With September here and the weather forecast to turn to seasonal weather this week, it might be time to give a nod to the long summer season and everything the fish provided. And since most fisheries were getting tired, the change in weather and angling pressure should help to improve fishing. The clear water of […]
Mid-August finds us with tired fishing conditions. It’s been a long season and most species have been pressured for months now and are playing coy if not selective. But it’s still fun. The trout rivers are about as clear as I have seen them in any summer prior. The lack of rain this year has […]
As July starts to wind down, fly anglers find themselves in the middle of summer and summer fishing conditions. The Upper Manistee is running low and clear – which isn’t unusual for this time of year. The lack of rain has been offset by the cooler evening temps to keep the water temps in the […]
The big bugs and crescendo of our May and June hatches have pretty much come to an end. There might be an encore performance as there usually are some stragglers and late bloomers, but for the most part it’s near time to put the headlamp away for the season. There seems to be a lull […]
As Summer (solstice) takes place on the 21st, June starts to end and the night fishing really begins. Angler’s are looking for the nocturnal Hex Mayflies on the local trout rivers and some (Au Sable) have already begun and it’s about to begin on others (Manistee) if they haven’t already. Headlamps, bug spray, patience and […]
Mid June’s trout fishing has been decent considering the bugs have been fickle. The days of reliable hatches in the evenings and spinner falls at dusk seem to be something of the past. I can’t help but think it’s weather related and in the past couple of weeks its been bright sunny and hot days […]
As May comes to an end, it sure seems like we are in middle of summer with these hot days. It’s been a while since we have had any significant rain leaving the trout rivers running low and clear. Thankfully evening temps have been cool which has kept the water temps in check, but they […]
Mid-May finds us headed to different waters in pursuit of different fish as this time of year offers choices to anglers. May often means Mayflies but the cold nights have had an effect on the hatches. Once stable weather comes back, anglers can look for a mix of bugs on the upper Manistee and Au […]
The first of May has me thinking its like the first of March – cold, windy and snowy. Like most weather events, this won’t last, but this weather halted the progression into spring trout fishing. Some Hendricksons and BWOs have been seen on the upper Manistee and Au Sable Rivers but much of the time […]
As we approach the end of April, it appears that spring steelhead season is also winding down. It has been a strange spring with back-and-forth weather, following a relatively mild winter. It appeared that a lot of fish spawned much earlier this year than normal which is good as they were able to get the […]
The water levels from last week’s rain has pretty much moved through the system and have returned to normal level. Clarity remains good, but still has a stain to it on both the Betsie and Manistee Rivers, which is usually a good thing. The abnormal July-like weather with temps in the 80s and bright sun […]
Early April showers has our local rivers running high and dirty while promising May flowers. If fishing smaller rivers and wading, be advised of very high water. Leading up until recent storms, the water had come up with rain late last week. And with it, some fresh fish. We have an assortment of steelhead in […]
