to the Pigeon River...
Action Alert – Public Input Sought for Agricultural Procedures Impacting Michigan Streams
Action Alert: Public Input Sought for Agricultural Procedures Impacting Michigan Streams Background: The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) is seeking public input on three GAAMPS by August 18, 2008. GAAMPS are Generally Accepted Agriculture Management Practices and these are the guidelines that farms and agribusinesses must follow in order to keep the protections provided by the Right to Farm Act. Two of the GAAMPS under review are critical to protecting our coldwater resources and Schrems West Michigan Chapter of Trout Unlimited with the help of the Kalamazoo Valley and Lansing-Bob Perrin Chapters of Trout Unlimited have developed the following recommendations:...
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