# Pics from 2008 around south east michigan



## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

Got to do/see some cool stuff again this year and I made it a point to bring my camera with me to work in the field or when I was out sporting. These are some of my favorites from this region, I hope you all enjoy...


January 1st of this year, we had that awsome snow shower during the night and even though I was hungover I had to get out and check the scenery along my favorite marginal trout river...









caught this little guy not too long into my wade...possibly the 1st oakland county brown of 08?










prescribed burn season was fun, and i have amassed hundreds of images and some good video, but i guess this photo right here is as good of an example as any of what we refer to as ignition...










trout season opened and i tagged this guy along with a few others one day not too long after the creeks opened around here...










continued in next post...


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## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

continued from above...

one of my favorite late spring/early summer wildflowers (and one which benefits from rx fire), wild lupine...










another favorite from summer time, michigan lily....










one day while dropping some poplars that were shading out an area that was previously oak savannah, these two shooters decided to munch on the tops of the trees as we were working....










here is a brilliantly-colored great-spangled fritillary taking advantage of another native plant of ours, butterfly milkweed...










continued on next post...


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## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

continued from above....

as the season wore on, some of my other favorite wildflowers started to bloom, here is a closeup of a rough-blazing star...











an intricately veined grass-of-parnassus flower










neat spider in a wet prairie, forgot the id on this one (garden spider or something) but they are fairly common yet cool looking...










to close it out, here are some fishing-related pictures.

helped with a kid's eagle scout project, which was habitat improvements in paint creek (this kind of picture is what its all about)...










caught this guy a few weeks before the season closed. it wasnt from around here (central michigan stream) but i liked the colors and spotting...










lastly, on the last day, and what turned out to be last cast of my trout season (self fufilling prophecy), i nailed this rare beauty from another central mi stream...










anyway, hats off to 2008! cant wait to get busy on 2009!


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## bigrackmack (Aug 10, 2004)

Very Nice Pictures......Thanks for sharing.........Mack


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

A Thread worth reading!!!

I was at that Eagle Scout Project too!

BEAUTIFUL pictures, congrats on the fish as well.

Thanks for taking the time to post on some of the natural beauty we have around here and your adventures as well.

Very fun to look at and read!


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## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

back2spool- i figured we would eventually run into each other around the creek. we probably talked up in the parking lot at the end of the day, sorry i never got your name or anything. what a great project that was, and a worthwhile one at that. i felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to take part in that, and have groups like those scouts and crwc in our area.


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## MDNRFD (Nov 18, 2008)

Thanks for a great post! And as dismal as the state may seem it lightens up your day to know that we have such great assets.


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## Steelplugger (Mar 8, 2006)

Incredible pictures!! Thanks for sharing these, you are a truly gifted photographer and it looks like a great fisherman too.. I loved that orbed web spider too, sweet!


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## back2spool (May 7, 2005)

the rapids said:


> back2spool- i figured we would eventually run into each other around the creek. we probably talked up in the parking lot at the end of the day, sorry i never got your name or anything. what a great project that was, and a worthwhile one at that. i felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to take part in that, and have groups like those scouts and crwc in our area.


OK, I think I remember now. That project was awesome! I look forward to spending a late evening this summer throwing some flies at those logs to see if they are holding anything!

Anytime you want to go out... 1siena and I are neighbors so all 3 of us will hit it!


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## Michigander1 (Apr 5, 2006)

Brings you down to earth.Pics of the brown is reason i cant ever keep them,To pretty to keep.Thanks for them pics.Mich


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

Nice year in review. Thanks for posting.


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## Fishalot (Aug 25, 2008)

Very Nice Pictures!


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## foxfire69 (Sep 10, 2006)

Steelplugger said:


> Incredible pictures!! Thanks for sharing these, you are a truly gifted photographer and it looks like a great fisherman too.. I loved that orbed web spider too, sweet!


Yeah That and Thank You Sir!!


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## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

thank you all very much... i think if there are two things i learned this year they would be that if you take enough pictures some of them end up being worth looking at, and that since all of these pictures were taken within casting distance of a stream/river, we are all (humans & native plants/organisms) drawn to/ binded together by the moving waters of our great state...


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## Queequeg (Aug 10, 2007)

Nice pictures. I think you did better than I did on trout this 08 (even though I have summers off...:sad

Is that a Tiger Trout (hybrid Brook/brown)? Never have seen one of those up close, it would be a cool catch.


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## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

Queequeg said:


> Nice pictures. I think you did better than I did on trout this 08 (even though I have summers off...:sad
> 
> Is that a Tiger Trout (hybrid Brook/brown)? Never have seen one of those up close, it would be a cool catch.


yep it's a tiger trout. i doubt that i will catch one again in my lifetime, although hopefully i nail this one again when it gets bigger...


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## TroutSeeker71 (Mar 24, 2008)

I can't wait for trout season again!


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## Chaoticfishing (Jun 2, 2005)

Awesome pics


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## Stryker (Sep 30, 2008)

Very nice pics. 
What's the camera?


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## the rapids (Nov 17, 2005)

Stryker said:


> Very nice pics.
> What's the camera?


thanks. i have an olympus stylus 720 sw. it's a 7 megapixel point and shoot that is shock and waterproof. there is likely a way better model by now, and this one in particular takes really poor macro pics (or maybe its just me), so all of the closeups i have taken usually have 10 blurry shots to go with the 1 decent one. however, i carried it around my neck/tucked under my shirt or waders most of the year and it sustained innumerable impacts and compressions, wettings and getting smoked out while still going strong. during the first year it had to be serviced twice, but since then there have been no issues, so it works for me.


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