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Post #630 by Rajesh Kumar on May 30th 2016, 3:28 PM (in topic “Cadillac DNR Hosting Fishing Clinics”)

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Cadillac DNR Hosting Fishing Clinics




If you need some work on perfecting your fishing skills, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources can help.
 
Their two summer fishing clinics will take place next month, offering strategies and techniques for newcomers or experienced anglers.
 
"Bass Fishing for Beginners" is scheduled for June 4.
 
"The Summer Run Steelhead Clinic" is set for June 25.
 
Both will be hosted at the Carl T. Johnson Hunting and Fishing Center in Cadillac.
 
More information including cost and clinic details can be found on the DNR's website.
 
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Post #630

Post #629 by Rajesh Kumar on May 30th 2016, 3:26 PM (in topic “Fishing trip near Ely, Minn., offers chance for old friends to catch up”)

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Fishing trip near Ely, Minn., offers chance for old friends to catch up




ELY, Minn.—It took all of about 15 seconds for things to get exciting on a recent Tuesday morning.
 
"Someone want to get that?" Steve Foss asked as the fishing rod bounced to the beat of a lake trout twisting and turning—in the way lake trout always do—just a few feet behind the boat.
 
He'd been trying to set the first of three lines on a Burntside Lake trolling run when the lake trout hit a flashy spoon fluttering about 2 feet below the surface.
 
Things got even more exciting moments later, when a twisty mishap somewhere in the bowels of Foss' line-counter reel forced him to abandon technology and pull the lake trout in by hand.
 
The technique might not have been pretty, but the 3-pound fish was beautiful, and just like that, the first lake trout of the day swam in Foss' livewell.
 
And so it began. ...
 
An Ely fishing guide and 1980 graduate of Central High School in Grand Forks, Foss, 54, is a longtime friend and former co-worker who hosted a two-day fishing excursion with two other longtime friends and former co-workers, Jim Durkin of Oakdale, Minn., and Kevin Grinde of East Grand Forks.
 
Months in the making, this "lake trout man date"—as Foss had dubbed it—was a chance for the four of us to catch up and reminisce while Foss showed off his adopted home water.
 
Burntside Lake, at 7,313.9 acres, is a "gemstone among lakes," Foss says, a watery jewel of islands, shoals and trees on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. A classic Canadian Shield lake, Burntside also one of the few road-accessible lake trout lakes in Minnesota. Denizens of the deep, lake trout require cold, clear water to thrive, and Burntside offers an abundance of both.
 
A better setting for a reunion of friends would have been hard to envision.
 
Targeting trout
 
Surface temperatures on Burntside were in the 50s early this past week. The plan, Foss said, was to troll flutter spoons about 50 feet behind lead downrigger balls set to run 30 feet below the boat.
 
"Most of the time the lakers out here seem to be scattered, so you're better off trolling than jigging," he said.
 
That's where downriggers come into play.
 
Precision trolling devices, downriggers keep the lures running at a set depth. The line clips to the lead ball, and when a fish hits, it releases the line from the ball, allowing the angler to play the fish unencumbered.
 
Tuesday morning, though, Foss didn't even get a chance to set the first downrigger line before the trout hit, and the mayhem ensued.
 
"That is a record," he said. "That's never happened before. Now we can settle down to boredom and telling stories."
 
Anyone who thought the fast start would be an omen of things to come would have been mistaken. Always the realist, Foss tempered expectations by saying an average day of fishing on Burntside Lake produces about three lake trout.
 
Six to eight lakers would be a very good day, he said. The fish average 2 to 10 pounds, but he's caught them up to 21 pounds.
 
Burntside also has walleyes, northern pike and smallmouth bass.
 
On a typical Canadian Shield lake, anglers early in the year target lake trout in shallow water. North of the border, the technique can be very effective.
 
Burntside is different, Foss says. Even early in the year, Foss doesn't target lake trout in shallow water, instead running his lures closer to the surface above deeper water, a technique he's found to be more productive.
 
"I don't bother wasting my time in shallow water for lakers out here," Foss said. "It's a unique fishery. To be honest, I've fished a dozen lake trout lakes up here in northeast Minnesota, and I've never seen mass shallow migrations of lake trout like they have up in Canada. They're scattered."
 
And so we trolled. And trolled. And trolled.
 
Stories and barbs
 
The wait between bites was perfect for the four of us to sling barbs and tell stories, including our shared memories of the Flood of 1997, a disaster of epic proportions that resulted in the Herald winning a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of the event and the recovery process that followed.
 
All of us, along with Foss' wife, Lisa, were part of the staff that kept the paper afloat during that tumultuous time.
 
Trolling among the islands of Burntside Lake, we agreed, was a much more enjoyable way to encounter water.
 
Foss, who left Grand Forks in 2001, says his affliction for lake trout fishing was one of his reasons for pulling up stakes and heading east. He'd first fished lakers a few years earlier on Crow Lake in northwestern Ontario, and the rest, as they say, is history.
 
The Ely area was a perfect fit.
 
"I knew it was Brandenburg country, and that's all I knew about Ely," Foss said, referring to Jim Brandenburg, the renowned environmentalist, nature photographer and filmmaker who lives in Ely.
 
After a stint in Duluth, Foss spent four years working at a small newspaper in Ely before making the switch to self-employment. These days, Foss makes his living as a fishing guide, photographer and handyman, guiding anglers to lake trout and leading aspiring nature photographers on tours of Burntside and the surrounding area.
 
Wife Lisa is a partner in "Handy Fosses," their handyman business that includes everything from real estate and rental cleanout to lawn maintenance and tree removal.
 
If it needs to be done, they can do it.
 
"I never quite know where my next paycheck is coming from, but so what?" Foss said. "With our handyman cabin maintenance business, too, when the phone rings, I never know what the people at the other end are going to want, and I kind of like that."
 
Photography, though, is Foss' passion, he admits. Every Monday throughout the summer season, he leads photo tours for visitors to Burntside Lodge.
 
"If I could do only one thing, I would do guided photo excursions, teaching other people how to be nature photographers," Foss said. "There's just a spirituality about that you can't get" any other way.
 
"I love guiding. I really enjoy it, but it would be the photography if that's all I could do."
 
Making a living as a nature photographer, though, is easier said and done.
 
The Oracle
 
By covering water, Foss' trolling technique produced one more lake trout for the box and four strikes that resulted in what we'll call "wasted opportunities."
 
The day would have been better than average if we'd made those opportunities count.
 
"We ended up losing more than we caught, which is unusual," Foss said. "Action-wise, It was average or maybe a little bit above average."
 
That night, we dined on fresh lake trout Lisa cooked to perfection along with baby new potatoes and rice pilaf in the garage that also serves as Foss' man cave.
 
The stories and memories flowed like water well into the evening.
 
The next day ended the way the first day had started—with a lake trout in the box—and the four of us reluctantly headed back to the landing to resume our lives and the responsibilities and challenges that waited somewhere beyond Burntside's tree-lined shores.
 
"Sometimes, you pay the lake trout gods; sometimes, you make a withdrawal," Foss said. "Sometimes, you troll for eight hours and catch three in the last hour."
 
Such philosophical musings led us to dub Foss "The Oracle of Burntside Lake," a nickname that likely will be as lasting as the friendships that brought us back together for two short days.
 
Next time, the wait between "lake trout man dates" won't be nearly as long.
 
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Post #629

Post #628 by Rajesh Kumar on May 30th 2016, 3:23 PM (in topic “North-central Washington offers wide range of spring-time fishing opportunities”)

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North-central Washington offers wide range of spring-time fishing opportunities


Photo courtesy of Anton Jones.


 
Here is the latest fishing report from Anton Jones of Darrell & Dad’s Family Guide Service:
 
What just “keeps on keeping on” is trolling in the early morning above the Yacht Club on Lake Chelan for Mackinaw. The Lower Lake Kokanee bite has really kicked in too. Finally, the Cutthroat trout fishing from the shoreline on Lake Chelan is still going strong.
 
On Chelan, fish Colyar Ledge above the Yacht Club for quality Lakers along the 190 to 210 foot bench. Troll at speeds of 1 to 1.3 mph as close to the bottom as you can without snagging. Jeff’s Drift Rig with a Mack’s Lures smile blade in Glow and baited with a triangle of Northern Pikeminnow has been the “go to” presentation. Silver Horde Kingfisher Lite spoons in Chartreuse double glow Splatterback are a great low drag option for the outrigger rods.
 
The Kokanee fishing has been spectacular in the lower basin fishing Mack’s Lures 0000 Double “D” dodgers trailed by a Kokanee Pro Wedding Ring baited with Pautzke’s Fire Corn.
 
Fishing from the bank and docks on Lake Chelan for Cutthroat Trout with slip sinker rigs is still smoking hot right now. Use Pautzke’s Fire Bait in American Wildfire on a 30” leader to get these mostly 11 to 16 inch fish. They are also easily caught trailing a flatline flatfish as a cheater rod while trolling for Lakers and Kokanee.
 
Your fishing tip of the week is to keep that piece of Pikeminnow shorter than the tip of the trail hook. You don’t want it to keep a fish from hooking itself on your trailer.
 
The kid’s tip of the week bears repeating. It is to get them ready for Lake Chelan’s late spring / early summer shore bonanza. Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Smallmouth Bass and Northern Pikeminnow are all available in the next month from docks and other public access points on Lake Chelan. This can provide some fast action for kids with a short attention span.
 
Your safety tip of the week is to strap on your patience for this next week with all the tourists that will be launching and retrieving at Mill Bay. Be kind and plan on more time at the launch between 10AM and 6PM over the weekend!
 
For more information go to Darrell & Dad’s Family Guide Service website at http://www.darrellanddads.com/or 866-360-1523.
 
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Post #628

Post #627 by Rajesh Kumar on May 30th 2016, 3:21 PM (in topic “Flyin’ Heroes fishing program helps veterans”)

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Flyin’ Heroes fishing program helps veterans

Comfort offered amid nature’s quiet; volunteer effort is making a difference with PTSD


 
My grandfather Sam, a 529th Bomber Squadron gunner survived brutal battles in the Pacific only to die in the battle of Buna. He met his end as far from home as one can be, unable to meet his namesake — my father — born in his absence. His grave in Manila is bare. Yet another grandfather endured five years of concentration camps, a different type of war hero.
 
It is the survivors that endure constant reminders of horrors and losses, clutching the heavy memories of their fallen brothers and sisters in arms.
 
Mike Hermann, a combat Marine from Jackson, is one of those. Healing, if it comes for veterans, is slow. Hermann did five tours until he was discharged from “being around too many explosions.” He still hears them. Except when he is on the river.
 
Hermann had spent a year of attempting to adjust. Another Marine, Nate Van Kampen, invited him to participate in a quiet little program, run entirely by volunteers, called Flyin’ Heroes. It’s a fly-fishing program for veterans founded five years ago by vets Eric Wentzloff, Adam Shumaker and Van Kampen.
 
Hermann will tell you the program is not just about fishing.
 
“I can honestly say, it really did save my life. A group of guys reaching out ... there are no words. You are you on the river. You have time for you, and you are among people that understand,” said Hermann. All the mental noise, he says, including the explosions, fades away in the ripples.
 
Mike and Bryan Hermann participate in the Flyin' Heroes program for veterans. (Photo: Photo courtesy of Adam Shumaker)


 
Hermann wasn’t into fly-fishing a year ago when he went on that first trip. “I was kind of intimidated by the idea of it,” he said. Today, he says it’s a major part of his life, and he shares it with his family.
 
Hermann had found it challenging to reconnect with his son, Bryan, after being gone for some eight months at a time. “Kids change when you aren’t there for them growing up,” said Hermann. Flyin’ Heroes arranged a trip for the two of them.
 
“It’s just me and him on the water. Instead of being bashful, and shy to talk to, he opens up,” said Hermann.
 
Fishing, says Shumaker, changes people.
 
“Some guys get on the water, and they never stop talking. By the end of the trip, they are quiet, peaceful. Other guys have never talked about their situations and open up to us. Regardless of where they start, it’s a place they go to heal.”
 
Shumaker himself was invited by Van Kampen on a fishing trip before becoming a founding member.
 
“All the noise inside me quieted down. My wife noticed I was more peaceful. I knew I had to keep doing it and bring others on board. I tried all sorts of medications. Fishing was the only cure that worked,” says Shumaker.
 
A 2009 study backs him up. It showed long-term significant improvement in veterans’ PTSD symptoms after just three days of fly-fishing. The results represented “therapeutic shifts beyond improvements using traditional treatment interventions.” Other studies show that treatment is more successful when ex-military are involved in administering the treatment. Flyin’ Heroes does both.
 
The several Stealth boats and the Confluence raft the program uses are named after fallen heroes. “We honor them by using these boats as tools to help heal our surviving brothers,” said Shumaker.
 
Today, the nonprofit reaches 35-70 veterans a year. Shumaker says 100% of donations go to vets, nothing to administration. Everything they do is supplemented by volunteers.
 
“We consider each and every participant family. We don’t take family lightly,” said Shumaker. Often married couples share a boat, or a vet like Hermann will opt to bring a child.
 
“It’s one of the things we strive for in the program,” Shumaker said. “Good mental awareness for the people that come through the program to be good parents, good siblings, relax and release all that tension. You will come back and reintegrate a better person.
 
“I can’t think of a better way to honor (the lost veterans) than caring for the survivors. We remember every day. Every day is Memorial Day,” said Shumaker.
 
Contact Lydia Lohrer: lydiaoutdoors@gmail.com. To donate, participate, or volunteer assistance for the Flyin’ Heroes program, go to flyinheroes.org.
 
Be sure that you follow Freep Sports on Twitter (@freepsports) and Instagram and like us on on Facebook.

 
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Post #627

Post #626 by Rajesh Kumar on May 27th 2016, 4:30 PM (in topic “Fishing workshop baits 22 kids”)

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Fishing workshop baits 22 kids




One popular way to get excited about the warmer weather and the town pond’s opening next month, is to get outside and enjoy Pomp’s Pond during its off season.
 
Twenty-two local kids — ages 7 to 11-years-old — did just that on May 12 after school as they attended a fishing workshop at Pomps Pond on Abbot Street. Jim Lagacy of the Mass. Wildlife Angler Education program focused on fishing safety then demonstrated some casting, baiting and fishing instructions during the two-hour workshop. A few small sunfish were caught by the young casters.
 
“It’s a very popular workshop for us as it always fills up,” said Janice Coppolino of the town’s Department of Community Services, which runs the program. “It’s a good way to get excited about the spring and Pomps opening, which is June 11 this year.”
 
There is another DCS-run fishing workshop for kids happening on Aug. 29 at Pomps Pond. The DCS summer booklet will have the registration information.
 
– Judy Wakefield
 
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Post #626

Post #625 by Rajesh Kumar on May 27th 2016, 4:29 PM (in topic “High water levels in Montana affect fishing”)

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High water levels in Montana affect fishing




BUTTE, Mont. - If you're planning a fishing trip this Memorial Day weekend, you may want to hold off.
 
Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials tell NBC Montana the water levels are on the higher side of normal, which means the fish might not be biting.
 
To fishers those high levels make for tough fishing.
 
"When the water level comes up the fish don't bite as easily as they do when the water level's coming down, so I guess that could put people off while the water's coming up," said fisherman Michael Skiba.
 
With the temperatures warming up and snowmelt draining into the rivers it's looking like it'll only get worse.
 
"Two weeks ago was really, really good fishing, dry flies, and then the water came up a bunch, so we'll kind of be on hold until the salmon flies start popping," said Chris Bradley, co-owner of Stonefly Fly Shop in Butte.
 
Bradley said it's not all bad though. He said if you're on a boat, you can really strike gold on the river.
 
"It opens up more water to you. As the water rises, a lot of the fish get pushed to the edges, so from a boat it makes it nice to be able to fish down the banks on either side of the river," Bradley said.
 
Many people end their fishing trips at the Salmon Fly access site. While guides said the higher water levels aren't great for wade fishing, they are good for overall river health.
 
"It's good for the newly hatched and soon-to-hatching fish. It's good to kind of scour the river bottom and kind of clean out all the sediment and muck that's accumulated in there," Bradley said.
 
"The water levels will be up later in the summer, to allow floating and keep the water temperature cooler so it's not so stressful on the fish," Skiba added.
 
The May 2016 water levels have been higher than May 2015, but much lower than in May 2014.
 
Click here to learn more about the streamflow
 
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Post #625

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