Last week, when I strolled on over to www.fishbaldwin.com to check the steelhead fishing report, Steve, one of the co-owners of Baldwin Bait and Tackle, had posted a pretty favorable report and said the fishing remained “either off the hook fantastic, or simply very tough”.

In my mind, and probably because I knew that I would only make it up to the Pere Marquette River once this year, I focused on the positive of that statement – the “off the hook fantastic” part, and blocked out the “simply very tough” portion – and, as it turned out, the fishing over the weekend definitely turned out to be “very tough”.

Bummer.

We arrived on the river very early, and were lucky enough to have the spot we wanted all to ourselves.  Now, that normally means one of two things:  the fishing is fantastic and we’ve been very lucky to be the first ones there, or the fishing is horrible and that is why the parking lot is empty.  This trip, both of those things turned out to be true.

A few of us started to try their luck immediately – regardless of the pitch-black conditions on the river – while two more of us relaxed on the bank and waited for daylight.  I was one of those who waited for more light, because I hate fishing in the dark, but I hit the river immediately once the first signs of dawn came.

But the fish never showed.

Well, I guess they did for Matt.  He managed to land a nice little Jack right at first light, but the low, clear water and sunny skies made for some tough fishing.  We fished for a few hours, and then decided to eat some lunch, check into our room at the lodge, and take a nap before trying our luck in the late afternoon/evening.

I awoke with anticipation.  The skies were overcast – perfect conditions for steelies – and the air was filled with excitement…..until we arrived at the river.  Our tranquil non-inhabited spot from the morning was now blustering with activity.  Apparently every guide in the area had heard that this section of the river did, in fact, have fish – and they were taking full advantage of it.  Catching a fish was tough, and finding fish was even harder, so by the afternoon word had traveled fast that this section of river did have some fish.  If you’re a guide on the river, and it’s the end of the day and your client hasn’t caught a fish yet, you have to go where the fish are.  Unfortunately, that didn’t leave any place for us to fish.

And, with that, went our fishing trip.

We chalked the trip up to experience, ate some ice cream from Dairy Queen to make ourselves feel a little better, and headed into town to find some dinner.  We enjoyed some tranquil time on the river; watched a mink meander along the bank; ate plenty of food; played cards; watched some of the NCAA tournament; and had a great time hanging out with the “boys”.

I guess it wasn’t all for naught.

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