Silver Bullet Fishing Report

These reports are written by the Silver Bullet crew. If you go fishing, you are obligated to write a report. And if you know us, you are a member of the Crew!

Tennessee's South Holston River
November 27-30
By Nick

When we decided to rent a cabin for Thanksgiving, Andrea told me to find one that was surrounded by nature, comfortable, and affordable. I started the search for one that had all of that and included easy access to some world-class trout fishing. I found a lady on Craig's list that was renting their cabin for $150/night and it was only a 1/2 mile from the South Holston River. What was even better was that the Browns were starting to move up stream to spawn and could be fished just like spawning salmon.

Using tiny egg patterns I was able to land about 10 fish in 3 days of fishing. They averaged about 20" and the biggest was a 29" brute. I also landed a 25 incher and a couple at 22". The fish were stacking up in shallow gravel runs and while I couldn't see the fish lying there, once in a while you would see a fin poke out of the water when they were taking a nymph or just chasing another fish. All of my success came before daylight.

Since they would release the dam at 9:00 there was only a few hours of fishing and most people wouldn't fish in those cold hours (it was 20 degrees Thanksgiving morning). I was on the river before 5 am everyday and had my best luck before the sun came up. The toughest thing about fishing like this is netting a brown before daylight. There was so much steam coming off the water that I couldn't see if I turned my headlight on or if I happened to breath. I would be back at the cabin by 9:00 and then spent the rest of day Andrea.

The locals were telling me that the brown fishing will only get better over the next couple of weeks and will be great all the way into January. They also told me that there are some awesome sulfur hatches in July where you have a great chance of catching these big browns on dries.

Fishin' Report Fix
November 15, 2008
By Nick

I need to write up a fishing report. I went up to the mountains on Saturday and did fairly well. I stopped at Ken’s for a couple of hours on my way home and fished for two hours there. By the time I left my arm was hanging limp from fighting fish. The biggest was probably pushing 6+ pounds.

We are headed to TN for Thanksgiving and have a cabin on the South Holston River. The trout fishing is supposed to be awesome. We will also only be a few minutes from the Watauga River.

Editor's Note: Buck & I drove to the Licavoli Lodge on 11/15 with the intent of doing a little surf fishing for browns. It was too cold, windy and snowing for us to don the waders, so we suspended our Man Cards for a couple of hours and drove back home on Sunday. -DK

Salmon Fishing on the Betsie
September 18-20, 2008

By Nick

The flight from Georgia landed in Flint at 11:00 pm, and as always I wanted to be on the river (still 3 hours away) before daylight. After stopping by the Woodshed to say hi to my mother, Clayton (a friend from Georgia), Brett, Terry, Dave, and I made the drive to the Betsie. At daylight it was evident there were fish in the river as we could hear them splashing before we even got to the water. However, it became apparent that these fish were not interested in hitting anything. We did not get a fish to take a fly the entire first morning despite throwing every fly in my box, but there were several hang-ups on fish which kept our drags busy. The evening was a little better as I had one fish hit, but still there was not much happening despite plenty of fish in the river. Eric had also made it up and tried his best to target the lunkers with his secret weapon...the '74 Sniper Rod.

Friday morning was much better. Terry (my brother who got in late Thursday night), Eric (who arrived at noon on Thursday), and I were the only members of the gang to get out of bed.. The rest of the crew tried to catch up on some sleep, recover from slight hangovers, or relax once their snoring roommate had left. Terry put me on a bed of fish where at daylight there were 25 or more fish working the gravel. I picked up several males off this bed with a single egg fly or a Mickey Finn #4. I also used the Mickey Finn to hook and land my biggest salmon ever....a 23 pound male. This was working out to be a great morning of fishing until I snapped my fly rod at about 8:00 am. We were not getting picked up until 11:00, so I got to watch Eric and Terry, net their fish, and occasionally they would let me take a turn with their rod. We limited out by the time we left. We spent awhile cleaning fish and loaded Eric up with some fish to bring back to Georgia, which will be hitting the smoker shortly.

After breakfast at Rosie's, Terry, Tammy, and Clayton hit the river for the remainder of the day. By the time Dave, Terry Sr., Brett, and I made it out there, they had already landed several and were ready for dinner. Clayton and I found a good deep run where we fished for the remained of the evening and got several more on Mickey Finns and egg patterns. We finished the night with dinner at the Copemish Lounge, some poker, and a few beers.

Clayton, Terry, and I were the only ones to make it out on Saturday morning. Terry landed several small jacks, while Clayton and I worked the same deep run and gravel for some real lunkers. Again, the top flies were single egg patterns (or a single rubber egg) with a #8 hook or #4 Mickey Finns. I also got one aggressive male to hit a large gaudy streamer, which I put on after seeing the two males biting and chasing each other out of a hole.

We again hit up Rosie's for lunch and then Dave, Terry Sr., Brett, and I left for home, leaving Terry, Tammy, and Clayton up for another night of fishing. They did well and landed several. Clayton ended up breaking his fly rod (which he was borrowing from me) on a fish, but still managed to keep fishing with an 8' 9" rod.

This is the 6th year I have made it back from Georgia to fish Salmon in Michigan. It is my favorite trip of the year as I get to spend time with my dad, brothers, father-in-law, and friends while catching huge fish and spending some quality time on a beautiful stream.

Editor's Note: For pictures CLICK HERE

Tagged Fish Report
By Joe Robbins

This year on an earlier excursion, the Silver Bullet crew landed a 16 inch walleye with a tag in it's upper jaw. Tag number 27751 was reported to the D.N.R. via it's website. A couple of the questions on the survey of course were, where and when did you catch the fish. Although I now forget the date, it was caught on the east side of Saginaw Bay. A response arrived by snail mail on August 5th with this information:

"Michigan fisheries personnel tagged your fish on 04/02/2008 at Dow Dam on the Tittabawassee River. It was a 15.8 inch male when tagged. You caught it 95 days after it's release."

I found the second sentence quite amusing. I'm betting that the fish was still a male, and would have stayed a male it's entire life! Of course, I've never claimed to be a fisheries biologist.

Editor's Note: The date that we caught the tagged fish was June 21.

Stormy Day on the Bay
August 1, 2008
By Dick Hazel

Be careful the Humble Pie is lurking in the waters we have taken for granted this year. Just when I think the fishing on Holloway and Saginaw Bay are a given they did today show me their humbling side. The morning was beautiful but only 2 lonely catfish for my effort. Trolled harnesses from Goose Point to the Tubes and up and down the north shore. My fishing is going to take a backseat to family matters soon so I made a full day of it today with a trip to the Bay.

I went out of the Qsee River to the tip of the reef and trolled west of the bar 12-14 fow. Not many fish marked today as compared to past trips and the 1st hour was real slow. That's when the first of two storms moved thru. It was between us and the launch with the lightening really popping. We stayed out for a while but noticed another storm heading across the bay. This one would surely get us. That's when the bite started. We ended the second hour with 6 walleyes,3perch,3 sheep and a bass. I however only managed 1 walleye with the rest of the species caught by my son-in-law Mar. On a side note I did however give him first choice of harnesses. With shades of last year still on his mind he grabbed the good ole Red/Silver Harness. We trolled 1 1/2 oz bb 35-45 back at 1-2 mph. We also long lined spoons with no success.
- Take Care and Be Safe Richard

Birthday Fishing
July 29, 2008
By Dave

The weather reports looked promising – and that, coupled with recent success initiated an impromptu day off work and a trip to the Bay. It was also a nice way to celebrate Mike’s 49th birthday. Joe, Terry Cassidy, Mike and I left the barn at 6:30 and found a beneficial “walleye chop” on the water. We employed our usual tactics of crawler harnesses behind 1 3/4 oz. in-line weights. We fished inside of the bar in about 14 f.o.w. and the blade colors used were tiger, purple or gold. Our twenty fish limit was secured prior to noon. The cooler was filled with several 20+ inch fish and with a mixed bag of 15-18 inch fish.

Fred & Joe’s Tourney on the Bay
July 19, 2008
By Dave

The 2008 edition of Fred & Joe’s Annual Walleye Tourney went off without a hitch. There were nine boats entered this year, and each produced it’s limit of walleyes. The competition was very close with Solid Gold being declared the winner with its top five fish totaling 102 ¾ inches. They were followed by the Silver Bullet and King Pin. By rule, Lucky Lee was awarded the largest fish of the day.

Each crew would like to extend a thank you to Fred and Mona for hosting a great fish fry after the fishing activities. We know that putting together this party entails a great deal of planning and work. Thanks again Fred & Mona! We would also like to thank Tom and Joanne Shreve. Tom was the tourney judge, and Joanne cooked delicious bluegills again this year. Also, kudos to Fred Kurrle, who once again did a masterful job cooking the 'eyes. Click Here for Tournament Stats and Click Here for Pictures

Fishing Yellowstone
July, 2008
By Nick

Despite the fishing not being great, I figured that I needed to send in a fishing report if I made a journey to the Mecca of fly fishing. Our first stop in Yellowstone was at Fishing Bridge Campground, right on Yellowstone Lake. All of the rivers flowing into the lake were closed until July 15th, so fishing in that section of the park was limited. On the second day of our stay we hiked into Grebe Lake, a 3 mile hike (6 total). It is a beautiful alpine lake which contains rainbows and grayling. Since I have never caught a grayling I was excited by the opportunity. I waded out past some lilly pads on the Northwest side of the lake and started by throwing a caddis. I caught several 6" grayling and ended up landing a grayling around 14-15" on a wooly bugger. There are no pictures as my camera woman was taking nap on the shore behind me.

The following night we grabbed a few drinks and headed to Gull Point in an attempt to catch some Yellowstone Lake Cutthroats on spoons. During a brief stop the previous night I had a fish break my line so I was excited by the possibility. We were going to rent a boat, but it was so windy that the lake had white caps, so casting in the bay off Gull Point was really our only option. We ended up landing 3 cutthroat, all over 20". I tried getting a picture of AJ holding two of the fish, but she dropped both.

Our next stop was the Gros Ventre Campground on the southern side of Grand Teton National Park, right on the Gros Ventre River. The river holds a good number of cutthroat, but it was still extremely high from snow melt. I did manage to get out there the last day of our stay and get two cutthroat and two whitefish on nymphs.

From there we headed to West Yellowstone where I planned on fishing the Madison River. We made the 30 minute drive to Three Dollar Bridge on the first night and fished for a few hours. I was skunked, but did hook a nice fish which broke my leader connector. The next morning we drifted the river with Jacklin's Guide Service. The Salmon flies were on the river, so we were throwing flies bigger than Hex. We caught a few nice browns quickly and Andrea landed one around 16". I got a nice rainbow and a few small browns, but missed at least 20 strikes. For some reason my timing was off. I also lost a very big brown which jumped several times before spitting the hook. While it was a frustrating day, Andrea had fun and said she would like to do it again. Oh yeah, she also hooked me in the head on her back cast.

The last day of our trip featured an hour drive to the Northeast corner of Yellowstone and a 6-7 mile hike in. I should have known it wasn't going to be a good day when I set my rod down at the bottom of the hill to help Andrea with her boots, hiked all the way over the mountain before I realized I forgot my rod and then had to run down and back up the mountain. We continued the hike in to the second meadow where I began to realize that the insects were too bad to make this a day of fishing. I fished for about 20 minutes and landed a nice 18" Cutt. Again no picture as I turned around to find Andrea with her head net on, wrapped up in her blanket like a cocoon. I quickly broke down my rod and we started the hike out. At least Andrea got to see the meadows, which I believe to be one of the most beautiful creeks I have ever seen. I will write this off as a day of hiking where I had the pleasure to toss a fly or two. I was really impressed with how well Andrea hiked and that she would even attempt to make a day out of a trip back to the creek. However, I knew after a few minutes that I was about to wear out the joy of fishing.

Limits on the Bay
July 19, 2008
By Dick Hazel

Way to go gentlemen. We keep this up and we'll be asking SANTA for a new filet knife. Went Saturday afternoon for a couple hours (almost takes longer to drive up and back) for another limit. Had 2 short ones this time which hasn't been the case this year. Can't believe you're turning into a crawler team. The floating weeds sure did take some of the fun out of the trip, I tried long lining spoons (Charlie Brown and purple demon) with some luck and also tried Hot n Tot with a spoon slider. That being said I better put them out 1st because if the crawler hit the water it was fish on for the harness.

I called for the Bullet and had a broken response so I thought you might have been out there. Just call for the MONARCH TILER or Millington Monarch or just ole Dick Hazel and if the radio is working I'll shout back. Take care my friend and Nick and Andrea's trip seemed awesome. Makes and OLD retired guy want to Jump in the truck and head out west.

The Silver Bullet Strikes Again
July 16, 2008
By Joe Robbins

On a warm, cloudy Wednesday morning Captain Mike and the Silver Bullet crew was on the road to Thomas road marina in chase of the walleyes of Saginaw Bay. Dave Kern, Dale Manley and Joe Robbins rounded out the crew. Even though the forecast contained the threat of isolated showers and thunderstorms through out the day, it bloomed into a bright, clear cloudless day with waves varying from 2 feet to too calm.

Right out of the gate the action was hot and heavy. In 13 to 15 feet of water the fish were on the feed hitting pretty much anything that was thrown at them. By monitoring the radio it was obvious The Bullet wasn't the only boat having a great day. It was personal preference, crawlers or plugs were both producing. Floating weeds torn loose by the windy conditions earlier in the week created a bit of a problem from time to time but for those of us who were lucky enough to get out fishing it was a nice problem to have.

The only real lull in the action occurred when the waves laid down for an hour and a half or so but once the chop returned so did feeding. By 1:20 in the afternoon we were topped off and heading in. The second consecutive trip that we were able to come home with all you are allowed.

The weather, the fishing, the comradery; any way you filet it, it was a great day on the Saginaw Bay.

Just Checking In
July 8, 2008
By Dick Hazel

The bay has been unreal so the reports would've looked the same. I've been fishing with OLD co-workers on Holloway and the St.Clair River with exceptional results both places. If the bay is not giving me the wind conditions for my boat we go somewhere else. Got 3 EYES on Holloway this morning. Friday it's dig worms with the grandkids and head to North Lake for some Monster Gills (ya right). I can only handle 1 at a time fishing so the others chase frogs and turtles til it's their turn. Problem I'm having is they don't want to release them or eat them but rather take them home for the fish tank as pets. Every now an then a bass will hit an peel some line and their eyes get as big as saucers. Take Care, Richard

Lake Huron - The Bay and The Bay
July 4 - 5 and 6

My wife reminded me that the weekend of the Fourth of July was very good for me,. . . and it certainly was as I was able to fished each day. The weekend began with a trip to Port Sanilac for dinner and pier fishing. Dale and Julie Manley, Joe Robbins, Sam and Lu and Rhonda and I spent an enjoyable evening dining at Uri’s followed by a couple of hours watching the sunset on the pier. No fish, but an outstanding night none the less.

On the Fifth of July, Mike, Terry Cassidy, Sam and I fished Saginaw Bay in the afternoon and evening. We caught seven walleyes using crawler harnesses. Not the most productive day, but the weather was outstanding. Purple was the primary color, and perch was hot too.

The following day Joe Robbins, Mike, Sam and I were back on the Bay for another afternoon trip. We employed the same technique as the day before. We limited out having put twenty walleyes in the cooler. Its not often that I can fish on three consecutive days. Sort of makes you wish that every weekend was the Fourth of July.

Cody, Wyoming
July 5, 2008
By Nick

I was a little disappointed when we arrived in Cody, WY to find out that all of the surrounding streams were extremely high and muddy. It has been extremely hot for the last week which is melting all of the snow pack in the mountains. Western Wyoming received more snowfall this year than they have had in the last 50 years. I stopped into a local fly shop and they told me about East and West Newton Lakes, which hold some nice rainbow and brown trout.

This was the first time I had fished a lake for trout with success in a long time. I tried tossing olive and black bunny leeches (suggested at the local fly shop) with no success. I saw one fish rise and switched to a Goddard Caddis. I caught a few decent rainbows (12-13 inches) and then I had an absolute monster take my fly. I got lucky and must have dropped that fly right on its nose because as soon as it hit the water its head came right out of the water and engulfed my fly. After about a 5 minute battle and a couple of nice runs I landed him. I didn't get an accurate measure but it was well over the 20" mark on my rod.

Hopefully the rivers will go down this week as there I did plan on hitting a few streams along the way. However, the fishing I had promised to me isn't until the 13th-16th, which should be perfect. Click Here to View Nick and AJ's Travel Blog.

The Silver Bullet Rides Again
July 4, 2008
By Steve

Uncle Buck, Steve, Tim, and Nate made a trek to the Bay today to try for walleye. The seas were calm with a slight chop and we had cool temperatures. After putting in at Thomas Road, we set sail and reached the opposite side of Callahan Reef. There we set up lines and began fishing. While the fishing was not hot and heavy, we usually only sat for a minute or two before we had to attend to a strike. We managed to net 9 walleye and 3 catfish. Nate brought in the largest walleye and it measured about 24 inches. By 10:30 a.m. the water went flat and the sun was bright. Things really slowed down. As always, a great opportunity to fish.

Hex Camp 2008
June 25-29, 2008
By Steve

The annual Trout Camp for the Hex fly drop occurred last week with Harry, Steve, Mike, and Nate in camp at the start of the week. Dave joined us on Wednesday. We had cool weather for the most part, which was part of the problem with the fly drop. It was actually pleasant to sit outside at camp during the day with no mosquitoes or horse flies biting. Early in the week we had light hatches, but with high, cloudy water in the river, nothing came to the surface to feed. There were some good brown drake and stoneflies hatching all week. I felt the fish were catching them under water as they emerged, since once in a while a fish would jump right out of the water.

We finally had a good hatch on the last night of the camp (Thursday). The hex were floating down the river in good numbers, and the fish actually came up to feed. While we all had fish we were casting to, only Steve managed to get one to hit his fly, which he landed. It was a nice 16-½ inch brown. Nate and Steve fished during the day with crawlers on both the main river and the North Branch of the Manistee. They managed to catch a few small trout. Dad rigged up with a casting bobber to fish with a fly from the dock at the campground. He did enjoy the Tigers at night, once we found the satellite, and he had a good visit with Bill and Louise Seltz in Traverse City. All in all, it was a relaxing week and a great opportunity to fish.

2008 First Tip to Da Bay
June 21, 2008

The Bullet made its maiden 2008 voyage late this year, as commitments and weather prevented an earlier launch. Mike, Joe and I left the barn at 7:00, and our main intentions were just a shakedown trip, making sure that everything was in working order. We only allotted a couple of hours because of afternoon obligations.

The morning seas approached 3 foot waves and our hopes of wetting lines were iffy. As the morning progressed the wind calmed and so did the Bay. Using crawler harness we hooked five fish, landed four and kept three. The Bullet ran fine, so now we are looking forward to more fishing.

Georgia Trout
May 24, 2008
By Me

If you decide not to wear your lucky fishing shirt and substitute a peach colored shirt I guess you deserve to be out fished by an old man. Such was the case on this day.

Nick and I drove to Clarksville GA at the invitation of Nick’s friend Ken Selzer to fish the Soque River. The Soque is a northern Georgia mountain stream that holds large rainbow trout. Most of the river is privately owned and it is well-stocked with rainbows. Access is very limited, and we were certainly privileged to be Ken’s guests.

Ken served as my guide and put me on fish immediately. We fished wooly buggers with nymph drops. I hooked and landed about a dozen trout during the day while Nick landed a few less (some may say quite a few less). Nick attributes his second place finish to his missing lucky shirt but I’d like to think it was my day. Ken was a great guide and host, and due to his hospitality we spent an extremely enjoyable day on a beautiful river.

2008 Manistee Trout Camp
May 13-18, 2008

Trout Camp 2008 boasted few fish but lots of renewed friendships and discussions. We made camp early afternoon of Tuesday and fished that evening with little success. The days were warm and sunny, the nights were extremely cold. The water temps were below normal while the water levels were high.

Not many fish were caught and landed by the bait fishermen, and even fewer were hooked by the fly casters. But we knew the conditions are not the best this early in the season, and our lack of success fishing came as no great surprise. This trip is more social than it is about fishing. And everyone had a great time renewing friendships. We will catch our share of trout later in the year, but we will never match the outstanding companionship of this trip.

Sarah's Creek Campground
May 9 - 11, 2009
By Nick

A big group of us headed up to Sarah's Creek campground for a weekend of hiking, fishing, corn hole, and cooking over the fire. The weather was perfect as it was in the 70s everyday and then would rain at night which made for excellent sleeping weather. We camped next to a series of waterfalls on Sarah's Creek which made this one of the most beautiful campsites I have ever seen. Saturday morning some of us went for a hike on the Chattooga River, where the fish were not cooperating.

I did manage to land three, the biggest being 14-15". While I was trying to land the fish and get my camera out, Gus grabbed the fish and took off running. Luckily I didn't end up hooking him and the fish still swam away in what seemed to be good health.

When we got back to camp one of our friends informed me that he had seen several fish in the pools between waterfalls. We took 2 poles and a few crickets and proceeded to pull about 10 really nice rainbows out of these pools, with the biggest around 15". I haven't had much time to fish lately, so this weekend was welcomed with open arms.

Big Eyes on Lake Erie
April 25-27
By Brian Pennington

My fishing partner, Jeff Zeek and I headed to Port Clinton, Ohio for Lance Valentine’s Walleye 101 Spring Trophy Hunt, April 25-27. Lance is an ex-tournament walleye fisherman that now has dedicated his life to teaching and helping other fishermen become better anglers. He’s got a great website at www.walleye101.com Approximately 75 anglers participated in this weekend’s hunt.

We arrived at Lake Erie Thursday the 24th to get in a day of pre-fishing before the official festivities began. We got on the water about 10:00 a.m. and were rewarded with our 2-man limit of eight eyes by mid-afternoon. All the fish had good size and ranged from 3-8 pounds. Friday was a great day on the water again with another two man limit, this time including a nine and two eight pounders. Saturday was a tough day on the water with strong winds and big waves and us only putting two fish in the boat. The bonus however was the second fish weighing 12 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 32” long. Bad weather forced us off the lake in the early afternoon. Sunday found the water riled up and muddy from Saturday’s blow and we only managed one fish for our efforts. Despite a slow Sunday, we had a great weekend and look forward to going back soon. Our big fish on Saturday won us the big fish honors for the weekend.

The presentation of choice was crawler harnesses pulled behind in-line weights and planer boards. We caught a few on bottom bouncers and spinners as well. Our best color combinations were root beer beads/gold blade and chartreuse/orange beads/firetiger blade.
-Tight Lines…Brian Pennington

Romancing the Grindstone
April 23, 2008
By Me

Sam, Lu, Rhonda and I took an evening ride to Grindstone to scout out the possibility of trout and to catch a dinner (figuratively, not literally) . Sam and I began by casting Little Cleo’s. No trout were spotted or hooked, but we soon realized that the harbor was full of large smallmouths. Many of these feisty bass were hooked, landed and released.

A few of the fish were of a very respectable size. Elishia, her friend Erin and Sammy joined the group and Elishia proved to be an able fisherman as she hooked and landed three large bass. The evening was completed with a nice dinner in Bad Axe including some hot fudge ice cream cake. No trout, but lots of fish and fun.

Oh, I almost forgot to report that Sammy also took the first swim of the year.
We are told the water is still a bit cold.

Licavoli Lodge Outing
April 18-20, 2008
By Me

Sam, Frank and I left Millington on Friday the 18th for our second annual steelhead excursion to Licavoli Lodge. We picked up Tom in Mio and proceed to Millersburg with a stop in Hillman where we ate some greasy Friday night cod. Dominic, Tommy Jr. and Sammy arrived at the camp a couple of hours later.

We hit the stream early the next morning and the anticipation soon left as no fish were found upstream. We traveled close to the mouth of the river and could find no fish as well. We realized that we were probably a week or so early, or the fish were late. Stream water temperature was a cold thirty seven degrees.

Sammy, Dom, Tommy and I surf-fished off the mouth of the Trout River in Rogers City in the evening. We had a couple of hook-ups but could not land a fish. Joe and Dale paid a visit on Saturday and some dandy steaks hit the grill. The weather was absolutely outstanding, by alas, the fishing was dismal.

Dan & Dave on the AuGres
April 19-20, 2008
By Dave Johnson

Dan and I fished from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The winds where SE and it was a bit rough at the mouth of the AuGres River. We trolled most of the time in and out of the river using crawler harness and some rapala lures.

I caught 3 fish all over 20” – 3 different ways: Purple crawler harness, Jig and Minnow and Yellow and Red Rapala Number 13. We went back Sunday in the afternoon from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and only caught 1 walleye – 22 inches. We ended up having dinner at a restaurant in Augres and of course, we ordered fish. See Pictures

Streamers on the Chattooga River
April 10, 2008
By Nick

My friend Clayton (who I met last summer fishing on the Chattooga River) and I took a trip up to the Chattooga River on Thursday. The weather was great (near 70 and sunny). We reached the river at about 9am and fished until 4pm, which put me a couple hours over the wife's specified dinner time. It was interesting watching Clayton fish as he was dredging deep holes with streamers for big browns and rainbows. He did manage to entice a few big strikes but never pulled a big one out of the holes. He probably landed around 20+ trout, most of which came on an egg fly with a split shot under an indicator. I landed around a dozen or so. Most of them actually were taken on a #14 Light Cahill dry.

My highlight of the day was watching a 13-14 inch brown come out of the water in an attempt to get a fly which was hovering about 6 inches above the water. Once I saw this it only took one cast to entice a strike. I also took a few on an olive wooly bugger. I did toss one of Slammin' Sammy's Zoo Cougars through a deep hole and had an absolute hog follow it into the shallows. I never got him to hit, but it was exciting. Any day now the Stripers should start running out of Lake Lanier.

Richard's Early Spring Perch Report
April 6, 2008
By Dick Hazel

Perch just starting to pick up but surely not gangbusters and also a lot of sorting. Cuts are still a little dirty and some choked with debris. Quanicassee River launch area has been a little slower than the Iron Bridge area plus Thomas Cut has given up a few nice ones. Haven't tried Sebewaing River but heard it too was a little slow. Some crappie being caught in the Marina however.

Been fishing with the Capt of the Cast 'n Blast out of Thomas Marina. What a good person and seems to have the touch for these perch as well

The Johnson's First Walleye Excursion
April 6, 2008
By Dave Johnson

We started fishing at the mouth of the Augres river at 9:00 a.m. It was a bit chilly but no wind. We trolled using #18 rapala bombers. Blue and silver since that is what they where using Saturday evening. We fished until 12:00 p.m. and then got lunch since we where able to catch more fish at McDonalds.

Thinking that as the day warmed up and they larger female Walleye would start running, we headed back on the water at 1:00 p.m. We trolled for another hour and no luck. There where a couple of fisherman that caught 1 fish and they were jigging. The water was a cool 38 degrees and there was some ice floating around so we are thinking it was a little early for the big run. That's Ok, we will get them next time.

Tour D’Thumb 2008
March 21, 2008
By Me

The prospects of fishing on the 33rd annual Tour were slim from the get-go due to the early Good Friday and the continuation of cold weather. It was a small contingent this year. Participating on this trip were Frank and his buddy Ed Williams, Joe Robbins, Dale Manley (sporting a nasty cold), Sammy, Joe, Sam and I.

Every potential fishing spot was iced in, and we didn’t bring ice fishing gear. We pretty much knew that this year’s Tour would be just that: A Tour! As usual, we ate often and we ate well. Playing Keno was the excitement of the day. It was great to get out for a day and it spawned the dreams of the 2008 fishing exploits to come.

Geo Cache & Fishing
February 23, 2008
By Nick Cassidy

I took AJ and her friends up to the mountains in search of some Geo Cache treasure. However, since I was in charge of picking the location of the Geo Cache, I picked one right on the Chattooga River. We hiked in to the river (probably about 1.5 miles) from South Carolina. I only took my rod and my vest since I didn't know how far we would be hiking and whether or not we would even get to the river. Once we reached the river it was quite obvious that I should have brought my waders.

Caddis were hatching like crazy and I couldn't fish from the bank due to the over hanging branches. So I did what any Old Millington Guy would do. I took off my socks and pants and wet waded in for a bit of fishing. Despite being numb from the waste down and the fact that I had to walk across a very rocky bottom in bare feet, the fishing was pretty good. I wish I would have had more time because they were hitting and I did manage to land a few in the 20-30 minutes that I could stand to be in the water. AJ is flying back up to Michigan in a couple of weeks. With that weekend of freedom I will be on the river for a few days.

Caseville Lakers
February 12, 2008
By Dick Hazel

With the ice condition being poor in the usual walleye haunts it was time for something new. I along with fellow Millington Alums Jim Jaruzel and Jerry Hennessy headed to Caseville for a little Lake Trout fishing. The river is a legal catch but, the bay season is closed. This had to be the shortest walk I've ever had to an ice fishing spot. I fished off the boardwalk in 7 f.o.w. using a #5 Swedish Pimple (chrome/orange) loaded with 3 vertical perch minnows.

You use the same jigging action as for walleye fishing. Another hot bait was a paddletail swim shad on a jig (best with a standup jig). Lay it on the bottom or slightly off and let the current move the tail. This one time I can say I wish the fish would've been a little smaller they have to be 24 inches). Okay Dave easy on Millington's Best as I'm just fortunate enough to be able to fish quite often.

Editor's Note: If you are not the best, you are certainly the class of the group.

Soque River, Georgia
February 2, 2008
By Nick Cassidy

Ken Selzer and I hit the river at about 10:00am deciding to let it warm up a little bit. The temperature varied throughout the day, but stayed around 40 with some gusting winds. The fishing was slower than usual, probably due to the low and clear water conditions, but I still managed to land 8 or 9 fish.

Most fish came on a #18 prince, but I did pick up a fish on a San Juan Worm, a pink scud, and a zug bug. Ken also landed a couple of fish, but didn't spend that much time fishing. He tried getting some video of me fighting some fish. It was nice, relaxing trip as we fished for a couple of hours and went back to the cabin to warm up with some soup, sandwich, and a beer before heading out for a couple more hours of fishing.
Click here for Pictures

Sam Slade Fishing Trip
First Report of 2008
January 13, 2007
By Joe Robbins

My name is Robbins, Joe Robbins; I fish.........sometimes. It was 12:45; a gray, rainy Sunday afternoon January 13, 2008. The phone rang. I was hopin' it was some dame. Turned out to be one Sam Licavoli, a member of The Silver Bullet Fishing Team. Word was the team was going to rendezvous. I agreed to meet with them at my joint.

Mike Kern (the alleged leader of the mob) Dave Kern, second in command; and the above mentioned Sam Licavoli arrived at 1:05 pm. The winter doldrums had set in, we set out to break them. Drove north to Quanicassee to checkout the perch action. Despite the weather a number of pigeons were trying their luck and not having much of it. A few throw backs with just enough bucket fodder to keep it interesting. The decision was made to buy bait and head for the marina at Sebewaing. Although it was mid winter the place was free of ice but not free of fools sitting in the rain.

The Big Cheese was the first to hit the river, then Sam. Dave and I observed from a distance. The temptation proved too much for Dave, he suited up and joined in the folly. I remained on guard in the dry comfort of the van. A short time later a mysterious black truck pulled into the parking space next to my outpost. It was.......The Geechoo, Sam's oldest brother Frank. Together the 2 of us watched from within as the other 3 angled for the elusive yellow perch. The results were the same as our first stop. 6:15 pm the team packed it in, the fish had won; but did they really? Not that I could see; the gang was back together again for the first fishing excursion of the season. Case closed.

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