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

The post Peacock Bugger appeared first on FEENSTRA GUIDE SERVICE.

January 9, 2023: Kevin Feenstra will give a fly fishing presentation at the Grand River Fly Tiers. This will be a program and a fly tying event. It will include a slide show section on winter and early spring fishing, as well as a fly tying portion.  

January 17: Kevin will be giving a program at the Duneland Fly Fishers in Valparaiso, Indiana

January 18: Kevin will give a fly fishing presentations at the St. Joe River Valley Fly Fishers, in Elkhart, Indiana 

January 19: Kevin will be speaking at Kalamazoo Valley Trout Unlimited.

January 21 and 22: We will have a booth at the Heartland Fly Fishing Festival in Lebanon, Indiana 

January 25: Kevin will be tying flies at the Northern Angler in Traverse City, MI.  

January 26: Drew Rosema gives a fly tying demonstration for Nomad AnglersAdded: 

February 4, 2023: Kevin, Drew, and Matt will have fly tying demonstrations with Schultz Outfitters at the Bobbin the Hood event. This should be a very fun one to attend!  

February 10, 2023: Kevin will be doing a couple of fly fishing presentations at the Mershon Chapter of Trout Unlimited

February 11, 2023: We will have a booth at the 3 Rivers Fly Fishing Show in Ft. Wayne, Indiana 

February 16, 2023: Kevin will be presenting for the 3 Rivers Fly Fishing Club at their monthly meeting.

February 23, 2023: Kevin Feenstra will be speaking for the Ohio Central Basin Steelheader’s club.

February 27, 2023: Kevin will be speaking for the Grand Rapids Audubon club. This will be a program focused on birds and wildlife.

March 4, 2023: Kevin is a featured fly tier at the North Coast Fly Fishers Expo in the Cleveland area. 

March 11 &12: Feenstra Guide Service will have a booth at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo.

May 20, 2023: Kevin will be teaching a fly tying class at the Newaygo Public Library

We hope to see you at one or more of our events! 

For more info on any of our guides, click here.

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January 17-18:   Speaking and Booth space Heartland Fly Fishing Festival, Lebanon, Indiana

January 19:   Speaking Grand River Fly Tyers, Grand Rapids, MI

January 22:  Drew Rosema will be tying flies at Nomad Anglers in Grand Rapids, Michigan.   

February 3:   Fly Tying presentation at the Northern Angler in Traverse City,   Michigan. 

February 6:   Hacklers in Pentwater, Michigan

February 12:  Fly Tying event at Nomad Anglers in Grand Rapids

February 15:   Booth Space at the Three Rivers Fly Fishers

February 20:   Speaking event at the Three Rivers Fly Fishing
March 14, 15:   Speaking and booth space at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo in Warren, Michigan

March 16:  Speaking at Schrem’s Trout Unlimited

The post 2020 Speaking Events appeared first on FEENSTRA GUIDE SERVICE.

Have a look below.    Thanks,

Kevin Feenstra

https://www.instagram.com/p/Byq6yDQhFXD/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv7kuq8DvzL/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuueX7Pjle1/

The post Drew’s Artwork appeared first on FEENSTRA GUIDE SERVICE.

Shank: 3/4” Shank with a loop of Braid.

Eyes: Gold Plastic Bead Chain.

Tail: Grey Olive Craft Fur.

Wing: Light Olive Barred Soft Hackle tied to lay flat over the Craft Fur.

Body: A large clump of Dark Olive Creepy Crawly Ice Dub tied in as clump and folded back so the loose ends face backwards.

Flash: A small amount of Holographic Brown Flashabou.

Head: Light Olive Ice Dub tied in as a clump.

The post Baitfish Pattern appeared first on FEENSTRA GUIDE SERVICE.

Late last winter I realized that there was a new Ice Dub color I had been overlooking, Kingfisher Blue. It caught my eye and I threw together this fly for a guide trip the next day. After hooking a few fish the sun came out and we stopped getting bites. I remembered I had a couple of these to experiment with and it looked great in the bright sun. Within a few cast a steelhead decided it looked ok too and I was a believer. As it turns out this fly continued to produce throughout the late winter/spring. It became one of the go to flies for me, especially on sunny days. It has already been useful this year and hopefully it will continue! Over the past week larger blue flies have proven to be one of the better color choices in the high and muddy water. Hopefully as the water drops this fly will come back into play.

Hook: 2x Strong Streamer hook in size 4 or 6, or short shank for a swung fly version.

Eyes: Gold Plastic Bead Chain or you can substitute for lead eyes to get the fly down a little dealer while swinging.

Tail: Originally I used an olive partridge feather curved downward and that worked great. I recently ran out of those and have been using a light olive marabou feather with the same results.

Body: Kingfisher Blue Ice Dub dubbed onto thread lightly.

Hackle: Firey Brown hackle tied in by the tip and palmered through the body.

Flash: Holographic Yellow Flashabou, Copper also is a good choice.

Head: A clump of Kingfisher Blue Ice Dub tied in behind eyes.

I hope this fly helps you find a few fish this spring!

Thanks

Drew Rosema

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Many of you have come to know our guides, this is a chance to get to know them a little better.

Here is a list of events that Feenstra Guide Service participates in:

-January 13&14:  We will have a booth and be giving presentations at the West Michigan Fly Show.  Kevin Feenstra will be giving a presentation on the Muskegon River.  In addition, Matt Zudweg will have a fly tying booth demonstrating some of his  great patterns.

-January 16:  Kevin Feenstra will be speaking at the Duneland Fly Fishers

-January 17:  Kevin Feenstra will be speaking at the St. Joe River Valley Fly Fishers

-January 20&21:  Feenstra Guide Service will have booth space at the Heartland Fly Fishing Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Kevin Feenstra will be giving presentations at this show.

-January 24:  Drew Rosema will be tying at the Muskegon River Fly Shop

-January 27:  Matt Zudweg will be giving a fly tying demonstration at the Cabelas in Dundee from 10AM-2PM

-January 27:  Kevin Feenstra will be giving a fly tying class in at the Croton Township Library in Croton, Michigan.   Inquire at the Croton Public Library for information

-February 3:   Kevin Feenstra will be doing a fly tying demonstration at Nomad Anglers

-February 8:  Kevin Feenstra is speaking at the Vanguard TU chapter

February 10:  Matt Zudweg will give a fly tying class at Nomad Anglers in Grand Rapids, Michigan

-February 10:  Feenstra Guide Service will have booth at the 3RFF Fly Show in Ft. Wayne, Indiana

-February 15:  Drew Rosema will be giving a demonstration at the Kalamazoo Valley Trout Unlimited Chapter

-February 17:  Drew Rosema will be giving a fly tying seminar at the St. Joe River Valley Fly Fishers

-February 17:  Kevin Feenstra will be giving a fly tying demo at the Dundee Cabelas

-February 19:  Kevin Feenstra will be giving a fly tying demo at the Northern Angler in Traverse City, Michigan

-February 21:  Matt Zudweg will give a fly tying class at the Muskegon River Fly Shop

-February 24:  Matt Zudweg and Kevin Feenstra will be tying flies at the Fly Tying Celebration in Grand Rapids, Michigan

-March 10&11:  Feenstra Guide Service will have booth space at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo.  Kevin Feenstra will be presenting

-March 17:  Kevin Feenstra will be at the Muskegon River Fly Shop

The post Upcoming Events appeared first on FEENSTRA GUIDE SERVICE.

Eyes: Large dumbell eyes tied in the middle of the shank

Tail: Copper Flashabou

Body: Large clump of rusty brown Ice Dub tied in behind lead eyes

Collar: Copper Polar Chenille

Wing: Grape Flashabou tied in on the top and bottom of fly covered by Holographic Black Flashabou

Head: Large clump of Peacock Eye Ice Dub tied in front of eyes and followed by a clump of Orange Ice Dub.

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