With the dog days of June upon us, the trout fishing has been tougher than we have come to expect for this time of year. The big bugs of June have been fickle – as have most hatches so far this year with the spastic and erratic extremes in weather and conditions. On top of that, water temps on rivers like the upper Manistee and Au Sable have recently been hitting that crucial 70-degree threshold in the evenings which keeps us off the water in an effort to preserve/conserve the fish. You should too.
Water levels are decent with a slight stain to them. Weed growth seems to be lacking but the purple irises on the riverbank are blooming right on schedule which means Isonychias and Brown Drakes should be your primary bugs in your fly box. Have some gray drakes with you too, in addition to the last of the Sulphurs. A good probing pattern this time of year is a medium brown stonefly or wet skunk. And with the recent rain, I suspect the mosquitoes will begin to show up too so don’t forget the bug spray.
Bass and bluegill fishing continues to be really good. With the current moon phase, the bigger panfish are in the shallows again for their second spawn on a lot of lakes. Fat and sassy and surface oriented, they will take something subsurface if it’s choppy or there is too much pollen on the surface to bring attention to your dry. With the trout fishing being so fickle, a lot of folks have been hitting the lakes to bend the rods and discovering how much fun this option can be. And without the need of a headlamp.
Good luck.
Ted
Learn to Fly Fish – Book a half-day trip with the idea of learning the basics in how to cast and fly fish.
Tricos and Terrestrials – Start your day on a cool river fishing for trout with dry flies from July into September.
Fall Steelhead – Although the Spring Season just ended, think fall steelhead good dates available in November.