# Looking for advice...



## Sisuhntr (Nov 16, 2011)

I've been fishing the UP runs pretty hard this fall, as well as last, and while I've had some success I'm still figuring it out. I mainly fish the Marquette area, and use flies. If anyone has any advice for a guy slowly figuring it all out, it would be greatly appreciated. Not looking for rivers or anything like that, just general tips. Though if you feel like sharing, I'll always accept a PM. 


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Lots of Cohos there the early ones like nightcrawlers, the late ones like spawn or an egg fly. Steelhead will take egg flies. Early am is usually the best time. Be prepared to fish in rough weather, the bite is better then.


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## Cdet (Jul 11, 2012)

I agree. If your freezing cold and it's snowing you'll catch fish. I find if we have north wind on the west end the fishing is hot, the wind blows the water from the lake into the river. Last week it was 38 degrees, blowing 18 mph out of the north, snowing, and I got 5 cohos in 6 drifts with an egg sucking leech.


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## Jfish (Sep 22, 2010)

I'm going to give it a whirl this weekend. Hoping for some cohos. The weather is supposed to be COLD!


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## Sisuhntr (Nov 16, 2011)

Thanks for the tips! I've been going out whenever I can, sun or snow, and it's good to have an idea what I should be using since I'm mostly self-taught. Some friends are coming up to fish this weekend and we're heading to the western UP. Hopefully we can bring a few fish to hand. 


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Well, how did you do??


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## Sisuhntr (Nov 16, 2011)

Pretty poorly, though we hooked up with and lost a couple over the weekend. Then on Sunday after the other guys went back to MN I hooked six steelhead on yarn eggs. Lost them all, but it was exciting nonetheless. Thanks again for the advice!


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## UPshawn (Sep 9, 2012)

I am also new to flyfishing and have been pretty much sticking to a specific unmentionable river in Marquette. I have been fishing with streamers a lot. I had pretty good luck with trout in the summer (I bought my flyrod in mid-July), but I can't seem to get any attention from steelhead. I did pick up some egg patterns though. When you fish an egg pattern, do you cast it upstream and let it drift like you would a nymph, or do you kinda try to keep it in one place? Also, for a steelhead, does a dry fly have to be a little bigger or does that not matter at all?


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## Sisuhntr (Nov 16, 2011)

I'll let the more experienced guys chime in, but my .02 for egg patterns is to fish them like you would a nymph and add enough weight when necessary to be bouncing off the bottom. If you're fishing the same unmentionable that I am, weight is almost always necessary. As for dries, I would love to find out of that's possible. If so, somebody please let me know. 

If you're ever looking for a fishing partner in MQT, shoot me a PM. I'm not great for steelhead, but it can be fun to have company. 


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## Cdet (Jul 11, 2012)

I fish egg patterns just as sisuhunter said, enough weight to be bouncing bottom. I'll sometimes put my split shot between my two yarn balls. As far as dries go, I've got some coho on a big pink terrestrial looking thing called a coho seizure, it's a huge fly that doesn't look like anything natural but have caught 5 or 6 cohos on it this fall. Big browns showing up in the unmentionables by me...


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## Shrike (Jul 23, 2010)

You guys are causing me to have a yearning !

But I,m 600 miles away.

Guess I won't get to the U.P.till at least April!


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## Shrike (Jul 23, 2010)

Sisuhntr said:


> Pretty poorly, though we hooked up with and lost a couple over the weekend. Then on Sunday after the other guys went back to MN I hooked six steelhead on yarn eggs. Lost them all, but it was exciting nonetheless. Thanks again for the advice!



You must be doing something right!

Try to fish with an experienced steelheader once or twice.

You will probably learn something!


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## Falesy (Oct 9, 2008)

Be careful when adding weight, sometimes you only need just enough. When fishing and catching steelies this spring a lot of the time we didn't need that much weight.

I found the steelies to be very aggressive and didn't necessarily need to be bottow bounching, unless you were in a deep deep hole. I fish pocket water and most of the time it doesn't matter where in the water column you get your bait into, I don't think they even let it get down towards the bottom before hitting it.


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## Jfish (Sep 22, 2010)

I would probably not use a fly rod in those rivers. It can be done. However, here is my issue as why I wouldn't:

I fished a certain MQT river this past weekend. The holes are very deep...probably 8 feet at least in spots. Casting for one would be next to impossible. If I would be able to get a cast out, you'd have to put your indicator super far up...it's just not practical. 

If you're bottom bouncing you're snagging trees for sure. That's okay because you will catch fish that way. It's just a PITA.

The way that I fish yarn on a fly rod is with an indicator. I will tie on two usually or a nymph fly of some sort. Then I will use small shot or two in between the flies and maybe one or two above.

Now you could just cast them out and let them drift down without an indicator. The reason an indicator works so well is you can get to the desired depth that the fish are feeding at. 

I'd say using a slip float on a centerpin or spinning reel would be the most productive. I got one on a centerpin over the weekend and my bro got one just throwing an egg sac with a shot about 18 inches above without a float. A fly rod would be the last method I'd try. Just my $.02


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## Sisuhntr (Nov 16, 2011)

I would agree that a fly rod is pretty easily the least effective method for our rivers. Alas, it's all I own and I don't have the funds to pick up a spinning or centerpin rig. 


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