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Trail Creek

3K views 22 replies 3 participants last post by  removed_by_request 
#1 ·
I accepted an invite from one of my fishing pards to go up to Michigan City and fish the harbor wall for Coho this weekend. We stayed with a friend of his who took us out. We spent all morning Saturday chunking hardware and drowning spawn with one Steelhead to show. Knowing I was a flyfisherman, on the way back to his house he stopped at a public access site on Trail creek so I could see it. Very cool place. I met someone there who bet me he could hook a steelie in three casts. I think it took 8 or 10.
Needless to say I spent this morning there, NOT at the harbor. Seemed like most of the fish I saw were more interested in spawning than eating, though I did finally get one nice male to eat one of Hal's chartruse glow bugs. Then there was this BIG tree. Then there was a broken line. :hehe:
I shall return.
 
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#5 ·
You will have a very hard time finding the spots I fish on those "other" 4 rivers. One 3 mile section is private/posted/fenced intruders are kept at bay. Not to mention 2 never fished river mouths.

Laziness keeps people at bay.
 
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#8 ·
pmflyfisher said:
Don't tell him everything, please.

Any one that can take that Trail Creek mud and bugs in july and august, is more of a man than me, and can have all of those big skams too.

PM Out
Actually Trail has less bugs than the other rivers. Michigan City sprays for pests and properly pollutes the water so mosquitos cant hatch or survive.

Fished Trail many a day without bug dope, once I moved to the western rivers I was eaten alive.
 
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#10 · (Edited)
pmflyfisher said:
Dangerous with our high rate of West Niles virus in this area, one of the highest in the nation the last I heard.

PM out
Which was in Illinois, the Northern burbs mostly. Due to their lack of spraying. Trail is in Indiana a long ways from Illinois.

Indiana had 3 times less cases than Illinois. Look it up the answer is out there.
 
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#11 ·
In case you were too lazy to look;






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West Nile Virus Update
Current Case Count*
Data currently listed shows case counts for 2002 only.

State Laboratory- Positive Human Cases Deaths
Alabama 49 3
Arkansas 43 3
California 1
Colorado 13
Connecticut 17
Delaware 1
District of Columbia 34 1
Florida 28 2
Georgia 43 7
Illinois 879 60
Indiana 291 11
Iowa 54 2
Kansas 22
Kentucky 75 5
Louisiana 330 24
Maryland 35 7
Massachusetts 23 3
Michigan 614 51
Minnesota 48
Mississippi 186 11
Missouri 168 7
Montana 1
Nebraska 174 8
New Jersey 23
New York 82 4
North Carolina 2
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Ohio 441 31
Oklahoma 21 2
Pennsylvania 62 7
Rhode Island 1
South Carolina 1
South Dakota 37
Tennessee 56 7
Texas 202 12
Vermont 1
Virginia 29 2
West Virginia 3 2
Wisconsin 52 3
Wyoming 2
Totals 4161 277

Also see Daily Case Count Archive for history of case counts.

For more information, visit this CDC West Nile Virus site.

* Data currently listed shows case counts for 2002 only. As of March 12, 2003 these are the human case totals that have been reported to ArboNet.

ArboNet is the national, electronic surveillance system established by CDC to assist states in tracking West Nile and other mosquito-borne viruses.

Case counts are updated weekly.


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#12 ·
I would not trust those governmental statistics, particularly for those mucky swamp bug infested rivers. To much risk for fellow like me with family responsibilities, etc... You younger fellows can have them. I will be there in the winter though when the bugs are gone.:D

Pat, don't worry let us know next time you are coming up and we will point you in the right direction. Thats the least another fellow FFF member can do for each other.

PM Out
 
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#13 ·
As I said before Trail is not like that, it is not really swampy. The other rivers are. Trail runs thru a major Indy. town. It gets sprayed polluted and dumped in enough to kill all nasty critters.

You'd get cancer before you catch west nile there.
 
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#15 ·
This summer trail was at it lowest level in years.

Been going to that area since 82 and saw many changes there. they straightened out Liberty Trail, built a casino, yuupie ville condos, a huge dump off of 421, had three major chemical spills which harmed the river, contained 4 toxic dumps and last but not least built 2 new sewage plants. Not too mention all the new homes built there. Also major shopping areas off 421 that leach into trail.

It changed a lot if you ask me.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Hal,
I was thinking of taking my 15" 11wt, tieing on a hank of fifty lb superbraid and swimming live nightcrawlers through the teeny weeny brushpiles.:hehe: Maybe on a 5/0 stainless saltwater hook? Or should I go 7/0?
:rolleyes:
p.s. Thanks for reminding me, I need to renew my FFF.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Pat

Thats a good idea, I take my 10 weight salmon rod to try and keep them out of the log jams and brush piles. Its combat fishing their sometimes, but you can hook a lot of fish at times, notice I did not say land them. Got to remember to pack the pink plastic worms I picked up last year after the PNW guys reminded me about how effective they are for steelhead out there. Put one of them on and swim it down into those brush piles and hold on. ;)

MJYP

Thats what I mean, it has not improved at all since the early 80s. Plus there is less fish and more fisherman.

Personally I will drive a little further for my fishing and only stop there on the way home (If I am desparate!) if it is not crowded.

Heck I would rather go carp fly fishing than put up with that swamp in the summer time.

PM Out
 
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#18 ·
pmflyfisher said:
Pat


MJYP

Thats what I mean, it has not improved at all since the early 80s. Plus there is less fish and more fisherman.

Personally I will drive a little further for my fishing and only stop there on the way home (If I am desparate!) if it is not crowded.

Heck I would rather go carp fly fishing than put up with that swamp in the summer time.

PM Out
It depends on what you call improvement, if you think a creek flowing thru a major metro area can improve you missed something.

The town has grown and peopel are finally working, which is good for them.

Trail was a dumping ground in the 40's and 50's for the mills and chemical plants. There are spots on trail that are fenced off for no apparent reason. Until you see the EPA there taking ground samples. They buried barrells of chemicals there back then.

As to Trail being a swamp, that statement shows you never really fished there. You are off on the swamp thing way off.
 
#19 ·
Where I fished it was muddy, swampy, and trashed by the fisherman. Me and my South Bend buddy said to our selves what are we doing here ? I would rather golf than fish there, maybe even go to work in lieu of fishing ! Just not the type of creek I would plan on spending a day fly fishing. Too bad it has a lot of fish at times, but I am over hooking a lot of fish.

PM Out
 
#20 ·
yeah....

It is a catfish ditch.....looks like it's full of leeches and would not contain a trace of chrome. I understand it is very muddy from the runoff and high amounts of chalky, mineral deposits. I also heard that some tribs pour out ice cold water from the springs, which is why the creeks in that area contain many skamania in the summer.

Never fished it, wouldn't want to if I didn't know steelhead could be found there.

Cmon, we all know Michigan has alot better rivers!:D
 
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#21 ·
Trail is like the 6th strret dam, only smaller. But swamp it is not. I fished it hard back in the 80's, the only time the area was real muddy was after a good rain.

As to the lleches part, never saw or heard of any in all the years I fished there. it is too polluted. I imagine there are some but nott too many.

Quit fishing Trail back when i realized that all you are doing is killing those big summer runs every time you release one. Did not want to turn them into dog food like some of us.
 
#22 ·
Saw one character stalking the bank with a Rhino Rod loaded for catfish. Wonder what "sporting" ideas he had in mind?:tsk_tsk:
Then there was the gang of teens who were packing bass gear. They made so much ruckus I don't think they noticed the waves that kept moving away, wherever they went. :hehe:

P.s. I stand corrected with regard to an earlier post. I asked one of the fisheries biologists and he confirmed that they no longer clip adipose fins. :eek:
That same biologist also assured me there was no natural reproduction in Trail so... if Hal collects his "dogfood" from there he won't have to worry that he is depleting the gene-pool;)
 
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#23 ·
Using a Steelhead for dogfood is a total waste of a regal fish. Why stop at hatchery fish. Since Steelhead are not a natural GL species, may as well kill every one to feed the bloody hounds.

I have not intentionally killed a Steelhead since the late 80's, that fish can be caught again.

The DNR stocks smolts, only fishermen can (re)stock adult fish. Recycle the resource, for once it is gone its gone.

As to natural repro. I have talked to some bio. guys who said there was some on a very very small scale. The feeder creeks, is where it happens. I have caught many 8-10" browns in some of those areas. They did not get there by magic.
 
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