CAMPBELL OUTFITTERS - A Downstate Float

On most trips up to Michigan, I make a beeline from South Carolina stopping in at my folks house, maybe for an overnight but often not, and then quickly head north.  This trip however, I decided to stick around for a couple of days and reached out to guide Allen Campbell of Campbell Outfitters to float one of his back pocket warmwater streams.  Where most would focus on coldwater fisheries, Allen is going a different direction in spending the majority of his guide time logging floats on various warmwater streams in lower Michigan.  Add to his growing resume that he's a fantastic fly tier and photographer making him a fun follow on Instagram.

We've been talking about doing a day together for a couple of years now and were even a little unsure if this trip would work out since he and his family just welcomed their second child.  Through some careful scheduling his very understanding wife and helpful mother-in-law, we were able to meet up for a morning into the afternoon float on a stream that was surprising close to where I grew up.

Along for the day was artist Jeff Kennedy, who I've known online since the very beginning of T.F.M., which you have to take the wayback machine to 2008 when he was working on Drawing Flies 365.  He's also the artist who created the Retro Fly design that first appeared as No. 158 on his daily fly art project.  

Somehow we've gone all these years never meeting in person and this day on the water was long overdue. 

I can't thank him enough for allowing me to use that piece of artwork as a logo for T.F.M. over the past almost 18 years.  It's showed up all over the world on t-shirts, decals, fly patches, golf tees, and more.  You can read this previous T.F.M. post with notes from Jeff on the inspiration and background of this, dare I say, "iconic" piece of artwork turned T.F.M. logo.

We met before 7:00 a.m. on what was going to be a spring day with a mix of overcast and sun and temperatures that started out cool but warmed through the day.  This stream holds a mix of warmwater fish but we were specifically looking for smallmouth, pike, and heard rumors of musky.  The nice thing about it is that the gaudy flies of bucktail and feathers from Allen's boat box work on all three with a bit of wire leader tied on, just in case.

It wasn't long before we picked off a few smallmouth followed by a decent pike.  This continued through the morning and was topped off with the rush of a three foot long musky who came from beneath a downed tree, barrel rolled the fly, and cleanly sliced the wire leader.  GONE.

What a rush.  I'm not even mad about losing the fish.  I was just glad that I didn't troutset it and the wire parting was just a freak thing to happen.  I can't stop thinking about that fish, though.

An early start meant an early stop for lunch and there will be a follow up post for this A+ lunch of brats and hotdogs that Allen quickly put together on his Blackstone Camping Griddle.  This stop gave me a few minutes to poke around Allen's fly boxes, take some photographs, and see some of the sketchbook art work that Jeff brought along with him.  There will be a fun follow up post to look forward to with a sketch and painting that Jeff created from this float.

So, if you're keeping score, there is a follow up lunch post and art post both in the works.

Our float wound down in the early afternoon with Jeff hooking into a pike that was holding in some structure in stained water.  We pulled Allen's Upriver Boatworks Stream King over to take a few photographs before continuing down the river.  What a day.

If you find yourself in lower Michigan, take a day (or several) with Campbell Outfitters.  Allen runs a great operation and I look forward to future time with him on the water.  Follow along on Instagram, too.