Covid Blues and Brown Trout

This has been a very stressful time and it was time to get back to my pre lockdown life. With all my travel plans cancelled and  Baldwin, MI. was the perfect choice. My friend Steve Cornetet sent me a message asking me to come night fishing on Wed May 27th . Steve is one of the  top fishing guides  on the Pere Marquette river along with Steve Fraley , Frank Willets ,Mile's Klusing , Jack Ford  and many others. We met at Baldwin Creek Lodge @ 6pm sharp. His friend Ian came along as well. We had great night, landed a nice Rainbow and Brown but rolled lots on mouse patterns!. Back at the room at 330 Am for a great sleep then a quick hello to Mike Batcke  at Stealthcraft Boats and I was on my way to chase some more fish. Mike has built one of the top drift boat companies in the world right in the little town of Baldwin, MI. I was going to be fishing with my music friends Griff and Brandon later that evening. I stopped by the PM lodge and said hello to the owner Frank Willets. He invited me to stay the night .This has been a really tough time for all the Lodge Owners and Guides in the fly fishing business.A whole steelhead season was lost due to lockdown measures and hopefully everyone will come together and pull through. I was pretty tired from my late night with Steve so just hung around for the day and was treated to an incredible barbecue chicken dinner with Frank and his guests who I knew, Todd Fenton  and his friend  Matt Ruimfeld. It was now time to meet Griff and Brandon for our evening float from Green to Bowman. Preacher Danny was there and said a fish blessing for me!!The water had come up a bit but Griff wasn't worried.We launched in the high water and headed downstream towards Clay Banks. I was throwing a tandem fry pattern on my 6 wt. And connected with my first fish soon .After a crazy battle we slid the 18" Brown into net. It was a solid PM wild fish. The Pere Marquette is the original water of the first brown trout stocking in the US back in 1884 and these fish are from that lineage. We pushed down river past another great Guide named Casey and stopped in a cool back eddy. I had my fry pattern swinging downstream when I had a massive strike .After another great battle Griff netted a 19" inch brown. Soon after Brandon missed a 20 plus fish. We pushed downstream passed Gleason's landing and it became pitch black out.We stopped and had a late night snack that Todd had packed up for us at the Lodge. It was then time to throw a mouse. After a few casts in the blackness I heard a huge crash and I was on to a nice 16' Brown and another great net job. It started to rain and the fishing slowed so we pushed on down to Bowman's and pulled out for the night at 2 Am. Back at the Lodge I found out the guests had done well on the water as well.The next day Brandon, his friend Preacher Danny  and I searched for some Brook Trout but only ended up seeing a huge Eagle and having the truck breakdown. Luckily a cool trout fisherman named Jim stopped and helped us get it started. Well we headed back to Baldwin and I headed home. Tight lines everyone and will see you soon, Keith

Final tour of 2019

This was to be my last music, fishing tour of 2019 to the Seattle Area. It almost didn't happen because my Moms furnace took a dive on the way to the airport but a last minute service call saved me!!!After a great late night flight I was at Sea Tac and on to some gigs and fishing .After a fantastic show in Seattle with fellow Bluesman and fisherman Brian Lee,

Spay Video

it was on to Puget sound with my friend Julie Lynn and some educated cuthroat After 3 days I finally landed 3 one morning on a new secret method. Then it was on to the Olympic famous waters with my guide friend Steve Burns. We swung the Hoh, and The Clearwater and Bogashiel with only a few strikes ! But an adventure it was with Steve off roading in a Toyota 4x4. Happy New Year everyone and tight lines !! Keith

Bears, Eagles, Steelhead and Brook Trout

This was an amazing journey of great airplane travel, good friends, wildlife and fishing!Arriving for the first time at Terrace Airport I headed over to Gil and Mandi Mckeans West Coast fishing lodge. It was the next day that I let a big"Steelhead Go" and Gil and I wrote a song about it!! Later on in the trip it was fishing with the legendary fishing guide and harmonica player  "Pierce Steelhead Clegg", He actually put me on a nice steelhead and Coho! Along  the way I found some beautiful Brook Trout as well with my friend Dakota!! Thanks to the great breweries for hosting me as well!!

Return to the PM

It was my Dad's birthday and I was headed to beautiful Pere Marquette in Michigan. I hadn't been here for a while and stopped in the PM lodge

. My friend Greg Potter from Marshall had tied me a box of beautiful streamers and eggs but I also picked a bunch of xtra small egg patterns at the lodge.My first stop was the upper section by James Rd. After no action I called my friend Chris who has a house on the river and he said to come by and fish near his place. There were plenty of browns but they were spooky and he suggested I walk to another section. I worked a run with no one else around and tied into a beautiful brown. Then hooked a nice salmon but a second salmon took the other egg and now I was fighting 30 lbs of fish on 4x. Back at my friends we had a great evening wade in the rain and saw a giant barn owl. After a few sips of Vodka and cold beers we called it a day and then the rain kicked in and never stopped!! 

Return to the promised land 2019

This was it!! I was heading back to Montana and Idaho after missing 2018 for a 13 night music tour. Besides the great shows and adventures ,I took some time for a few casts. The results were beautiful Cuthroats in yellowstone , Browns on the Gallatin,  Brook trout and Rainbows on the lakes. As a bonus to

the Fishing there were Bear, Mountain Goats, Elk , Buffalo and time well spent with friends!!

Steelhead on a dry and a broken zero gravity

A great trip to Washington and Bc proved tough at first but ended just right!! I checked into the beautiful Reds Canyon River lodge and spent a few days fishing with owner Steve Joyce's  friend Jerome.Jerome is a longtime resident of the Yakima Valley and a local legend. He took me to some beautiful water but all I saw was a big fish turn on a dry and a Bull trout throw my sculpin back at me. It was then on to south Puget sound where I hooked the unexpected wild Steelhead and broke my rod landing it.Well I was then on to the beautiful Sun Peaks and on to fish the Schu

swap with my friend Don. I was 2 for 12 mainly because I  was fishing with a broken hook. Then to close the trip at beautiful Corbitt Lake near Merrit.The Coquahalla Highway is spectacular . The border guard in Sumas is a big blues fan and made the crossing easy!! Till next time, Keith

Washington Red and Gold!!!

When your  on tour out  west in April it's always good to check in with Washington's Lahontan Cuthroats and spring creek Rainbows !! The cuthroat were cruising the shorelines in the northern lakes

and the rainbows surprised me in the the bright sunlight!! A first cast with a white streamer was grabbed at "High Noon"