Sucker spawn, teenage spawn, and first mouse attack of the year My toughest client is my teenage son, Coleman—his friends call him Cole. Now, you might say taking a kid fishing doesn’t count as guiding, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Taking a kid fishing is the best practice a guide can get, especially when…
Swisher Sweets, venison tacos, and the savage traditions of Michigan’s annual trout opener With so many miles of special regs water open year-round, you’d think Michigan’s trout opener would have become largely insignificant by 2015. Yet most anglers still consider the last Saturday a holiday—including myself. In fact, as I walked out of a party…
Guiding in northern Michigan starts with a great bumper sticker This series begins, oddly enough, where the last series I wrote left off. “Lake Effect” chronicled a steeelhead trip where a friend and I hit tributaries flowing into all five Great Lakes inside a five-day window in early November 2013. I was so stressed to…
At some point in every young angler’s life, you’ll have to sit them down and have “the hex talk.” Conversation timing completely depends on the person. Some may not be ready, some will, and others are already experimenting with hex—without you even knowing. Here are a few key points to remember when it’s time for…
An old timer with an 8-inch Buck Knife strapped to his belt once told me that mousing for trout was invented on the North Branch of Michigan’s Au Sable River. Not long after brown trout were introduced there—shortly after the grayling were gone—an angler was field-testing some bass poppers he’d carved and accidentally discovered that…
Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he’ll eat gas station food for a lifetime. We’d planned on fishing Michigan’s Pere Marquette on Thursday, but nearly every river in the state blew out. So we took aim at a tailwater and drove to the Boardman River in…
Sometimes rain is your best friend, and sometimes it’s your worst enemy. Today was the latter. Our first stop was near the mouth of a mid-size Lake Huron trib. We were soaked before our rods were strung. Jason went upstream with an indicator rig while I stayed low to swing down to the mouth. A few hours…
Chuck and Duck blogger Alex Cerveniak goes roadtripping steelhead-style this week. His mission: To fish tribs to all five Great Lakes, while cultivating epic facial hair, dining on gas station grub, and writing about all things along the way. Part II, from a barstool in Cecil Bay, MI, starts here. —Ed As a fisherman, I’m…
Chuck and Duck blogger Alex Cerveniak goes roadtripping steelhead-style this week. His mission: To fish tribs to all five Great Lakes, while cultivating epic facial hair, dining on gas station grub, and writing about all things along the way. “Part I” starts here. —Ed I’m rolling into my mid-30s and everything is going just fine. Got…
It’s been one of those weeks when you forget to pace yourself. You hop around, fishing a different stretch of a different river every night, chasing bugs that were supposed to be here a week earlier. You can’t take a night off, because if you do, you might miss it. The hatch lasts a couple…
Ketamine, vision quests, and the answers we’re searching for… from artist and flyfisher Bob White Two years ago I interviewed artist, writer, guide, husband, father, and all-around good dude, Bob White. If you read Scott Sadil’s piece in the Spring ’12 issue of The Drake you already know a little about Bob. But to this…
So I found a lump near one of my testicles last winter. I can assure you, that’s a tough pill to swallow for a dude. And since it’s breast cancer awareness month and my story might help a girl or a guy find a lump before it’s too late, I’m going to tell you all…
It’s October and that means three things: incredible fishing, purdy colors, and the veil between the world of the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Some people who believe in ghosts have a theory for the presence of the paranormal. They call it “Recordings of Past Events.” According to this theory, ghosts are…