NOW SHIPPING! Kevin Feenstra’s New Book:  Matching Warmwater Baitfish:  

Soon after my previous book, Matching Baitfish, was written, I started working on another book.    Though similar in some ways, it is geared toward totally different gamefish and some new genres of bait fishes.   The book is called Matching Warmwater Baitfish.  Here is a summary of the book: 

Matching Warmwater Baitfish is 248 pages in length, and includes 330 images.    If you enjoyed photography in the steelhead book, you should really like this book too.   The book details the warm water predator fish, such as well know species such as smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, musky, and northern pike.   It also covers overlooked species such as bowfin, gar, freshwater drum, and others. 

After describing the predators, the book details quite a few baitfish species.   In addition to baitfish, this book also covers other common large forms of prey, such as frogs and hellgrammites.    Equipment and reading the water are also components of the book. 

One of the strengths of the book is its fly tying section.     There is a section of step by step patterns of my guide flies.   These flies are straightforward guide flies that I use day to day in my guiding.  This section is followed by a section of patterns by some of the guides and anglers that I have come to know.  I have deep respect for these people  and wanted to highlight their contributions to fly fishing for warm water fish.    These include Russ Maddin, Ed McCoy, Mike Schultz, Matt Zudweg, and several others.  

I hope that this book is something that anyone who wants to learn about baitfish in our warm water fisheries can enjoy.     If you would like to purchase Matching Warmwater Baitfish, it is now shipping,  and can be purchased here.   

Here is a taste of some of the photos in the book, just use the arrows on the side to navigate: 

Our guides spend a lot of time plying the waters for warm water species, and warm water guide trips are available through the spring, summer, and fall for smallmouth and largemouth bass and northern pike.     To learn more about our guides, click here. 

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We have several upcoming speaking events with our staff and would love to see you at these events!

January 11, 2025:   Joni Murray will be giving a presentation at the Red Cedar Fly Fishers. 

January 18, 2025:   We will have a booth at the Heartland Fly Fishing Festival in Lebanon, Indiana.     Kevin Feenstra will be giving a presentation on Smallmouth Bass fishing, Matt Zudweg is a featured tier at this event. 

January 21, 2025:    Kevin Feenstra will be giving a fly tying demonstration at Nomad Anglers in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  

February 1:   Some of our guides will be fly tying at the Bobbin the Hood event at Schultz Outfitters. 

February 4:  Matt Zudweg will be giving a fly tying demonstration at Nomad Anglers.

February 6:   Kodie Kowitz will be giving a fly tying demonstration at Nomad Anglers. 

February 8:    Kevin will be on hand at the Three Rivers Fly Fishing show near Fort Wayne, Indiana. 

February 20:   Drew Rosema will be demonstrating at Nomad Anglers. 

February 20:   Kevin will be giving a presentation at the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders. 

March 1:   Kevin will be presenting at the North Coast Fly Fishers Expo, near Cleveland, Ohio.   

March 5:  Kevin will be demonstrating at the Northern Angler in Traverse City, Michigan. 

March 8-9:   We will have booth space and Kevin will be presenting at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo.   Additionally, Matt Zudweg will be a featured tier at that event. 

March 12:   Kevin will be presenting at the Indianapolis Fly Casters. 

March 15:   Kevin will be presenting at the Charles Fellows TU Chapter. 

The post Winter 2025 Fly Fishing Events appeared first on FEENSTRA GUIDE SERVICE.

This is a very simple fly but it can be very effective as a swung fly tied on a shank or as a nymph tied on a hook.

When I first started fishing the Muskegon for steelhead, my fly selection was pretty limited. Back then if you looked in my box you would see a variety of eggs, ice minnows, small sculpins, and peacock buggers. That’s about it! Depending on the time of year, one or the other of those options would usually get it done. One fly outshined the rest of them. No matter what time of the year it was, I always had confidence when there was a peacock bugger on the end of my line. Not much has changed since then. Whether you are swinging flies, or nymphing this simple twist on the old classic is a great option to have in your box.

Steelhead can often leave you scratching your head. Throughout the season there are periods when they seem to bite anything that comes into view, and periods when its hard to buy a bite. Over the years, in the the tough times I have riffled through my boxes in search of something to peak their interest. Often if I pick a peacock bugger it gets the job done.

I think the reason that woolly buggers work so well is that the can represent a wide variety of different things. Add a color combo that is well proven in the Muskegon, and you have a great fly. A bugger swung or drifted around the gravel in the fall can look like a leech. They can imitate baitfish and helgramites. On days in the spring when the stonefly nymphs are really swimming, it’s a great bet to have a small peacock bugger on your line. 

When you think of good swinging flies for steelhead you might typically think of big, bright, and flashy patterns. Well those flies do catch plenty of fish, there are periods of the season when i have been leaning towards smaller and sparser flies. When the fish are seeing a lot of pressure and traffic on the water. Or when the water is very clear, I typically will lean towards flies like these.

This year we had a long period of ultra clear water. I had been guiding swung fly trips every day, and had been really working hard to get fish to bite. I had one day of nymph fishing in between all of the swinging trips. I hadn’t nymph fished in close to two months, so I was a little out of the loop on which flies would produce. The first thing in the morning I put some flies on I thought would be productive. We fished till lunch with only a few trout to hand. After lunch I decided to tie on the old standard peacock bugger. Throughout the afternoon we hooked fish in most of the spots we tried. They all were on the peacock bugger. I knew after that one day of nymphing I was back to swinging flies for the next few weeks. So that night I tied a handful of copper peacock buggers on shanks for swinging. The next day we hooked a fish on one of the first few casts on a shank style peacock bugger. 

This fly worked well for me for the rest of the late fall/early winter. Hopefully having a few in your box will help you find a fish on the tough days.

Peacock Bugger Materials List:

Hook: 1″ Shank or 2X Strong Wet Fly Hook Size 4-8

Loop: 40-50lb Braid tied about the same length as the shank.

Optional Weight: Tungsten or Brass Cone depending on water levels. This fly is just as effective when it is tied unweighted. I typically use unweighted flies when I tie them on a hook and use them for nymphing.

Tail: 3/4″ Piece of Black Rabbit Strip, or Black Marabou. When I need to tie a bunch of these I like to pre-cut a bunch of tails out of rabbit strips.

Flash: A few strands of copper Flashabou is most effective for me but don’t be afraid to experiment with other flashes.

Hackle: Brown Schlappen or Strung Saddle Hackle palmered through the body.

Body: Peacock Ice Dubbing

Kevin shot this great photo of a fish that was recently caught on a Peacock Bugger

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2019 is producing some big fish!

Each year is different, but this one has certainly been like none other.    We had a delayed steelhead run, followed by a high water spring.   That high water followed us well into July.   Up until earlier this month, we were at water levels that you would expect in March.        Only in recent weeks have we backed off into normal water levels.   Our cool water fish such as trout survive much better on years with high water.  Good water levels also benefit the fry of migratory fish such as salmon and steelhead.    High water is healthy for the Muskegon River as a whole; resident baitfish thrive in these water conditions.  Elevated water floods the shallow edges of the river, submerging a lot of  vegetation that would normally be out of the water.    These flooded, weedy areas provide cover for small baitfish and fry, and as a result we end up with a lot of food in the river.

High water levels have helped the baitfish in the Muskegon River thrive!

This abundance of food in turn creates some very heavy predator fish, including the smallmouth bass.  As the baitfish mature we will imitate bigger minnows, especially common shiners and gobies.  Gray and tan are great colors to imitate a broad array of these fish.   As water levels drop, the gamut of smallmouth flies works great.   This includes crayfish patterns but it also includes some of the funnest patterns–poppers that are fished on the surface.    Because of the drop offs in the Muskegon, the smallmouth are often located along the edges, bass feed along the edges and this is prime territory for explosive surface bites.    Our guides have excellent surface patterns.  One of our guides,  Matt Zudweg,  has his own line of great poppers.  He is well regarded throughout the region for his flies.    His large patterns elicit some fantastic bass over the course of a summer.  You can see a sample of his poppers below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzEAhSPhuNV/

Because food continues to be super abundant, the smallmouth feed erratically.     Water levels are currently dropping, which will concentrate baitfish and raise the metabolism of the fish, making for prime smallmouth fishing opportunities.  As the water drops and warms, expect the rest of the summer to be very good for smallmouth.

Typically smallmouth fishing is very good well into September.    The remainder of summer is a fun, high quality time of the year to fish.   There is something really awesome about being on the river in sandals and a t-shirt.   As someone who fishes in the dead of winter, I can’t help but being struck by the stark contrasts in our fishing seasons.    The variety of warm water, cold water, and migratory fish makes the Muskegon River a great place to fish at any time.

If you are interested in smallmouth bass fishing, we have trips available throughout the remainder of the summer months.   August is prime time for numbers of fish, with some of the largest fish often caught in September.

Tight Lines!—Kevin Feenstra

Summer smallmouth bass are some of the most exciting fish to catch!

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