fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

Local weather was calling for rain and storms all day...but other than some strong wind...nothing really materialized! OK...I've waited this out and now the 4 o'clock bell has tolled...I'm outta here! Grabbed the waders and a rod then headed to a remote favorite place to fish for salmon via "beach/surf" casting in Good Harbor on Lake Michigan. The Fall color on the maple trees was looking good as I made my way through the countryside NW of Traverse City, MI.

Shalda Creek has always been a sleeping gem of a spot, but over the past several years a series of beaver dams has been built and as I discovered tonight, they almost reach the beach head now! Yikes...the salmon have to navigate quite a few of them in order to get far enough upstream to find spawning gravel. I waded upstream for a while, and after nearly topping my waders a couple of times after getting stuck in the silt I decided that I had better retreat to the river's mouth. The perspiration on my brow made a "second" to that emotion!

I was standing in the water off the beach by 5:30 pm, after mucking my way back out of the wide swampy backwaters upstream. I fished until 7:30 pm...slightly after the sun had set. I was up to my belt line off shore, standing on the irregular cobble that makes up the lake bed before reaching the first sand bar gully. A flock of seagulls kept coasting by in repetitive waves like a squadron of curious observers. I managed to get one of them to double back and take a second look at my Little Cleo during a twinkling retrieve from the crystal clear depths in a mere 8 feet of water. It was fun to give him a temporary distraction! Next up was a pair of loons, calling nonstop to each other over in my Westerly quadrant...just out of view in the hazy fog that was beginning to form over the bay. Topping off the aviary entertainment for the evening was a lone adult bald eagle...soaring confidently parallel to shore in search of an unsuspecting coho that might be rising too close to the surface for a peek at the river mouth.

Only had one strike, and I missed a solid hook up, but sure enjoyed a beautifully placid evening in the water. Very serene. Stopped on the way home in Maple City at the Mobil Mini-Mart for a late supper and drove home in the dark. The 55 minute drive each way was well worth a few gallons of gas out the tailpipe.

Heavy weather is moving in overnight, and I can already see it on the radar. I am hopeful that it will pass quickly. If tomorrow is decent, I will roll the dice for two possible outcomes..deep water jigging for cisco in East Bay, or crappie fishing in a favored local lake near home. Right now I can't decide on which one to pursue, so for now I guess I just need a good nights sleep...signing off!

The most recent beaver dam, although small, is number 4 in a series. There is one up river that is over 4' tall and overall they have created a huge flooding. There were about 50 salmon above this small one today.


The creek runs for about a 1000 yards as being parallel to the beach, and then quickly turns and meets Lake Michigan in a shallow gravel run out where the salmon enter the system.


A pair of king salmon have made their redd just a few hundred feet up from the Bay. This is where the best gravel resides at the moment. A wise choice for these salmon!


This is what I probably "missed" on that strike...but this was from "a day in the past" in a similar area near the Platte River beach...quite a ways down lake from Shalda Creek.

OJdidit Loc: Oak Creek Wisconsin

Great post, thanks for sharing!

Fredfish Loc: Prospect CT.

Great story and beautiful pictures Yaker. Thanks for sharing. Tight Lines on tomorrow's trip, wherever you go.

Whitey Loc: Southeast ohio

Them pesky beavers always putting up obstacles to get around. I'm sure the DNR won't do anything about them. Good luck where ever you decide to go for. Beautiful pics an story thanks for sharing 😁👍

bknecht Loc: Northeast pa

Gorgeous photos and commentary FY, me thinks you missed your calling. You could be an outdoor writer for Field and Stream, Outdoor Life etc. Good luck with the ciscos and/ or crappies. I’m sure you’ll have a great day whatever your decision.

bapabear Loc: Blaine, Washington

Nice photos. Thanks for the post.

FishermanLeeSonoma

Awesome and beautiful photos. Nice fish!!!
My lady is from MI, and we are looking at lake and riverfront homes....
Who knows!

Waterdoglured Loc: DFW Metro, Lake Grapevine

Excellent! 🙂

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

There are numerous places of interest on the water around Northern MI...and elsewhere in MI too...which I suspect that you have been investigating. Some are on the Great Lakes, and others are on inland lakes...and even some pretty cool river systems. Good luck in your research. I grew up in MI, and other than some years spent elsewhere I have to admit that I am partial to the "Mitten" and "UP"!

Cougar Loc: Tennessee/Michigan

I’d contact the DNR and advise them of the beaver dams. They may know about them and they may not?? They’ll remove them and the beavers ASAP!! They’ll contract the trapping of the beavers out to a beaver hunter and destroy the dams. That’s been my experience with the Michigan DNR when I lived up there. Also being retired law-enforcement during the time I was active enforcement up there they requested that if we seen what you’re going through to contact them!! Good luck I personally don’t have much faith in the DNR of Michigan. That’s sad to say!!! I’ve worked with them on both ends!🤔

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

As it turns out...this land all falls within a Federal jurisdiction, and the State is probably hamstrung in doing anything about it. The federal folks have known about it for many years, and are not interested or willing to get that stream back to it's original state (it was a beautiful little trout stream that connected to a lake named Little Traverse Lake)...which kind of surprises me in some ways. When the original dams went in way upstream, the downstream effect was not as noticeable. Now that another few have been built downstream the problem is very obvious.

At this point I suspect that even the beavers will no longer work below this current point, because they have virtually reached the Big Lake! If they build one more dam, it will flood a very nice gravel road that runs along the shoreline. the road also services a few residences,along with other points of interest...so we'll have to wait and see. I used to fish this spot before any beaver dams went in, and it was a magnificent gem of a river...especially for Spring and Fall runs of brown trout, steelhead, coho and chinook salmon. There were other species that used the corridor between the Bay and Little Traverse Lake too...like Northern Pike.

All that said...I do appreciate your past experience and thoughtful comments!

In conclusion, and I discovered this a little while ago...but I made an error in the title caption on my second photo by saying the stream runs 1000 yards along the beach head before dumping into the Bay. It is 1000 feet! Not yards. I had football in my head when I was composing the title, and forgot to change one unit or the other to be in the correct system! My apologies! I like to get the facts straight!

Whitey Loc: Southeast ohio

Hard to believe Forest Ranger Department wouldn't take care of that.

Cougar Loc: Tennessee/Michigan

I’d contact the DNR anyways and ask them on advice if they’ll give you any?? If you know a trapper maybe he’ll go take care of the problem for you also??
It’s hard to believe that either the state or the feds are allowing a pristine Trout Creek or spawning area for salmon to be held up by beaver dams?? It just doesn’t make sense??? Again that’s the problem the DNR will say it’s not our problem and the forestry department for the feds will say it’s not our problem!! I dealt with this up on Hopkins Creek Missaukee County, Lake city area we just took care of the beavers are self.

fishyaker Loc: NW Michigan (Lower Peninsula)

I think I will take your advice and try the Federal folks directly at a higher level...as I have never done so in person (I think I can stop by a couple of different Federal places around here before they close up shop for the season as far as staff is concerned). That may be real soon as things tend to wind down around here in the Fall after tourist season.

My opinion of the situation was formed from a couple of conversations I had with both a Federal employee/ranger and a State of MI game warden just a few years back. In the case of the Federal officer, we were just "chit chatting" about fishing stuff and I jokingly (with serious undertones) spoke with him about the beaver issue. He shrugged his shoulders and said "the beaver's are protected in their natural habitat...what will happen...will happen as nature takes it's course. We do not intend to intervene". On another day, I happened to be at the creek the day of a fish stocking by our MI DNR for a brood of beautiful young brown trout. In jesting with an officer that was overseeing the process after it had been completed, he simply said..."That is a Federal land region, an we have no jurisdiction over what they do".

I left both conversations, which happened many months apart, with the conclusion that everybody knew what the deal was...and nothing was going to be done about it. Maybe they were too far down the chain of command...and perhaps not really interested in whatever outcome would prevail...the beavers or the fish!

Over the years, I have to admit that it was fun watching the beavers at work. Sometimes I would hike back in when the early dam was built and enjoy seeing the beavers swim around while I waded and fished. I don't dislike the beavers...just wish they would pick a nice swamp somewhere that did not involve such a great little stream! They are not smart enough to know the ramifications of their actions...almost like airheaded politicians! Oops...probably should be careful about saying what's inside of somebody's head!

Cougar Loc: Tennessee/Michigan

Both agencies won’t take responsibility for the stream. The fish are protected by the Feds and State. That’s why you need a special license to catch them!!! It’s hard to believe that they won’t take out the dams and trap the beavers out to help out the trout and salmon during spawn??? The political correctness stinks bad….especially in Michigan with the DNR and Feds!!! DNR lie all the time!!! CWD is and example!!! Hope all works out for you on this issue!! Last word of advice… get a few salmon clubs and trout groups to help you rid the beavers!!! Only problem will be the trout groups!!! They think dams make great protection for the trout. Good Luck!!!