Scouting Trout Streams
The next best thing to fishing on a 30º day is scouting for summer fishing locations. In Michigan, small streams are closed to fishing from the end of September until the last Saturday in April. While fishing larger streams for trout and occasionally stalking the elusive steelhead provides some relief, winter still brings with it a bit of withdrawal when it comes to my preference for catching native and wild fish in a stream that hasn’t seen a pellethead trout in a decade or longer.
On Saturday, my friend Eric Doyle and I picked out two “green lines” on the Michigan DNR maps for explorations. The green lines are Type 1 trout streams which receive little to no DNR support, have a shortened season, and typically are self-sustaining with wild trout.
The first one we drove past was little more than a drainage ditch. While it may work for worm fishing, it certainly was not conducive to fly casting. We didn’t even get out of the car.
The second stream looked more promising on Google maps, and turned out to be just so on foot. We parked in a roadside pullout and had to walk a couple of hundred yards into the woods to find the stream. Half of the walk was through a mix of ash trees and black willows, a promising sign. We found a small, sandy bottom stream about ten feet wide. While casting would certainly be tight, it did look fishable with nice undercut banks.
A stroll down the creek revealed that is does hold small, spooky trout. Dozens zipped away when they caught a glimpse of us or when one of us got close enough to the creek that our shadow crossed the water.
A third of a mile or so further along, the creek widened and we realized we had a very fishable stream on our hands. We verbalized our simultaneous dreams of returning in the summer, with bug dope and a hammock or napping blanket in hand, to fish attractors to the spooky brookies.
My dream abruptly ended when I stepped on some thin ice over deep hole and soaked my right Sorel and pant leg up to the knee. Ice water swamped my boot and we knew it was time to head back to the car.
Are you wondering where the stream is? Well, it’s within 45 minutes of home, but not in Kent County. That’s about all I’m saying here. If it proves not to hold fish after giving it three or more tries, maybe then I’ll tell you the name.