
I pointed my truck east late last week and headed to Lower
Michigan to plug my new adventure and to do some fishing. I turned off the key
in a small harbor town on Lake Michigan where I had the pleasure of joining a
group of guys for their annual “Pink Salmon” outing. (They no longer fish pink
salmon but the name stuck and you don’t mess with tradition.) Letting a new guy
into a long-established get together is always risky, especially when the
chemistry is already perfect, but Randy, Dave, Bill and Tom welcomed me into
the fold with open arms. Over the next three days, they fed me, tied some of
their favorite flies for me, and took me to their secret spots in a nearby
state forest where I heard a true sign of fall, bugling elk (a sound I had not
heard since a backpacking trip to Yellowstone in 1998).
I returned to the U.P. to low temperatures in the 20s, geese
flying overhead as they made their way south, snow fence being installed and
with just enough time to fish a few streams in advance of a trip with my client,
Sue. Pictured above with one of the many brook trout she caught, this one a 13
incher, Sue is an accomplished fly angler, a true world traveler, and a great
person to spend two days on the water with. Having visited more than 100
countries (including time in a base camp high upon Mt. Everest), the week flew
by quickly as she recalled stories that brought a smile to your face one moment
and put a lump in your throat the next. Add to that the yellows and reds of the
changing leaves and the equally brilliant hues of fall brook trout decked out
in their spawning attire and I ended the ten days with memories to last me well
into the upcoming winter months. Thanks to all these special people for sharing
their time with me.
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