September 26
Host: Matt & Kelly Kline
Attendees: Matt & Mark Hash, Doug Buckbee, Tanner Buckbee, ?,

October 10
Host: Matt & Kelly Kline
Attendees: Andrew Vizi, Scott Borchelt, Matt Hash, Jim & Abbey McAllilster, ?

September 26 Report from Matt Hash:
We rolled into Wellston on 55 about 7pm Friday Night.  Then we made our annual stop at the little creek behind the church to see if there were any fish in the water, and to enjoy our traditional first “pop” of the weekend.

Much to our delight, there were several fish in the shallow creek, and they were BIG!  A good sign for things to come.  We were worried we may have been there too early this year.

We then headed out towards Kaleva so we could get set-up in the campground before dark.

As we turned up Highbridge and rolled past Winston’s in Brethren – he appeared to be swamped with business… another good sign.

Got to the campground about 7:15pm and set-up camp in short order.  The promise of good food at the KT was motivating us to get done quickly.  We also enjoyed a couple more cold ones.

Once the tents were set-up, we spent a few minutes walking the campground finding twigs, and a few logs for the campfire after dinner.  Then – off to KT.

We had a great dinner at KT – Large Deluxe pizza and breadsticks, and several more adult beverages.  (Thankfully, my 17 year old son Mark was there to drive us home if needed)

Enjoyed a nice fire upon return and made plans for the morning.  Hit the bed around midnight.

Saturday morning we got up around 8:30, and went directly to Lentz’s for farmer’s omelets.  (I really think this is the main reason Doug comes on this trip) Bonnie was glad to see us, and asked about Scott and his Dad.  (She is not going to be there the weekend of the 3rd – she and her husband are going to Indian River to run the chain of lakes.  She will be back for the weekend of the 10th). We then headed back to camp and got dressed for the creek.

Upon arrival at the bridge on Kerry road, we were met by at least 20 other vehicles!  Never, in all of my trips there have I seen anywhere CLOSE to this much traffic!  There were people everywhere. 

As we were putting on waders and lining up poles, a little girl began to scream bloody murder – apparently, there is a huge yellow jacket nest on this hillside – just above the drain pipes where she was playing.  She received several stings to the face and neck.  Last we saw, they were heading to Manistee for the hospital to ensure she was OK.  (Her Dad is very allergic).  Later that day we also found out another young boy had stumbled into or near the nest and was swarmed by a “couple hundred” as some of the other fishermen told us.

Walk in down the West side of the hill (our usual entrance next to the driveway) and everything is OK.  – Just stay away from those drains.

Got into the river and headed around the bend.  The cabin on the corner was full of life.  There were 2-trucks there and men and kids all over the yard and patio.  We walked on down stream towards the wall.  There were people at the wall (of course) and somebody was fishing about every 50 to 100 yards from there all the way back to the old cabin!

We saw a decent  number of fish from the bank on our walk.  The Reed bed just past the wall is looking great this year. There is still a large hole on each side, but good rocks for the fish to spawn on in the middle.

Several of our other favorite spots had changed pretty dramatically since last year.  (Blow-downs and the current had washed out and changed a few of the holes, as usual)

We found a spot or two here and there to fish, but by the time we got way back in to some of the best spots (flats beyond the old cabin), the sun was up high and the fish were deep in the holes.

The most fish we saw on anyone’s stringer on our way in was at the picnic table.  There were about 6 guys that looked like they crawled out of the hills somewhere in West Virginia that had that entire area “occupied”.  (There were not too happy about the 5 of us walking through)   - Probably didn’t want us seeing all of their fish.  Regardless, we were polite and got buy without incident. 

Our morning had been unsuccessful, as far as landing anything goes.  Mark and I both had a fish on in the first few minutes of fishing, but neither made it into our net.  By now, the sun was very high in the sky so we decided it was again time for the KT and lunch and to decide what the plan was for the afternoon.  We walked out on land and came down the hillside behind the banjo picking, deliverance boys.

After lunch, we went right back to work.  Got in the river about 3:30 and found some decent fishing spots only about ½ way back to the cabin.  Mark was the first to land one – an 11 pounder (per Winston’s scales).  A short while later, there was a HUGE amount of splashing and yelling just up stream from me.  I ran up there and found two other guys – fly fishermen – wrestling a 25 pounder into their net (almost in – it wouldn’t all fit).  What an amazing fish, with perfect coloring.  Largest fish I have ever seen in the creek.  (Howard later told us that the fish are all bigger this year – 5 to 8 lbs heavier on average.  He has cleaned several that were near 30 lbs, and lots in the mid 20’s)

A little while after that, I hooked into my second fish of the day.  After a good fight, Tanner – Doug’s 11 year old son, decided to try and net it for me.  As it turns out, the fish was a little too green still when Tanner got up behind him, and the fish decided to take off down the river at a record pace.  Now, with Tanner running downstream as fast as he could go, and the drag screaming, and Doug yelling, and me holding on to my rod for dear life…. Tanner decided to take a dive head first into a hole that he didn’t see.  Luckily, I was right behind him and with on hand I grabbed his suspenders and pulled him back up to his feet.  Somehow, we got the net out of Tanner’s hands and into his Dad’s hands.  The fish calmed down a little, and started working his way back up stream.  Doug quickly got downstream of the fish, and all was good.  He expertly scooped him up, head first, just as he was turning to make another run for it.

To end the day, we were walking out and when we got to the wall, they guys there were leaving.  We fished this until about 7pm.  (For some reason, the fish never really came out of the holes that evening)  We only saw a couple fish prior to dark.

After a quick visit with Howard at Winston’s place – we were off to clean up at camp and then a final dinner at KT.  We had a BIG fire that night (good wood across the street for $5 and armload).  S’mores, drinks, stories and laughs around the fire made for a great evening.

We headed home Sunday morning after a final visit with Bonnie.

Hope you all have a great time this weekend.  We sure left plenty of fish for you, and you haven’t missed the leaves changing yet.  Only a few maples have turned to this point.  We actually have more color down around the Rochester area than in Kaleva.

Hope to see you all soon.

Tight lines!

-Matt