Posts tagged "manistee river fly fishing"

Late June Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 25, 2024

The warm weather of last week made for some hot and heavy hex fly action on local rivers that has tapered off due to cooler (not cool) temps and significant rainfall.

While water temperatures in rivers like the Manistee and Au Sable were reaching the high 60s and in some sections – into the 70’s, they have moderated as air temps and sunlight have eased. A significant rain on Saturday has left us with a lot of water in the rivers and most of them running high and remarkably stained. Levels have begun dropping however the clarity is taking a little longer to take affect.

In addition to the hex flies coming off at dark, look for Bat Flies in the evening hours as well as some Isonychias on the cloudy, cooler days. When surface activity isn’t happening, try going sub surface with some smaller streamers or twitch flies. A lot of the fish have been gorging themselves on one of the densest hex hatches we’ve experienced in recent history so they aren’t overly eager to chase down too much. Kind of like us after eating a big meal.

Smallmouth bass fishing on rivers is starting up again, but there, too, the water is stained (which isn’t a bad thing). Fishing smaller streamers on intermediate sink tips or slow sinking lines has been the approach, but with the recent molting of crayfish, fishing weighted crayfish patterns on a floating line near rocks has yielded some good fishing.

The lake fishing has been good for bigger bluegill and panfish as they finish up their second round of spawning. The largemouth bass offer a nice blend of what we are catching and it’s not uncommon for the bigger bass to eat the bluegill we hooked with the fly really putting a bend into the rod.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout, Tricos & Terrestrials – July & August offer fun dry fly fishing on the upper Manistee river.
Smallmouth Bass – Fish the lower Manistee with streamers & poppers this summer for fish that can pull.
Learn To Fly Fish – 1/2 Day trips are perfect for beginners! Learn how to cast before hitting the water to fish.

au sable, bat fly, bluegill fishing, fishing report, fly fishing, fly fishing guide traverse city, hex hatch, manistee river, manistee river fly fishing, smallmouth bass fishing, streamer fishing, traverse city, trout

Late May Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 30, 2023

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 are creeping into the mid-60s on the Manistee, Au Sable and Boardman Rivers.

The bug hatches have been decent with sulphurs, mahoganies and caddis being the usual suspects. Clouds of spinners are forming in the evening but with rapidly falling temps as dusk settles in, they go off to the trees only to fall another day. Brown Drakes and Isonychias should be in your box as they can start showing up if they haven’t already on your favorite section of water.

Streamer fishing has been off with the lower, clear water so smaller streamers fished on lighter sink-tips or even floating lines have been fooling some fish. A lot of suckers are spawning in rivers so don’t hesitate fishing behind them for trout eating their eggs.

The lake fishing for smallmouth and largemouth bass has been really good. Surface activity with poppers has been working as the fish have moved in shallow. The bluegill fishing has been good too, just depends on which lake you are fishing. Sometimes smaller streamers for the bass are required on the bright days when the fish don’t want to look up and are fished with either intermediate tip and floating lines.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout – It’s Match-the-Hatch time on the trout rivers through June. Just a few dates to choose from.
Smallmouth Bass– Spend a half or full-day on the lower Manistee fishing smallies – June through Late August.
Fall Steelhead – November still has some dates available in 2023 – finish the fishing season strong.

bass fishing, bluegill fishing on the fly, fall steelhead, hatches, mahaganies, manistee river fly fishing, manistee river hatches, smallmouth, smallmouth bass fly fishing, sulphurs

Mid August Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - August 19, 2021

After last week’s rains, the rivers have returned to normal levels and clarity.

Trout fishing is slowing down some due to all the food that washed downstream with the recent high water feeding the fish. And, well, it’s that time of year where the fish – it seems – are wore out after a long spring and summer of pressure.

If headed out, look for Tricos to be hitting the water mid-morning providing some match-the-hatch dry fly fishing for brook and brown trout. When fishing these small flies, sometimes it’s best to fish a two-fly rig – with a larger dry to serve as an indicator with a small Trico below it. It’s also a great time to use that 3 and 4 wt rod you might have.

Wet flies and small streamers (less than 3 inches) fished on a floating line can bend the rod some if the surface activity isn’t overly productive. Other terrestrials and attractors make this time of year fun on top for the dry fly angler looking to spend some time on the river with out all the demands and technical fly fishing.

Lake fishing continues to offer bluegill and bass, but it seems the best fishing is early, late or on a rare cloudy day. Nothing new here – target the structure including the drop-offs for where fish are hanging out.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout Fishing – August is Terrestrial and Trico time! Start the day off casting to brook and brown trout and get
back to the family for lunch time – it’s a great way to start the day when in Northwest Michigan.
Learn to Fly Fish – Tailor a half-day trip to learning how to fly fish –perfect for beginners.
Fall Steelhead – Some good dates remain in November and into December.

bass, guide manistee river, learn to fly fish, manistee river, manistee river fly fishing, streamers, terrestrials, traverse city fishing guide, trout fishing, upper manistee river

Early August Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - August 9, 2021

UPDATE August 11: Two heavy rainfalls in the region the past two days have increased river flows significantly. Anglers will find the rivers high, moving fast, and dirty. To monitor your favorite river, use these sites:

Upper Manistee/M72 Upper Manistee Near CCC Lower Manistee/Tippy Boardman Platte
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River conditions on the Manistee and Boardman are pretty much in step with the season – running slightly clear and low making mornings and cloudy days the best approach to fishing this time of year.

Hatches on the river are pretty much limited to Tricos in the evenings and Trico spinner falls in the a.m. Some days these last for a while giving you multiple targets to cast to, other days it is short lived with a brief window of spinners falling and feeding fish. The occasional Isonychia is coming off, more likely in the evening and they are getting smaller in size (#12 & 14) as the summer continues.

When bugs aren’t around, it’s time to cast “Foam and Rubber” – attractors and terrestrial patterns which have rubber legs. Somedays they want big patterns dead-drifted, other days twitched, or sometimes it’s a smaller pattern that looks more natural. Good brook trout and decent brown trout are coming up but the bigger fish – it seems – have mostly gone on summer vacation which is normal; look for them to start showing up again when school starts, water temps cool, and fishing pressure drops.

Lake fishing, too, has slowed with more bluegill playing along than the bigger bass. If looking for the bass, go sub surface with small streamers fished slow on either an intermediate line or small sink-tip.

Smallmouth bass fishing on rivers has been a good option for those looking to cast a larger fly on sink-tips, slow sinking lines, and the occasional floating line with a dry fly for fish that tend to pull pretty hard.

Good luck,

Ted

Trout Fishing – July and August is Terrestrial and Trico time! Start the day off casting to brook and brown trout
and get back to the family for lunch time – it’s a great way to start the day when in Northwest Michigan.
Learn to Fly Fish – Tailor a half-day trip to learning how to fly fish –perfect for beginners.
Fall Steelhead – Some good dates remain in November and into December.

fly fishing guide, fly fishing report, manistee, manistee river fly fishing, michigan fly fishing, smallmouth bass on streamers, terrestrial fishing, trico fishing

Early May Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 3, 2021

We finally received some rain to knock down the dust and pollen while helping things finish greening up after an early start to the process. The rivers are still low and running clearer than normal for this time of year, but that’s been the story since late February. Water temps are stable in the mid-50s on the upper Manistee where this time of year we like to hit the water armed with a dry fly rod rigged in the event of an emergence while we cover water with streamers.

With the back-and-forth weather, the hatches have been sporadic. A warm day or two (anyone seen the sun lately?) can make a difference and get those water temps into the upper 50s which is ideal for the bugs and fish to be more active. If headed to your favorite trout water – be it on the Manistee, Boardman or Au Sable, make sure you have Hendricksons, small Black Caddis, BWO’s and Black Quills.

Mix up your streamer patterns – size, color, what they are representing (baitfish, sculpin, accessorized triple articulated pattern you saw on-line) as the fish have seen a lot of streamers with more people hitting the water again this year and the mild March and April.

Folks looking to try something different might look to fishing a lake for smallmouth and even some pike. Just mix it up and think subsurface for your best results. It’s still a little early for the bluegill but after a hot day or two of sunshine the shallow, dark bottoms of bays and coves should have the fish in shallow doing a little pre-spawn feed. The month of May offers some unique angling opportunities and variety – learn more here.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout Fishing – May and June offer some of the best streamer and dry fly hatches of the year.
Learn to Fly Fish – Tailor a half-day trip to learning how to fly fish –
perfect for beginners or those looking to dial in a new technique.
Fall Steelhead – Some good dates remain in November and into December

ausable, bluegill, boardman, fly fishing guide, manistee, manistee river fly fishing, smallmouth bass, streamer fishing, trout, trout fishing guide, trout fishing traverse city

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