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Posts tagged "sculpin"

Mid-May Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 17, 2023

Mid-May finds us headed to different waters in pursuit of different fish as this time of year offers choices to anglers.

May often means Mayflies but the cold nights have had an effect on the hatches. Once stable weather comes back, anglers can look for a mix of bugs on the upper Manistee and Au Sable rivers. March Browns, Mahoganies, Sulphurs, caddis, and the last of the Hendricksons should be in your fly box if headed out. For the next 6 weeks, a Borcher’s Drake should be with you as it’s just a great all-around imitator of so many bugs found in our rivers. Just as temps fluctuate, so do the times in which bugs can come off or fall as spinners. Water levels are low and running clear for this time of year so longer leaders and stealthy presentation helps with hooking up.

If streamer fishing between hatches, try smaller streamers with the lower water. Cover the water, work the wood and mix up the natural patterns to represent the baitfish and sculpins. If that doesn’t work, try some “twitch flies” that might just get the attention of the trout.

It appears that the Didymo/Rocksnot bloom that alarmingly was widespread on the upper Manistee in 2022 has pretty much disappeared. While that bodes well for fishing and the future of the river, it doesn’t mean anglers shouldn’t stop taking measures to prevent spreading the latent spores to other waters. If you have felt sole wading boots, now you have justification for buying a new pair of rubber soled boots as the felt harbors invasive species leading to transmission to other rivers.

Lake fishing is heating up but still can be a little moody with water temps fluctuating. Smallmouth bass are still in pre-spawn mode and are sitting in deeper water while a few Largemouth bass have gone shallow in lakes with dark bottoms and protected bays that help stabilize water temps. Regardless of where you are fishing, baitfish patterns tied in various densities/sink rates have been working. It’s also time to grab your favorite bluegill flies. When these fish come into the shallows, they are just a ton of fun on the fly rod – both on the surface and just below.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout – May’s streamer & dry fly fishing turns to the big bugs of June. Good dates to choose from.
Smallmouth Bass– Spend a half or full-day on the lower Manistee fishing smallies – June through Late August.
Fall Steelhead – Just a few prime steelhead dates remain available in 2023 – finish the fishing season strong.

baitfish patterns, bluegill fishing, borchers drakes, dry flies, guided fly fishing, hatches, manistee river hatches, march browns, sculpin, smallmouth bass fishing, streamer fishing, sulphurs, traverse city fishing, trout fishing

Mid-May Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 19, 2019

The middle of May finds most anglers on the trout rivers looking for bugs and rising trout.

While some days there are good hatches (Hendricksons and Black Caddis) on the upper Manistee and AuSable, finding days when both bugs and rising fish are present has been maddening. With water temps in the upper 50’s I’d say a couple degrees should help make for more consistent dry fly fishing. As the days get longer, it’s time to take your fly box with Sulphurs and Mahoganies along with your headlamp as hatches begin to go later into the day.

River conditions have been decent but the days when the sun it out, the water is too clear, and the fish do a great job of hiding; overcast days have made for noticeably better fishing. When fish are hiding, it’s time to take your flies to them and fishing streamers with sink-tips is one of the approaches to do that. There hasn’t been a leading pattern/color/shape that has been producing more than another so be sure to mix it up to find any daily preference. Sclupins and chestnut lampreys are always good to start with.

Lake anglers are finding that the smaller lakes that tend to warm quicker have a few bluegill moving into the shallows along with some bass. After the long winter/cool spring, water temps are still cool and things are a few days behind. Largemouth bass are around, too, but are mostly preoccupied with their upcoming spawning ritual.

While there haven’t been any mosquitoes, look for that to change any day so take some repellent with you.

Good luck!

Ted

Trout– Match-the-Hatch fishing through June including the big bugs. Terrestrial & Tricos in July and August.
Father’s Day – Get dad on the water this year with a gift certificate for either a half and full-day trip.
Fall Fishing – Salmon begins in September which leads to Steelhead in October and November.

bass fishing, boardman river, chestnut lamprey, mahaoganies, match the hatch, sculpin, Streamer fishing for trout, sulphurs

Autumn Offender Streamer Pattern

Posted by Ted Kraimer - December 16, 2013
Autumn Offender Streamer Pattern

Autumn Offender Streamer – Fish it year round

While the name of this trout streamer pattern suggests it’s only effective in the fall, it catches fish all year -round and not just here in northern Michigan. While imitating nothing in particular, it suggests a number of common food sources including sculpins, creek chubs, and juvenile trout  – staples to most trout’s diet.

This easy to tie fly incorporates colors and materials which often work when proven patterns in the fly box aren’t — making it a go-to pattern when fishing is tough. The long rabbit strip combined with the marabou and cone-head provides nice movement on the pause after a strip. With a bit of flash and a number of natural colors also incorporated, this pattern has just enough attention-getting characteristics and “bling” when the water is stained. But since the colors are relatively muted, it fishes well in clear water, too – which is often the water’s condition come fall.

Autumn Offender - Brown TroutFish the Autumn Offender on a sink-tip or floating line depending on the water and time of year,  and strip it back with a rod twitch and a pause. This streamer pattern has also caught steelhead when swung with a two handed rod and heavy sink-tip.  To learn more about streamer fishing techniques read my article, “Tips for better streamer fishing“.

Not into tying streamers? This pattern is available from Rainy’s Flies and can be bought in stocking fly shops.

Recipe:

Hook:
Thread:
Tail:
Weight:
Body:
Wing:
Over Wing:
Collar:
Head:

Gamakatsu S11-4L2H #4
Uni 6/0 – Camel
Rabbit Strip – Black Barred Sand Variant or Brown Barred Tan
Large Cone – Copper
Krystal Hackle – Olive Brown, Large & UV Polar Chenille Rusty Copper
Marabou Blood Quill – Golden Brown & Yellow
Flashabou – Kelly Green and Holographic Copper
Mallard Dyed Wood Duck Flank feather
Ice Dub – Golden Brown


Tying Instructions

Autumn Offender - Step 1Step 1. Slide cone onto hook by inserting small end through point first. Put hook in vise.

Autumn Offender - Step 2Step 2. Wrap a base layer of thread to above barb.

Autumn Offender - Step 3Step 3. Tie in a section of rabbit that is a little longer than hook’s length.

Autumn Offender - Step 4Autumn Offender - Step 4.5

Step 4. Tie in Krystal Hackle and Polar Chenille and at the same time, palmer towards cone
while stroking fibers backwards and stopping 3/8” behind eye.

Autumn Offender - Step 5Autumn Offender - Step 5.5

 

Step 5. Tie in a yellow marabou feather by its tip and wrap two to three times.
Too much feather results in bulk which has less motion so fewer can be better.

Autumn Offender - Step 6Autumn Offender - Step 6.5

 

Step 6. Repeat Step 5 but with a golden brown marabou feather.
Tip : A little saliva on your fingers stroked through the marabou
helps manage the materials, making the following steps easier.

Autumn Offender - Step 7Step 7. Tie in two strands of each color flashabou and tie on top as a wing, not extending
beyond the rabbit strip. Also, keep the ends staggered rather than trimmed to one length.

 

Autumn Offender - Step 8Autumn Offender - Step 8.5

Step 8. Take the Mallard flank and tie in by the tip. “Fold” the half of the feather on the other side of the
step from you by using your scissor’s edge to crease the fibers. Holding the feather taught, run your
scissors in your other along the feather to “break” the fibers allowing them to flow backwards.

Autumn Offender - Step 9
Step 9.
Wrap the flank collar two or three times depending on coverage, tie down and trim.

Autumn Offender - Step 10

Step 10. Dub a loose “trigger” ball of ice dub between flank and cone and the whip finish.

Autumn Offender Streamer Pattern - FinalFinished Fly – The Autumn Offender

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autumn offender streamer, fly-fishing guide, how to tie streamers, manistee, michigan trout fishing, Northern Michigan, rainys flies, sculpin, sink-tip, streamer pattern
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