May 21, 2026
The past few weeks pretty much has been more of the same. Cooler weather, a little rain and a slow start to the warmth of Spring kind of has had fishing in fits and pauses.
The trout fishing has been challenging and the hatches have been more fickle than we would like. The good news is that there is some warmer weather coming and that should increase both the water temps and make for some hatch activity and spinner falls.
If headed out you will want some Hendricksons, March Browns, Blue Winged Olives and having some Sulphurs should prove prudent as they should kick off in earnest on the upper Manistee, soon. Until the surface activity begins, fish streamer patterns and cover some water. As usual, the cloudy/overcast days help with the streamer fishing.
The local lakes are warming up and fish are moving into the shallows. Bluegill and Bass have just started to spawn but it depends on what lake you are fishing. There are still a lot of fish in the deeper water near the shallows playing nicely with their pre-spawn feeding. Smaller minnow patterns/streamer fished on intermediate sink-tips in the deeper water and poppers, gurglers, spiders and more on the surface are catching more fish as each day passes.
PSA: The amount or rain and standing water from April has provided a significant hatch of mosquitos – you will want bug spray and/or bug proof clothing, especially if sitting on the riverbank waiting for a hatch.
Good luck.
Ted
Trout Fishing –Streamer fishing and Matching the Hatch with dry flies is at its best May through June.
Smallmouth Bass – Lakes or Rivers, these eager to please fish bend the rod and continue to put smiles on faces.
2026 Season – Now booking for all seasons: Steelhead, Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Salmon & Learn to Fly Fish trips.