With June here, anglers will find that the rivers are running full after some much needed rain throughout the week. The weather has been up and down, but the forecast is calling for stable and, well, fish like stable. On the upper Manistee there has been a smattering of bugs coming off – light Hendricksons, […]
As we approach late May the Mayflies are starting to become more prolific and varied on the upper Manistee, Boardman and Au Sauble Rivers. The next month offers our best match-the-hatch dry fly fishing of the year – make sure your boxes are filled and varied and your fly casting accurate – those selective risers only […]
It’s Mid-May and we are in the middle of Hendricksons which continue to emerge on certain days on local rivers including the Manistee, Boardman and AuSable. May mayfly emergences continue to baffle us and are occurring at times and in weather counter to what is typical which means the best time to be out is […]
It’s really feeling like spring around northwest Michigan – warm temps, blue skies and green showing up fast on both the ground and on trees. The transition from steelhead fishing to trout fishing has been kind of stuck with neither fishing extremely well right now but one gets the sense that it’s going to change […]
Trout opener has come and gone and apparently most of the steelhead run has too. Without any rain the past week or two, the water levels have really come down on the Manistee and Betsie Rivers as the water temps are around 50 degrees and have cleared up – not what you think of when […]
Fishing pretty much has remained the same – it’s been inconsistent. One day we find a bunch of fish, the next – a few, then fewer and back to a bunch again – you just don’t know. On both the Manistee and Betsie the steelhead have been coming and going pretty quickly. A few drop […]
Last week was bizarre – the steelhead came before the rain and then the rain came and has left us wondering where the fish are in the Manistee River. A few days last week fished really well with some big, bright fish playing along nicely, but lately, they have been mostly shy. The water came up […]
We still haven’t received significant rainfall but a few fresh fish have moved upstream with warmer water temperatures while the older fish in the river have moved out of the deep winter water/holes and closer to gravel. Some days are better than others but the action has been trending nicely and improving. The forecast is […]
There is no fooling that the steelhead run is behind schedule. Typically the run-off and rains have increased river flows encouraging fish to migrate upstream by now. With the cold winter, drawn-out thaw of snow (and not much of it) and cold nights, the water has been running lower, clearer, and colder than normal for […]
It’s officially Spring! The first of the Cranes have migrated back to the river banks while the colder nights confirm that we are still in the very early part of the season. Steelhead fishing has been a little slower than normal for this time of year since the number of fall fish that wintered over […]
Winter has finally loosened its death grip on us as warmer and longer days, sunshine, and daylight savings time all converged having us feeling like Spring isn’t that far away. Often when the weather gets warm and the snow melts at this time of year, many of us head to the river looking to shake […]
There is no doubt that winter’s here and so are some record low temperatures making fly fishing on local rivers pretty much non-existent. Shelf ice is pretty prominent on the river’s edges and some slower portions are covered with ice, limiting access should you decide to venture out when cabin fever gets you to that […]
