#48 Rogue River, Michigan

Brian Merdzinski took me to his favorite spot on the Rogue behind the old Paper Mill. Driving along Childsdale Ave we saw numerous cars at the various turnoffs along the way. A not so pleasant reminder that big fish bring out the crowds, especially near big cities. Stepping into the river, I was also reminded of just how much I dislike the Rogue, owing mostly to a canoe trip I made as a teenager with my fishing pal Eric VanderVeen. We floated down the upper river, through the tangled swamps and dozens of portages, on an excursion we thought would be trout friendly. It was not.

The allure of salmon fishing is mystifying. I have done more of it this year. Fair hooking a fresh fish is a challenge with the reward of an uncommon battle in a shallow river. But all too often the fish is foul hooked. Snagged to be more precise. For that matter, when the fish are in thick, I suspect a good many fair hooked fish are really fair snagged. Granted, there are times when a spawning non-feeding salmon will attack a streamer or move over to engulf a drifted nymph. But those instances are few and far between. For a fifteen minute period during a rain storm on the Garden a few weeks ago, after ignoring our offerings for two days, the Chinooks suddenly started chasing every cast. Thinking of my recent trip to the beautiful valley of the Garden, I make a few halfhearted casts into the dark, slightly rank water of the Rogue. We do not see any holding fish. It occurs to me that I am a trout fisherman at heart. And this is no trout stream, in spite of TU's best efforts and the DNR annual stocking.