Late July Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - July 29, 2022

The trout fishing has been decent lately with a mix of Tricos hatching in the morning and mostly smaller trout rising; it’s a lot of fun with a lighter weight rod. Other times when bugs aren’t on the surface, terrestrials will bring some fish up and sometimes decent sized fish so, having a little bigger rod makes casting the larger flies and bringing in larger fish easier. Mornings are still the ideal time with the sun still low and the water temps still ideal from the cooler evening temperatures. Water levels are still low and clear but considering July is coming to an end, that’s typical. It’s just a nice way to start a nice summer day.

Anglers with an ability to fish a streamer are finding the smallmouth bass a lot of fun on the end of the line. Targeting these on the lower sections of rivers is a great way to hone a number of fly fishing techniques as we often are using lighter sink-tip lines and “selling” the fly to interested fish that come to look at it. And when they eat, they pull. Baitfish patterns have been most productive, but smaller crayfish patterns have taken their share of fish, too.

The smaller lakes and ponds still have bluegill and bass willing to eat your fly both on the surface and below. Perfect for those learning how to fly fish and a lot of fun for those who already do, especially when fishing diving bugs, small streamers and popping a popper. Mornings and evenings are best when it’s a sunny day, but overcast is always best and can offer good fishing throughout the day, especially around weed beds, drop offs and other structures.

Good luck.

Ted

Learn to Fly Fish – Book a half-day trip with the idea of learning the basics in how to cast and fly fish.
Tricos and Terrestrials – Start your day on a cool river fishing for trout with dry flies from July into September.
Fall Steelhead – Although the Spring Season just ended, think fall steelhead. Good dates available in November

Mid-July Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - July 15, 2022

It’s mid-July and the major hatches have come and gone on the Manistee and Boardman Rivers. With the lack of rain the past two months, river levels are low, and so is the water table, resulting in significant daily river temperature fluctuations. Our spring-fed rivers need a supplied water table to moderate our water temps but since we didn’t have them, our hatches (and fishing) never quite got into the grove where hatches were dense and/or predictable. Thankfully we have mostly had cooler evenings to keep water temps safe for fishing as trout don’t like water north of 68 degrees and experience higher mortality after being caught in temps above that.

As we progress through summer, look for mornings to offer the best fishing with hatches of Tricos and some terrestrials bouncing around for feeding brook and brown trout. The number of deer flies swarming make imitations of them a good choice in fly patterns when the Tricos aren’t around. Grasshopper and beetles, too are around and are worthy of imitating the next time you hit the water. This time of year you always want some BWOs, Isonychias, Lt. Cahills and Little Yellow Sally Stoneflies in your box as they can show up sporadically.

<<More on trout fishing After the Hex Hatch>>

River smallmouth fishing continues to be good most days. These are fickle fish with weather systems that might be moving through, but typically they are only moody for short periods of time so keep fishing streamers and poppers and your fishing is likely to change without much notice. When they eat, they demonstrate why we use heavier rods; for their size the pull and fight of a smallmouth bass is impressive.

Fishing on the lakes and ponds has been good most of the spring and summer. The larger gills have mostly gone back to the depths after another round of spawning, but they will surprise you from time to time. Plenty of smaller fish are around to keep action happening if learning how to fish or just enjoying some low-key time on the water. The largemouth bass have been sassy and are eating both on the surface and below so mix it up.

Good luck.

Ted

Learn to Fly Fish – Book a half-day trip with the idea of learning the basics in how to cast and fly fish.
Tricos and Terrestrials – Start your day on a cool river fishing for trout with dry flies from July into September.
Fall Steelhead – Although the Spring Season just ended, think fall steelhead. Good dates available in November.

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Late June Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 28, 2022

As June winds down, the Hex Hatch winds up. It has been sporadic with the fluctuations in the weather for both the emergences and spinner falls so there is no telling when you will have good bugs on the local rivers including the upper Manistee. Water levels are low and clear since it has been a while since our last rain.

Water temperatures also have been fluctuating making fishing inconsistent and having us stay home or shift to bass fishing when they approach 70 degrees. Other bugs on the water include a few brown drakes, Isonychias, bat flies and medium brown stones so you will want more than a few hex patterns in your fly box. Of course, you’ll want your headlamp and bug spray too.

For some, this is the only time of year some folks get out and fish who might not have heard of new invasive species in our local waters which include Didymo, aka Rock Snot (Manistee) and New Zeeland Mud Snails (Boardman, Manistee, PM, Au Sable). Michigan Trout Unlimited has produced a guidebook to identification and decontamination that I strongly encourage you to familiarize yourself with and practice. Otherwise, these invasives will likely show up on other watersheds you fish (rivers and lakes) before you know it. It’s also upon anglers to spread the message to other anglers to get the word out. You can read the Guidebook here.

Largemouth bass and bluegill fishing in lakes continues to offer both new and experienced anglers a lot of opportunities to bend the rod and enjoy a non-technical day of fishing on the water. Dry flies, poppers, swimming nymphs and the occasional streamer near and around structure and drop offs has been the approach. Smallmouth bass fishing has slowed down in the lakes but has been getting better in the rivers for those that like to lazily fish a streamer and feel a fish pull much harder than any trout.

Good luck,

Ted

Learn to Fly Fish – Book a half-day trip with the idea of learning the basics in how to cast and fly fish.
Tricos and Terrestrials – Start your day on a cool river fishing for trout with dry flies from July into September.
Fall Steelhead – Although the Spring Season just ended, think fall steelhead. Good dates available in November.

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Mid June Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 16, 2022

With the dog days of June upon us, the trout fishing has been tougher than we have come to expect for this time of year. The big bugs of June have been fickle – as have most hatches so far this year with the spastic and erratic extremes in weather and conditions. On top of that, water temps on rivers like the upper Manistee and Au Sable have recently been hitting that crucial 70-degree threshold in the evenings which keeps us off the water in an effort to preserve/conserve the fish. You should too.

Water levels are decent with a slight stain to them. Weed growth seems to be lacking but the purple irises on the riverbank are blooming right on schedule which means Isonychias and Brown Drakes should be your primary bugs in your fly box. Have some gray drakes with you too, in addition to the last of the Sulphurs. A good probing pattern this time of year is a medium brown stonefly or wet skunk. And with the recent rain, I suspect the mosquitoes will begin to show up too so don’t forget the bug spray.

Bass and bluegill fishing continues to be really good. With the current moon phase, the bigger panfish are in the shallows again for their second spawn on a lot of lakes. Fat and sassy and surface oriented, they will take something subsurface if it’s choppy or there is too much pollen on the surface to bring attention to your dry. With the trout fishing being so fickle, a lot of folks have been hitting the lakes to bend the rods and discovering how much fun this option can be. And without the need of a headlamp.

Good luck.

Ted

Learn to Fly Fish – Book a half-day trip with the idea of learning the basics in how to cast and fly fish.
Tricos and Terrestrials – Start your day on a cool river fishing for trout with dry flies from July into September.
Fall Steelhead – Although the Spring Season just ended, think fall steelhead good dates available in November.

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Early June Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 6, 2022

Sorry for the lapse in fishing reports.

Fishing has been mixed, especially on the trout rivers like the upper Manistee. Bug emergences and spinner falls have been fickle and spotty as the weather has been bouncing around. Some days there are some bugs with the fish looking up and eating, other days leave you wondering if there are any bugs or fish in the river because the water clarity is too good allowing us to see everything below surface. Today’s rain should help cool off the water into the low 60s and recharge the system including putting in a little stain/tannin which should also help fishing.

It’s headlamp season on the water as many of the bugs can be on the water up until dark and this will likely be the case for the next month. On days with cloud cover, bugs can surprise you with emergences and spinner falls and show up just about any time throughout the day. You can expect to see Mahoganies, Sulphurs, Isonychias, Medium Brown Stones and maybe a Brown Drake. Other bugs can show up this time of year also, and a good way to cover your bases is to have a handful of Borcher’s Drakes and Robert’s Yellow Drakes in sizes 10 to 16.

If looking for an alternative to the trout fishing and their discriminating ways, fishing ponds and lakes has been really good for a mix of fish: smallmouth and largemouth bass, bluegill, rock bass and the occasional pike. Fishing the surface with poppers scratches the trout angler’s surface action itch, while a smaller streamer fished on a floating line near structure results in a few more fish that are often bigger.

Good luck.

Ted

Match the Hatch – Late May and June offer dry fly anglers some of the best trout fishing of the year.
Learn to Fly Fish – Book a half-day trip with the idea of learning the basics in how to cast and fly fish.
Fall Steelhead – Although the Spring Season just ended, think fall steelhead good dates available in November.

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