May Showers, May Flowers and Mayflies

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 11, 2019

With May well underway, it seems that spring is catching up but is still behind on both land and on the water as the morels, leeks and trillium carpet the forest floor and the trout ignore the emerging mayflies.

Steelhead are essentially all done save for a straggler or two still in river systems – it was a great spring run with sizable fish and a very healthy population. Sadly, the harvest of these multi-year returning fish seemed much greater than normal which will affect future runs of fish. Hopefully when people throw out their stockpiles of frozen burned steelhead fillets later this year they will reconsider killing so many fish in the future.

Trout fishing on the rivers that also have trout (Manistee below Tippy Dam) have started to improve after a late start with salmon fry patterns taking some nice fish as well as small baitfish streamers fished on a sink-tip.

Last week’s rain has the rivers running high and stained and have interrupted some of the hatches that had been good. While there have been decent bug emergences (Hendricksons and BWOs) on the upper Manistee and Au Sable, the surface activity has been sparse with cool water temps in the mid-50s. We are just a few warm days and mild nights from conditions falling into sync with the time of year and fishing to improve especially the dry fly fishing.

Streamer fishing has been marginal between the cooler water temps and the angling pressure. Try fishing a little differently from the masses – with the higher water target the inside of bends and maybe tie on a little smaller streamer as the fish seem to have developed a case of streamer fatigue.

Lakes offer opportunity for those looking for the big toothy species, however the bass and bluegill fishing is still off by a week or so as the crucial moon phase occurs and waters temps increase.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout – May and June offers some of the best trout fishing of the year matching the hatch and fishing streamers.
Fall Steelhead– It’s not too early to look ahead to fall run of these fish. Hard fighting and a beautiful time of year.
Booking 2019 – Reserve your date(s) and schedule life around fishing rather than trying to fit fishing into life.

Good luck.

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Early May Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 1, 2019

With trout opener and April behind us, we move from steelhead fishing to trout fishing on the local rivers.

While there are still a few steelhead in Betsie and Manistee, there are more fish dropping back than there are fresh fish moving upstream. The others are pretty much preoccupied with spawning. Water temps are right around 50 degrees which is encouraging those fish to get the job done and return back to the lake.

Trout opener over the weekend greeted anglers with river levels “full” and slightly stained water which is likely to be the case for a while based on the forecast. A few bugs were witnessed on the surface on the upper Manistee and Au Sable albeit just a few, with a luke-warm reception from the trout; it seems that once water temps hit 56 degrees for a day or two, the fish become consistent with surface feeding as bug density increases.

If headed out make sure your streamer box is filled and have some BWO, Hendricksons and Black Caddis in your dry fly box. It’s a great time of year to have two rods in the boat – one with a streamer and sink-tip and the other with a dry fly tied to the end of your floating line.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout – May and June offers some of the best trout fishing of the year matching the hatch and fishing streamers.
Fall Steelhead– It’s not too early to look ahead to fall run of these fish. Hard fighting and a beautiful time of year.
Booking 2019 – Reserve your date(s) and schedule life around fishing rather than trying to fit fishing into life.

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Late April Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 23, 2019

As April begins to wind down it seems we are past the peak of the steelhead run on local rivers including the Manistee and Betsie. Last week’s rain brought the water levels up some along with a few fresh fish, but the majority of fish being caught are actively spawning as well as some drop-back/post spawn fish.

Water temps are in the mid-40s and are heavily stained, however there is still some visibility for fish to see your flies – especially if they are in the 40-inch window that they often need to be in to entice a fish to eat this time of year.

Natural egg colors and sizes have been working well and with the dirtier water, a little bigger and bolder pattern is starting to regain its effectiveness. Caddis and fry patterns have been the most effective nymph patterns for a while now.

Just a reminder that trout opener is this Saturday, April 27 – good luck as you hit the water again, practice traditions on and off the water with friends, and start off what looks like a promising trout season in 2019. With the recent warm weather you might want to have some hendricksons in your fly box just in case you need to cut your streamer off and tie on a dry.

Ted

Trout – May and June offers some of the best trout fishing of the year matching the hatch and fishing streamers.
Fall Steelhead– It’s not too early to look ahead to fall run of these fish. Hard fighting and a beautiful time of year.
Booking 2019 – Reserve your date(s) and schedule life around fishing rather than trying to fit fishing into life.

betsie river, fry patterns, manistee, manistee river steelhead fishing, Platte River, steelhead, tippy dam, trout opener

Mid-April Steelhead Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 15, 2019

Steelhead fishing continues on the local rivers, however the fishing has slowed recently with heavy angling pressure, a majority of the fish hitting spawn mode, and a lot of fish already having completed their annual task.

Water temps are in the mid-40s and bright days with lots of sunshine like today really help increase temps further. Clarity is good but that is likely to change with the rain that is forecast over the week; when that happens look for another push of fresh fish to move through the Betsie and Manistee river below Tippy Dam.

Productive flies have been mixed with green caddis, fry and smaller natural egg patterns being the front runners. Buggers and egg sucking leeches are picking up their fair share of fish as are some hex patterns.

Fish harvest continues to be more prevalent this year than years past – please conserve your catch and keep to ensure a future, sustainable fishery. Steelhead can return year after year but only if they stay off the rope and avoid the filet knife.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout – May and June offers some of the best trout fishing of the year matching the hatch and fishing streamers.
Fall Steelhead– It’s not too early to look ahead to fall run of these fish. Hard fighting and a beautiful time of year.
Booking 2019 – Reserve your date(s) and schedule life around fishing rather than trying to fit fishing into life.

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April Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 7, 2019

Local rivers are holding their own thanks to a slow melt/thaw of the remaining snow in the woods and a lack of significant rainfall. Steelhead fishing has been good as water temps have moved past the 40 degree mark and fish are starting to come out of the depths and are nosing around gravel on the Manistee. With much of the ice off Tippy Dam Pond, temps should stay above 40 from here on out. Smaller rivers like the Betsie already have spawning going in earnest with more fish coming from Lake Michigan with the increase in river flow.

With natural eggs drifting down stream, the rivers the smaller, more natural looking egg patterns are starting to be more effective but keep those larger, bolder egg patterns when fishing darker, overcast days or seeking fresh migrating fish in the lower sections. Caddis and Fry Patterns have been the more effective nymphs lately and with the warm temps in the forecast look for some stonefly activity to make fishing small stoneflies more effective.

While the steelhead fishing has been good, it sure seems that there has been an increase in fish harvest/mortality. Keep in mind that steelhead make a number of returns upriver in their life-cycle and that 10-pound fish you catch this year likely wouldn’t have been possible if it were kept as a 5 or 6 pound fish last year. Please limit your kill rather than kill your limit – the quality of our fishery depends on it.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout – May and June offers some of the best trout fishing of the year matching the hatch and fishing streamers.
Fall Steelhead– It’s not too early to look ahead to fall run of these fish. Hard fighting and a beautiful time of year.
Booking 2019 – Reserve your date(s) and schedule life around fishing rather than trying to fit fishing into life.

betsie river fishing, fly fishing steelhead michigan, guided fly fishing michigan, manistee steelhead, steelhead

Northern Michigan Fly Fishing Report

May Showers, May Flowers and Mayflies

Early May Fishing Report

Late April Fishing Report

Mid-April Steelhead Fishing Report

April Fishing Report

Ted Kraimer • Current Works, LLC • PO Box 333 • Traverse City, Michigan 49685 • (231) 883-8156