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Posts tagged "michigan"

Mid-December Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - December 12, 2014

It’s mid-December and it feels kind of like mid-November should have. Air temps have increased a little and are forecast to remain that way until early next week.  Anglers looking to fish for steelhead are finding fish in the local rivers including the Betsie and Manistee. It sounds as if all rivers have some fish in them as they begin to winter over. Water levels are in good shape for this time of year after rain, snowmelt and a water table that is filled. This is a good time of year to fish with an eye on the forecast.

With the water temperatures in the mid-30s choosing a day with a little sunshine and/or mild overnight temps can have a difference – steelhead and trout do not like significant drops in water temperatures (2-4 degrees). As the fish pretty much get into their lethargic mode look for them in the deeper holes and just off the side into the slower current. Fishing a float/indicator with an egg and nymph combo is one of the best ways to get a drag-free drift to fish residing in that water. Those looking to swing flies are finding that some fish will still play the game – especially when fishing above wooden structure where some fish have taken up residence. As the water continues to drop, look for the window of successful opportunity to get even smaller.

Trout fishing remains strong on the Manistee as fish are eating the streamer knowing that winter is a head of them. Rather than fish the big, heavy sink-tip lines, use some shorter sink-tips to allow you to fish the streamer a little slower in the cold water. When you see a fish come behind the fly be sure to activate it with some shorter strips giving life to the pattern but keeping it an easy target for the brown and rainbow trout.

Good luck.

Ted

The Winter Newsletter just went out – Click here to read and/or subscribe for delivery.

Trout – Streamer fishing on the Manistee into winter an be hot when temps gets cold.
Fall Steelhead– This big fish will continue to offer us a chance until the weather keeps us indoors.
Gift Certificates – Give or ask for a gift certificate; trips or lessons available. Quick & easy holiday shopping
2015 Fishing – It isn’t too early to get your dates booked for next year – now booking for all seasons.

betise river, indicator fishing, manistee river, michigan, steelhead, streamer fishing, traverse city, trout streamer fishing, winter steelhead

Winter / Late Fall Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - November 24, 2014

After our first (and hopefully last) polar vortex of the season came through dropping the air temperature and lots of snow, the weather this weekend became a little more typical of what the November offers. Most of the snow has melted although there are still some traces. Well, until the next snow comes which is forecast for this week.

In addition to the run-off from the snow and the rains we just received the river levels are running a bit high and with some color to them. It appears that over the past two weeks a few more steelhead have moved into local rivers like the Manistee and Betsie and I imagine the other rivers in Northwest Michigan. As water temperatures drop, look for steelhead to be in the deeper water and in the tail-outs surrounded with wood as fish start to take to their winter residence. It is a good time to fish some realistic nymphs as drag free as possible along with an egg (think about using an indicator or float). Swinging flies is still appropriate for those looking to use their two-handed rods as water temps are in the upper 30s; the warm rain should help offset the cold run-off.

Trout fishing continues to be decent to good for those looking to fish streamers despite the cooler weather. As the fish prepare for winter themselves, they are putting on the feedbag a bit. Really big streamers have taken some really big fish, but it’s the mid-sized streamer (size 2-6) that have been catching all sizes of fish. Mix up your colors after the olive, white, and copper/brown patterns aren’t working.

Just a reminder – firearms deer season continues until Nov. 30 so wear some bright clothing on the river for safety.

Good luck and Happy Thanksgiving.

Ted

Trout – Streamer fishing on the Manistee into winter an be hot when temps gets cold.
Fall Steelhead– This big fish will continue to offer us a chance until the weather keeps us indoors.
Gift Certificates – Give or ask for a gift certificate; trips or lessons available. Quick & easy holiday shopping
2015 Fishing – It isn’t too early to get your dates booked for next year – now booking for all seasons.

Betsie, guide, mansitee, michigan, northwest michigan, steelhead, streamer, swinging flies, trout fishing

The Unofficial Start of Fall

Posted by Ted Kraimer - September 2, 2013

Now that Labor Day is behind us, the kids are in school and the salmon are in the rivers, it’s time to look forward to a long fall season of fly fishing.

While summer-like temps are usual throughout September, the cool summer brought the salmon closer to river mouths and into rivers much earlier this year. The Betsie, Mansitee, Bear and Pere Marquette all have fish in them and should throughout mid-October. The salmon – so far, have been on average a few pounds bigger than years past but the past week we have started to see some smaller fish swimming with the big ones. The big ones – while fresh, were hard to hold onto! We are a ways from spawning so look for fish to be in the deeper holes and eating nymphs and eggs and the occasional streamer fished on a sink-tip. Being salmon, some days they just don’t want to eat anything – mix up your fly patterns and put in your casts – it only takes a fish or two to make it a great day – more than that, even better.

There has been no shortage of anglers with this year’s early start and with the big fish come less than desirable anglers and their methods used to “catch” the salmon – program your cell phones with the DNR’s RAP Hot line (Report All Poaching) and report any violators you see: 1-800-292-7800. It only takes the word of a few tickets issued to curb some of the activity so your call can make a difference.

The warm weather over the past few weeks has warmed the trout waters but they will start to drop again with the cool down and cooler evenings. The Manistee and Boardman are running very clear right now but still have trout fishing going on. Terrestrials like hoppers, flying ants and beetles are a good bet as are some attractors. Sub-surface, try your bead head nymphs in the runs and slots and a small streamer twitched will keep you in the game. Look for the brook trout to get feistier as their spawning season approaches later this month and their colors become even more vibrant. You should have the trout rivers pretty much to yourself so enjoy the solitude and some technical fishing – there has been a decent BWO hatch on the upper Manistee in the early evenings and some remaining trico spinner falls in late morning.

Good luck,

Ted

– Sorry, at this time all salmon dates are booked. Be sure to act early next year to reserve your dates –

Steelhead -Just a few fall steelhead dates remain and it’s not too early to book your Spring 2014 Steelhead dates.
Trout – Late fall trout fishing can be some of the best streamer and nymph fishing once the salmon leave.
2014 Fishing – It’s not too early to start booking your 2014 dates – reserve you place in the boat today.
Betsie, DNR, fly fishing, guide, manistee, michigan, Pere Marquette, Rap Hotline, salmon, traverse city, trout

Tilt-Shoot Iso – Isonychia Fly Pattern

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 14, 2013
Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia Fly Pattern

Ted’s Tilt Shoot Iso

While the “hex” mayfly gets the bulk of praise and attention from Michigan anglers, there is another mayfly that gets my praise. The Isonychia emerges over a longer period of time, is easier to cast, and doesn’t wait until dark to show – what’s not to like? Having a number of names Iso, Slate Drake, White Gloved Howdy, Maroon Dun among others, it should be thought of as important and should be found in any Michigan trout angler’s fly box from June through September.

There are two genus of the Isonychia (Salderi and Bicolor) which inhabit many of our local rivers. Each have different characteristics. Rather than give you a taxonomical description or bore you with entomology, let me provide you with the brass tacks:

Tilt-Shoot-Iso-Isonychia-Natural-Iso-Spinner.jpg

Natural Isonychia Spinner

The nymphs love swift water in gravel sections, adults/duns range in size with the most common being 10-14, adults/duns bodies vary in color between the two genus and the particular river (from a light creamy olive, to tan, to a brown-mahogany color), Adults/duns have deep dun colored wings where spinners have dark maroon bodies with clear wings, and both duns and spinner have distinct white front legs making them easy to identify. The largest concentration and emergence is in June extending through mid-September with the first insects large in size and tend to get smaller through that time period.

The duns typically emerge in the evening, but they can be found on the water at almost all times of the day, especially in the later months and when cloud cover is present.  Spinners, too, typically congregate in swarms in the evening before they fall to the water’s edge to drop eggs in riffle sections of rivers. For years it was thought that Iso nymphs only climb onto shore before emerging, but it is now accepted that they emerge in mid-stream as well – trout have known that for years.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia Brown Trout

Brown Trout caught on a Tilt-Shoot Iso

The Tilt-Shoot Iso is a pattern I created and have been using the past 10 years with great success.  While it isn’t the easiest fly to tie for those unfamiliar with hair body patterns, you will find vast improvements after a number of attempts.

This version of a parachute provides a realistic silhouette of the wing while the pattern sits low in the water for fish to easily see — important when fishing broken water. You can change the body color by changing the thread color to tan or olive, and its worth tying some with a more natural gray color wing/post. Tie this pattern in smaller sizes and you will find it will work as an imitation for a number of mayfly spinners.

Ted’s Tilt-Shoot Iso is available from Rainy’s Flies and can be bought in stocking fly shops. Below are tying instructions for you fly tiers.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 0

Tilt-Shoot Iso Recipe

Hook:             TMC 5212 10 – 14
Thread:          Uni-6/0  Wine
Tail:                Moose Body
Body:              Moose Body
Post:               Deer Belly Hair – White
Hackle:           Grizzly Dyed Dun
Thorax:          Fine & Dry Dubbing – Isonychia

Tying Instructions

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 1
Step 1.
Place hook (size 10) in vise and wrap a thread base from behind the eye to above the barb.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 2
Step 2. Cut 6 – 8 moose body hairs, clean and stack/even them and tie in on top of the hook about
one hook gape’s distance behind the eye.  Tie down along the shank to above the hook barb and back again.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 3
Step 3. Cut a large clump of moose body hair (approx. the thickness of two wooden match sticks), clean and stack/even. Measure the hair by laying the clump along the hook where the tips extend just beyond the hook shank. Trim the butt ends so the body will extend from the where we tied the tail in to just beyond the shank.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 4
Step 4. Lay the clump of moose along the hook making sure it completely surrounds the hook
shank for complete coverage. After a few wraps to secure it in place, hold the moose taught with your
left hand as you wrap the thread towards the hook bend with the bobbin in your right hand.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 5
Step 5.
Take the thread wraps to above the barb and make two tight wraps to secure
and then wrap the thread back toward the hook eye crisscrossing the thread
wraps making an X pattern. Once secured, trim off any excess butt material.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 6.5Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 6

Step 6. Select a clump of deer belly hair for the post/wing (approximately the thickness of three match sticks). Clean and stack/even it.  Lay the hair on top of the hook so the natural points extend to the end of the body.
Tie in the post/wing where the moose body ends and do not trim the butt ends of the hair.
Because the hair is hollow it can easily be cut by too much thread pressure.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 7
Step 7. Pull both the tips and the butts up and wrap along the shank to encourage the hair to move upward. Tie in a hackle feather at the base of the post/wing with the dull side of the feather facing you. The feather, after being wrapped, should extend to the end of the X-wraps on the body.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 8
Step 8. Dub a tight thorax on both sides of the post/wing that is slightly
thicker than the body/abdomen also encouraging the post/wing upward.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 9Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 9.5

Step 9.
Wrap the hackle parachute style under both the tips and butts of the post/wing.
Wrap the hackle firmly and it will compress and seat nicely against the post
creating a durable hackling. Tie off between the hook eye and dubbing.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 10Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 10.5

Step 10.
Pull the butt ends of the wing/post forward and trim only the
butts close to the base, just above the hackle.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 11Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia - Step 11.5

Step 11. Apply a drop of thin head cement at the base of the post and the thread head.

Tilt Shoot Iso Isonychia Fly Pattern

Finished Tilt-Shoot Iso Isonychia fly pattern

dry fly, how to tie, iso, isonychia, isonychia bicolor, isonychia fly pattern, isonychia salderi, michigan, rainys, slate drake, tilt-shoot Iso, white gloved howdy

Winter Mode – Steelhead Fishing and Fly Tying

Posted by Ted Kraimer - January 20, 2013

Winter is bouncing back and forth between mild and severe offering decent windows of opportunity when the temps are comfortable.  There are steelhead in the local rivers with a mix of fresh and winter fish in all systems including the Manistee, Betsie and Boardman.  The thaws and rains over the past couple of weeks helped bump water levels up which mixed the fish a little bit moving them around as well as inspiring a few fresh fish to enter the rivers.

Water levels are normal for winter steelheading and rather than typical gin-clear water, there is just a little color to it which is good. Since the fish in the systems are mixed, you will find that the increases in water shuffled the deck so to speak and this will help to keep the fish from being overly stale which can be a problem this time of year as they tend to hibernate in the deep, slow water. Water temps are running in the mid-30s.  The drag-free drift is most important this time of year as the fish are demanding. Egg patterns this time of year do a decent job of catching fish and their attention so if heading out be sure to fish a tandem rig with very realistic looking nymphs like hex, caddis, and small mayflies.  Presentations under an indicator/float is a good idea this time of year to help with the subtle take but also to help you suspend your flies above structure. Look for the inside of seams to be more productive throughout the winter.

The forecast isn’t calling for any warm-ups and should the weather service remain true to its prediction you might find the cold of January is a great time to tie some flies or read a book on fishing. Some old and new favorite books of mine include: Mayflies – Top to Bottom by Shane Stalcup, Dynamic Nymphing by George Daniel, The River Home by Jerry Dennis and Bonefishing  by Randall Kaufman. Check your local fly shop, club or group for fly tying classes this winter – it’s a great way to spend a cold, dark night thinking about fish, filling your  fly box and learning more about flies and fishing.

Good luck,

Ted

Winter Special: Take advantage of warm-ups this winter! 5 hours of fishing and lunch – $250
Gift Certificates: Ask for or give the gift of a guide trip or casting lesson. It’s a quick and easy gift! Click here.
Spring Steelhead: Mid-March isn’t that far away – get your dates secured and reserve your place in the boat.
– – Currently Booking for all 2013 Seasons – –

current works, fly tying, hex, indicators, manistee, manistee river, michigan, nymph, nymphing, steelhead, ted kraimer
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Ted Kraimer • Current Works, LLC • PO Box 333 • Traverse City, Michigan 49685 • (231) 883-8156

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