Superior Steel

Capt. Brad Petzke holds a solid Lake Superior wild steelhead from an unnamed tributary on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Steelies are taking the front seat right now all across the Great Lakes region. Nice hat, too! That's the new Scott digital camo.

MEGA Drum

JD did a quick Lake Erie shakedown trip with Scientific Anglers Pro Staff Guide Capt. Brian Mezaros and the guys found a group of super-sized freshwater drum feeding in shallow water. Several days of NE winds had the nearshore water muddied up, but held warmer water temp on a sunny day and allowed a closer-than-normal approach to these usually skittish fish in 2'-3' of water.

JD's Arctic Wiggler Tube pattern in olive and orange produced the most fish, including this 14 lb. (on the Boga) beast held by Capt. B that made a knuckle-busting run way into the backing when first hooked

Very Fishy Art

My buddy, Ted K. is retired from the Forest Service and lives in Ashton, ID. A true Renaissance Man, he is can do just about anything. He does fish carvings and paintings on cedar planking that are fabulous. Here is a steelhead that I got from him. length on this piece is 23 inches. Note the unique fins and jaw mandible. All painting is very detailed. Ted can do pretty much any fish that swims. I've seen everything from trout to musky, bonefish, redfish and even tarpon. Very cool stuff!

Castapalooza Events Start!

I will be holding two Castapalooza events this month. The Castapalooza is a celebration of all things fly fishing, but concentrates on rods, lines and casting. There will also be fly tying demos and the chance for anglers of all ages and skill levels to try out gear and receive instruction. These events are free and open to the public!

Scientific Anglers and Scott Fly Rods are the main supporters along with a great team of helpers including Jeff Liskay, Will Turek, John Rochus, Charlie Chlysta, and others.

The first of these will be next Saturday, April 16, at Leeper Park in South Bend, IN, on the St. Joe River starting at 9:00 AM. This will be held in conjunction with the St. Joe River Valley Fly Fishers.

On Saturday April 23, Team Castapalooza will be at Hidden Valley Park on Ohio's Grand River. this event is incooperation with Lake Metroparks Annual Canoe and Kayak Race, so there will be a big crowd. Hidden Valley Park is on Klasen Rd. 2 miles south of I-90 of Rt. 528 (Exit 212). Again start time is 9:00 AM and we will be there all day!

Pass the word and stop out and see us! More Castapalooza events being scheduled, stay tuned!

Frozen Steps

This spring entering Conneaut Creek and flowing over step-like layers of shale, froze when overnight temperatures dropped into the teens. Winter is slooowly releasing its hold on NE Ohio, but not without a fight.

Ice Sculptures

With temperatures continuing below freezing at night and warming up just enough during the day to get some ground melt started, some interesting ice formations can be found along Lake Erie's steelhead streams. Here is a interesting group of icicles I saw along Conneaut Creek.

To give an idea of size scale, the distance from the base of the cliff to the tree line is 30-35 feet.