THANKSGIVING UP NORTH
THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A CROOKED OLD RIVER....
Actually, Karen took this pic of me in the summer, not catching fish on the Little Manistee.
Wild, windy day on the big lake at Port Sheldon Beach near Holland.
A nice toasty campfire and the moon at Three Tall Pines (my new name for our up north camp). Fortunately, we had rented a cabin but the temptation was there to brave the chilly night in the tent.
We were a little worried that the hunters would be down at Nordhouse beach like last year, but only small group of hikers passed us, then we had our favorite place all to ourselves. As we sat watching Hazzard chase the sea gulls, I looked in the water and saw a king salmon, nearly dead, trying to avoid washing into the shore. My better angel prevented me from me from rolling up my pants and grabbing it out of the water. Good to let nature do its thing.
I took a short birthday spin down Cedar Creek Road to check out Pine Creek, which is a small tributary of the Big Manistee and not to be confused with the Pine River. With virtually no public access, I was forced to choose a long stretch between private property signs to make my way down to the creek to check things out. As I approached a small pool, I saw a small trout dart for cover, so I hung out for awhile and enjoyed the sounds of the water and the wind.
Patrick Campbell, mentor of the Highland Fly Fishing Club, told me about this tributary of the Big Manistee. I had seen it on the map and wondered about it, so last time I was up north, I fished it and was nearly knocked over by the spawning King Salmon. So I decided to take Karen there for a morning hike. It is now on our ever-growing list of places we love.
We can't wait to keep stomping down this beautiful creek someday.
