It’s October – Steelhead and Salmon Fishing

Posted by Ted Kraimer - October 3, 2012

The month has changed and so has the color of the leaves – it’s fall’s best fishing. The weather has been more than pleasant lately but the much needed rain never came however the forecast for some precipitation is promising. Actually Sunday’s forecast is threatening a rain and snow mix – its officially fall.

On the Manistee there are lots of salmon in various stages – from holding in deep pools to gravel and more fresh fish moving upstream as the calendar advances. More steelhead have been showing up and with the water temp in the upper-50’s they are hard to hold onto once hooked. With all the salmon spawning, the egg bite for skipper and adult steelhead has been good in the water near beds with nymphs like buggers and hex working in the runs targeting migrating fish. For more on fishing eggs for steelhead click here.

This time of year offers a nice mix of fish – from Chinook/King and Coho/Silver salmon, steelhead and even a rare lake run brown or two. As water and air temps cool and more water flows through our already clear waters, look for fishing to only improve, not that it isn’t good now.

Good luck,

Ted

October is the month for Steelhead! Available dates: 16, 18, 30, 31

Fall Steelhead: It’s time to target angler’s favorite sport-fish now through November.
Fall Trout: Fish the Upper Manistee throughout fall or Lower Manistee in late October and through November.
Booking for all 2013 Seasons and through September – reserve your place in the boat.

egg flies, egg patterns, fall steelhead, flies, lower manistee, manistee, salmon, steelhead

April Fools

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 3, 2012

Now that April has arrived, I kind of feel like a fool – have the bulk of the steelhead already come or are there more fresh fish to come in the weeks ahead? Never accused of being overly optimistic but a realist, I am however thinking there are more fish to come.

Water levels are getting low and clarity is good with a slight stain. Temps remain right around 50 degrees so the lack of 80-degree days lately is helping to keep the water temp in this range. There still hasn’t been a surge of suckers or walleye in the Manistee River which serve as a gauge of where the steelhead run is at. Reports from the Betsie River is similar to the Manistee – that is, there are fish around, but they are skittish and some days fishing is better than others. Like last week’s report, what we need is a surge of water to bring more steelhead upstream and the weatherman isn’t predicting that to happen. He’s been wrong in the past.

Those looking to score fish are finding that sticking with the game plan, covering water and changing up flies is having success. Many of the fish are on gravel beds with the dark water near it (pockets and holes) holding fish – effective flies include a variety of smaller egg patterns in realistic colorations, stones, caddis and fry patterns. Drop back fish headed back the lake are in seams and runs primarily eating bigger nymphs like hex and buggers.

Good luck,

Ted

betsie river, egg patterns, manistee river, spawning, steelhead, tippy dam

Lots of Sunscreen

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 20, 2012

Wearing the clothing typically worn in July is definitely strange for steelhead fishing, but it beats fishing in gloves and fleece jackets.

The water levels have come down a bit in the Manistee and more on the Betsie River with clarity improving however it’s still pretty stained. Water temps are in the mid to upper- 40’s which is rare for this time of year. With conditions right for spawning, the fish are working gravel while the fresh fish are staging near gravel waiting for their opportunity to progenerate future steelhead runs. A number of the fall and winter fish have already completed their mission and are dropping back with more fresh fish dribbling in.

There hasn’t been a “silver bullet” fly pattern lately, but flies to keep in your rotation include black stoneflies, hex nymphs with a little flash (crossdresser), caddis, fry/alevins, and lots of eggs in big, bright colorations in low light conditions and mid-sized, natural looking patterns when the sun is out.

Look for the streamer fishing on the upper water to be better than normal for this time of year for those looking to cast streamers for trout. This weather is promising to make for some great early season trout fishing with dry flies in April and anyone headed out there now will want some small black stonefly dries.

Have Fun!

Ted

crossdresser hex, egg patterns, spawning, steelhead fishing the Betsie River, steelhead fishing the manistee, streamer fishing for trout on the Manistee

Yes, An Early Spring

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 13, 2012

After a guide trip the other day I walked the neighborhood and witnessed flowers coming up in a garden, so yes, we are experiencing an early Spring, we just don’t need the April showers just yet.

With all of the snow melt and some significant rainfalls this past week anglers are finding their favorite rivers running high and dirty. While not necessarily ideal conditions, fish are playing our game as many of the winter fish are staging around spawning gravel and new, fresh fish migrating upstream with the increased water levels. Look for fish to be in the deeper holes and just off the seam line avoiding the increased flow. Expect spawning to start taking place soon if it hasn’t started already. As the temps are just getting into the 40’s the fish are becoming more active and with the increased water flow you will have your hands full.

Visibility on the Betsie and Manistee is less than 1.5 feet and with more sun, the particulate reflects more and decreases visibility further making low light hours and shade a great place to target. Now is a good time to cast large egg patterns like clowns, sparkle eggs and Chartreuse glo bugs with large, dark flies like stone’s, leeches and buggers tied below them.

Good luck and safe wading,

Ted

– Book a Trip for the Upcoming Fishing Seasons –

Now-April: Steelhead on the Manistee and Betsie Rivers
April-May: Trout – Streamers & Dry Flies. Hendricksons & Early Bug Hatches
June: Trout -Big Dry Flies – Drakes, Isonychias and The Hex.
Booking for all 2012 Seasons – Some Fall Dates Remain Open

bestie river conditions, clowns, egg patterns, fishing report northern michigan, fly fishing, fresh fish, manistee river steelhead fishing, sparkle eggs, spawning steelhead

McFly Foam Egg

Posted by Jeanne Kraimer - March 8, 2012

The typical material for tying Glo Bugs is Glo Bug Yarn or Egg Yarn and many, including myself have found tying nice, round looking egg flies is difficult when using this material. In the mid-1990’s a new material, McFly Foam yarn, hit the market and tying nice, round eggs has been easier ever since. It’s available in huge array of colors and anglers can mix them up or incorporate dots very easily for a custom combination.

An advantage to tying these flies is most of the material sits above the hook shank without impeding the hook gape allowing you to use a little smaller hook while keeping the egg the focal point hiding the hook.

The primary reason why McFly material works so well is its amount of elasticity. The texture, however, is very “clingy” so if you have dry hands, dead skin and/or rough edges on your fingers you are about to learn the meaning of frustration. Try using a pumice stone to smooth those fingertips and you’ll find it’s easier to handle this material – especially when tying a couple dozen McFly Foam eggs.

There is pretty much every color variation available in McFly Foam to match the egg pattern you desire. Try mixing a few similar colors to achieve a mottled, but realistic egg imitation to accommodate the classic primary color with a dot.

McFly Foam Egg Recipe

Hook:           TMC 105 #6-10, TMC 2457 #8-12 (Scud Hook) or Gamakatsu C14S
Thread:         Danville Flymaster Plus – color to match main yarn color
Yarn:            McFly Foam – Oregon Cheese and Dark Red

Tying Instructions

Step 1. Insert hook into vise and make a thread wrap working from the hook eye
back to the hook point and the midway between the hook point and the hook eye.

Step 2. Cut egg yarn about 1 ½ inches long. The primary color should be a little less than the diameter
of a hot dog. If you don’t use enough yarn the fly won’t be as round as it should be. Use too
much and it will look a bit obtuse. The second color should be a little less than the diameter of a pencil.

Step 3. Lay the McFly Foam parallel on top of the hook with the secondary color on top and
wrap down with a few loose wraps midway on the yarn. Tighten the wraps and pull firmly with a
few more wraps being sure to wrap on top of one another. This is why we use a strong, flat thread.

Step 4. Pull the yarn upward and horizontally wrap the base of the yarn like
you would a post on a parachute dry fly. Make about 4 or five, tight wraps.

Step 5. Advance the thread to just in front of the yarn and whip finish.

Step 6. Trim the excess foam by pulling up on the yarn (not pictured) and then cut. This step
is crucial to the appearance of the fly and with a little experience you should be able to determine
the proper length. Try cutting the foam no more than half of the distance of the hook gape.

Step 7. After cutting, the foam looks domed not round. Take your
fingers and roll the material which will give you a rounded appearance.

Step 8. Your finished McFly Foam egg.

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egg patterns, gamakatsu, glo bug pattern, how to, Mc Fly foam egg, Mcfly foam, mcfly foam egg, mcfly glo bug

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