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Visit our West Michigan Fly Index page for a quick look at our collection. Robot Mouse from Third Coast Fly on Vimeo. Trout Fly Recipe… Robot Mouse by Matt Dunn I’ve been doing a lot of mousing after dark this summer, probably my favorite thing to do in the summer. There are some great mouse patterns out there and the thing is, most anything that floats and creates a good wake on the surface will bring fish up. The problem is hooking them. Though I’ve seen that done plenty of times on basic patterns as well. But I was really drawn to Tommy Lynch’s White Bellied Mouse because it has a stinger hook dangling off the back. What I don’t like about his pattern is that it sucks up water like a sponge and doesn’t float as well as it could. I really like a spun deer hair body, i.e. Ken Morrish’s Morrish Mouse, because it pushes a lot of water and floats very well. So why not combine the two patterns? The pattern doesn’t really look anything like a mouse, it’s really an amalgamation of a few properties that seem to be important. The stinger hook and the spun deer hair body are both important, but I also think the hard mono connection between the front and rear hook is critical because it allows the rear hook to swing freely and really kick around in the water. Best For… trout Could Also Be Used For… bass and pike |
NorthernIslander, Spring Trout Fishing on Beaver Island by Steve West. June 2010.
Spring trout fishing on Beaver Island?
I recently had an opportunity to go trout fishing with my son Gavin on the Muskegon River. Our guide was Kevin Morlock of Indigo Guide Service. Trout fishing on select Michigan’s rivers thrives in part because the state stocks small rainbow and brown trout each year. Some of these fish migrate out into Lake Michigan and then return a few years later weighing 6-10 pounds or more.
The state of Wisconsin has had success with releasing some rainbow and brown trout directly into harbors where they return in the spring a few years later. Based on the Wisconsin success it appears that Beaver Island’s Paradise Bay has the potential for a similar program. If cold water fish like trout, acclimated in net pens to the bay, were released this could create a cold, shallow water, spiring and fall shoulder season shoreline, surf and harbor fishing opportunity that doesn’t currently exist. This scenario is one of the goals of the Beaver Island Conservation Club and could prove to be a plus for the visitor based economy.
Kevin Morlock, owner of Indigo Guide Service, had such a successful season guiding visitors for carp and smallmouth bass fishing last year he has brought and additional guide to the Island. Steve Martinez has joined Kevin here for June and July. They offer catch and release flats type fishing with fly or spinning tackle using a stalking technique similar to that used for bonefish in salt water.
Photo Captions:
BEFORE: The author “shows off” one of many rainbow trout he caught. This is what they look like when recently stocked.
AFTER: Gavin West carefully releases a large lake run rainbow trout called a steelhead. With the right stocking and management plan the potential exists to wade into Paradise Bay in the spring and catch a fish like this.
9&10 News, Beaver Island Carp Fishing Video with Michael Kasiborski and Kevin Morlock – June 24th, 2010.
NorthernIslander, Promising start in efforts to help “Coasters” back into native habitat by Matt Dunn. May 2009.
Promising start in efforts to help “Coasters” back into native habitat
The Great Lakes are justifiably famous for their excellent salmon and steelhead fishing. These species spend most of their lives in the competitive open lake, eating baitfish and growing large. They enter tributaries in the fall and spring and make their way to suitable spawning habitat. Anglers from all over the country and the world come to fish for them in these rivers. Hooking one of these big-lake fish in a small river is an experience unparalleled in the sport.
Steelhead and salmon are not native to the upper Midwest. They were introduced from the Pacific coast starting in the late 1800s. With the help of commercial overfishing, they took the place of a native fish that rivaled them in size and, in most people’s opinion, outdid them in beauty: the coaster brook trout.
The brook trout we are familiar with today rarely grow larger than eight inches long. They live in small streams and are appreciated most for their aggressive disposition, beautiful colors, and sweet tasting meat. But one variety of brook trout, the coaster, is admired also for its size: averaging up to five pounds in weight with some specimens reaching fifteen pounds. Like steelhead and salmon, coasters spend most of their lives in the big lakes, making annual runs up tributaries to spawn.
Unlike the modern steelhead and salmon fisheries, coaster brook trout historically occupied only Lake Superior and the northern portions of Lakes Huron and Michigan. It is very likely that Beaver Island itself once hosted a run of coasters, and the newly formed Beaver Island Conservation Club has plans to restore this population to its native habitat in Iron Ore Creek.
Very few populations of modern coasters have remained intact since the arrival of white settlers to the Great Lakes. Today, native populations of coasters exist only in Lake Superior watersheds. In fact, only four populations have survived in US waters: three on Isle Royale and one in the Salmon Trout River in Marquette. Several native populations still survive on the Canadian side of Lake Superior, most famously and abundantly in the Nipigon River of Ontario.
Modern rehabilitation projects have been attempted in several areas of Lake Superior including Pictured Rocks National Seashore near Munising Michigan, creeks near Ashland Wisconsin and near Grand Portage Minnesota.
Beginning in 1999 and ending in 2005, more than 100,000 coaster brook trout fingerlings hatched from eggs from Isle Royale strain fish were stocked in Mosquito, Seven Mile, and Hurricane Rivers in the Pictured Rocks National Seashore on the south shore of Lake Superior. Stocking was suspended in these rivers because studies revealed that native brook trout there were already migrating to the lake. While no coaster-sized brook trout have been found in these rivers or in nearby areas of the lake, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service will continue to monitor these populations and perhaps continue stocking efforts in the future.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service in Ashland Wisconsin began stocking various life stages of Isle Royale strain fish in Whittlesey Creek in 2003. They have stocked eggs, fry, fingerlings, and adults. Their efforts have met with little success. No large brook trout have been found in the creek or in areas of the lake near the creek.
In Minnesota, the Grand Portage Tribe and the US Fish and Wildlife Service began stocking Nipigon strain coasters in 1992 in Little Lake Creek, Hollow Rock Creek and Grand Portage Creek. Eyed eggs, fingerlings, and yearling coasters were stocked and it was found that the eyed egg stage was the most effective. In 1997, it was discovered that coaster brook trout were reproducing in at least two of these streams. Of 52 sexually mature coasters sampled that year, the average size was about seventeen inches with several fish topping the twenty inch mark. The Minnesota state record brook trout is a 24 inch, six and a half pound coaster caught in the Pigeon River just a mile north of Grand Portage in 2000. While these are not giant lake run fish, they are truly giant brook trout and represent a promising start in the efforts to rehabilitate coasters to their native habitat.
The Beaver Island Conservation Club hopes its efforts meet with similar success. They are already off on the right foot with help from St. James and Peaine townships, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the Natural Resources and Eco Tourism Commission. These organizations assisted in getting funding for a new culvert on Iron Ore Creek. The previous culvert was too small to allow coaster brook trout passage from the spawning habitat in the upper creek to the lake.
Gavin West, one of the founding members of the Beaver Island Conservation Club, says that in moving forward, the club is looking for additional funding sources including Trout Unlimited and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to continue coaster restoration work like further stream restoration and a stocking program. The club is also waiting for final clearance for federal non-profit 501c3 status. This will allow them to apply for a variety of federal monies including US Fish and Wildlife and US Department of Agriculture grants. West says that they hope to have an active stocking program in place within five years.
Growing up in Pennsylvania, author Matt Dunn fished for pretty much everything that swims. He is a student and outstanding fishing guide. He earned an MS. in Biology and an MA. in History and Philosophy of Science. During the past several years, however, much to his Ph.D. adviser’s consternation, he did a lot more fishing than dissertation writing.
He has fished extensively in Colorado, New Mexico, and the UK. He likes good draft beer and even designed and taught a course for several years at Indiana University on the history of beer and brewing. He has a booming laugh and a warm personality. He was once mistaken for a Sasquatch. Dunn is a guide for Indigo Guide Service. They serve Beaver Island and can be found on the Chamber web site www.BeaverIsland.org under Hunting and Fishing.
NorthernIslander, Good Fishing & The Economic Benefits For Beaver by Steve West. April 2010.
Good Fishing & The Economic Benefits
Like most my eyes tend to glaze over when confronted with a page of raw financial statistics. However, recently fishing guide Kevin Morlock shared some interesting economic data about his customers with local business owners and the Chamber of Commerce directors.
Morlock (Indigo Guide Service) has spent about 60 days during the last two summers guiding, primarily fly fisherman, in the Beaver Archipelago for carp and smallmouth bass. He has been so busy and successful that this season he is bringing a second guide, Steve Martinez. When not on the waters around Beaver Island they guide clients on the pristine Pere Marquette River. They cater to catch and release sportsmen who value an enjoyable outdoor experience over stocking the freezer.
Kevin Morlock surveyed his 104 customers from last season. He determined how long they stayed on Beaver Island and how much they spent on various items like food and transportation. It amounted to about $40,000 during a 60 day time frame. Without too much eye glazing, quoting from his report, “Lodging $15,051 – Transportation $6,675 – Gifts/Misc $4,450.” Morlock’s personal spending on the Island exceeded $5,000.
His numbers are very likely low as they don’t include spouses and children who came along. Several customers picked up real-estate information. One is renting a beach home and bringing his extended family for a vacation this summer.
Quality fishing opportunities and great guide service are the key to quality sportsmen visitors. Catch and release anglers have low impact on the fishing resource while having the greatest economic benefit for Beaver Island. More bluntly, as is my way, these eco-tourists put
the fish back and have drinks at the Shamrock and whitefish with champagne sauce at Nina’s. The Beaver Island economy will benefit from more of them.
One of Morlock’s principal marketing activities is, “host the writer.” Last year he, the Chamber, Laurain Lodge and the Boat Company arranged for a visit by outdoor writer Brandon Butler. His piece, “Northern Island Angling Paradise” appeared in the Jan/Feb issue of the up scale Eastern Fly Fishing magazine. Morlock reports that his phone is ringing, he is booking and these new customers have never been to Beaver Island before. This June the Chamber and Morlock will host 9&10 TV producer Corey Adkins and hopefully Detroit Free Press writer Eric Sharp for fly fishing adventures.
With a second guide on board and the additional business created by joint marketing Indigo Guide Service is on target to add nearly $100,000 to the Beaver Island economy this summer. This suggests how shocking the cormorant economic damage report Jeff Powers is striving to fund will prove to be. Cormorant numbers are finely declining after the herculean efforts of Powers and the Wildlife Club. The impact over decades, some predict, will prove to have been many millions of dollars.
Beaver Island, with an abundance of inland lakes and surrounding water resources, as well has a large amount of public and private hunting land, has an opportunity to leverage these resources for the economic benefit of those who live and work here. Done properly this will have little impact on the renewable resources and can positively impact those who choose to enjoy the outdoors in ways other than fishing and hunting as well.
Imagine the impact on our Island economy if 8-10 fishing and hunting guides were serving clients spring, summer and fall. We are using and marketing our outdoor resources in a responsible way to benefit the economy of Beaver Island. Are there some out there who think this is bad policy?
