Fly Fish the Great Lakes

Fly fishing in the Great Lakes started over 40 years ago. Back then we were Walleye Charter Captains and gear anglers, but were exploring and networking with other fishing colleagues across the Great Lakes about how apply fly fishing methods to our fisheries.  In the 1980s, Fly fishing in the Great Lakes was primarily a sport limited to rivers and small venues. Like the rest of the US, fly angling here was pursuing species like trout on the fly. 

 

Jerry was one of the first on Lake Erie to start actively dabbling with fly on the big water. He was already fly angling in those smaller venues for Steelhead and Small Mouth and somewhere in the late 80s began exploring the idea of fly fishing on Lake Erie. Jerry says the biggest issue was "having the lines". The technology simply wasn't available yet. Some of the early experiments included lines with lead cores, which he said sort of worked, but as Jerry points out; "you kind of took your life into your own hands when casting them". The step change came when good regular sinking lines came onto the market in the early 90s. With this advancement, he began to first take folks out on Lake Erie for hire and include "fly" as an option. Early fly trips weren't what we know of as fly fishing today. They were more like a cross between a drift swing with jigging and a troll. 
The 1990s were the true beginning of Great Lakes Fly Fishing developments for the big water, as a network and knowledge base began to grow across the region.  Capt Brian Mezaros was doing similar experimenting on Lake St. Clair and through the Michigan Fly Show Jerry met him. They became friends and over the years, compared notes and continued to aid the Great Lake knowledge base. Capt. Brian is the original founder of Great Lakes Fly Fishing LLC and his early work put big water musky on the fly on the map in Michigan.

 
By the late 80s, Capt. Jeff Liskay was fully immersed in the Walleye tournament circuit and was already considered an innovator in conventional gear techniques for Great Lakes Steelhead. With his love of exploration, Jeff jumped in and began his transition from gear to fly.  By the early 2000s he became widely recognized as an expert Great Lakes Fly Angler and is best known for introducing swinging for Great Lakes Steelhead to the area. Behind the scenes his love of the big water and Walleye fishing had never faded. He actively experimented, working on dialing in techniques for specific Lake Erie species on fly. His contributions include techniques for Walleye and Drum on the fly. Through all the men's friendships the collaboration continued. Jeff ultimately purchased Great Lakes Flyfishing from Brian in 2018 and is the current owner and operator. 
The creation of Great Lakes Flyfishing wouldn't be what it is today without the efforts of other early pioneers in the Great Lakes who were equally experimenting and fine tuning techniques. This includes anglers such as Nick Pionesta and Rick Kushtich in New York. Both men similarly had their fly angling beginnings in Steelhead, but have grown to be recognized for their pursuit of Musky. Others to  mention include noted Great Lakes Spey caster\fly tier Dave Pinczkowski and Bass Expert Pat Ehlers in the Mid West. To all these pioneers and those we forgot to name, we are grateful. 

Today, the Great Lakes big water is still dominated by trolling and gear, but the big water fly community is growing. It is an exciting time to be a fly angler in The Great Lakes. From rivers to our big lakes we've got a whole host of fly angling opportunities to enjoy. We look forward to spending a day on the water with you soon!