With the weather warming up a little bit and the water coming down into a reasonable fishing range, we could have a great fishing week end here. Unfortunately I will be out of town. Some smelt have been taken in the falls river in the very early morning hours. The water level is now down but the steelhead fishing is kind of spotty. It has warmed up a little and that should help.The water in the Huron river has also come down quite a bit. Some fish are being taken but it is also on the light side. Hopefully we will see an increase in activity over the week end.
Toward the end of the Morel hunting season and after a couple days of good rain. It is usually a good time to start hunting oyster mushrooms. Although Morel mushrooms have to be the most popular there are many good wild mushrooms to be picked though out the summer and fall. In the early part of the summer one of the first to appear are the oyster mushrooms. These can pretty much be divided into 2 groups. The most popular being the summer oyster ( Pleurotus populinus), And the darker fall version (Pleurotus ostreatus).
One advantage to hunting the fall oyster mushroom is you don’t have as many problems with insects destroying the mushrooms before you can get to them. As far as look a likes- there are not many. Most of them are so tough or thin you can’t eat them anyway. I find the summer oysters growing mostly on dead or dying poplar trees, from ground level all the way to the top of the tree. Which can get kind of frustrating if you are a short person like me.
This mushroom can get pretty large. Cap-2 ¼ to 5 ½ inches.
Color-Brownish white to white or grayish- in the shape of an oyster shell as the name implies.
There is a very short stem if any. The flesh is white. The spore print should be white to lilac.
The oyster mushroom is classified as an excellent edible.
This article is written for educational purposes only. If you are not sure what you are picking- don’t eat it! If you are new to mushroom hunting purchase some good books. Consult a professional for positive identification.
If you are not comfortable picking wild mushrooms there are many mushroom growing kits on the market. You can purchase a kit. You can also purchase spawn and start from scratch.
Well a little warmer here today. The water in the rivers are still quite high. Some smelt and Steelhead are being taken from the Falls River. The smelt run here over the last 5 or 6 years has been almost non existent. So I am anticipating this run will be short. The cold weather and high water not helping much. I will keep you informed as things develop though out the week.
It had stormed violently the night before. Thunder, lighting and heavy rain fell for a good hour. I was now kneeling in the long marsh grass along water works creek. The air was fresh, with only the kind off freshness you can get after thunderstorms pass though an area.This creek was very small. It feed into a much larger river that had a good Brook Trout population in it. If you looked at this creek after a dry spell you would think it could hardly support a minnow. But after a heavy rain this little creek was dynamite for Trout fishing. The erosion caused from the very short lived high water would deposit worms and crawlers into the water for the trout to feed on. Then the trout would come up into the small creek from the river to feed. These weren’t small fish either. It was not uncommon to catch Brook Trout in the 14 to 16 inch range.
I stretched my arm out to elevate the rod over the tall grass and fed my line down with the small split shot and crawler into the water. The current from the high water quickly took the slack out of my line. Then the strike! I had my first Brook Trout of the day on. Making my way quietly along the creek I repeated this process till I had my limit.
Fishing small creeks can be a challenge. You have to take your time and move quietly. You also want to leave some distance between you and the water so they don’t see you. Brook Trout will spook very easily.
Another thing that can be very helpful is to use a spin casting real with a long rod. Many times along these small creeks you will be knelling down and trying to feed your line though tall grass and brush. This will help keep your line from getting tangled.
Many of these small feeder creeks exist. You just have to spend the time and find them.
Sitting here at my computer. It is April 27th and snowing again. A little snow for this part of the country -this time of year is not real unusual. But it could at lest be mixed with some rain to show its attempting to warm up. Not a chance at 22 degrees.Last week we had a nice warming trend. I was hoping that would spark things a little bit and the smelt and steelhead would start to run. Their were a few steelhead being caught in the Falls River this past week. This cold trend that has now settled in here makes it a little hard to predict. The water levels are very high making it hard to fish. If we are going to have a smelt run here it should happen shortly. Will keep you posted.The bay is completely free of ice now. If this weather straitens out I should have a report on the salmon fishing for you later in the week.Many of the inlands lakes here still have some ice on them.
I have been getting some questions on how to fish steelhead using spawn bags. There are a number of artificial spawn products being offered. Bottled spawn, colored yarn and rubber eggs just to mention a few. At times they will work. But fresh is always the best. Most sport shops in the areas where the steelhead run will sell pre tied fresh spawn bags. This will get you started. Once you catch a female steelhead you can tie your own bags. I use a salmon colored netting along with some colored Styrofoam pellets. The pellets add some color and help keep it off the bottom a little bit. Rig your line with a slip sinker and a number 4 or 6 bait holder hook. I also use a small split shot in front of the slip singer and give the spawn bag about a foot of free line to the hook.
You can use either fresh salmon eggs or steelhead spawn. I freeze some of the spawn for later use. You can also treat the spawn by mixing it with borax. The borax gives the eggs a rubbery texture which makes them great for single egg use. The picture above will give you an idea of the type of material I use.
Needed:
Netting
Styrofoam pellets-colors your choice
Thread-to tie the bags
Slip sinkers and split shots
Number 4 or 6 bait holder hooks
There are a lot of books written on how to fish steelhead. But sometimes keeping it simple works the best. If the spawn is not working get out the night crawlers. At times they will hit on the crawlers when nothing else will work. If you have any questions put them in the comments area or feel free to email my at larry@fishhuntexplore.com.
If you like grilled salmon or even if you don’t like grilled salmon you might appreciate this recipe. But this recipe isn’t about the salmon – it’s all about the sauce. Tonight I prepared a tangy, sweet, and spicy sauce that goes great with grilled salmon or even ribs or chicken. Be careful to not over cook the sauce, as it will thicken as it cools. If the sauce sits for too long and becomes too thick then just add a little bit of water to thin it out. This delicious sauce called ‘honey pepper sauce’ is very similar to the one served at the Applebee’s restaurant. This meal is very easy to prepare and the fish and the sauce should be on the table within just a few minutes. Also, if you don’t have a grill, or prefer not to use one baking the salmon in the oven will work just as good. Ingredients: Honey Pepper Sauce- ¾ cup honey
1/3 cup soy sauce
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Salmon- 4 (8 oz) salmon fillets
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
Vegetable oil
Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: To make the sauce combine all of the sauce ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stirring occasionally bring the sauce to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Watch the sauce to make sure it doesn’t bubble over while boiling. The sauce will thicken as it cools. Step 2: Rub each salmon fillet with vegetable oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Step 3: Grill salmon for 4-7 minutes on each side or until fully cooked. Step 4: Serve Salmon with a cup of honey pepper sauce for dipping or pour sauce over salmon fillets.
Just a short note:Well another great day here. With the warmer weather the Steelhead fishing is starting to kick into gear. The water is quite high which is making fishing difficult- but some steelhead are being caught . The Huron river is very high. The warmer weather is suppose to last into the week end with a chance of showers tonight. This looks like it could be a set up for a very good fishing weekend.
It was a beautiful day here in upper Michigan. 62 degrees with a strong wind that took the snow down like crazy. The warmer weather bringing some fisherman out to try their luck at some early steelhead fishing. Nothing happening yet. Due to the runoff from the last two snow storms the rivers are running a little high. With the warmer temperatures and the increased current feeding the bay, we may see some steelhead being caught by the end of the week. The ice on the bay is pretty well broken up. A strong south wind would probably push the ice out into lake Superior and open the bay up. I have not heard anything on the smelt run yet- but it is a little early. With the kind of winter most of us have had in the North Country- it just seems good to be dealing with open water.
Well it looks like we are finally getting close to the steelhead run here in upper Michigan. After two late snowstorms and temps way below normal we are finally warming up. Water levels may get a little high do to the run off. But in my mind better to start high -then too low. Steelhead fishing here usually peaks around the end of April. Thier is still a lot of ice on the bay keeping the water temperatures down. So I am looking for a late run. The salmon fishing is at a stand still do to the ice still in the bay. The inland lakes pretty much the same. As the week develops and warmer teperatures come in to the area I hope to have a steelhead fishing report for you. Be sure to subscribe to my feed.
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