August 22, 2017 It was early to bed early to rise after the Total Solar Eclipse yesterday. Then today Granny and I took the family to Blackfoot Reservoir for a night of camping and carping. For years this annual camping trip has steered up the Gros Ventre River but I felt it was time … Read more
The hype for the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse started in 2014 here in the land of the Grand Tetons. Teton Valley Idaho and Jackson Hole Wyoming were in the path of 100% totality. All hotels within 100 miles were booked three years in advance. Locals were renting their homes for ungodly amounts of money. No … Read more
Dave Barkman and his wife Amy started D-Loop Outfitters in 2012 based in the heart of Michigan’s Manistee National Forest. Their business includes the comfortable lodging we’ve used the last few days, a fully stocked fly shop and a guide service permitted to guide the waters and forests of the area. Dave guided this … Read more
We got smart today up here in the Manistee River Country. One of the guys bought nine thick juicy steaks along with potatoes and veggies for our dinner tonight in case we get off the river late. Last night we limped through no open restaurants when we got off. There’s no way we hungry fishermen … Read more
The Manistee River in Michigan is likely best known for its steelhead and salmon fishing. But the rage of fly fishing for smallmouth bass is flowing strong throughout the Midwest. To many, the Manistee River is king for smallies. After giving my full day seminar yesterday down in South Bend, Indiana, Terry Wittorp and … Read more
It was a fun day down in South Bend, Indiana delivering a full day fly fishing seminar for the St. Joseph River Valley Fly Fishers. The weather was beautiful. There were a few clouds but hardly any wind and a comfortable temperature of 80°. We had a wide variety of students ranging from beginners and … Read more
As always, it’s hard to leave Victor in the heart of summer. The yard is cozy. I’ve been growing a hummingbird flower garden for years and it’s finally stunning and I have hummers buzzing around like mad. We also have two bird houses with clutches of tree swallows just about to leave us. It’s been … Read more
It was a cold night but it didn’t snow. We woke up to the same drizzle we went to bed with. It didn’t look like a fun day to go fishing in northern Canada but the wind had settled at least enough we could fish from the boats. High tide was at 2 PM. … Read more
Boat fishing wasn’t meant to be today. First of all, high tide wasn’t until midafternoon meaning we couldn’t launch the boats until 11 AM. And we’d need to be back by 3 PM before the tide got too low to beach the boats. Then we had a problem with Burts boat. The bilge pump was … Read more
It cooled down overnight. Then at around 4 AM the rain started. I’ve been getting up before 7 each day but the rain kept me zipped up in my mummy bag on my top bunk dreaming of Arctic char. The other reason to stay in bed was that the first high tide of the … Read more
The first high tide of the day wasn’t until 11 AM which meant we couldn’t get the boats in the water until 9 AM. Then there was a debate as to whether or not we could stay out all day until the next high tide. Days are getting shorter in the evening by about ten … Read more
If you read my post from July 22 than you know I am in the boonies of northern Canada fly fishing for Arctic char around Ungava Bay at Inukshuk Lodge. I have no internet until July 31 so the day by day accounts will not start posting until then. I can however post a … Read more