Steelheading The UP In "09"

I just return from a steelheading trip to the UP of Michigan and had a great time. The river was not yet prime for fishing but we found fish and fished hard for a week. Rick and myself hooked about a dozen fish and landed 4 of which I kept one that was bleeding so returning it to the river would not have been wise. It would have died so it will be great table fare as it will be BBQ'ed this weekend. This is actually the first fish I've kept in about 15 years, most of the fish we catch are released to spawn naturally and maintain the fishery that we enjoy so much.

With different timing we would love to go back in about a week as the fish should be thick in the river spawning. It would not be unheard of to catch dozens of fish in a day. But with high water and most fishermen not being able to get to the fish it should be a good spawning year that will be realized in years to come.

Later and looking forward to a good walleye opener in Minnesota,

Steelheader