Early April Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 5, 2023

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 the local rivers – fresh, spawning, and drop-backs. Water temps are in the low 40s which gets the fish in and out relatively quick. Since there is a mix of fish in the various spawning stages – look for fish in an assortment of water, notably tail-outs for drop-backs, and soft seams for migrating fish.

Egg patterns and beads along with caddis and fry had been working but that was before the increase in water flow. Larger stones, buggers and bold egg patterns would be my first choice.

To learn more about your favorite river’s water levels and flows, check out the USGS website.

Good luck getting out.

Ted

2023 Fishing – Get your dates secured to ensure your time on the water. Booking all seasons.
Trout – May’s streamer & dry fly fishing turns to the big bugs of June. Good dates to choose from.
Fall Steelhead – Just a few prime steelhead dates remain available in 2023 – finish the fishing season strong.

caddis, egg patterns, high water steelhead, manistee, steelhead, steelhead fishing

Late March Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 26, 2023

As March winds down, we find ourselves in a unique situation with the steelhead.

Not much has changed since the last report as we still have had back and forth weather including some storm systems that have left some snow on the ground, but then bright sunny days to melt it soon after.

A lot of spawning has taken place on the Manistee and Betsie Rivers over the past 10 days by the steelhead that were hold-overs from fall and those that came in over the winter. With relatively clear and low water, the strong pushes of fresh fish have been more of a trickle until flows change. The 6-10 inches of snow we received yesterday and how it melts should change things going forward in regard to color and height and making it more appealing for fresh fish to head upstream.

The fish are spread throughout river systems and can be found in all sorts of water. In the clear water, fish have been in the dark holes, pocket water and runs near gravel. Seems the fish are spawning mostly at night and low-light hours as the water has been clear enough to see fish if they were out. Tail outs will provide a crack at fresh fish moving through and some fish have been holding over in the big, deep holes, too.

With more eggs in the water, the egg pattern and bead bite has improved but a lot of fish are still coming on the nymph. Caddis and small stones have been fishing strong, but some bigger stones have been taking some fish too. The fry bite should take off any day but so far there hasn’t been many salmon fry seen in the shallow water so it’s a matter of days before they become productive for the steelhead.

Good luck.

Ted

2023 Fishing – Get your dates secured to ensure your time on the water. Booking all seasons.
Trout – May’s streamer & dry fly fishing turns to the big bugs of June. Good dates to choose from.
Fall Steelhead – Just a few prime steelhead dates remain available in 2023 – finish the fishing season strong.

betsie river, caddis, egg patterns, fry pattern, manistee river, michigan, steelhead, steelhead fishing report, stoneflies for steelhead, stonefly

Mid March Steelhead Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 17, 2023

Despite the relatively mild winter we have had, the steelhead fishing is about where it should be for this time of year.

The sun has been shining a bit more lately bumping the water temperature into the upper 30s on the Manistee and into the 40s on smaller rivers like the Betsie. However, some cold nights or winter weather events returns conditions to what we expect for Mid-March.

Some fresh fish have been moving through the river systems but the majority of the fish have been those that have been in the river systems for a bit. The deeper, slow holes near gravel sections of water have been the most reliable with the occasional fish found in the smaller holes near gravel. A few fish have actually been seen on gravel indicating that the spawning process has just begun.

Nymphs have been fishing a bit better than eggs lately with stoneflies and caddis being the most productive. Always fished in tandem with an egg pattern, look for the eggs to become preferred as spawning activity builds and the number of natural eggs drifting downstream increases.

Good luck.

Ted

Open Spring Steelhead Date: I just had a recent cancellation – March 27 is available

2023 Fishing – Get your dates secured to ensure your time on the water. Booking all seasons.
Trout – May’s streamer & dry fly fishing turns to the big bugs of June. Good dates to choose from.
Fall Steelhead – Just a few prime steelhead dates remain available in 2023 – finish the fishing season strong.

betsie river, betsie steelead, caddis, egg patterns, mansitee river steelhead, steelhead fishing, steelhead fishing report, stoneflies

Mid-May Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 19, 2022

After two days of Spring it seemed like we went right to Summer with last week’s temperatures and weather.

Hatches are kind of jumbled on the trout streams (Manistee and Au Sable rivers), but if headed out, be sure to have Hendricksons and Caddis. Pack some Sulphurs and Mahoganies, too, because they will start showing up any day now if they haven’t already on your favorite section of the river. With the fluctuations in weather, there is no telling if there will be bugs and when – just remember warmer air temps are crucial for spinner fall. And for hatches/emergences, well, they have been showing up in late mornings as much as evenings so fish all day if you can.

Between hatches, fish some smaller streamers for fish looking to eat sub-surface. It’s also not a bad time to swing a wet fly, like a diving caddis. My car is covered with black caddis and green egg sacks from driving along the rivers.

Smallmouth bass are in a pre-spawn mode on the river systems and are eating. In waters where trout and smallmouth co-exist, there is no telling which species is going to bite your streamer next – it’s like a fishing grab-bag until you get the fish on the line and in sight (Hint: the bass fight harder).

Water levels are slightly low and relatively clear for this time of year but that should change with the forecast storms and weather to roll through tonight. Although we could use some rain, it’s been nice having these recent conditions.

Lake fishing has been decent for bluegill/panfish and the occasional largemouth as we come off a full-moon phase and water temps in lakes and ponds increase. The darker bottom lakes (or coves/bays within) tend to warm up quicker than other portions of the lake. This should continue to offer really good fishing for the next 4 or 5 weeks.

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.

bass fishing, bluegill fishing on the fly, caddis, fly fishing report, hendricksons, lake fishing traverse city, manistee river, smallmouth bass, sulphurs, swinging a wet fly

Early May Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 6, 2022

It feels like May. And Spring. Finally.

Its time to transition from steelhead to trout and take advantage of the streamer fishing and hatches of Mayflies on the local rivers like the upper Manistee, Au Sable and Boardman. The rivers are running full but are clear with temps mostly in the mid to upper 50s and the forecast weather should steady the temps some providing we don’t have those cold overnights.

Look for small Stoneflies, Hendricksons, and caddis on the surface and always have some Blue Winged Olives in your box. Bright days help with warming the water temps which will ultimately help the fishing on the days that are overcast.

This is a great time of the year to have a rod rigged with a sink-tip and streamer and another with a dry fly when some surface action begins. Late afternoons and early evenings get cool this time of year and the promise of spinner falls typically is just that – so be on the water at the warmer times of the day for both hatches and spinner falls. With the clear water, smaller streamers are a better choice than the triple articulated and highly accessorized patterns the length of a tube sock.

The late arrival of spring has prolonged the steelhead run in most rivers with a few fish around for those that just didn’t get enough this year. It was a solid run of fish this year and already I am looking forward to the fall run.

Good luck.

Ted

caddis, fishing guide, fly pattern, hendricksons, traverse city fly fishing guide. steelhead

Posts tagged "caddis"

Early April Fishing Report

Late March Fishing Report

Mid March Steelhead Fishing Report

Open Spring Steelhead Date: I just had a recent cancellation – March 27 is available

Mid-May Fly Fishing Report

Early May Fishing Report

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