Chris Raines (a.k.a. Uber) landed this beauty on a guide’s day out on the PM.
All photos courtesy Frank Willetts
Frank Willetts, owner of the Pere Marquette River Lodge, wrote to say that they’ve been catching some gorgeous fish, and he included these photos as proof. As anyone who has fished the PM knows, you don’t land every fish you hook, so each one is a trophy. If I had a dime for every fish that broke me off in some submerged wood. . .
On a father-son trip, young Alex showed the Old Man who was top stick.
This is Sheri’s very first steelhead, which means that she’s probably ruined for life.
When he’s not guiding or running the lodge, Frank Willetts even gets the occasional chance to fish.
Is there any kind of hatchery program on the PM? It looks like all those steelies are native.
Very nice fish, Frank and Chris and Team! Have fun out there!
Sort of off topic but…
Reminds me of a recent trip to Salmon River in Altmar NY. On a cool morning a partner and I were waiting on the shore for sunrise to fish and 2 older gentlemen walked up in the dark to where were were standing. One asked “What, did you guys sleep here?” Actually it was only a short hike from our cabin. As we we got ready to fish the other man came over and gave me a few pointers as to how to fish the run we were at and what to use.
As the day went on we started to hook fish, well actually THEY started to hook fish. I see an older man slowly making his way upstream. turns out to be one of their brothers. They begin to rotate through the spot and continue to hook and land some fish. All of these guys were willing to help with advice and heckled each other.
At one point I sat and talked to George about fishing things and found the oldest was 86 and the others were in their mid 60’s I was awestruck at the wear-with-all of the oldest AND his ability to hook and catch these beautiful fish. All with a knee needing surgery! I can only hope to match these men in longevity and ability… one day. As they left we said our goodbyes to our new comrades of the river, thanking them for their advise to learn they had each hooked around 12-15 fish and landed about half. That in one day was my tally for 4 days!
Turns out the nice gentleman I spoke with happens to be an executive of Orvis. This really made me smile to know the love of fishing is ingrained through out the Orvis team.
Thanks again George, hope all is well