Scenes from the Island

I've been home from my annual junket to Beaver Island for two months now and finally had some time to sort through the images on my camera.  What started as a one-day "Smallmouth Experience" to the island has sparked off fifteen years returning each summer to spend a week with Captain Kevin Morlock of Indigo Guide Service and Captain Steve Martinez of STM Outfitters.  It's been a stellar run and this island continues to be one of my favorite places to spend time.  It's one of the few places that I can fully unwind and I've had a good time sharing this place with so many friends over the years.

This trip was marked by a spring that never really wanted to warm up and even though we found smallmouth quite easily, the carp just weren't in the mood to poke around on the flats just yet.  Lake Michigan was still in the low 40's in open water and the shallow coves and flats weren't too much warmer.  The weather that we had for most of the trip didn't allow us to do much exploring but on the last day, Kevin and I went on a big boat ride to the outer islands where we saw three carp uninterested in flies, found two shipwrecks, watched birds, and more or less did what I call "Morlock Things".

What we did have through the week was good times with friends, reconnected with those we know on the island, Friday morning cold plunge with the Beaver Island Swim Club, afternoons at the brewery, a few dinners out and a cooked and grilled at the house the other nights, went on walks, day drank, napped, read books, slept on the couch with the porch door and windows wide open, and took in the many different views of the St. James harbor.  It's never a bad way to spend a few days on the island.

Thanks for slow scrolling the images.  I'll admit it's weird to not have some golden scales in there.  It just wasn't the trip for that.  Not that it mattered much.  Maybe we'll try again next summer...