hendrickson hatch Archives - Current Works Guide Service

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.

baitfish streamers, hendrickson, hendrickson hatch, steelhead, tippy dam fishing, trout fishing, upper manistee river, upper-manistee

We finally received some rain, but with the ground so dry, most of it went there rather than into our rivers having little impact on river levels and the much anticipated re-start of the Spring Steelhead run.

Some fresh fish continue to trickle in on the Manistee, but not as many as there typically is for this time of year. Look for the fish to be on the spawning gravel with a number of dark, males accompanying the female doing her thing. With the clear water conditions, be prepared to be stealthy and go light with line and flies – the males are becoming cranky and are taking leeches and fry patterns pretty good as they are fending for their territory. Other flies that have been working include small (#10 and 12) and realistic egg patterns, caddis and stones – not much new here. Targeting drop-back steelhead remains decent as the fish are putting their feed bag back on after a few weeks of not eating as they head back to the lake.

The trout fishing below Tippy dam is picking up for those targeting the dark water with nymphs where as streamer anglers working the cover are finding some better fish – mostly when the sun isn’t high and bright. The trout have been planted below the dam so you might have to increase your streamer size a bit to keep the stockers off your line to help with their survival and success rate. Look for conditions to improve as warmer weather sets in with warmer water and more aquatic life making for a good combo approach – steelhead in the morning and trout in the afternoon.. With the stocked fish in the river, consider fishing a big fly pattern like the Fin Clip to emulate the “natural” food source of some really big trout – it’s not a numbers thing, but the fish you get tend to be big.

Trout fishing on the Upper Manistee is pretty good for those who hit the right day – that’s when it’s warm enough for bugs to emerge or when the shade offers ideal streamer fishing as the water is still quite clear. Hendricksons have been emerging in the afternoons on the warmer days and the fish are starting to expect them. Be sure to have some stone flies and BWO in your box, too.

Good Luck!

Ted

The Spring Newsletter just went out – click here to read.

– Book a Trip for the Upcoming Fishing Seasons –

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

fin clip, hendrickson hatch, late spring steelhead, manistee, streamer fishing, tippy dam, trout, upper-manistee

Posts tagged "hendrickson hatch"

May Showers, May Flowers and Mayflies

Steelhead and Trout Limbo/Combo

The Spring Newsletter just went out – click here to read.

– Book a Trip for the Upcoming Fishing Seasons –

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