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Early Spring Steelhead Fishing

Written on March 29, 2011 by admin in Blog, Fishing, Fly Fishing, Videos

This past weekend Tex, Pt and I all headed up north for an early spring fishing trip on the Pere Marquette River. The weather was not cooperating at all and the freezing temperatures and barometer changes certainly presented some tough fishing challenges.

But we still had an absolute blast and were able to land some very nice Brown Trout even though we didn’t get any Steelhead to the boat. The weather forecast is looking great for the next few weeks and we are planning on spending a lot of time on the water. Checkout our Steelhead teaser from this weekend below.

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A River Runs Through It

Written on March 23, 2011 by admin in Blog, Fishing, Fly Fishing

Opie, PT and Tex After a Morning Adventure

Like it was yesterday I still remember loading up the old Ford truck with our fishing gear, hooking up to ‘old greenie’ and heading for northern waters across the bridge in the U.P. for the first time. PT, Tex and I were 8, 7 and 6 and it was the greatest adventure of our young lives.

For the next 7 years we would head north for the first week of June to explore new waters, chase monster Walleyes and just be boys. Memories and traditions were born during those years that are permanently ingrained in each one of us. From our morning swim/bath that we called the ‘Healer’ because the icy water would cure whatever ailed ya to the endless stories of lost fish and the shenanigans us boys got into while our dads were napping. Every year for one week at Pitko’s Landing on the shores of Caribou Lake we were allowed to just be boys; to test our brawn, enrich our souls and glory in our own victories and defeats. Those are truly some of my fondest memories from my childhood and I feel so blessed to have a father that would invest so much time and patience with me.

The Crew Dockside on Caribou Lake with Old Greenie

Well this weekend all of us boys from the Caribou lake trips are reuniting on the banks of the Pere Marquette River in Baldwin, Mi to recant old stories and chase spring steelhead. It has been 22 years since that first trip north with the boys. A lot has changed over the years as we have all grown older and wiser and have each followed different paths through life. The old men are a little older and us boys are now men but there are some things that will never change. I am looking forward to some very hearty laughs, some great fish stories and spending time enjoying nature with some of my closest friends.

Hopefully none of us end up taking a surprise ‘healer’ in the river this weekend.

Tight Lines,

Opie

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.” – Norman MacLean

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Heading North For Some Steelies

Written on March 11, 2011 by admin in Blog, Fishing, Fly Fishing

A Beautiful Spring Steelhead Caught By Opie

Well it’s just after lunch on a beautiful March Friday. It is almost 40 degrees, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and I’m getting ready to take off and head up north with PT for two days on the river chasing spring Steelhead. It’s been a long week and I couldn’t be more ready to bask in some warm sunlight while floating down the river and just enjoy the serenity of the moment. Below is a short post that PT wrote the other day that I think everyone will enjoy. Spring is just around the corner!

Tight Lines,

Opie

Surprises While Spring Steelheading

I am sitting down to tie some more size 10 stoneflies. I don’t want to, there are already 20 of them in my fly box, but I have to do something to take my mind off the fact that I am not fishing right now. The sun is shinning, very little wind and it is supposed to get warmer and warmer as the day goes on. It is perfect steelhead fishing weather…. but since I cannot fish today I will continue to get my gear ready to go and make sure everything is perfect.

As I was getting my gear around I was thinking about the first couple times that I went steelheading. I was under prepared and not at all conscience of the situations I would encounter. I remember a spring trip a few years ago with a good buddy of mine. We were going on a guided trip on the Pere Marquette river and I could not have been more excited. Rumor had it that there was a ton of fish in the system and we were going to have a great day. We launched the boat about 8am, the sun was shinning and the temp was on its way to forty degrees. We had on a lot of layers but left some of our warmer gear in the truck because it didn’t look like we would need it. About halfway through the trip it started to blow and spit rain but we were hooking fish and having a blast so we just zipped out coats up and kept fishing. We were set up on a good run and fishing from the boat because standing in forty degree water even with good gear on isn’t much fun. My buddy, or should I say lucky ass buddy kept hooking up fish, it was almost every cast. He tried to stay in the boat for the first one and it quickly schooled him, the second one he got out of the boat and headed down river with it but after a short battle it was off. When he hooked the third one in as many casts I was pissed, I didn’t even look up as he got out of the boat and headed down river. I did however look up when I heard a very loud “crack” thinking that he had broken his rod and therefore I would have something to smile about. But I couldn’t see him, all I could see was his rod sticking out of the water, then his head emerged and he stood up, the sound was his rod slapping the water and he went under. Somehow he had managed to keep the fish on, like I said “lucky ass”, and he landed a wonderful 8 pound male steelhead. The celebration was short, remember water temp 40 degrees, air temp around 35 degrees, wind blowing 15 mph and we were 3 hours from the truck, and my buddy was soaked from head to toe, every piece of clothing was wet. Lucky for him the guide had an extra jacket and hat, and he spent the rest of the float hunkered down in front of the heater trying to stay warm. He was lucky, it could have been a lot worse and we were both thankful that there was an extra jacket or it would have been a very serious situation.

Most people think fishing is safe, fun and relaxing, and most of the time it is. However, spring steelheading can be scary and dangerous as well. The fish will wait until the rivers are swollen to start pushing up stream, this means that some rivers can and will be flowing at twice the normal flow, it can be warm or freezing cold, sunny or cloudy and your gear and mindset will make or break your trip.

Be prepared to be cold and uncomfortable and be surprised if the weather is better then expected and when it is at all possible fish with a buddy.

Be safe out there this steelhead season.

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Smacking Smelt With The Boys

Written on March 10, 2011 by admin in Blog, Fishing, Videos

Tex and I got one last chance to head out and smack some Smelt with Chef the other night before this warm weather we have been having makes the ice to unsafe. Smelt smackin is always a great time so we brought the camera along so that we could show you how we catch smelt FLG style.

All of us ended up having a blast as usual and we slayed the Smelt thanks to some hot tips from Chef. We cought enough so that they should make for a pretty alright Smelt fry. Check out the video below and don’t forget to sign up to get the weekly FLG Gear Deals emails.

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How to Skin a Frozen Coyote

Written on March 1, 2011 by admin in Blog, Hunting, Predators, Videos

Well we finally got a Coyote on the ground and into our hands in February. It’s been a roller coaster of a year for dogs here in Michigan with lots of big storms, heavy snow, rain, high winds and lots of other conditions that seemed to appear every time we got a day off to chase Coyotes. The times we did get out we have had some heartbreaks. I’ve managed to call in a few dogs so far and have found out first hand just how much air is around a Coyote and how easy it is to miss one with a rifle. We’ve had plenty of opportunities to take Coyotes but it seems like we’ve been on the loosing end most of the time this year.

Either way we got one last week and he was frozen by the time we got a chance to skin him out. As you can imagine, a frozen Coyote isn’t the easiest thing to skin so we thought we would put together a short video to show everyone how to skin a frozen Coyote. Thanks for joining us on our adventures and don’t forget to sign up to get the weekly FLG Gear Deals emails.

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Coyote Hunting In the Midwest

Written on February 25, 2011 by admin in Blog, Hunting, Predators

A Nice February Coyote and the FLG Predator Rifles

Hunting Coyotes here in Michigan is certainly not easy and the terrain and conditions make for some unique challenges that really set the Midwest apart from other regions. I have learned so much in the last few years about all the little things that go into successfully calling in Coyotes here in Michigan. I want to share these thoughts with everyone while there is still time for everyone to get out and hunt some this season.

I would like to start off by saying that I do not claim to be an expert in the predator hunting field by any means, but through trial and error over many years I am becoming much more experienced. I encourage everyone to get out and try predator hunting. It is a cheap pursuit to get into and is a wonderful cure to midwinter cabin fever.

There are some common elements to hunting coyotes regardless of the region that you are calling. He is a very smart animal that has successfully evolved through the years to be one of the most successful predators in North America. He is very curious and will investigate prey distress sounds as well as barks, howls and serenades of other coyotes. When he is coming to a distress sound he will almost always circle down-wind to allow his incredibly keen sense of smell to verify the sound he is hearing. There are some more common elements to take into account when hunting coyotes but I would like to address the ones that are especially important here in the Midwest.

Terrain

Here in Michigan we don’t have tons of open land like out west where Coyotes can run for miles without encountering humans, houses or roads. The Coyotes here are forced to live among us and have adapted extremely well to doing so. Here the coyote lives in swamps, small woodlots, river bottoms and anywhere he has a little cover and a good source of food. Don’t think that you need to find a big piece of land in order to hunt Coyotes in the Midwest; most of the time I am within view of a house when I call in a Coyote. River systems, CRP fields, swamps, woodlots and state land are some of my favorite places to hunt.

Setting Up

This is a key point here in Michigan especially if you are calling during daylight hours. Keep in mind that everything that is to your advantage setting up is to the disadvantage of the Coyote and he knows when he’s vulnerable. Try to analyze each set to give the Coyote as much of an advantage as possible while still keeping a few advantages in your pocket. First and most importantly you need to be able to see your downwind side and to make sure you have opportunities to shoot at a dog that is circling downwind of your position. I like to set up as close to cover as possible while still giving myself ample shots at any dog that wants to go down wind. Setting up closer to cover allows the Coyote the advantage of staying concealed as he comes to the call. In my experience in the Midwest, a Coyote will do everything possible to avoid running across an open field when responding to a call during daylight. Keep this in mind when setting up and keep your eyes on any cover that the Coyote can try to use as he approaches. Setting up close to cover means that things can happen really fast; so be ready to shoot as soon as you start calling.

Calls

Everyone has a different opinion on calls and how they are used. I don’t think there is one way to call that works every time and you need to be prepared to switch it up a bit. In late January and February you do need to have a howler on your lanyard though just in case. My go-to call is definitely a cottontail distress call and I like to mix up my calling sequences to paint a realistic scenario for any listening ears. I also like to insert pauses into my calling sequences so I’m not calling the whole set. I have found that if you are calling non stop that sometimes the Coyote will pinpoint your position and hang up in cover just out of sight and just listen and never present himself. I do however like to call enough so that I keep his attention and give him my general location so that he comes in to the call looking for the whereabouts of the dying rabbit. If no Coyotes show for the first minute or two, I like to start inserting various howls into the sequence based on the time of year and the situation.

We are right in the middle of the Coyote breeding season right now and things are definitely hot here in Michigan. Grab a couple calls, don your warm winter camo and head out into the snow and give Coyote hunting a shot. I will warn you though that once you call in your first Coyote or Fox you will be hooked for life. If you have any questions about hunting predators here in the Midwest please shoot me and email at opie@firstlightgear.com and I will do my best to answer them.

Good Luck and Shoot Straight,

Opie

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The Light vs Heavy Arrows for Better Penetration

Written on February 21, 2011 by admin in Archery, Blog, Hunting

Opie Gets Another Complete Pass-Through on a Nice Doe

It is no secret that the way we do things is steeped in tradition. It takes years and years to create a paradigm shift in any direction. For years now archery has consider an arrows force and power by terms of Kinetic Energy. Archery got this measurement from the world of firearms. Grumblings have been growing for some time now because many disagree with the idea that kinetic energy is a good way to measure the amount of force an arrow has. Many are arguing that momentum is a much better way to represent what an arrow can do. Well with any argument let’s get down to the facts.

The kinetic energy formula is the speed squared multiplied by the mass divided by 450,240. This formula gives speed of the greatest importance. In a firearm situation the bullet is traveling so fast that the speed is a greater factor because at speeds of 2,000 to 3,000 feet per second a bullet will shatter bones and continue to travel through the animal. The bullet is going faster than the “heavy bone threshold”. Arrows do not travel fast enough to shatter bone and continue. No matter how fast your arrows they are not going fast enough to overcome this threshold. What affects the arrow’s ability to break through this threshold, because of its lower speed, is mass. This brings us to momentum.

The momentum formula is the mass multiplied by the speed. It gives equal value to both speed and weight. The difference between the two is not as evident as when you crunch the numbers and check out what the formulas tell us. I ran some calculators on my bow and while I realize they are not perfect they do show some interesting results. I currently shoot a Mathews Reezen set at 70 pounds with a 29 inch pull. With a 350 grain arrow I should be getting about 321 fps, which would give a kinetic energy of 80 and a momentum of 112,350. As you increase arrow weight they both continue to grow until you reach 510 grains, at which time the KE starts to fall. Oddly enough momentum continues to grow until you reach 720 grains.

What does this mean?

Well I think it means that kinetic energy is not a good way to represent what an arrow can do. Speed while important is not everything in archery. Weight should be much higher value then it currently is getting in the kinetic energy formula. Momentum better represents arrow force because it gives more value to the weight of the arrow, which can make a big difference, especially with shots that aren’t perfect, such as when a bone is struck or a bad angle shot. A lighter arrow while traveling faster decelerates much faster then a heavy arrow traveling only slightly slower.

Like many things, it is all about finding the right ratio for your set up. A super light arrow, while flying flat will not always have the mass to punch through bone or tough hide and muscle. A super heavy arrow will have a poor trajectory and require large pin gaps which can make aiming difficult. The answer is a middle weight arrow, one that flies flat and still hits hard with enough weight to carry it through the target. Middle weight arrows range from 390 to 475 grains. I personally shoot a 426 grain arrow that flies great and hits hard. My advice, get out there shoot different arrows, see what effects your penetration and arrow flight and find the perfect arrow for you.

Shoot Straight,

The Rocket

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Oklahoma ’10-’11 Waterfowl Season….What I Learned.

Written on February 3, 2011 by admin in Blog, Hunting, Waterfowl Hunting

FLG Team Retriever Cody Ready For Action

Well, the 2010-2011 waterfowl season has come and gone and I’m already thinking about next year. It was a good season. I’m not a person to keep track of numbers but I know we did limit out a few times. This was only my second season of hunting here in Oklahoma so I am still on this huge learning curve. I grew up hunting waterfowl in the northern states and Canada so this is a whole new ballgame down here in the south. Here are some of the things that I’ve learned:

Don’t EVER think you can pattern these birds. Every day is different! Anything, and I mean anything, will change these birds: Wind, temperature, weather, hunting pressure, food supply, and/or water levels.
Don’t get in a routine of calling birds the same way day in and day out. Watch how the birds react to your calling and adjust your calling to what they are reacting to in a positive way. Also, different size groups will react differently to your calls.
Concealment is everything which also means, in my opinion, keeping the sun out of your face is more important than keeping the wind at your back. We had more luck this year having the birds come in on crossing shots then we did having them funnel in straight out in front. Also, when hunting fields, dig your blind in if it is allowed by the landowner.
4. Change up your decoy spread. New migrating birds like to see big groups on the water. If the birds have been around awhile, they prefer smaller groups. Also, those wary birds will tend to land out away from shore a little so be prepared for longer shots and position your decoys as such. For example, don’t crowd your blind with decoys; get them out away from you.
You should spend WAY more time scouting than hunting to have good, quality hunts. The dash of my truck is still stacked high with maps, plat maps, etc. I use my vehicle GPS to mark locations where I want to hunt and if I’m walking a field or motoring around on the river or lake, I use my handheld GPS to mark exact locations where I see birds.
Finally, go with your gut!!! If you’ve scouted well and come up with a plan for the next morning, stick to it if at all possible. There were many times that I’ve changed my mind last minute and it’s turned out to be a bad decision.

And now to add a few more things that I’ve learned that aren’t quite related to the above:

When choosing a hunting partner, make sure they don’t have leaky waders
If you take your kids hunting, make sure it is warm enough out that if they fall in the river they’re not going to be in danger
Don’t think that your dog is invincible and protect them as much as you can because a good Labrador will not stop. They are dedicated!
If you are inviting friends to come hunt with you for the first time, make damn sure there is a nasty cold front coming through or they will have a bad hunt and won’t come back next year.
Make sure the plug in your boat doesn’t have any debris in it when installed
You get what you pay for when buying decoys
When hunting out of a big boat that is too heavy for 2 people to lift, watch your water levels throughout the hunt to make sure you don’t end up beached… (4 times)

Hope these tips help you become a more successful hunter. This game we call hunting is forever a learning process. Don’t be stubborn. Be willing to learn and change….

Josh “Rooney” Dickerson

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Remembering An Aging Hunting Pal

Written on February 1, 2011 by admin in Blog, Hunting

Katie In Her Element

She hates hunting rabbits… She always has and as she walks over to see the rabbit that I had shot she confirmed that with the “look”. Katie, our 14 year old German Shorthair Pointer and I were out for a hunt, more to get her outside than to shoot things. It was too nice of a day not to go out and also because I am not sure how much longer she will be around. I loved seeing her work and run, it was her element and where she felt at home. I am not sure who needed this walk more, her or me?

This got me thinking back to all the memories that Opie and I share with this wonderful and sometimes neurotic dog. If any of you have ever had a shorthair then you know how much energy they have and also how much “hunting” is in their blood. I have never seen a dog hunt so hard; it didn’t matter if she had hunted the last 5 days in a row and her chest was raw from the brush, if she saw a gun and some blaze orange she was bouncing off the walls.

When she was a puppy we had to put a 20 foot leash on her with a knot at the end so that we could catch her as she ran by. I have seen her practically climb a tree trying to get to a cat, I have seen her point 40 woodcock in a day, I have seen her run over 25 mph, she loves to bury things that she kills in my moms garden, not once but over and over again. she pointed her first bird when she was 9 weeks old, she could be grouchy, she hated the water but loved chasing muskrats and raccoons, and under no circumstance would she every retrieve a downed bird for someone she didn’t like…she was already looking for the next one. If you missed an easy shot on a Pheasant she wouldn’t point another one for you, she would instead point birds in front of everyone else for the rest of the day. She had an amazing personality and was adept at any task that was placed in front of her.

My favorite hunting memory with her was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in early October. Opie and I were up there for work and decided to bring our hunting dogs and our gear along. I had my 2 year old Chocolate lab up there as well as Katie and somehow we stumbled into the Woodcock migration. It was the most amazing week of bird hunting that I have every had. Watching those 2 dogs work together, Katie running perfectly sized figure-8 patterns and pointing one woodcock after another and Georgia retrieving every one. We shot our limit of birds for four days, but for me the best part was watching a bird dog in her element. She lived for that, and still after 14 years when she saw my blaze orange she was wagging her tail like a puppy.

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Starting Out…Your First Decoys

Written on January 31, 2011 by admin in Blog, Hunting, Waterfowl Hunting

A spread of Mallard decoys.

Decoys…How to pick the right ones, how to rig them, how many to get….these are all questions that ever waterfowler has. Everyone that I have talked to has a different opinion on what to do. So I thought I would share my thoughts on the matter.

1. Quantity. A decoy collection is built over many years and with an understanding spouse. You don’t have to buy 4 dozen decoys your first year. Start slow and build a quality spread.

2. Versatility, you want your first decoys to be able to handle multiple uses. For example removable keels so you can use them in the field of an adaptor stake like they use at G&H Decoys. This will give you options and make your dollar go farther.

3. Paint or color, you want your decoys to be realistic as possible. So look for a company that has a quality paint scheme.

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