# Upper Peninsula Trout Camp 2019 Report



## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

Trout camp this year was once again in the U.P. This year there was a group of four guys, two very good friends and my usual trout fishing partner. "E", "J" and "B" were the participants this year, with everyone but J being a hardened trout fisherman. J was my best man so he knows the program and does go out occasionally (usually once every couple years), but just this year he has seemed to catch the bug a bit harder.









(Sorry about pic quality, B and J's camera phones compressed the files and these are what I have...for now. Also, I didn't pull out the camera for too many pictures, but did take a few.)

We decided that we would set camp just north of Seney and be near a few of my personal favorite streams. We did have a backup plan in the case fishing was poor or we needed a change of scenery.










After getting camp set the sun was high on a beautiful UP day. We decided we would stay close for the first fish of the trip. Before getting ready to spread out along the area, B took a cast into the deep hole behind camp. On his third cast he was fast onto a large brown trout, which both E and I were there to witness. The fish appeared to be about 20", but shook the hook and slunk back into the depths. That got everyone a bit fired up and we split up 2 and 2. E and B would drop to a section downstream while J and I would take a hike to a section I really like. The fishing was a bit slow, high sun and the belief the fish were a bit fed out in the higher water, which was receding. I did manage a few fish, most being smallish in the 6-9 inch range. Most of them got the mercy of release, but a couple decent fish were taken back to camp. This one was probably around 11-12" and the best of the afternoon.









E and I cruised up the road to a very small stream where we did okay on a short fish and found a few tiny culverts where fish were to be had.

Evening turned dark and the fire was going and beers were going down when B decided to try to get redemption on the big brown from earlier. I coaxed him into tying on a rapala and approaching the hole again. He went alone this time as the rest of us joked that the fish wasn't coming back. That fish did not, but B did return to the fire with a healthy 15" brown to throw on top. It was time to turn in and get ready for the bugs the next day.


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

Day two we all rolled out of bed as the sun was almost breaking the tree tops. We waddled around in a haze when the federal trucks pulled in. Curiosity got us so we inquired about what they were doing. Lamprey larvae treatment, which they said would kill the larvae and the larvae would raise from the bottom and the fish would feed very heavy and likely slow our bite. We discussed the plans and how we were going to work around this little issue as the fishing was already a bit on the slow side before the treatment. The feds appeared to be doing this at a few different spots that we had plotted to fish, oh well. We made the call to head east for a morning fish regardless. There was a section I wanted to explore with B as J and E were to fish another section a bit further upstream. We planned a time and place to meet up and plot our next move and into the woods we hiked. 

After busting through some terrible alder jungle we found the stream to be running a bit high and colored. The bugs were bad and B had forgot his hat. We basically bathed in deet, but still wasn't enough to deter the bugs. We did shake some once entering the stream. B led the way to start as I was content watching. He caught a decent fish and I took the lead. My third cast I was on to a decent fish who put up a good fight in tight quarters and heavy current, but ultimately the fish lost the battle. 









We moved along catching decent numbers, towards the end of the section there was a big flurry of fish moving to our spinners, but only smaller fish committed, then the action stopped completely just before our takeout point. We went to meet E and J to see what they found. They found a beautiful stretch, but the fishing was slower and the fish were packed with lamprey larvae. Of course, I was the designated trout gutter for them, I personally like to clean mine as soon as I decide to keep the fish.











The bonus find I came up with was some Chicken of the woods. 









The fish were filled up and the decision was unanimous to head west to a cabin in Dickinson County. It wasn't the "roughing it" we were there for, but it worked out okay once we arrived. B's family has a share of this cabin as well as a personal friend who wasn't along. We cut the grass and did some chores as a gesture of gratitude. Before the grass was mowed the ticks were attracted to us.









continued....


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## zzcop302 (Jun 29, 2013)

Great posts and pictures!
How were the mosquitoes in the Seney area ?


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

The evening fish at new camp was slow, we fished marginal water for brookies and managed a few, but nothing spectacular. We moved on to a more famous system to take a look, but didn't fish much other than bridged and access points. Saturday would be a day trying to find better water. 
In the morning E and I took to the road to explore water further NW. We hit some spots on one of the more famous UP systems. We managed a few small bows from the first stop and a ton of brookies from the second. The size topped out at about 10" this day. I'm sure bright sun and hot temps don't help with that...


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

Arriving back at camp Saturday evening we found B and J stayed and explored the local systems a bit further. They even came up with a few fish! Tangled alder streams they said was the best, but even found a good fish at a culvert.

















Back at camp it was time for some drinks, venison ribs and brookies. We ate well through the whole trip.

Backstrap/chicken of the woods sandwich.









E and I after a few in the bear den and after a trip to the Knotty Pine.


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

Sunday we cleaned up camp and headed pointed towards home. Overall, the fishing was slow, but some nice fish came to hand and fun was had by all. New areas explored and a lot more was seen, but to get into many more details would be tedious. It was a fun time with good buddies. 

On the way home we stopped near Graying to fish a trib to the Au Sable, bright skies and warm temps limited us to smaller fish, but E did hook into a brook trout in the mid teen range and we moved a couple decent browns. 

All in all a successful 2019 Trout Camp.


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

zzcop302 said:


> Great posts and pictures!
> How were the mosquitoes in the Seney area ?


The worst I've experienced them. They were bad in Dickinson too, but Houghton County wasn't bad at all.


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## zzcop302 (Jun 29, 2013)

Trout King said:


> The worst I've experienced them. They were bad in Dickinson too, but Houghton County wasn't bad at all.


I haven’t made it over to the Seney area this year but I heard they were thick a few weeks ago.
I thought they may have let up a bit but it doesn’t sound like it!


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

zzcop302 said:


> I haven’t made it over to the Seney area this year but I heard they were thick a few weeks ago.
> I thought they may have let up a bit but it doesn’t sound like it!


They were pretty thick in the mornings and evenings, the deer flies were bad too, but weren't biting. Ticks were everywhere too, but I was lucky and only had 1 on me the whole trip. Mowing camp #2 was the worst of it. 

We also managed to see a bear on the road, countless snowshoes, a lot of deer and some pats and woodcock while out on the tracks exploring new areas.


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## Big Medicine (Oct 31, 2002)

Great report and nice pics


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## Stubee (May 26, 2010)

Great story, thanks.


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## PunyTrout (Mar 23, 2007)

Great report TK. Thanks for taking us along. Sounds like you were able to fish some old favorites and still mix in exploring some new water too. Thumbs up .


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

PunyTrout said:


> Great report TK. Thanks for taking us along. Sounds like you were able to fish some old favorites and still mix in exploring some new water too. Thumbs up .


It was interesting not seeimg other people for miles and miles. Despite the slowest fishing I have experienced up there, a good time was had by all.


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## stickbow shooter (Dec 19, 2010)

Thanks for sharing, I needed that.


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## Nostromo (Feb 14, 2012)

Thanks for sharing.


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## B.Jarvinen (Jul 12, 2014)

Houghton Co. is awesome.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

stickbow shooter said:


> Thanks for sharing, I needed that.


You and me both!
Trying not to try to jump in one of those pics with a splash , or just listen to the water....


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Great report/outing T.K..
Gotta been good for your well being.
And ya'll scored fish too!


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

Waif said:


> Great report/outing T.K..
> Gotta been good for your well being.
> And ya'll scored fish too!


I enjoyed every minute, even if the fishing wasn't on par as usual. Saw some new waters and got more plotted out for future trips. Going to be hard not to sneak up for a weekend in September if the schedule allows.


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## slabstar (Feb 25, 2009)

great report and pics thanks for sharing!


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