Here is a list of our upcoming events:  

January 16 and 17:   We will be at the Heartland Fly Fishing Festival in Lebanon, Indiana.    Kevin will be giving a tying demo on January 16.   On January 17, Matt Zudweg will be tying flies and Kevin will give a presentation. 

January 31:   Several of our guides will be fly tying at the Bobbin the Hood event at Schultz Outfitters. 

February 4:   Kevin will be presenting at the River Stop Cafe in Newaygo, MI.   This will be a program featuring the Muskegon River, and is called “A Nature Night Out”. 

February 14:  Matt Zudweg will be giving a fly tying demonstration at Nomad Anglers.

February 21:   Kevin will be giving a program at the Charles Fellows Trout Unlimited Chapter. 

February 28:   Drew Rosema will be presenting at the Blackhawk Rod and Gun Club. 

March 6 and 7:   We will have booth space and Kevin will be presenting at the Midwest Fly Fishing Expo.    

May 13:  Kevin will be presenting at the Buckeye United Fly Fishers in Cincinatti, Ohio. 

May 20:  Kevin will be presenting to the Michigan Fly Fishing Club.

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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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• September 10, 2024:   Kevin Feenstra will be speaking at the Holland Audubon Club.  The talk will be titled “The Birds, Mammals, and Fish of the Muskegon River”.   More information can be found here. 
• September 17, 2024:   Kevin Feenstra will be speaking to the Muskegon Nature Club.   The program will be titled “The Beauty and Biology of the Muskegon River”.   More information can be found here. 
• September 23, 2024:  Kevin will be giving a fall fishing presentation to Schrem’s Trout Unlimited in Grand Rapids, Michigan.    This talk will be a good primer for the change of seasons.
• September 28:   Kevin Feenstra will be presenting at Spey Fest.  This event is held at Henning Park in Newaygo, Michigan, and is free to the public.   It is a great way to learn spey fishing techniques and casting.   In addition, Matt Zudweg will be tying flies at this event.    

Come join us!   We would love to see you at any of these events! 

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A New Logo and Upcoming Events for Feenstra Guide Service

Thanks to the artwork of guide Matt Zudweg, Feenstra Guide Service is sporting a new logo.   We will be taking this artwork on the road, as our guides appear at various events around the Midwest:   

January 16:   Kevin Feenstra will be giving a presentation about the ecology of the Muskegon River for the Muskegon County Nature Club.      This will feature images and video clips from around the Muskegon River watershed, and there will be birds, mammals, fish, and insects featured in this colorful show.   This program is open to the public and will take place in Grand Haven, Michigan. 

January 18:  Kodie Kowitz will be giving a fly tying presentation at Nomad Anglers. 

January 20:   Matt Zudweg will be giving a tying demo, and Kevin Feenstra will be giving a presentation at the Heartland Fly Fishing Festival, in Lebanon, Indiana.    This is a really nice show put on by Project Healing Waters.   Drew Rosema will also be present at this event.   

January 25:  Drew Rosema will be tying flies at Nomad Anglers in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

January 27:  Matt Zudweg will be giving a fly tying demo at Moving Waters Outfitters in Zionsville, Indiana. 

February 3 and 4:   Drew Rosema, Matt Zudweg, Kodie Kowitz, and Kevin Feenstra will be at the Bobbin the Hood event at Schultz Outfitters on January 3.  This will be a great event if you like fly tying! 

February 14:  Kevin Feenstra will be giving a program for the North Branch Boys, near Toledo, Ohio.

February 23:   Kevin Feenstra will be giving a program at the Remembrance Church Sportsmen’s Dinner. 

February 24:   Kodie Kowitz will be doing a fly tying demo at Oakbrooke TU in Illinois. 

February 24:  Kevin Feenstra will be giving a program and tying flies for a group in Canton, Ohio.   Please inquire with Kevin if you are in that area and wish to attend. 

February 29:  Joni Murray will be giving a fly tying demo at Nomad Anglers. 

March 9, 10:  We will have booth space at the Michigan Fly Fishing Club Expo in Warren, Michigan.   Kevin may be presenting there as well. 

Stay tuned for more upcoming events for Feenstra Guide Service!  If you would like to learn more about our guides, click here.    We hope to see you at these events! 

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This was a very unusual fall, as they all seem to be lately.   Many of the steelhead were initially small, and the water was very low and extremely clear.     We also had a ton of leaves this fall and a lot of sunshine.   These were a lot of challenges with the fishing conditions.  

For quite a few years, I have been using perch colored flashabou on sunny and leafy days.     For whatever reason, the perch flashabou, which is a combination of red, yellow, and green flash, was a top producer in these tough conditions long after the leaves were gone.  

This Perch and Orange is a simple fly pattern that is great way to utilize perch flashabou.   I really like the hot orange kraken dubbing used on the front of the fly.    

Perch and Orange Pattern:   

Shank:  Short, 25-35mm of your choice.  This fly can also be tied on a size 1 Daiichi 2461 if you prefer a traditional hook

Tail:   Damsel colored marabou or dark olive rabbit strip

Tail Flash:   (Optional)  A strand of red saltwater flashabou

Body:   Green and yellow dubbing of your choice

Flash:  1/69 orange holosheen

Flash 2:   Perch flashabou or magnum perch holographic flashabou

Flash 3:  Optional aqua polar flash or other green flash

Eyes:  Bead chain or lead eyes, tied 1/3 of the way back from the eye

Head:   Hot Pink and Hot orange Kraken dubbing.   I also have tied this fly in larger sizes with Hot orange and Hot Pink Marabou and that has also been successful. 

Usually when I find a good color combination, that works on a particular year, I convert it to the various formats of flies that I like to use, to suit the conditions.    This includes spey flies, sculpins, and baitfish profiles.   

If you would like to see more fly patterns, please see our fly page.   Also, if you are in Michigan on February 3 and 4, check out the Bobbin the Hood event at Schultz Outfitters.   At this event, you will get to see many of the best fly tiers in the region.   

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In my first couple years guiding for trout I did a lot of streamer trips. It was in high demand from a guiding standpoint and it was a great way to find a large brown trout. It also was a lot of WORK for clients to throw big flies and strip them non stop all day.

Because it was too much work for most people to rapidly strip sinking lines all day I found it was a great idea to break it up with a much easier and just as enjoyable option… swinging wet flies.

As someone who finds “the take” as the most exciting part of fishing, the wet fly bite fit the bill.

Back then it was all done with single hand rods, and often a split shot or two on the leader would help sink the fly.

Fast forward a few years and the invention of poly leaders made the casting much more enjoyable and the fishing even more effective. Poly Leaders are simply a tapered leader coated in tungsten.

Then fast forward a few more years and two handed 4 and 5 weight rods made it even more enjoyable, efficient and also gave clients an opportunity to improve their skills with Spey casting, which is our main gig during the steelhead run.

Eventually the percentage of streamer time vs swinging wet flies switched places for me so that now the vast majority of a day trout fishing in my boat has been geared toward Trout Spey and in general we’ll hit some of the good streamer spots at some point too.

I’ve found that most clients really enjoy the ratio change and it breaks the day up a little for all of us.

With Trout Spey becoming increasingly popular over the last decade, the rods and lines have improved greatly and are super enjoyable to cast.

Of course if there are dry fly opportunities we definitely take advantage of that, but on a typical day of trout fishing in my boat we’ll be swinging wet flies on the switch rods for a majority of the day enjoying a “tight line grab” from our trout friends.

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I hope you’ll give this fly a try at your vise and on the water this year. Enjoy! – Zuddy

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