Hey everyone,
Seeing as it is officially fall, I thought I would post some pics from our first fall trip...
We managed to squeeze 4 full days of float fishing in - the most consecutive days I have been able to row - what fun! We floated and fished the Pere Marquette River in NW Michigan.

First off it has not rained here in forever - so the river was super, super bony... the boat took her fair share of scrapes, drags, and bumps... but handled all of the above like a champ. I did manage to put a nice scratch all the way down one side of the boat while threading the needle between some wood sticking out of the water and some wading fishermen... such is life I suppose.

We streamer fished the morning of the first day scouting the areas to see what our best bet was... we quickly changed our attention to salmon, as they were in fishable numbers in most holes on the river... We had some good hookups - but as I said before we are in need of rain to bring in fresh fish. We should be getting that rain and cold this week - so I am trying to find a way to get back up there.

So in between dodging overhanging trees, submerged logs, rocks, and the gravel bars, we managed to get through pretty well. I learned a lot about rowing in tight corners and the need to look ahead to setup for the obstacle downstream while your are currently dodging something in order to keep good lines around the debris. I learned about this a few times with a large "thud".
The tough part was the river would run over super shallow gravel then right into a 90 degree bend with a bunch of strainers in it... the problem being that you couldn't get good digs on the oars to pull away, so there was lots of going straight across the gravel with super shallow pulls, then a couple huge pulls in the hole right before smacking the trees and logs in the hole. It is the coolest when you put the stem 1" from a log and drift through unscathed.

We also navigated a couple rock gardens in low water (small ones - but you have to start somewhere) that was the most fun. My cousin Karl was up front calling the rocks out and I was pulling accordingly - the lines were sparse but we didn't bump a single rock through there - doubt it will go so smoothly every time.

So all in all I was very pleased with the performance of the boat - and in this fishing environment it was key to have a boat that handles well, that is trimmed properly, and was able to fish a man in front and rear of the rower. I am also really, really appreciating the lowside on this design... anything higher would be overkill here... makes entry and exit a little easier. Plenty of compliments on the river...met good people and had a blast rowing my boat and fishing. And to think a year ago today my kit was on its way here...

Thought you guys might enjoy a few picks.
Tight lines and smooth rowing...

My first river salmon of the season... caught on an egg fly that I tied! (yes I know they are the easiest ever but it was encouraging nonetheless!) The fish were strong and ready to run and jump all up and down the runs...

Low clear water was the order of the day... fishing the holes in the shade seemed to be productive.

Cast over there!

Morning fog with the mine field of wood as you can see.

Fish On!

This is why we go... Go get em' Karl!

Landed this one... a quick pic before we sent him off to do his business in peace.

Salmon fever at the launch...

Slide

Fish On Johnboy!

The boat supervising the fishing...

Thanks for looking!
Jason