Like any other fisherman I love to catch fish.  But exploring new water is definitely a close second.  Today I spent the day exploring some new brook trout water.  I vaguely knew of some marshy beaver dam goodness and since I had some time I decided to start my summer fishing plan early.  My plan for the summer or from now on- is to fish 2 new areas each month.

Brookies stayed true to form- they love big dries and wet flies as droppers.  This new area I am gonna call Dam N' Mud proved to be jewel.  The stream runs right through an area that is often frequented by bird watchers.  There is a good chance of seeing eagles, ospreys and 20 different song birds if the park service handouts are right.  The best part of this little adventure was there was not another soul in sight- a far cry from the rivers people read about in magazines.

As I moved downstream the holes got deeper and deeper- a few miles into the river....CHROME...CHROME.  Steelhead were stacked up holes.  The UP is full of fish and no matter how many new areas I have been it never ceases to amaze me.  I got to spend a great afternoon chasing brookies and watching steelhead.  Rarely do I ever get the chance just to watch steelhead and since I was only armed with a 3 weight and my steelhead rod was miles away I had no choice.

The weekend should be dandy- I look forward to going back and seeing if the steelhead are hungry.  It was great to see these fish in an area I never thought they would be.  Having comfy home waters is great but the allure of new water and new fish is a super powerful draw.  Grab an atlas find those little blue lines and find something new.