This angler tries casting flies at sundown. Hex flies attract big trout.

It's time for the big brown trout to turn on after sundown. It happens this way almost every year once the Hex hatches begins.

The night turns hot and close, and silent daggers of heat lightning dance across the blackened sky. Everything is silent except the murmur of the river current tugging at your legs or gliding with a soft hiss under the riverboat.

If you are placed just right, and are tossing just the right fly, sometimes from out of nowhere comes the rapier-like strike of one of the river’s biggest brown trout. There are people who fish only after dark, and although I do fish during the day, there's something about casting a big streamer, large floating bass bug or even a more colorful streamer to these big fish. Some folks also enjoy working a hole or run with a four-inch Rapala or Rebel and fairly stout monofilament.

How you fish depends on the area, your temperament and why fish at night.

It's time for the big brown trout to turn on after sundown. It happens this way almost every year once the Hex hatches begins.

The night turns hot and close, and silent daggers of heat lightning dance across the blackened sky. Everything is silent except the murmur of the river current tugging at your legs or gliding with a soft hiss under the riverboat.

If you are placed just right, and are tossing just the right fly, sometimes from out of nowhere comes the rapier-like strike of one of the river’s biggest brown trout. There are people who fish only after dark, and although I do fish during the day, there's something about casting a big streamer, large floating bass bug or even a more colorful streamer to these big fish. Some folks also enjoy working a hole or run with a four-inch Rapala or Rebel and fairly stout monofilament.

What you use depends on your temperament, where you fish, and why you fish the midnight hours.

One of the most exciting methods is to use big streamers. Large Muddler Minnows, Buzzsaw and other big flies are cast quartering across and downstream, and ripping it through the water. You'd think this type of hard-and-fast streamer fishing would spook wary browns. Often, it's just the opposite. It can really turn them on.

Fishing in the dark or light of the moon is a pleasing time.

I've talked with several people who have stood under a full moon or a partial moon, made their cast, and began stripping line hard. They tell of large wakes that follow the streamer, and on occasion, those big trout will hit and nearly wrench the rod from your hands.

Four of us floated the AuSable River one evening, and one of the anglers hit a big fish. The take sounded like someone had thrown a big dog in the river, and the fish ripped off line, rolled on top several times, headed upstream and back down, and there was no controlling the fish. It slipped the fly after nearly 10 minutes of nonstop action.

This is no place for dainty rods and light tippets. Anglers who practice this method (it also works during the day) know just how much work it is. The constant casting, and rapid stripping of line, becomes very tiring but some people can do it all night. Not me! I want to enjoy fishing, and not have to wear myself out to do it.

I used to fish the Sturgeon River years ago when it held some good brown trout, and I liked a big, white, hairy deer-hair mouse. It stuck out like a big sore thumb on a dark night, and even I could see it. I'd cast across and downstream, mend the line to obtain the longest drag-free drift as possible, twitch it once or twice, and then cast again.

The neat thing about this method was the strikes were visible, and very few fish under four pounds were hooked. The largest that I recall was caught by the late George Yontz, who owned the old Hillside Cabins just north of Wolverine many years ago. His fish, if my memory holds true after all these years, weighed 13 1/2 pounds.

The Sturgeon River browns, back then, were either silvery fish that ran upstream from Burt Lake or the great golden-brown fish with big hooked jaws and a kype as big around as the smallest joint on your little finger. Some kypes were an inch to nearly two inches long.

One other method was practiced on these big fish. Casting a medium-sized Rapala or Rebel quartering across and downstream, and let it dive and wiggle on a tight line. Once the current carried the lure across stream until it hung directly below the angler on a tight line, the rod tip would be jiggled two or three times to give the lure a bit more action.

Night fishing can produce unexpected strike. Be ready for action.

Some walleyes were in the river at times, and it was easy to determine which fish was hitting the lure. A walleye would tap-tap-tap the lure as it swung in the current, and hit softly once it finished its drift. A big brown trout would hammer the lure hard, and a strike could come at the end of the drift or as soon as the lure hit the water. A few fish reminded me of an outfielder standing, glove on hand, catching a fly ball.

The trick, regardless of which method we used, was to wade down two or three stretches of river during ithe day to learn what was or was not wadable or had too much current. Wading the river helped prevent tripping over submerged logs and otherdebris. Such things could make a night fishing adventure far more interesting than most anglers need.

Hot, muggy nights were usually the best. The mosquitoes would be on the prowl, and any exposed skin would provide a meal. Now an angler could hang a ThermoCell insect repellent on a nearby tree branch, and most of the mosquitoes would go elsewhere.

But hooking a six-pound or larger brown trout after dark is just about as much fun as a fisherman can have while wearing waders. There were a few very special nights where two or three big fish were landed, but most people considered hooking one big fish a rare treat.

Put them back, and try for the same fish again next year. Those big ones aren't very good to eat, and deserve to be caught more than once. Fooling the fish, and enjoying the battle, is what brings us back year after year.

A pair of big muskie plugs plus a small tackle box of ice fishing lures.

There are more tackle boxes in my basement storeroom than any sane man needs. Every one is almost overflowing with fishing lures, so why should I need more?

It's a bit like fishing and hunting books. A man can never have too many good books, and I'm as guilty of buying more than I will probably ever need or read. Much the same is true with lures.

There are four huge tackle boxes filled just with muskie plugs, and a smaller one that holds some smaller muskie lures. I've got some 10-inch muskie plugs and great huge spinnerbaits in the big boxes. However, every year I see someone with a Bobbie or Eddie bait or a Suick or Brunner Runner in a hot new color.

I’m over-run with fishing lures and tackle boxes.

It doesn't mean that the other guy's oddly colored Suick hasn't worked for him. It could, and there I'd be without one painted in that strange color that every muskie fishermen needs to own. Sadly, seldom do they produce fish, but against all odds, they could produce if we just believe in them and cast them often enough.

There are two more beastly huge tackle boxes filled with nothing but salmon spoons and big salmon plugs. I own most colors of J-Plugs, Dardevles, Silver Streaks and other fishing spoons, but I keep bumping into newer sizes with different paint and  tape patterns that seem to beckon to me with eyes that look deep into mine and seem to whisper "Buy me and take me home!" It's the old siren song that we all know.

The eyes have it. I've been adding stick-on eyes to my lures for many years, and now more and more lures are being made with prominent and well-colored eyes. I think eyes make lures more appealing to fish but wonder if they really produce more often. One can only hope.

OK, how about Herring Dodgers? I have two smaller boxes filled with them. There are red ones, white and yellow ones, chrome plated, some home-painted a dull black color (don't laugh because they work ... sometimes), half silver-half bronze, chartreuse models, and some with dazzling tape and some without. There are small ones, large ones, those of normal size, and Hoochie Mamas. Got me some of them too.

Herring Dodgers and Hootchie Mamas. Gotta have ‘em.

If we're going after lake trout I tote 50-60 different sizes, shapes and colors of cowbells and perhaps half that many different colors of P-nuts. Another tackle box is filled with various trolling weights for inland trout lakes, and some stainless steel needles to sew shiners onto my hook.

One tackle box is loaded with more Dardevles in a variety of colors although my best pike fishing comes with two color combinations -- red with a white stripe and silver back or yellow with five red diamonds and a brass back. There are other pike spoons and plugs in the box, and although most of my largest pike come on the two colors noted above, there are another two dozen other patterns for when the pike get picky. And then there is a box of spinnerbaits in several sizes that work for muskies and pike.

Oh my, I nearly forgot. One box is filled with body baits like Rapalas, Rebels, FasTracs, Long A Bombers and other similar lures. They too are in an infinite variety of great colors, and some have never been in the water but boy, do they look pretty.

Still another box is filled with wood FlatFish and Tadpollys from my guiding days when I used the dropback method on the Manistee River below Tippy Dam or when trolling Manistee, Pentwater or Pere Marquette lakes for late-fall steelhead. The FlatFish come in two varieties: those with the tiny treble gang hooks or with two larger hooks. In that box are extra hook hangers for the small treble hooks that I prefer to use.

A hundred pounds of leadhead jigs in a dazzling display of colors.

I'm a big fan of vertical jigging on the Detroit, Kalamazoo, Saginaw and Tittabawassee rivers, and there are two heavy tackle boxes filled with jigs weighing from 1/8 to 1 ounce, depending on the depth of water and current speed at each location. Half of one box is filled with oodles of grub bodies and twister-tail bodies in a rainbow of colors.

And as nice as freshly painted jigs look in their trays, I often scrape the paint off and use just the bare lead and a lip-hooked minnow. It works!

One small box holds nothing but Mepps spinners, and another holds nothing but weight-forward spinners like Erie Dearies. Another small box is nothing special except it contains lures purchased when I was 15-17 years of age from the Wanigas Fly Shop near Saginaw, Michigan. The shop was owned by Art Neumann, a co-founder of Trout Unlimited, and it holds a bunch of small trout-size spoons that are rarely seen these days except in a lure collection.

Then there are some collectible Heddon lures that I normally leave home, and other scarce Creek Chub Pikie minnows, etc. And did I mention two small boxes of ice fishing lures?

C’mon, Honey, I just need a few more for this season.

So, do I really need several more lures? Probably not, but once one or two new lures wink at me and catch my eye, I go into a feeding frenzy until I have them. Many times, after such a cabin-fever purchase, I try the lure once and take an active dislike to its action, color or lack of fishing-catching abilities.

Someone once told me that fishing lures catch more anglers than fish, and I suspect that is quite true. However, gazing upon tray after tray of various colors and sizes of lures makes me feel good.

So, why not, honey? All I need is two or three more $20 muskie plugs. There are still a few Suick colors I don't have. You never know when one of these odd-ball color combinations will tempt a trophy muskie. And I’ll even put up storm windows when I can find the time.

In the old days (before graphs and other sonar rigs) we used two- to six-ounce sinkers, heavy mono and tied the line to a capped Clorox bottle. A bottle would be at one end of our trolling run, and the other would be at the opposite end.

That left a lot of bottom structure that might have several humps and bumps in it, along with a few indentations, a weed bed or two, some submerged points and the result was we had many chances of getting hung up on bottom.

Then came dumb-bell shaped markers with a heavy weight. Toss it out at one end of the trolling pass and another at the opposite end, and the results were much the same as with the one-gallon jugs. We learned, and used markers every 50 yards, and it was an improvement because they were brightly colored and more easily seen.

A transition from the old ways to the new.

Next came sonar units, liquid crystal and paper graphs, and fishing became a little bit easier. Electric bow-mounted trolling motors allowed us to stay pinned to the hotspot, and we could work it until the fish hit, stopped biting or took off.

All the modern electronics  in the world do not make fish bite. We can have a paper graph (not many in use these days but I loved mine), and a depth sounder. We can have electric downriggers to put our lures at the depth our graph tells us the fish are holding, and we can check the surface and deep-water temperatures, and even a marine radio to check with our buddies to determine how deep, which lure and what color to use.

Has these improvement helped? Of course, but they aren't a cure-all of fishing ills. They don't automatically hit a nd stay hooked.

But for the most part, all the fancy stuff still doesn't do diddly. We must still determine what the fish are hitting, and how best to present the bait or lure to that depth to elicit a possible strike. We can take it to the fish, but there must be something present to make the fish slam into the bait or lure.

The bottom line is that the best electronics can help anglers but the proper use of bait or lures is what causes fish to strike. Planer boards are used for muskies, salmon, trout and walleyes, to name a few, and anyone who has been on a walleye charter knows that there are times when all lures of the same model, and often of the same color combination, but two or three out of a spread will consistently produce a decent catch of fish.

Electronics can help us catch fish.

All we do with the others is wash the dust off them by trolling them through the water. Hold identical lures with the same paint color over the side, and both lures will produce an identical action.

So why, pray tell, will one catch fish and the other one never gets a bump? Why can we switch rods and positions, and the same lure continues to produce while the other does not?

I  get curious about some of the oddest things. Look back, those of you in your sixties, and remember how we used an anchor or hand-held marked rope with a five-pound lead weight to determine the bottom contour. We would triangulate these positions with three shoreline locations, and when done fishing that spot, we'd go back to retrieve our markers.

Now, we can punch in the way points on a GPS, and be on target every minute of the day. Has electronics taken all the fun out of fishing?

The human element still remains part of the success equation.

No, I don't think so. Regardless of how many electronic goodies we trick out our boat with, and how often we use them, they are still incapable of making fish bite.

Granted, we can locate a school of perch with some type of sonar unit, ease a bow and stern anchor to bottom. We bait up with long-shank hooks directly over the fish and use wigglers, minnows or soft-shell crabs. We ease our baits to bottom, keep the line tight, and if the perch are in a mood to bite, they will. If they choose not to hit, nothing we can  do will make them pull our string.

We can use a sonar unit on the Detroit River to find rocky humps and the big walleyes that hover nearby in mid-April. We can vertical jig minnow-tipped jigs and stay directly over those fish, and pound the baited jig into bottom, but it still doesn't always make them strike.

It's said that presentation is everything in fishing. That is close to being true, but without the human element: the lift-drop of the jig; the proper retrieve; the certain something that muskie fishermen put on the jerkbait to make it dance -- all of these things are much more important than the electronics we use.

The first magazine article I sold was to Sports Afield in 1967. It paid the princely sum of $400, and I used that money to buy one of Lowrance Electronic's "little green boxes."

Did I catch more fish? Sure did, but I was fishing more and learning how to tell the difference between fish near bottom and bottom. It was fun, but in the long run,  had I fished salmon at the proper depth (near the surface that first year in 1967) I still would have caught fish. No electronics were needed.

The human touch and the ability to think things out is what helps us catch fish. Our electronics aid in certain ways, but in most types of fishing, the human element is more important when it comes time to catch fish.

The late Clyde Harbin, unless you happened to be a lure collector 20 years ago, was hardly a household name. Clyde, over many years, amassed a huge collection of fishing lures and wrote several notable books on Heddon lures.

He was called "The Bassman" by all who knew him, and he was a wise investor in fishing lures. He and I knew each other fairly well, and he had a profound saying that he applied to buying and selling lures, and it's one I've never forgotten: his classic phrase was "Ain't nothin' worth nothin' 'less somebody wants it."

It also applies to the buying and selling of fishing and hunting books, which I do a good bit of, and almost anything else of value. You can't sell me your books unless you have something I want, and I can't sell my books if no one wants to buy them. Somewhere during the buying and selling process, Clyde Harbin's southern drawl and his comment always comes home to roost.

I have bought and sold books for over 40 years. I've missed some sales because people dislike selling books to a person they don't know, but people like me cannot buy books sight unseen.

I try to tell potential sellers that I am honest, but need to see what is for sale before I spend my money on it. Verbal descriptions, unless the other person is in the book business, often are not very accurate or reliable. The reason; they don't know the terminology and they don’t know how to grade books.

I've had two major sales last week. The money made is hardly enough to send me joyfully on a hunting trip. But those two people trusted my name and reputation, sent me their hard-earned money, and I sent them good books. The reverse is true: someone sends me fishing or hunting books, I look them over, determine their value, and if my offer seems fair to them, I buy them.

This should be a very simple and easy plan. Somewhere between beginning and end, the wheels occasionally fall off.

All of this began many years ago because I love to read. Reading is something that comes naturally to me. You see, I grew up reading.Many readers know I collect books on fishing and hunting. How many of you know that I buy fishing and hunting books, and sell such books as well in my Scoop’s Books portion of this website?

Cleaning attics, barn, basement or garages can yield treasures.

The days of getting ready for summer are here, and probably sooner rather than later, our spouses will suggest cleaning the attic, basement, barn, garage or spare room. Often, in one or more of these spots at home or work, will be some books. Invariably, there will be some Reader's Digest books, which are very common and virtually worthless, and there may be some children's books from an earlier era. In some cases there may be books on fishing and hunting, and it is those I am most interested in.

They may be common, fairly common or scarce. There are literally thousands of common fishing or hunting titles out there, which may sell for $5 or less. Some are worth more money, and a very select few are worth a hundred dollars or more. How do you know which ones are worth good money and which are not?

You ask Dave Richey. I've bought and sold outdoor (fishing and hunting) books for about 40 years, and also do book appraisals, especially in this genre. I've spent 18 years compiling a bibliography of fishing, hunting and natural history titles written in the English language. This book will be published when comwpleted, but it lists values (where known) of over 30,000 different fishing or hunting titles.

One Man's Whitetail sells for $250. I've got one for sale!

Modesty aside, I am an expert on fishing and hunting book values. I know what they are worth, and pay fair prices when I buy them.

What am I looking for? I'm looking for a list of books you have that contain the authors name, book title, publisher, date of publication, and whether it is a hardcover (with or without dust jacket) or paperback. I am not looking for books that have childish crayon scribbling, whiskey glass sweat rings and I do not want ex-library books with card pockets, ink stampings of a library, and I don't buy musty and mildewed books or those with covers ripped off or missing.

Buying books is much like buying a car. Neither you nor I would buy a car that won't start, is missing two tires, the windshield is broken and the door handle is missing on one side. But, people with books for sale often think a book with a missing page, photo plate or cover is worth money. A first printing of the Gutenberg Bible with the front cover detached but present would be worth thousands, but such is not the case for the books I collect, buy, sell and read.

I want to buy books in good to fine condition. I ask you to spend 15 minutes and print out the authors name, book title, year published, and if it is hardcover or paperback. Send the list to me via email, and I will respond within two days. I am not in the market to spend time haggling (although I gladly will if someone wants to sell me a book that really turns my crank) over price. Set a price for each book, and if you are too low, I will make a higher counter-offer. If the book(s) are not what I can use, I will let you know immediately.

Some books are very common, and I am not in the market for Byron Dalrymple or Vlad Evanoff titles at any price. There are many others I don't want, but bear one thing in mind: good books have a look about them. They are well done, printed on good paper, the bindings are tight, and the book has all its pages. A book missing just one page is next door to worthless. A book with an inked owners signature is worth less than one without it unless the book was signed by the author.

A good book is worth more with a dust jacket or with a leather cover and slipcase. Paperbacks are generally worth less than a hardcover book, although there are a very few exceptions to that rule.

What do I want to buy? I'm looking for books about ruffed grouse or wild turkey hunting. I need good trout fishing titles. Some deer hunting books published before 1980 are desirable. Some muskie fishing titles are books that can find a home with me, as is true with books by Robert Traver. Books published by Amwell Press, Safari Press, Derrydale Press, Premier Press or Trophy Room Books are some publishers I look for, and I'm not interested in most anthologies, bass books, titles about raccoon hunting, and books that cover many different outdoor topics.

I also have books I will trade for your desirable titles. Remember one thing: outdoor books, by and large, sell for $5-10 on the used-book market. Some sell for hundreds of dollars. Not all outdoor books are scarce and worth big money; in fact, very few are. However, that doesn't mean you can't have several books that may make you a few hundred dollars, but remember that such books are scarce. Scarce means they were printed in very low numbers, and time has seen many lost to fires or landfills. A scarce book is one that may be found perhaps once or twice over several years by a busy bookseller.

Know too that booksellers (and buyers like me) must make a profit if we are to stay in business. Show me a $100 book, and depending on author and title and my needs at the time, I will offer $50-60 for it. If it is a $10 book, and I want it for a customer, I may spend $3-5 for it. Some may think this unfair, but doing business means making some money and books may not sell for one or two years. That means I have money tied up for up to two years on a hunch it will sell. This requires me to buy books at a fair but discounted price. Any honest bookseller will tell potential sellers the same thing

If you have a $100 book, and try to sell it yourself for that price, it's very likely you'll have the book for two or more years. It’s entirely possible you’ll never sell it.

I want to buy your fishing and hunting books.

Books also go up and down in price according to the never-ending law of supply and demand. If the demand is high, and the book is difficult to find, people (including honest booksellers) will pay more money for it. If the book is common, and there is no demand, no one will buy it. That is why they call it doing business.

So, with these thoughts in mind, if you find some fishing and hunting books this year while cleaning out the attic, barn, basement or garage, or if you inherit some books from a deceased relative, 15 minutes of your time may provide some extra money. If the book is scarce, and I ask to examine it, I will pay your postage for mailing it to me for a seven-day examination period plus an offer of whatever I feel the book is worth to me. When books are mailed, they should be sent by Express Mail, insured and with delivery confirmation that the book has been delivered and received by me. This guards you and/or me from someone saying they didn't get the book(s).

I'm running  out of space. In the coming weeks, please look over your spare fishing and hunting books, and let me know what is available. I will make a fair offer for any book I decide I may buy, and will pay your shipping fee. One doesn't stay in this business long without being fair and honest, and I'd like to prove it to you. In the event you are looking for a specific book, check out Scoop's Books on this website. If you seek a specific title, and it's not listed here, let me know what book you want and I will do a no-charge search.

I have conducted no-charge searches for many people. It's one of my services, and although there are many books that are difficult to find, if a copy exists and it is for sale, I can often track it down.

Hope to hear from you soon, and let’s share this love of books. If you are done with a fishing or hunting title, and I take an interest in it, why not sell? Bad economic times often are when books do get sold, and you owe it to yourself to deal with an honest and reputable person. E-mail me at <davericheyoutdoors.com> and put “books for sale” in the subject line.

I will get back to you as quickly as possible.

You never know what you'll pull out or New Water! photo Dave Richey ©2012

Anyone who has fished trout for any amount of time has a favorite stream. Call it a home stream if you will but anglers often continue to fish the same spot every time. This summer, consider expanding your choices and try a new trout stream. Many anglers like an occasional change of pace, and my advice is to try something new and different. If river trout fishing is your game, any of these spots are good bet. They are among the best trout streams in the state.

• Platte River: This Benzie County stream is one of the finest in the nation. Fish from above the river mouth on Lake Michigan up to the Veterans Memorial Park on highway US-31 east of Honor. Some very good hatches occur on the river, particularly downstream from the lower US-31 bridge. Steelhead runs offer great sport in April and October through December, and the river produces some excellent salmon action in the fall. It is a gentle and easy stream to wade, and the water is as clear as a piece of fine crystal. Anglers who succeed on this river wade only while fishing to avoid spooking fish in the ultra-clear water.
• Betsie River is another Benzie County stream, and try fishing it from the old Homestead Dam near Benzonia downstream to Betsie Bay at Frankfort and Elberta. Some stretches of the upper river offer good insect hatches during summer months. The best steelhead action comes in March, April, October and November. Good salmon fishing can be had during September and October. Good trout fishing also can be found from Grace Road downstream to the lower River Road bridge during the summer months.
• AuSable River offers superb fly-fishing water from Grayling downstream to Kellogg and Wakeley bridges, and anglers come from around the world to sample this hallowed water. Excellent insect hatches come off from May through October. Look for big trout in the big water from Mio and McKinley downstream to Oscoda. The North Branch near Lovells is good for brookies, and the South Branch near Roscommon produces big browns. The best sport comes in midweek. Fish light, long and small in late summer and grasshopper patterns tempt August trout.
• Manistee River from Frederic downstream through the CCC Bridge and on to Sharon (about 50 miles) is noted worldwide by trout fishermen. Some wonderful fly fishing can be found above Mesick and the Hodenpyle Dam, and below Hodenpyle and down to the Red Bridge. Deep holes hold some lunker brown trout, and fly fishing with big streamer patterns after dark can produce superb action. Fish from Tippy Dam near Wellston downstream past Bear Creek and down to Manistee. Look for gravel bars in spring and fall for spawning salmon and steelhead.
• Sturgeon River between Wolverine and Indian River in Cheboygan County is an under-rated stream. It holds good spring and fall steelhead from Burt Lake, and midsummer months produce wall-hanger brown trout. The largest I've seen was 13 1/2 pounds. The river is swift and has some caddis and stone fly hatches, and fair to good numbers of small trout. One can catch brook, brown and rainbow trout from this river. Night fishing with big deer-hair mouse patterns can be very effective when they are cast quartering across and downstream after dark. The current is deceptively fast here, and watch for underwater clay ledges.
• Black River in Cheboygan County is noted as one of the finest native brook trout streams in the state. The headwater areas are best for brookies, and anglers can try fishing near Tin Shanty Bridge. Some of the water is difficult to fish with a fly rod but a short spinning rod will work. Many anglers prefer to wade slowly upstream, and pitch nymphs and small dry flies in tight quarters. Most of the brookies will measure 9-10 inches but the river periodically produces trout up to 16 inches. Fish in shadowed areas and under overhanging banks for bigger fish.
• Clam River in Wexford and Missaukee counties offers another excellent chance for brookies from one of the state's finest brook trout rivers. The water from LaChance Road downstream to Blue Road offers perhaps the finest chance at a nice brook trout. This stream flows mostly through private property and access is difficult in many locations. The river has a soft bottom in some areas and can be difficult to wade. A canoe offers much easier access to some of the best spots. It also holds some sizable brown trout that hit best after dark.
• Pere Marquette River from Baldwin downstream to Ludington offers great opportunities during the summer months. A popular area is from highway M-37 Bridge downstream to Gleason's Landing (seven miles). The river offers excellent fly hatches during the summer months, and anglers can catch steelhead during spring and fall and salmon in the fall. Mind you, this may be the state's best salmon-steelhead river but the fishing pressure can be heavy at times. Lower river stretches can be waded but be cautious when wading through soft-bottomed areas.
• Middle Branch Ontonagon River in Ontonagon County offers good summer fly fishing between Agate and Bond falls. Agate Falls blocks any further upstream migration for Lake Superior's brown trout and steelhead. Portions of the upper stream between the two waterfalls and all of the lower stretch is easily wadable. It offers a scenic place to fish with an excellent chance to catch a nice trout. I've had some superb fly fishing between the two waterfalls during July and into early August. The river upstream from Bond Falls Flowage holds some brook trout.
• Two Hearted River in northern Luce County was immortalized by Ernest Hemingway to lead anglers away from the Fox River at Seney. The Two Heart (as locals call it) has its upper stretches in Luce County near Pine Stump Junction, and it produces brook trout. The lower reaches from the Reed & Green Bridge down to Lake Superior has good native trout fishing as well as salmon and steelhead. The river has tannic-acid stained water, and it can make wading difficult in some locations. The river is as beautiful as its name implies.

Steelhead fishing has been my addictive passion for more than 55 years. Give me four or five days of snow-melt temperatures, and a forecast of two or more days of rain, and there's only one thought that goes through my head at this time of year.

It's time to think strongly about hitting the river. One might ask where. Pick any stream, but those larger rivers with a dam and a constant stream flow, may be the best of all. Some good bets this week and over the weekend could be on rivers such as the AuSable, Betsie, Boardman, Manistee, Muskegon and St. Joseph. Many anglers concentrate their efforts in those river stretches just below the dam.

Why? Easy answer. Any steelhead that entered the rivers last fall or earlier this winter have been in the river for varying lengths of time. A run-off caused by melting snow and rain will move downstream, and fish that are holding out in the lake waiting for the water to warm. A temperature rise of only a few degrees will send fish migrating upstream before their spring spawn.

My strategy would be to fish close to the dam. That's where many of the fish will eventually be, and it can be a wise decision. Or start at the dam and begin fishing the holes and runs and an angler works downstream. There is still a good bit of snow in the woods, which can make gaining access to good spots more difficult. It's also a good reason to start fishing near the day because the  angler traffic has made it a bit easier to get around.

Learn to see spawning male steelhead.

Make no mistake about it. The river water is still cold, and fish can be lethargic and slow to move to bait, fliesm plugs or spinners. The trick is to cove every inch of holding water from as many possible position as wading conditions will allow. Anglers must be aware of the possibility of shelf ice extending out from shore, and use caution when wading. Any appreciable run-off can raise the water level, and each spring holes and runs change as sand or other timber debris moves downstream. I've seen holes change completely during a heavy spring run-off.

One key piece of fishing advice is to fish deep, and allow bait, flies or lures to bounce downstream with the current. Make several casts from one location, and then move downstream a few steps and go through the same routine again. Work the holding water thoroughly, and if you aren't getting hung up on bottom debris occasionally, you are not fishing properly. Your offering must be bouncing downstream along the bottom, and at the same speed as the current.

When it comes to bait, spawnbags are the eternal favorite of most anglers. However, keep this in mind: when the water is extremely cold (33-35 degrees) was worms or wigglers occasionally out-produce the tradition spawnbag. Two major fishing methods work for bait, and can be equally successful.

Many fishermen prefer rolling the bait along bottom. Cast across the river and allow the bait to sink to bottom. Splitshot is preferred, and use just enough weight to allow it to bounce downstream. Use too much weight about a foot above the baited hook, and the bait remains in one place. Keep adjusting the weight until you achieve the proper drift. Too little weight will mean a faster drift but the bait will up off bottom, and drifting over the fish's head. Spring steelhead rarely move up in the water column to take bait.

Bobber fishing or rolling spawnbags along bottom?

The second way to effectively fish bait is to estimate the depth of the water being fished, and attach a bobber (float) above the baited hook. Use just enough weight about 10-12 inches above the hook so it causes the bobber to stand upright in the water. Cast as outlined above, and watch the bobber as it drifts downstream. If you are unfamiliar with the river, keep adjusting the bottom. If the bobber lays on its side and doesn't move, slide the bobber down toward  the hook. It can take several adjustments to make the drift carry the bait along and just off bottom.

Years ago, many of us use small leadhead jigs and we'd bait them with a wax worm or wiggler. We used small jigs weighing  1/16 or even 1/32-ounce, and the brightly colored jigs, when combined with bait, seemed to make your offering more appealing to fish.The key to success, with or without a tiny jig, is to use just enough weight to make the bobber stand upright in the water. Watch the bobber at all times, and if it goes down just a little bit, it could have picked up a leaf or twig or a fish could be mouthing the bait. The best indication of a strike is the swift disappearance as the bobber is sucked under the surface. Lift the rod tip with a bit of force, and set the hook.

Late winter streams often feature very clear water. Long 10-12-foot rods work well, and my favorite is four-pound monofilament. If the river rises suddenly with heavy run-off, bait anglers should consider using six or even eight-pound line. Sometimes a fish will clean you (take all the line on your spool), and just keep going. Again, trial, error and experience can be the best teacher on how heavy line can be used. Bait fishing is finesse fishing, and more fish are hooked on light line than heavy line.

Catching fresh-run steelhead on a fly is fun!

Heavier line can be used when fishing with plugs or spinners. Most spring steelhead strikes when using hardware are sure and hard. There's no mistaking a strike, and some fish slam the lure so hard that it can produce a sore wrist. The key thing when pitching plugs, spinners or spoons, is to stay alert. Even though the strike can be a wrist wrenching affair, if you are daydreaming and don't set the hook promptly, the fish can get away.

Great lures for this type of fishing would include plugs like the FlatFish, Tadpolly or Hotshot. I favor the Mepps Aglia spinner for smaller waters if I'm going to use this type of gear, and a No. 2, 3 or 4 Mepps Aglia spinner (without the bucktail) is a favorite.

Back me into a corner, and demand to know my favorite steelhead fishing method, and I'd readily say fly fishing. There's something magical about catch a mint-silver hen or a red-cheeked buck steelie on a fly. Sight fishing works well for those anglers who have enough brains to stay out of the water until the spot a fish. The best action takes place during the spawning period, and when fly fishing to bedded fish, re,e,ber that it's most important to fish for only the male fish. Often a soon-to-spawn steelhead may have three, four or five males line up behind her, and the pecking order places the biggest and most aggressive male closest to the hen.

Fly-fishing for steelhead is the best fun of all.

Watch the fish long enough to spot the silvery hen rolling up on her side. The male moves in close, and together the release a cloud of eggs and milt. The males usually are darker than the female, and they move around more as they chase other smaller fish away. Pick a fish, and fish directly to it. I spent 10 years guiding steelhead fishermen from 1967 through 1976, and pioneered fly fishing on Michigan's tributary streams for browns, salmon and steelhead. Many of the methods my twin brother George and I devised are still in use today.

One steelhead caught on a fly is just about as much fun as a person can have while wearing waders. Watch the weather, and fish at every opportunity. This warm-up has come early, and I've seen years when the run has ended by April 1. The only way to avoid disappoint is to fish as often as possible. Follow some of these tips, and this may be the year you'll hit the run just right. Good luck!

HARBOR PATROL

Ever been stuck in a slow-moving elevator when it’s nearly impossible to breathe because you’re packed in like big sardines in a small can? Ever been in a strange dark room, and can’t find a door to get out?

People get a bit claustrophobic under such conditions. Now imagine being in a boat with two or more lines down and trolling for Chinook salmon that range up to 25-30 pounds, and there are a hundred boats packed all around and there’s no place to go except around in what seems to be a never-ending circle.

That adequately describes what some anglers call The Harbor Patrol. Most harbors around the Great Lakes are quite small, and when the fish move in (like right now) before bolting upstream on the next rain, it’s touguh to fish. Countless boats follow the salmon into the harbor from various launching sites, drop some lines and begin fishing.

What many people find, especially on weekends, which can be worse than taking a beating, is it gets monotonous. The Harbor Patrol beats up your brain, and many wonder how they got into such a mess.

The answer is simple: they want to catch a big Chinook salmon. Some should be careful what they wish for because they might succeed.

RULES-OF-THE-ROAD

Everyone has heard about one basic boating principle. It’s called the Rules of the Road. When boats are nearly gunwale to gunwale, and bow to the stern of the boat in front of you, and someone nearby hooks a big rampaging king, those rules go right out the window.

All except one, and it’s a necessary rule for everyone to remember. Forget about which boat must give way: the only rule that makes sense is to do whatever is necessary to avoid colliding with another vessel. And that can be tricky when a salmon is hooked by an angler two boats over, and it suddenly leaps from the water and lands in your boat, along with a gigantic tangle of fishing lines from two or three other boats.

Even worse is when a big King wraps heavy mono two or three times around the prop and shaft, and the boat stops. The mess is worse than a four-car pile-up on Detroit’s Lodge Freeway during rush hour.

Civility and common sense fail when some idiot accuses you of trying to steal his salmon, as is you had anything to do with it jumping into your boat. People on the piers holler because they don’t have room to fish, and you’re being crowded too close to the jagged rocks.

Throw several big charterboats into the fray, and it turns into a gigantic mess because the smaller boats are soon forced into each other.

Does this sound like fun? Well, it can be, and it can be very nerve wracking. I’ve watched first-timers to The Harbor Patrol bolt for open water although it may take them an hour or more to thread their way cautiously through the floating mass of boating humanity.

The savvy anglers work the outside edges of the river current where it flows between the piers and into the big lake. They work the color line where dark river water meets clean lake water, but this can get a bit jammed up with boats as others see someone catch a fish.

Spoons and glow-in-the-dark J-plugs work as do luminous

• Little Cleos
• Kastmasters
• Krocodiles and
• other spoons

It’s when the sun goes down, and the night gets dark, that pier fishermen begin casting luminous spoons. The trick is to cast out, let the lure sink to bottom and then reel them slowly along bottom.

The average trolling speed also is quite slow but be aware that a very short 10-foot speed up-slow down can trigger a strike. Fish lures quite close to the cannonballs, and don’t be afraid to switch lures. The luminous lures work best just as dusk turns to dark.

Salmon trolling between the piers at

• Frankfort
• Manistee
• Ludington
• Pentwater
• Muskegon
• Grand Haven
• Saugatuck
• Benton Harbor

St. Joseph along Lake Michigan can be a hoot. Just keep a sharp eye out for people making sudden turns, and if you’re smart, you’ll get an early start to avoid the harbor area and its early-morning crowd.

Find a clear spot to troll just outside of the piers, and plan ahead to have plenty of open space around you. That works for me.