Jon Ray

Advisor

 

Jon Ray has guided the waters of northern Michigan for over 16 years, spending an average of 250 days a year on the water. He enjoys exposing his clients to the extreme fly-fishing diversity the area of Northern Michigan has to offer. Depending on the time of year, Jon Ray may be found guiding on one of the area rivers, inland lakes, or the nearby waters of Lake Michigan. His main focus is for steelhead, brown trout, smallmouth bass, and muskie.
He is also an avid photographer and videographer. His work has been featured in both local and national publications. Co-author of the Big Appetite Small Mouth DVD with fellow SA Pro Kevin Feenstra, Jon also maintains a video/photo blog with images and content featuring Midwest fly fishing.
  1. Home water? Manistee River Northern Michigan
  2. What 2-3 lines do you use the most and why? Amplitude Mpx is one of my favorite lines for a variety of reason but basically it comes down to location because the MPX delivers the fly to the proper location. Sonar Cold 25 need to get down to where the big boys play, this line simply wont tangle. Third has to be the Sonar Titan taper love to throw oversized meals for predators and this line hasn’t meet a fly it couldn’t handle.
  3. What was the watershed moment when you knew you wanted to make your living fishing?  Probably the day I saw a spider eat a fly, a real housefly. Something about a predator feeding on its prey.
  4. If you could spend one day on the water with anyone, who would it be? Larry Dahlberg
  5. On the rocks or straight? 
 Straight
  6. If you could give one piece of angling advice to a younger version of yourself, what would it be? 
 Pay more attention during English class
  7. What’s in the cooler? 
 Chicken and Broccoli
  8. What are you doing when you’re not fishing? 
 Honey do list..
  9. Where would you most like to fish?
  10. Stealth or bright lines? 
 Stealth
  11. Two Truths and a Lie. I never put a fish on the reel, I’m a New York Mets fan, and I never made a wind knot
  12. Craziest experience on the water? 
 The time a barred owl played tug o war with my clients 10″ brown trout not once, but twice