This story must have been written from a trip taken in May, as it hasn't rained much in the five weeks in the U.P. For those unfamiliar, it is not the wild unbroken wilderness people want it to be, and as this article attests, the natives are skilled at taking fish from the water with spinners, nightcrawlers and set lines. This is about the average experience up there though. Mostly few and smallish fish from the Escanaba watershed. The below is posted from the Green Bay Gazette.
ISHPEMING, Mich. — "All's well that ends well" ... so the saying goes.
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"… if you can forget the misfortune it took to reach the finish," I might add, speaking from experience after a recent routine canoe trip got off to a rough start. Then things got rougher.
Bob LaFreniere and I had scheduled a trout fishing float down the Escanaba River in Michigan's rugged Upper Peninsula only to waken on the appointed day under soggy skies amid cool temperatures in the mid-50s.
"A little rain never hurt anybody," said LaFreniere, a native Yooper. "Grab your rainwear and let's get on the road."
Forty minutes later, our two-vehicle caravan pulled up to a backwoods bridge and dropped off Bob's pickup. Ten minutes and a roundabout six road miles later, we offloaded a 17-foot aluminum canoe at the designated starting point, a bridge about three water miles upstream.
Neither of us had experience with this segment of the river and had no idea what to expect, though we had heard trout fishing could be worthwhile at times.
The plan was to drift and paddle downstream to the truck, fishing and taking in scenery along the way.
No problem there. We managed to land a handful of brook trout, including a couple that broached the 10-inch mark, but the wilderness setting was too frequently interrupted by rustic cottages.
"These are all deer hunting cabins," LaFreniere assured. "The owners don't fish."
Some of them obviously had an interest in the water, however, as small docks emerged from several shorelines. A well-worn spinning rod sprouted from one of the appendages, the line still holding to a weed-encrusted bobber stuttering in the current.
The pulsating drizzle was an annoyance, not a hindrance, and the un-summerlike temperature coupled with a gusty wind removed the need for mosquito repellent.
Bob preferred fishing with nightcrawlers. I started fishing with worms, then switched to a spinner. Both rigs were effective.
A five-hour float brought us to the takeout point. When the canoe touched bottom, I made a move to exit. Veteran legs — after spending too much time in the cramped front seat — weren't up to the task.
My foot slipped on a rock. I tilted backward, lost balance and kersplunken ... I tipped the canoe.
After a few sobering seconds of soaking up river flow that eagerly ebbed over the top of my waders, I turned to find a somber Bob pinned in waist-deep water and contents of the canoe floating around him in disarray.
"You know my cell phone is shot," he quickly pointed out.
A dunking is death to a cell phone but considerably less hazardous to rods, reels, creels, boots, bait, clothing, cushions and lunch.
We gathered the drenched booty and hauled the canoe well on shore.
As Bob silently approached the waiting truck with a load of dripping gear, he slowly turned and said, "Do you want to know the rest? ... I left the keys to the truck in the Jeep back at the other landing."
There we stood, looking at one another — Glum and Glummer.
"Someone has to eventually drive by this landing," Bob finally said. "We'll ask them to bring us to the Jeep."
"This is a gravel and dirt road that doesn't go anywhere except to deer hunting camps," I pointed out. "It could be an hour or it could be days before someone comes along. You stay here and I'll start walking the road back out."
Approximately 45 minutes into a lumbering trek in semi-soggy waders, a rumbling pickup truck piloted by three young men stopped and offered to be my taxi. I eagerly clambered into the back of the truck bed, gingerly stepped around a pile of jagged, rusted, scrap metal and found a sprawling spare tire for a seat.
Heaven never looked so good.
After reconnecting with Bob, we made a beeline for Ishpeming, intending to replace the deep-sixed cell phone, which contained numbers vital to his business in Ohio.
No luck in Ishpeming. Ditto for nearby Negaunee. Finally, in Marquette, we located Bob's cell phone carrier — and an angel in the form of a customer service representative. With an ever-present smile, she patiently listened to our tale and helped Bob select a new phone — one with more features and a larger keypad than his defunct unit.
After processing the purchase, she beamed and said, "This is your lucky day. We're having a special sale on that model. After a mail-in rebate, it will cost you nothing."
Then she downloaded all information from computerized chips in the old phone into the new one. The major loss turned out to be three hours of phone service.
As we walked out the door, Bob was smiling again.
"You know," he said, "I never thought I'd be glad you dunked me."
Believe me, I just love a happy ending.
— Jim Lee is an outdoors writer for Gannett Wisconsin Media. E-mail him at jlee77@earthlink.net.
Showing posts with label U.P.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.P.. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Boys weekend in the UP
Took a couple day's extra on a short week and went north to the UP.
This is my regular annual trip to our cabin, where me and my boy meet up with my dad, and brother.
On the way up we stopped at a well loved and memory filled but now vacant farm.
We found morels.
Our morel guide, my cousin, came through big time.
Once at the lake - the BLUEG harvest was on.
Some Big Lake rocks and rock climbing.
This is the boy casting a dry fly upstream to rising trout. Don't know where he picked that habit up from, obviously not inherited.
I netted the one keeper of the dozen or so he hooked.
He ate it.
He also ate the Morels.
These are morel stuffed thai dumplings with plum sauce and my cousin's home brew.
I got out for one evening on the stream fro a couple of hours.
Fished with this fly.
With all of the brown line blog talk I should feel good about catching nothing but these, but, the experience left me hollow.
A flowering Dogwood on the great cyr swamp plain.
This pic speaks for itself.
Last night at camp bonfire.
This is my regular annual trip to our cabin, where me and my boy meet up with my dad, and brother.
On the way up we stopped at a well loved and memory filled but now vacant farm.
We found morels.
Our morel guide, my cousin, came through big time.
Once at the lake - the BLUEG harvest was on.
Some Big Lake rocks and rock climbing.
This is the boy casting a dry fly upstream to rising trout. Don't know where he picked that habit up from, obviously not inherited.
I netted the one keeper of the dozen or so he hooked.
He ate it.
He also ate the Morels.
These are morel stuffed thai dumplings with plum sauce and my cousin's home brew.
I got out for one evening on the stream fro a couple of hours.
Fished with this fly.
With all of the brown line blog talk I should feel good about catching nothing but these, but, the experience left me hollow.
A flowering Dogwood on the great cyr swamp plain.
This pic speaks for itself.
Last night at camp bonfire.
Coasters not endangered ?
From MLIVE
Federal officials reject coaster brook trout as endangered
by John Flesher | The Associated Press
Monday May 18, 2009, 4:23 PM
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Federal officials have decided against placing the coaster brook trout on the endangered species list, even though the fish has become increasingly rare after long flourishing in the upper Great Lakes.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday said a yearlong review had concluded that coasters were not distinct enough from other brook trout to list them as endangered or establish protected habitat.
"Coasters" are born in rivers and streams, but migrate to lakes and spend most of their lives there, drifting along the coast. They tend to grow larger than other brook trout, which remain within their native streams. Many coasters are 1 to 2 feet long.
Their historical range took in parts of lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior. Roughly 119 Superior tributaries and a half-dozen streams flowing into Huron once supported coasters. But overfishing and habitat degradation in the 1800s nearly wiped them out.
Today, just 15 stream-spawning and three lake-spawning populations are known to exist -- all in Lake Superior.
The Sierra Club and the Huron Mountain Club, a private hunting and fishing preserve in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, petitioned the government in 2006 to designate the coaster as endangered.
Marvin Roberson, a Sierra Club policy specialist, said the group would consider its options, including a lawsuit in federal court to overturn the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision.
"We strongly disagree with it," Roberson said.
Peter Dykema, fisheries manager for Huron Mountain Club, said: "We believe that the surviving coaster population easily satisfies the statutory standards for listing. We are reviewing our legal options to seek review of the Service's decision."
Researchers are uncertain whether the coaster is a genetically separate species. Still, the conservation advocates contend its unique migratory behavior qualifies the fish for listing as a distinct segment of the brook trout population.
But the Fish and Wildlife Service said its review did not yield convincing evidence the coaster was a distinct population segment, much less a separate species or subspecies.
Instead, the agency labeled the coaster a "life history form" that could be reconstituted from other brook trout under the right environmental conditions.
"Thus, the population health of coasters is essentially equal to the population of brook trout in the upper Great Lakes," the agency said in a statement.
"Although coaster brook trout have declined and threats remain, there are at least 200 brook trout populations within the upper Great Lakes and the overall population numbers of brook trout within the upper Great Lakes remains high."
Roberson said the government acknowledged coasters differ from other brook trout in numerous ways, including size and behavior. "And then, incredibly, they say there's no genetic difference between them," he said.
Self-sustaining coaster populations are found in the Salmon Trout River in the Upper Peninsula, which flows through property owned by the Huron Mountain Club, and in the waters of Lake Superior's Isle Royale National Park.
Coasters also live in a few streams on the Canadian side of Superior and in Ontario's Lake Nipigon.
Government agencies, nonprofits and Indian tribes in the U.S. and Canada are trying to restore the colorful fish. Strict limits are imposed on catching them.
Other efforts include habitat improvements such as removing or redesigning dams that block stream access. Some sections of Lake Superior have been stocked with brook trout.
Logging and road construction can harm coasters by causing sediment to erode into spawning areas, Roberson said.
Opponents of a proposed nickel and copper mine in the Upper Peninsula say it also could pose a danger. The mine would extend beneath a section of the Salmon Trout River. Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. says its project would not harm the fish.
Federal officials reject coaster brook trout as endangered
by John Flesher | The Associated Press
Monday May 18, 2009, 4:23 PM
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Federal officials have decided against placing the coaster brook trout on the endangered species list, even though the fish has become increasingly rare after long flourishing in the upper Great Lakes.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday said a yearlong review had concluded that coasters were not distinct enough from other brook trout to list them as endangered or establish protected habitat.
"Coasters" are born in rivers and streams, but migrate to lakes and spend most of their lives there, drifting along the coast. They tend to grow larger than other brook trout, which remain within their native streams. Many coasters are 1 to 2 feet long.
Their historical range took in parts of lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior. Roughly 119 Superior tributaries and a half-dozen streams flowing into Huron once supported coasters. But overfishing and habitat degradation in the 1800s nearly wiped them out.
Today, just 15 stream-spawning and three lake-spawning populations are known to exist -- all in Lake Superior.
The Sierra Club and the Huron Mountain Club, a private hunting and fishing preserve in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, petitioned the government in 2006 to designate the coaster as endangered.
Marvin Roberson, a Sierra Club policy specialist, said the group would consider its options, including a lawsuit in federal court to overturn the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision.
"We strongly disagree with it," Roberson said.
Peter Dykema, fisheries manager for Huron Mountain Club, said: "We believe that the surviving coaster population easily satisfies the statutory standards for listing. We are reviewing our legal options to seek review of the Service's decision."
Researchers are uncertain whether the coaster is a genetically separate species. Still, the conservation advocates contend its unique migratory behavior qualifies the fish for listing as a distinct segment of the brook trout population.
But the Fish and Wildlife Service said its review did not yield convincing evidence the coaster was a distinct population segment, much less a separate species or subspecies.
Instead, the agency labeled the coaster a "life history form" that could be reconstituted from other brook trout under the right environmental conditions.
"Thus, the population health of coasters is essentially equal to the population of brook trout in the upper Great Lakes," the agency said in a statement.
"Although coaster brook trout have declined and threats remain, there are at least 200 brook trout populations within the upper Great Lakes and the overall population numbers of brook trout within the upper Great Lakes remains high."
Roberson said the government acknowledged coasters differ from other brook trout in numerous ways, including size and behavior. "And then, incredibly, they say there's no genetic difference between them," he said.
Self-sustaining coaster populations are found in the Salmon Trout River in the Upper Peninsula, which flows through property owned by the Huron Mountain Club, and in the waters of Lake Superior's Isle Royale National Park.
Coasters also live in a few streams on the Canadian side of Superior and in Ontario's Lake Nipigon.
Government agencies, nonprofits and Indian tribes in the U.S. and Canada are trying to restore the colorful fish. Strict limits are imposed on catching them.
Other efforts include habitat improvements such as removing or redesigning dams that block stream access. Some sections of Lake Superior have been stocked with brook trout.
Logging and road construction can harm coasters by causing sediment to erode into spawning areas, Roberson said.
Opponents of a proposed nickel and copper mine in the Upper Peninsula say it also could pose a danger. The mine would extend beneath a section of the Salmon Trout River. Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. says its project would not harm the fish.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Morchella Angusticeps - May 1
A field report from Delta County - U.P. filed yesterday :
HDW-
Found 2 nice black morels, morchella angusticeps, at Farm and one small one at Devil's Creek. Probably walked 8 miles and drove 80 mi for 3 mushrooms.
The woods are filled with hepaticas, a few blooming trout lilies, and bloodroot. Found one devil's urn. No other fungi. At Devil's creek the wild leeks are about 1/2 of their mature size. As usual, they are profuse.
Wild strawberries are just leafing. No sign of trillium or orchis. Apple trees are just beginning to bud. Daffodils at Farm are in full bloom in the sunny areas and just beginning in the woods along with scylla and a few crocus along the pond. Saw a beautiful 16 in garter snake and 6 painted turtles on a log at Long Lake and 6 or 8 wood ducks. There were sandhill cranes making alot of noise but I didn't see them.
Oddly, only one wood tick.
m
HDW-
Found 2 nice black morels, morchella angusticeps, at Farm and one small one at Devil's Creek. Probably walked 8 miles and drove 80 mi for 3 mushrooms.
The woods are filled with hepaticas, a few blooming trout lilies, and bloodroot. Found one devil's urn. No other fungi. At Devil's creek the wild leeks are about 1/2 of their mature size. As usual, they are profuse.
Wild strawberries are just leafing. No sign of trillium or orchis. Apple trees are just beginning to bud. Daffodils at Farm are in full bloom in the sunny areas and just beginning in the woods along with scylla and a few crocus along the pond. Saw a beautiful 16 in garter snake and 6 painted turtles on a log at Long Lake and 6 or 8 wood ducks. There were sandhill cranes making alot of noise but I didn't see them.
Oddly, only one wood tick.
m
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Lake Superior Ice Pack - March 3
This picture, provided by those socialists at the NOAA (you know, as Bobby Jindal says, "pictures from space ? who needs that ?") shows a pretty dramatic ice pack on the Great Lake this winter. Hope it bodes well for water levels in the U.P. this summer.
There is an almost ice bridge all the way out to Isle Royale. I don't think that happens very often.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
A pack of Feral Brittanys
I am not sure how my brother managed to get off our frozen bay on Shag lake with this pack of killers closing in, but some how, he did. Perhaps he rubbed their bellies. We'll probably never know.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
S.Coast Coaster decision delayed
Agency delays decision on coaster brook trout
by The Associated Press
Saturday December 06, 2008, 10:42 AM
MARQUETTE, Mich. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has delayed a decision on whether to place the coaster brook trout on the endangered species list.
The agency had planned to make a tentative decision by Dec. 15 about the fish, which once thrived in the upper Great Lakes.
But Jessica Hogrefe, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife regional office in Minneapolis, tells The Mining Journal of Marquette for a Saturday story the agency is pushing back the decision until April to get more data.
"Coasters" are a type of brook trout that migrate from streams to lakes. Their historical range took in parts of Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, with spawning runs in more than 50 streams flowing into Lake Superior from Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.
by The Associated Press
Saturday December 06, 2008, 10:42 AM
MARQUETTE, Mich. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has delayed a decision on whether to place the coaster brook trout on the endangered species list.
The agency had planned to make a tentative decision by Dec. 15 about the fish, which once thrived in the upper Great Lakes.
But Jessica Hogrefe, a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife regional office in Minneapolis, tells The Mining Journal of Marquette for a Saturday story the agency is pushing back the decision until April to get more data.
"Coasters" are a type of brook trout that migrate from streams to lakes. Their historical range took in parts of Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, with spawning runs in more than 50 streams flowing into Lake Superior from Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Fall cast and blast IV
Today I did morning and evening blast and no cast as we really did have to do the winterizing.
Some landscapes with gun and dog. My Brother took these so no claim as to composition or real pic value.
Some shotgun pron.
and no boyds but me & and the dog had a good time.
The one on the top is my grandfather's Winchester 12 gauge model 1897 total take down made in 1913.The one on the bottom is my uncle's 1985 Montie Ward WesternField 20 gauge. This is the same Winchester as above with two ducks and my grandfather in 1958.
No woodcock or grouse were harmed in the production of this blog post.
Some landscapes with gun and dog. My Brother took these so no claim as to composition or real pic value.
Some shotgun pron.
and no boyds but me & and the dog had a good time.
The one on the top is my grandfather's Winchester 12 gauge model 1897 total take down made in 1913.The one on the bottom is my uncle's 1985 Montie Ward WesternField 20 gauge. This is the same Winchester as above with two ducks and my grandfather in 1958.
No woodcock or grouse were harmed in the production of this blog post.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Fall cast and blast III
Decided to flip the day and fished first and then did the bird hunt this evening. In an an effort to work on the south shore coaster projetc we went after the lake runs this morning. Hit one of the U.P. streams with one of the greatest stream names ever.
Some dead stuff on the stream bank.
We brought home some Lake Superior Coho.
And this evening the shotguns were exercised. The woodcock and the grouse remain unscathed.
Some dead stuff on the stream bank.
We brought home some Lake Superior Coho.
And this evening the shotguns were exercised. The woodcock and the grouse remain unscathed.
Fall cast and blast II
Day 2 results much similar to Day 1. Grouse flushed with none accidently flying into the direction that the birdshot was flying. The day was warm and the dog got a work out. Here he is lying down on the ground drinking from his bowl refusing to make eye contact with me because he is so disappointed in one half of the team.
As usual the cast portion of the day went much better.
With no grouses to bring home I took a couple of trout for the old man back at the cabin.
There are essential vitamins and nutrients in fresh caught brook trout that are very beneficial for 86 yr olds.
As usual the cast portion of the day went much better.
With no grouses to bring home I took a couple of trout for the old man back at the cabin.
There are essential vitamins and nutrients in fresh caught brook trout that are very beneficial for 86 yr olds.
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