Fish Camp II

It is that time of the year for Steelies!  It is cold, rainy and windy.....but just the way I like it!  As reports of incoming steelhead flow out into the airways, Fish Camp II started up.  Cousin Tim from NJ was on his way over and his college roommate, Stan, was coming in from VA.

I love my driveway sign.  It is from the old elementary school when they dedicated the road to our Mom.  After the road was eliminated, I got the sign.  If you read it backwards, it is ...Dr. Stauffer!  :-)

The boys arrived on Sunday afternoon ready to fish for 6 days.  We headed down to the river.

I caught the first steelhead on a rubber legged stonefly.  This fish is one that would be for dinner.  I don't keep many but the the first, fresh fish of the season is one I enjoy.

The water was a little high and running fast and cold.  I needed my duck hunting waders.  I don't duck hunt but I sure like their waders!

This is Tim out in the Manistee River.  The water was slightly discolored....just the way we like it!



We spent a lot of time casting black stoneflies, black leeches, and egg patterns.  It was tough fishing but we all had some hookups.

Stan fished hard every day.  He had some hookups but just couldn't get a steelhead to the net.  He was the sucker king of the week.  He landed several large red horse suckers that gave him a great battle.



Don't knock those Manistee Bonefish!   They are fun!

Three cars in the drive and the neighbors know fish camp is on!  We found that the campground road was now open so we could drive down the steep hill to the informal state land campground close to the river.  That way we could avoid Cardiac Hill - those dreaded 250 steps down!

The theme for this fish camp was WWII.  Tim bought a 6 DVD set of of old military films that were interesting.  We watched one each night.  Last fall, the theme was Lonesome Dove and Shogun before that.  We need a theme for the fall Salmon Camp.  Any ideas?

Tim caught a nice steelhead in mid-week.  He was lucky that Stan came down river and helped to net the fish.  The steelhead are runners when first hooked and are hard to land.  I would say that about 50% of the fish throw the hook and get away  It adds to the excitement of catching and trying to land a fresh steelhead.

We always eat great at fish camp.  The boys bought a pork loin roast for one night , then we had  our favorite meal pictured below.

This meal was parsnips and carrots sauteed in butter and served over thin spaghetti with Parmesan cheese.  It was very good.  One other meal was fresh broiled steelhead  with parsley potatoes.


We would fish from 7:00 am until noon or so and then go back out from 5-8:00 pm.  Dinner was always later and then we watched some WWII DVDs and that was the night.

Stan worked on nuclear submarines but I can't tell you any more.....if I did I would have to kill you......

Stan has brought his wife to visit the area and has looked at several cabins in the area.  Who knows, maybe he will have a hunting/fishing place here some day soon.

Now that he is retired, he is a turkey hunter.  Stan had to get back to those hills in VA and get his turkey tags filled.

Tim was in banking and finance and now semi-retired.  He loves to fish and managed to get more steelhead on than anyone else in fish camp.  Tim owns land in the UP and was born in MI.

Well, that is a summary of Fish Camp II.  The fish are coming in.  The hens have eggs and are getting ready to spawn.  The recent rain/snow should bring in a fresh bunch of fish this week.  Now is the time to get on the river.  So pack your bags and head up to Don's Fish Camp.