Spring Steelhead

Sometimes it is a matter of who you know and not what you know. Any fly fisherman can put in the time to figure out all the fine details about their home fishery. However, a traveling fly fisherman can not possibly know all the fine details of foreign waters. And a fly fisherman who travels frequently always finds himself in unfamiliar territory. Regardless of skill, pretty casts, what you’ve done before and all that nonsense it really boils down to information. And, in order to acquire quality information it usually requires meeting quality people. I feel fortunate to have quality fly fishing buddies scattered around the globe. I prefer to align myself with down to earth and non-know-it-all folks. The internet, fly shops and rivers are littered with self-proclaimed experts and big ego’s. When it comes to Great Lakes steelhead fly fishing, I owe much of my fun, experiences and learning to Waterwhippa and Kranefly. These guys are as good as they come on and off the water. They have been kind enough to share their prime stomping grounds with me and my other core group of fly fishing buddies. They have helped many to understand steelhead fly fishing and the many different possible methods a fly fisherman can use. Most of all, Waterwhippa and Kranefly have made all of my trips to the Great Lakes infinitely more fun. We have spent hours on end covering miles and miles of water in search of steelhead. We have had bad days, good days and great days. And we have exhausted ourselves to the point of being slap happy and laughing at things that don’t even seem funny after the fact. Their passion for fly fishing is obvious and when they are not steelheading they are on the Delaware River or in the Adirondacks casting dry flies to wild trout. This years Great Lakes steelhead season ended much like it had begun. Joey and I drove to NY while touching base with Waterwhippa ever couple hours in route to his house. “Dude, we are in Albany. How are things shaping up?” Waterwhippa would respond, “It’s gonna be good.” Joey and I showed up to Dave and Sarah’s pad. Kranefly was there too. Oh yah, and who could forget Mooncaster. Immediately we were sitting in a smoke filled room with beers all over the table and vises clamped on the table. Joey and I were picking some notes on the guitar and life was good. Until I leaned back and broke Sarah’s dining room chair. Sorry Sarah. Anyway, morning came fast and we were on the water before the sun. Some things panned out, other things didn’t but in the end we found the steelhead. Many battles were lost and a few were won. I caught some beautiful rainbow trout in small creeks on a 6 weight fly rod. Joey headed back to Maine and I spent a couple more days fly fishing with Waterwhippa. We both spent time researching and learning new steelhead waters and, as always, I left knowing more than I knew. So, I would like to wrap up this years steelhead season with a tip of the hat to Waterwhippa and Kranefly. In my mind, these two good friends will forever be synonymous with my love for Great Lakes steelhead fly fishing.