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. 

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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

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One of the coolest things I have ever seen!

Early last spring, there was a lull in the fishing.  Our steelhead fishing was not where it should be, the weather was cold, and I was spending some time photographing waterfowl.     West Michigan has a dazzling array of water birds in the spring, and I was seeing northern shovelers, wood ducks, scaup, redheads, canvasbacks, and many other species.     Though I was seeing thousands of ducks, I was seeing very few birds of prey. 

That all changed one day.  As I watched a tremendous flock of ducks, I noticed a huge bird hovering over the edge of the flock.  There, an adult eagle was hunting.  

Eagles grow very old, and it clearly had a plan for hunting the bird it selected.    I like to photograph ducks on very windy days, because they have to take off and land into the wind.   The wind slows them down and makes them more predictable.   Out of the thousands of ducks at this location, this eagle had singled out one coot and separated it from rest of the birds.   There the bird of prey used the wind to swoop up and down at the coot, while expending very little energy.   The bird was terrified, and would only come up for a breath at a time.    The eagle was cunning, and easily wore its prey out by swooping down repetitively.   Finally the eagle made a move, and swooped down on the coot.    

It seized the coot, but lost it!   I was actually happy it missed because in the excitement of the moment, I realized that the shutter speed on the camera was too slow.    Soon the coot popped up again, and the eagle was ready.   So was I.       It was one of the most exciting things I have ever seen in nature.    If you take the time to spend time quietly on the edge of the water, or in the woods, you can see amazing things.   This is part of what makes fishing, hunting, and other outdoor activities such a rich part of our experience..     

To see more of this series of photos of the eagle and the coot, or to see waterfowl images, visit https://kevinfeenstra.smugmug.com/Whats-New.

Thanks for visiting our site!–Kevin Feenstra

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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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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

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The Skeleton Leech is a quick and simple variation of a Halloween Leech

This fall has been challenging with limited numbers of steelhead.    The good new is that the quality of the fish has been great. Because numbers are low, we are constantly trying new color combinations, trying to find something that will take an extra fish or two.     Some of the best flies we have found have been when the fishing is not great.   Difficult conditions forces us to try new things.

In September, I received some of flashabou’s new white color flash.   I could not find a good use for it at first.    I decided to incorporate it into some leech patterns this fall.   I really did not expect it to work, but the first time we used it we caught a fish.    This became a regular occurrence, and this fly has saved some days that would have been unproductive.  I have not found a substitute for this new material.   The white flashaou is necessary for this fly to work.

The fly is very easy to tie, here are the materials:

Shank:   25-45 mm of your choice, with a loop of your choice of braid or beadalon

Eyes:  Lead or bead chain eyes to suit conditions

Tail:   Black Marabou

Wing:   White flashabou #6947 (https://www.hedroninc.com/products/flashabou/flashabou-original)

Wing 2:  Black magnum flashabou, clear grizzly flashabou, or black holographic flashabou

Wing 3:  (Optional) On cloudy days, a strand of copper magnum flashabou;  on sunny days, a strand of magnum holographic flashabou

Head:   Orange ice dub covered with hot orange ice dub or Hot orange over pink, or hot orange over chartreuse.

Fish this fly deep with a heavy sink tip and you won’t be disappointed!

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West Michigan Fly Fishing Show this weekend!

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