An adventure never seems like and adventure when you’re In the middle of it…
Rarely does any trip go off without a hitch. It was a last
minute cancelation of my ride to Beaver Island that is said “well good thing
you got that out of the way right off the bat”. The weather forecast looked crummy,
flying was out of the question last minute so the prospect of a 14 hour drive
had me thinking how bad do I want to finally get this Carp skunk off? Turns out I wanted it pretty bad, rods
in the truck, water for the ride and a full tank of gas and I hit the road for
the first leg up to stay with family in Ohio for the night so I could finish
the second leg in the am up to Chalevoix, MI.
On arrival into Charlevoix I hopped on a puddle jumper for
the ten minute flight to Beaver. A beautiful day for flying made the trip
uneventful. At the airport I was
received by guide Kevin Morlock and trip organizer Evan Muskopf. I settled into
the fisherman’s house to talk fish with the other two arrivals. I was told I
could wade in just down the street from the house and take a few shots before
sunset. I jumped into my wading boots and headed down to shore and sure enough
I got my first up close look at the Beaver Island water and the Carp I travelled
so far for. It is no stretch of the imagination to compare water clarity with
anywhere in the Caribbean. Not a long leap to compare this fishing saltwater
flats either. First cast 30
feet…short, second cast 40 feet…spook… I thought I am just going to lay out all
the line I can…lift the rod to load and SNAP the gut wrenching sound of rod
parting in the wrong place. Spare rod is back at the house so back to the shop
we go. On getting back to the
house I met the rest of the team, Steve Martinez and Austin Adduci and the BBQ was
on. The rest of the afternoon was spent eating diner, and talking fish.
Day 1-
This is not a typical fishing trip. A late morning start by
fishing standards. Breakfast is
served at 8am and launch is around 9am. Fishing for Carp improves as the water
warms so no need for the early morning rise. I paired up with Steve and was off
and ready to fish. A 15 minute run
puts us on the fishing grounds with rods in hand. There is no shortage of
targets on BI, that was quickly apparent, the clear water is ideal for sight
fishing but I will say this, if you go to Beaver Island expecting those Carp to
be any easier than Carp you have come across before, you will be very disappointed.
The challenges of distance, accuracy and spookiness of the fish add up very
quickly. A poor cast, slap on the water or sound from the boat can scatter the
school in a moment. Couple that with the wind and a fish that when on the move
constantly changes direction leaves very little room for error. The spook
factor will drive you mad. The favored technique is to not only lead the fish
but to land the fly beyond and strip into the strike zone. Stopping the fly in
the strike zone must be engrained in my DNA by now because I had hundreds of
shots over the weekend where I stopped the fly landing directly in front of the
fish. Landing in the strike zone will usually send the fish into high gear in
the opposite direction never to be seen or heard of again…and by the way he is
taking is buddies with him.
Steve is a top notch guide. Through the day he patiently
coached without any pressure. We worked on the casting and presentation without
too much instruction. I hooked my first fish and lost it about two minutes in.
The second came in the next one 15 minutes and for the first time saw the
backing going out on my Galvan reel. It is truly and experience to have the
thought run through your head of “did I put enough backing on here, I’m not
sure he is planning on stopping “. Day one ended with 4 Carp in hand, one break
off and my first Smallmouth that can be hardly called “small”.
Day 2-
Fishing this body of water brings with it lots of
challenges, mostly in the form of unpredictable weather that moves in at the
blink of an eye. Blue skies and 10 knot winds gave way to overcast and blowing
15 – 20 overnight made for tough fishing conditions. Despite having another great guide in Austin for the day, I
sighted very few Carp. The smallmouth bite was hot and I pegged a few while
taking shots at Carp to save the day.
Austin made the very best of a tough day of fishing, worked extremely
hard at finding me fish. Day two ended with 4 Smallmouth in hand.
Day 3-
The third and final day was planned as a half day, the wind still blowing 15-20
and shifted overnight moving the fish again. Thankfully the clear skies made
for spotting the fish a bit easier than the previous day. Had the pleasure of fishing with Steve
again and shared the bow time with Evan. It took a bit searching but we located fish two hours into the day. Searching for water just a few degrees
warmer than the surrounding water proved key to finding the holding fish. A large shoal of Carp kept us busy for
next few hours. I ended the morning with one carp in hand, one that came
unbuttoned after his second run into my backing. Evan hooked and landed 2 and
lost 1.
Indigo guide service is a top-notch outfitter. Kevin, Steve
and Austin take great pleasure in sharing this unique experience with anyone
adventurous enough to make the trip. Steve and Austin are some of the best
guides I have had the pleasure of fishing with and I have no doubt Kevin is as
well.
Check out Indigo Guide Service at: http://www.indigoguideservice.com/
Austin and Third Coast Outfitters can be contacted at: http://www.grabyourflycharters.com/
A special thanks to Evan Muskopf for organizing the trip. On
top of a being a skilled fly angler, Evan is one of most knowledgeable people I
have met when it comes to fly gear. He puts his skill to good use every day as
a member of the Feather-Craft fly shop team.
Contact Evan if you are looking to join next year’s Beaver
Island group or need advice on that next special rod and reel via http://www.feather-craft.com/
"I
urge you to take notes, take photos and take chances, remembering that you will
never regret things you do nearly so much as those you don’t." -Flip Pallot
-Luis
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