Richards River Guide

09/30/2026

9/30/2026, The type 1 trout season is over for me. It's always a melancholy event. So, the grey skies, rainy weather, and cool air matched perfectly with how I felt. Five months of spending as much time as possible where trout live can be exhausting yet rejuvenating at the same time. The last week of season could not have been better! The colorful plethora of brookies, browns, and rainbows could only be matched by the beginning Autumn's color. Its a magical time of year in the outdoors.
Days like this only reiterate that there is more that connects me to these streamlined, colorful creatures of the streams, than just a simple fishing line.
"A trout is a moment of beauty known only to those who seek it" ~Arnold Gingrich

09/27/2026

I wanted to finish trout season strong, and I did. Back to basics, fishing the creeks I started on, in pursuit of wild~ native brook trout. Just being where they live is enough for this old trout bum soul. But, catching as many as I did was unexpected. I still have it I guess. Three days of troutin' and scoutin' yielded 8 miles, 11 miles, and 9.5 miles respectively. This was an incredible 3 day journey, and never needed more than right now. I found my solace in '79, and since then I have never 2nd guess where it was. So the sunsets, literally and figuratively set on my 49th trout season, my 49th consecutive "Opener". If I think long and hard enough, I can remember every brookie I've netted or lost on this unbelievable streak. "Hey Dad, your chair is here, at the cabin fire pit, sit down, let me tell you, a trout story"...

09/22/2026

I could not sleep last night. So finally at midnight, I worked on some antler plaques and awaited daylight like a kid at Christmas. Deer scouting has been non stop for me, but with the end of trout season near, I want to finish strong. Most the Summer was a drought, and too hot to chase brookies in my area. Today, I would do both. As I headed East, my heart was racing~ trout and deer consume me, I can't do them both, yet today I was gonna try, scout - n- trout.
The excitement is actually overwhelming for me. I've been doing both since '79, you'd think I could handle it. As I got to the first creek, it felt like "The Opener", 42°. I made my way to the old tube, it was put there probably close to 100 years ago, not for vehicles mind you, but for cattle to cross. What used to be vast pasture is now a rugged swamp as thick as the UP bush. I love to think of all the critters that have used this "bridge" as I gently sit on the bucket I placed over a decade ago. The bite was on! Brookies of several sizes made there way to the net. The biggest males are dressing up in their bright colors for the Autumn "dance". Each spot this morning, fished well, producing beautiful wild trout (3 species), and glorious serenity. As I switched back and forth from troutin' to scoutin' my happiness grew, it was a perfect day in every sense. "Brookies, Bucks, Browns, and 'Bows". I'm gonna have to combine these two Autumn passions more often, if my heart can take it...

09/17/2026

09/14/2026

There goes my boat.

09/05/2026

I've been waiting for a decent rain for months. I really missed chasing trout this Summer due to the drought.
Trout fishing is the most sentimental of all my fishing pursuits. Trout are the first fish that I developed a true passion for. My earliest memories of trout are the ones that graced the covers of my dad's outdoor magazines in the 70's. They were regal, beautiful, and "smart", according to many articles that I would study as a kid. Growing up within a couple miles of several trout streams, they were always an option and a short bicycle ride away. They also represented the first fishing every Spring. During the long Winters of the 70's and 80's, I would dream of the trout opener almost nightly.
Michigan trout live in the prettiest places. This morning was definitely needed to recharge my soul and inspired me to finish the season strong. The cool stream water against my bare feet and legs rejuvenate my entire body. The satisfaction of casting my lures perfectly amongst the potential snags, and the total seclusion make my senses come alive. Only the water, the trout, and myself. Its where I've been meant to be, my entire life.
"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it" ~ Norman Maclean

07/29/2026

When its in the 50's and your neighbor is craving some wild browns.

06/26/2026

2 weeks post surgery. The surgeon said I could do a few more things( keep finger dry!) Scouting deer, chasing trout, (in a limited capacity), and heading to the cabin were my priorities today. Plus! I saw a bear and sat on a snake.