Labor Day; the Great Evacuation

For over 50 years I have watched Labor Day weekend pass with amazement. Hundreds of thousands of people...just disappear. No longer will I have to wait at traffic lights for three cycles to advance to the next light for the same! Parking spaces in the local towns are easy to find, but most of all patch work shorts and pastel colored polo shirts vanish. This time of year the more rugged outdoor look is vogue.
Today Michigan has adapted to a fly fishing haven, with an extended season and year 'round trout fishing rivers. My fly rod remains in plain view until Thanksgiving. It's here, cooler rivers and that afternoon Brook trout season I enjoy. The big, big, King Salmon will be in the streams in another week.
The automobile traffic remains light until the full colors of fall appear in late September bringing convertibles and motorcycles back to the north for the "Tunnel Of Trees", M-119 quasi road rally. So let's enjoy the peace while it lasts. Look for that warming late afternoon period. The angle of the sun gives the rivers more shadowy holds for trout and the warmth creates hatches in the middle of the day. The Browns and Brook trout are in spawning mode and the Kings aren't far behind. Match the hatch, with your hoppers and other terrestrials close at hand. Let's hope for sunny days for some needed R&R. River temps are not a problem this time of year, Maple River was 56 F this morning. So the river temps aren't the issue, but to get away now, your job might be!

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