EAST JORDAN We were on the river well before dark and well upstream from where we planned to fish because Bill Bellinger (wildbillsguideservice.com) was giving me a tour. He pointed out the good steelhead holes, the salmon stretches, some of the old fish camp sites from years back, and places where a guy can walk in. Then we settled back in Bellingers 12-foot inflatable and waited for darkness.

At around 10 p.m. it was dark enough to get started, said Bellinger, who handed me a seven-eight fly rod with a huge, bushy mouse on it. It didnt take long; within a half dozen casts I heard what sounded like a bowling ball had been dropped into the river from the treetops. A quick strip set later I had hold of a heavy fish.

It ran upstream and a couple of times I thought it was going to beat me as it headed for a deadfall and there are a ton of them on the Jordan River but I leaned into it and kept it out of the trash and I finally stripped in enough line that Bellinger could slide the net under it.

It was a dandy; I guessed it at 23 inches.

Par for the course, said Bellinger, 50, who has been guiding on the river his whole adult life and fishing it since he was a lad.

This is a trophy fishery, Bellinger said. You come here to hunt big fish. Thats the part I like about it. On most rivers you can have multiple encounters but on the Jordan, the encounters you have are incredible.

At one point the Jordan was actually quite famous, but it went sleepy for a long time. Subsequently, because of what it is cold water and good cover it grew fish quickly. It has big fish for a reason.

It was my second night on the river with Bellinger; a couple of weeks earlier, during the Hex hatch, I hooked a giant, but it broke me off. It was a bright, full-moon night and it was the only take I had. Bellinger told me Id have to come back and do some mousin and, obviously, I did.

Fishing mouse patterns at night is one of few dependable trout excursions on the Jordan, Bellinger said.

The only thing that are predictable are the Hexes, mousing, and streamer fishing, he said, adding that most of the other hatches are undependable, something he attributes to the lampricide treatments every four years.

We have good years and bad years, he said. Weve caught those big fish on Hendricksons and weve caught them on stone flies, but its not anything that happens with any regularity.

The Hexes hatch out in big numbers from Lake Charlevoix, he said, which he likens to Lake Erie; the hatch lasts for weeks and produces big numbers of bugs. But thats the only time theres much traffic on the river.

Theres not a lot fishing pressure, Bellinger said. If its anytime other than Hex hatch, its super rare to see anybody. Its the coldest river in Michigan, so its good fishing in the heat of the summer. The water never gets hot, the fish are not affected like they are other rivers. August is not any different than May or June. Its just another month.

Its a challenging river, he continued. Its fast and tight. Its probably got more wood than the PM; its in a cedar swamp and theres not very many people, besides me and the canoe livery, who trim it out.

Indeed, there was a canopy across the river in many places it has the feeling of being in a canyon, Bellinger said so it isnt easy to make a presentation.

But Bellinger maneuvers his boat as though its an extension of his body, so he put me in position to roll cast or simply flip my mouse around and put it in front of fish. Unfortunately, I never hooked another fish, though I had several blow up on it. I handled one well there was an audible sploosh, I gave it a quick two-inch strip set and didnt feel anything, but never connected and it didnt come back. Another time when I heard one feed I jerked like I was bass fishing and pulled the mouse out of the strike zone. On the last strike, I gave it a short strip set, felt weight, but when I shot the rod tip skyward it wasnt there. Oh, well, you dont catch them all.

Bellinger says the river fishes well year-round, never freezing up in the winter.

Its a real quick river with enough current to keep the water open, he said. If its a real cold winter down on the lower end youll get some shelf ice, but the upper river is very protected. The steelhead fishing is phenomenal, theres a coho run, theres a king salmon run and you can even catch lake trout well upriver.

Bellinger said I should come back in the fall and see what else the Jordan has to offer.

The Jordan River is alive and well, he said. Its a beautiful place to fish. Its world-class. If you come here, keep your expectations as high as possible so when it does happen, youre ready.

Im already ready to come back.

You can reach Bellinger at 231-675-2228.

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Bob Gwizdz: Mouse-eating monsters in the cold, fast Jordan - Traverse City Record Eagle