# Paint creek



## vano397 (Sep 15, 2006)

i put them in my truck, and since i go to home depot for my job, i threw them in the compactor there...it is a nice hole right there, and that log jam holds quite a few fish if you can get to it without the fish seeing you first


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## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

good stuff, and appreciated by all who fish that stretch...wish i could do the same but i didnt see them fitting in my escort...crazy amounts of good trout karma for that and im sure a pcp (paint creek pig) is in your near future.


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

Silverexpress said:


> Okay, Okay....I didn't make it to the cleanup :16suspect , but I do make an effort to pick stuff up whenever I head out....
> 
> I do have a better understanding why the majority flyfishermen don't make it to these things.... flyrods in trunk + a vest with flies + river + trout = :evil:
> 
> I think we all try to make an effort! Meaning, I wasn't the only one fishing that day....really.


Jose,

Make an effort? Most flyfishermen don't make it? 

Not holier than thou here, I am glad you do pick up things, but there is quite a difference bewteen picking up a few items and dedicating three solid hours to filling trash bags.

And I disagree, I think a lot of flyfishermen do make it to these things.

All I can say is, you can rationalize anything (ie. I am a good person because I don't do drugs), but until you really make an effort or a commitment, it's mostly just talk.

I really am not trying to ruffle feathers, I am sure you do quite a bit, but some of the words wreaked of indifference.

We have enough indifferent people, we don't need the fishermen to be the same way. 

Just my .02

p.s. Good work vano!


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## raisinrat (Feb 9, 2006)

I'm moving up that way here in about 3 or 4 weeks. Reading this is really makeing me want to go and fish this creek now. I took a walk on one of the paths and look at it a little last night it looks like it could be alot of fun.


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

back2spool said:


> Jose,
> 
> Make an effort? Most flyfishermen don't make it?
> 
> ...


 
Back2Spool,

I will try harder.


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

raisinrat said:


> I'm moving up that way here in about 3 or 4 weeks. Reading this is really makeing me want to go and fish this creek now. I took a walk on one of the paths and look at it a little last night it looks like it could be alot of fun.


 
Season ends in two weeks. Better Hurry!

PS. "That Way & Here" must equal the same place but not at the same time.....Quantum Physics? Or a few beers?


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

Caught it using my 4 wt. It fought really nice. Took me about 5 minutes to land since I was using a size 16 BHPT tied with 5x tippet. This brown was in the slow water next to a deep runout from a bend. I was actually aiming for the lines of bubbles, but my cast was about a foot off. It was surprising to see the bottom come alive, and a fish nail the nymph. 

I had one earlier that was probably a few more inches in size, but lost it because I horsed it with my hand on the reel! Gotta remember to let the drag do its job.


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## BIG "D" (Sep 14, 2005)

I've caught that poor trout 3 times this summer. Pretty 9 incher.

I hope to get a digital camera so that I can start to post pictures next year 

Loks like Saturday will be a good closing day with rain in the forcast.

Me and the wife will be there to close it Sat afternoon 

Good Fishing
Darrell


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## brookid (Aug 25, 2004)

...not to stir the turd, but for the good of that fish i hope it didn't take you 5 minutes to land it (unless you planned on keeping it-even still)...5x isn't light tippet.


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

brookid said:


> ...not to stir the turd, but for the good of that fish i hope it didn't take you 5 minutes to land it (unless you planned on keeping it-even still)...5x isn't light tippet.


I use barbless hooks. A size 16 barbless hook is not very secure. My landing ratio averages 1 in 5 fish because of this.

Do you use barbless hooks? Or are we talking about a spinner with a treble (not that there is anything wrong with that).

--------
I remember fishing at the park once upstream from a bend. It was quiet and as serene as it could be when I heard a sudden splash, then another, and then another.

It was two flyfishing guys wading towards me walking thru a hole that I usually catch browns in. 

loudly they asked if had caught anything, I nodded, "NO".

Just as they were about 10 yrds in front of me, I casted my barbless nymph into the hole, and hooked a nice sizable brown in the 15-19 inch range. Out it came from underneath a log.

Jumping a few times it caught the attention of one of the Fly fishermen, and back he quickly waded towards me like I had found a vein of gold. I landed the trout and held it up to him, and I said this is beautiful. He then started lecturing me on handling fish, of catch and release and of the pressure this stream gets. All in one breath.

I let the fish go while he continued to babble on. I straightened out my line and then abruptly interrupted his train of thought and asked him whether his buddy or him caught a fish today. He nodded "NO". I smiled gave him a single finger solute and walked away.

So Brookid and all the saviors of the world, I too solute you in the same manner. Here is my lecture.....listen and listen good.....

1. Catch
1a. Your limit, and limit your catch
2. Admire
3. Release
3a. Or keep the legal limit. It's 
your right within the 
regulations.
4. Don't wait for a special once a yr 
3 hr outing to pickup trash, just 
do it everytime you go out. No 
matter how small it is. It all adds 
up eventually. Make sure you do 
it in front of others.
5. Be courteous and aware of private landowners
6. Be good to the ladies
7. Be respectful of all fisherpeople, they may know something you don't or they may even offer you a free fly of the day.


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## brookid (Aug 25, 2004)

Well by your story you are obviously a terrific fly fisherman...i could only hope to be as good one day, maybe with a little practice i will.

I'm not talking about treble hooks or spinners either. 

I also use barbless hooks and i seem to have a pretty good catch ratio.

I'm not the saviour of the fly fishing or any other world.

Catching a 9 inch brown trout on 5x tippet and taking 5 minute to get him in? If it has to be explained to you...then you don't get it.

Thank you for the list of tips...it was enlighting and i learned alot.


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

Boy.....I never new preachers out numbered fish.

Man if I had some guy criticizing me for every fish I caught and every time....
I'd get sick of fishing, and I'd stop! Maybe that's the intention.

Thanks for the compliments. I strive always for the stars in everything I do, but I often hangup on the trees.


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## troutchops (Apr 15, 2005)

Jose,
Nice fish and thanks for the report. I used to live in Rochester and fly fished the paint a little back in the day. I enjoy reading the reports and seeing the fish that still come out of there. Keep up the good work. 

I have run into the so-called "expert" fly fisherman to. They always want to tell you how good they are and what your doing wrong. Funny, those are the guys you never see catching a fish. I got a chuckle out of your reply to the situation.
Chris


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## vano397 (Sep 15, 2006)

again, sorry to interupt the insults here, but i thought i would leave one more report for the year. Regretably i will not be able to get out this weekend for the closure, i will rather fortunatley be fishing some small tributaries of the white river in northern newaygo county  ...
anyhow, i thought everyone would be happy to see what i have found, so here is a pic








kind of a nice suprise huh?
well good luck to everyone else that may venture that way, and thank god for football...something to do for the depressing time trout season is closed.


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## vano397 (Sep 15, 2006)

and if you can't see the previous picture, it is about an 8" brookie,
again a pleasant suprise


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## BIG "D" (Sep 14, 2005)

Couldn't see the picture:sad: 
Did you get that out of the Paint or the White.

Used to catch them alot but that section has too many houses and nasty homeowners:rant:


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## brookid (Aug 25, 2004)

Vanno, a little help with the pic but unfortunately the file demensions are small...handsome devil though...


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## vano397 (Sep 15, 2006)

thanks for the help on the pic...
i got him out of the paint last night.


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

Nice Brookie! I tell ya this stream is a blessing! That fish is an indicator on its overall health.

By the way, if that's an eight incher and the brown I caught and posted was a 9" then where did all the other inches go between my hands? 

Edit: Back in the late 80's I caught brookies in a tributary of the Paint. It was above the Cider Mill if I remember correctly. The brookies where wild (descendents of DNR plantings many moons ago). In fact, the Detroit News did an article about Paint Creek, and even mentioned the name of this tributary (qouting a DNR official). Anyone know if the brookies are still there?

It was no more then a cold spring that bubbled up from the ground feeding one puddle after another. In the bigger puddles were the brookies hiding underneath fallen leaves, branches, and some rocks. It was an amazing sight, and some of them grew to reach 8-10"! So eventually along the stretch I fished a new subdivision was started about 500 yds away. The day they put up the no trespessasing signs was the last day I caught a SE Mi brook trout. I never went back.

So catching a fish like the one above may still be possible. Whether it be a hoax or not.


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## BeanOFish (Jul 28, 2003)

Great looking fish. Congrats! I used to fly fish that creek for years and never even knew that brookies existed in Paint. It is good know when I come back to visit the folks in the spring that the creek is on the up and up.


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

A few things:

#1) I woud HIGHLY doubt that little brook trout stream still even exists, probably destroyed by one of those AWESOME silt fences thoe construction companies use.

#2) YES, the Paint used to hold Brookies like crazy. Ask any of the old timers. Also, several streams in the area (in and around Bald Mountain park) used to have self-sustaining native populations. Barrington Cove Condos on M-24 basically DESTROYED the headwaters of a once pristine trout stream.

#3) I ran into a guy about a year ago that told me he caught a brookie out of the Clinton! I believed him, he didn't seem like one of these guys who thought he was awesome.

#4) I fly-fish and I suck and anyone who thinks they're awesome is not a true fishermen. True fishermen respect one another and don't put on airs. 

#5) The PAINT is a TRUE GEM. Last of a dying breed. 

#6) In what area are these a-hole homeowners so I know to stay away?


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

Yeap, the last time I fished there which was some time ago, all the development and collapsed silt fences made me sick. I haven't been back since.


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

Stopped at a gas station on the way home to toss out crap in my trunk (going up North for the weekend....yipeee!). Found my 2 wt buried up against the back of the rear seats. Could've sworn I took it out last night. Anyhow, I had a caddis and a nymph that's been agonizingly waiting for their turn. They're my emergency bugs that I stick on the visor (both barbed - if not they'll fall and stick to my a&& while I'm drive'in). 

Grabbed a reel that was in my glove box, and away we go one last...last...last...time on the Paint. Honest.

Only had less than an hour to fish of which a third was spent trying to build up a leader with bloodnots and dry fingers in 5-15 mph winds.

Well, I'll let the picture speak for itself. This is a magnificant Paint Creek 20" brown that swallowed the caddis. I won't go into the details about what and where the run was he came out of. All I will admit to is that the cute librarian was clapping her hands when I looked back.

The camera "settled" at the very last second of it's useless 10 second timer. So due to the resulting skewed angle, my head was cutoff and my hands look real real big. :SHOCKED: 

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/523/medium/PC_28sep06_1.JPG

Ok this was my last last brown for the year at the Paint. Honest.

PS. How about we just fish, collect some debri, and settle down to some good fish stories??? The brookies really fascinate me. It's like hunting for the lochness monster in these parts.


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## BIG "D" (Sep 14, 2005)

Nasty homeowers were on the small branch north of Adams rd.:rant: 

It used to be full of brookies untill all of the devolopment :sad: 


Saturdays forcast :*Tonight: *Rain likely after midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 47. South southwest wind between 3 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

*Saturday: *Periods of rain, with thunderstorms also possible after noon. High near 56. South wind between 10 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

*Saturday Night: *A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 48. South wind 8 to 10 mph becoming west. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

perfect weather to catch lots of fish 

Darrell


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## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

silverexpress...are you sure that "hog" wasnt at least 22? your reference to the librarian didnt give away the location (not), you shouldve had her take the picture. pretty fish though, whatever the size.


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

It's nice to get away! 

Tried some of the stuff I've been practicing on the Paint these past few weeks with great success. Namely, nymphing a midge pattern.

Started off at Ray's flyshop, and caught a handful of lunker browns similar in size to the one's I've been catching on the Paint. I did hookup on a bigger fish in the "hole", and lost it when I tried recasting without even knowing I had a fish on until it was too late. DOH!

Moved on to the Manistee at Deward....COLD! Did not catch anything, water was too cold (for me)!

Last stop was Mio at one of the canoe launch sites. It was non-stop action! Trout after trout after trout! Most were in the 11" range, but I did hookup on a few 14's. No lunkers this year. All caught on a midge. They were as prolific as bluegills down in our area. At one instance, I was untangling a rainbow from my net, and when no sooner then I had released it there was another that already had hooked itself on my dragging line.

2wt's a blast, makes an 11" a 22". Nice to actually hear the drag work...

By the way, on my way up yesterday afternoon, I stopped at the Paint in one of the "many" parks. Hooked up to what I thougth was a snag. Started pulling on it, and a second later I see the inside white of a huge mouth open, shake back and forth, and then the fish rolled on it's back. IT WAS BIG! Didn't land it cuz it shook the midge free. This was in the clear section of the Paint and in hip deep water.

Anybody fish it today? How'd you do?

Rainbow from MIO
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/549/medium/Mio_Rainbow_30sep06.jpg

Brown from MIO
http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/525/medium/Mio_Brown_30sep06.jpg


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## Silverexpress (Sep 6, 2006)

the rapids said:


> silverexpress...are you sure that "hog" wasnt at least 22? your reference to the librarian didnt give away the location (not), you shouldve had her take the picture. pretty fish though, whatever the size.


Hello Rapids,

It was 32". I had to resize the picture because the michigan-sportsman "server" has a size limit.  

Eeegads, I'm back in SE MI. Not that it's a bad place. Does anyone drive the speed limit on I-75? Wow, I think I'll install some grappling hooks on my front bumper so I can hitch a ride behind a semi doing 90 in the right lane.


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