Wednesday Morning Coffee June 1

Yeah, that’s right, Wednesday morning coffee.  You all were out having fun this weekend anyway so what did you care?  Let’s see, Kirk Werner was fishing Yellowstone, my buddy Tim went and fished the Payson area in Arizona,  The River Damsel fished various lakes all weekend, Kirk Deeter, Third Coast Fly, the Roughfisher guy and several others were just 25 miles from my house on Beaver Island (sort of like Treasure Island) fishing for carp and bass.  Even Cameron Mortenson of The Fiberglass Manifesto snuck out the  back door and caught a couple bass.  Where was I?  Did I go on my camping trip exploring for carp and brook trout on the Garden Peninsula? No, I stayed home and worked all weekend.  So I hope you all enjoyed your long holiday weekend.  I hope you had fun.  Stupid work.

Ok, so I did fish a little.  I took my kayak with me when I finished my

Walloon job Saturday and tried for smallmouth again- no love, but then Sunday night after chores I drove to a local lake with Coyote Luke of Most Things Custom and fished foam spiders for bluegills and caught some beasts.  I also caught a couple largemouth bass and a rock bass.  It was great fun, until lightning chased us off.  I mostly fish trout and salmon, but at least once a year I have to make the pilgrimage for bluegills.  Have you ever played an easy video game, one that lets you win?  That’s what it’s like fly fishing for ‘gills.  For some reason I never anchored the other night, and these fish would actually pull my kayak around.  And catching largemouth bass on a 3 weight?  That’s some action.  This lake is so lousy with them, they’re practically a pain.  I would like to get out in a good boat and throw some bona fide bass and pike flies- pike in the mid thirty inch range are common here as well.  The scenery is pretty cool too, with lots of loons, ducks and eagles to round out the picture, and the cedars and spruce lining the banks make you think you’re far to the north in Canada, which you practically are eh?

I’m still on a full court press with work, so I don’t know how much posting I’ll do.  I’m getting a little worried about the Take Me Fishing National Boating and Fishing Week deal I signed myself up for- I’m still not sure how to post a video, much less edit one, but I’ll do what I can.  Also, I have a face made for telegraph, so I think I’ll keep the camera pointed the other way.  At least I know which lake to hit for some species.  I’ve been experiencing technical difficulties with this computer- I think it may be time to order a laptop soon.  Next paycheck.  This computer is an ’02 model, I’ve made several upgrades to it and it’s still not bad, but it’s showing increasing signs of wear and I think it may be time to p-u-t h-e-r d-o-w-n.  Don’t tell.  Due to the tech troubles, the June installment of my Angler's Year series will be a few days late also.

Largemouth on a bluegill spider?

Usually I start out by talking about the coffee- yes it is good, and starting with this week I’ll be featuring local and regional coffee roasters.  What better way to start, than with coffee from the Woolly Bugger here in Harbor Springs?  It’s a great little local shop that roasts their own, and with that fly fishing theme it fits with this blog.  Today I’m drinking their Colombian Supremo, and truth be told Colombian is not my fav, I’m a Sumatra kind of guy, but this is very good, and I’m told that Woolly Bugger will have some Sumatra in soon, so I can’t wait to try it.  You can visit them at their locations in Harbor Springs or Charlevoix, of visit them online at http://www.wbcoffee.com/. (psssst- this Colombian is excellent, with hints of chocolate and caramel in the flavor, and wonderful aroma.)

Also, check out the mug, sent to me by Sanders of Up the Poudre fame.  Sanders, in a fit of gratitude after last weeks Blog Love, packaged it up and mailed it out.  He'll get over it.  Thanks Sanders, very cool.  A brook trout mug for a brook trout blog. (Bob- I love the cow mug, it will still make regular appearances.)

solid!

I increasingly find Fontinalis Rising listed on blogrolls- thank you all- and so I'm working on putting together a blogroll page.  There's so many great blogs out there, ones that I regularly enjoy now, and I think my blog list will get too cumbersome if I keep adding to it.  I've promised to add a couple of people to my blog list and haven't gotten to it, so look for that to come soon.

All right, I must run off to work.  I'm working on this beautiful lake right now.  It's big, 17,000 acres, and holds most of the Great Lakes species.  It's tough some days to stare out there at all that water- so close, so far away.  Have a great week, I'll see you Monday.

French Farm Sunset