Posts tagged "streamer fishing"

Early May Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 10, 2025

Trout season is underway on the Manistee with a smattering of hatches that can be present at any time of the day. It’s been a while since we have had any rain and the rivers are running clear with levels ideal for both floating or the wading angler.

This time of year there can be a handful of different bugs on the water including caddis (Mother’s day caddis – right on time), Hendricksons, Black Quills, some #8 and 10 yellow stone flies, BWOs, and more. With the forecast ahead calling for some above normal temperatures, I wouldn’t hesitate having some Sulphurs and Mahoganies in your fly box, too. Another bug that is unpredictable this time of year (aren’t they all anymore?) but worth having is the March Brown – some days the fish key-in on this meaty bug if they are around.

The streamer fishing has been off a little again this spring with the lack of color to the water, but smaller streamers fished on floating lines or even intermediate tip lines is a good alternative the the bigger patterns and heavier lines.

Smallmouth bass are starting to move where we can target them with flies as they are going into their pre-spawn binge. These fish continue to impress anglers when they play along and bend the rod giving an alternative to the technical match-the-hatch trout fishing.

Some smaller, dark bottomed lakes have had some bluegill fishing begin and it will only get better in the days ahead with the full moon phase on a small lake near you. It’s always fun having them come to the surface but if they are reluctant, micro streamers and larger swimming nymphs work well.

Good luck.

Ted

Fall Steelhead – Spring season is all booked, but a few dates remain available for the Fall Steelhead.
Trout Fishing – May and June offer some of the best technical dry fly fishing as we chase bugs and browns.
Smallmouth Bass – Now through Mid-August, come fish this rod bending species as an alternative to trout.

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Late April Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 25, 2025

With April coming to an end, so does our Spring Steelhead season. The run for this spring was a strong one the past 8 weeks and despite a week of high water in early April that made fishing tough – if not unsafe to get out, it provided a lot of fish and was a remarkable improvement over 2024 Spring Season’s fish numbers which was concerning.

There are still fish in the rivers, but in a week’s time, it went from a lot of fish to, not so many. Smaller rivers will have a few fish in them for a bit while larger rivers and their volume of water will continue to tease fish into the system, just as they have for years, resulting in late spawners which contributes to a longer season in years ahead.

Water temps are in the upper 40s and levels are about right for the time of year, but still running a bit stained which is still from the high water even we had over three weeks ago. Small natural eggs are catching more fish as they imitate the natural eggs drifting downstream and the salmon fry bite has been our best performing nymph over the past week.

Saturday is the traditional trout opener (walleye, pike and other species, too) and has a lot of folks swapping the heavy steelhead rods for their favorite trout rods. The timing of this year’s opener and the weather the past 2 months has been ideal. And because we had a “real” winter, it seems that conditions are now just building with only better days ahead as water temperatures climb into the 50s and create consistent conditions for hatches. In other words, after the hard winter and slow start of spring, the season is just starting where in recent years it has already been on and off again by the time opener arrived.

Hendricksons have started emerging and will only build in numbers especially with the forecast of warmer days ahead. BWO’s are always a staple in your fly box but this is a time of year you should expect to use them. Small stones are also fluttering on the surface some days when the sun is out, but most of the time a respectable sized trout won’t chase them on the surface unless there are a lot of them.

There are more hours on the water when bugs aren’t out than when they are emerging making an alternative presentation like streamer fishing a good way to cover water until bugs and rising fish present themselves. The fish haven’t been overly pressured but the water is still cold, so slow your presentation/retrieve and enjoy the start of a new trout season.

Good luck.

Ted

Fall Steelhead – Spring season is all booked, but a few dates remain available for the Fall Steelhead.
Trout Fishing – May and June offer some of the best technical dry fly fishing as we chase bugs and browns.
2025 Season – Now booking the entire season for trout, bass, steelhead and salmon – get your dates planned

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Late July Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - July 21, 2024

Late July fishing finds us headed to the upper Manistee river in the mornings looking for hatches and spinner falls of Tricos for some trout. When those little flies aren’t on the water, we are using the larger, attractor/suggestive/imitative terrestrial patterns often tied with foam and rubber legs – its what I call the “Foam and Rubber” hatch.

Most of the larger, leery (and smart) brown trout have retired to the dark water and wood piles and don’t show up too often, but we are surprised from time to time – especially the overcast days. A mix of brook and brown trout keep it fun with surface activity and smaller streamers or twitch flies turn some good fish when the surface feeding is on pause.

Smallmouth bass fishing in the rivers is hitting its stride with the streamer bite being the best approach. Somedays we need to fish with a heavy sink tip but most days it’s fishing a clear intermediate sink-tip with baitfish and crayfish patterns. The bright attractor streamers seem to have lost their appeal to the fish but keep them in your box – smallmouth bass like trout and steelhead can be moody and change their preference without notice.

The smaller lakes and ponds continue to offer beginners an opportunity to learn how to fly fish with lots of action in an ideal skill building environment. Know someone that wants to get into the sport? This is a great way to introduce them.

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.

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Mid July Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - July 13, 2024

Trout fishing on the local rivers continues but with a more casual approach as we aren’t matching hatches in low light to finicky fish. Instead head to the river with a mix of general dry flies that imitate mayflies since they have been eating them regularly for the past 10 weeks. Beyond fishing those natural dry flies, tie on attractors and some terrestrials.

Larger flying ants have been more noticeable lately than any other, but the deer fly and beetle imitations have been fooling fish reliably. Look for Tricos to start emerging and falling in the mid-mornings any day now. It’s also a great time to fish a swung wet fly as is a “micro streamer” – those subsurface flies that look more like a nymph, but fished with twitches and strips.

The smallmouth bass fishing on the lower Manistee has been varied – some days they play our game, other days it seems like they take their ball and go home. The softer streamer approach is the most productive most days fished on clear sink-tip lines. The popper and dry fly fishing hasn’t been as productive but I suspect with the dog-days of summer coming, that should change as it usually does this time of year.

Bass and bluegill fishing on the local lakes continues to be our favorite venue for those trying / learning to fly fish with all their eagerness to come to the fly and provide action as the skills are developing. Those more experienced can fish a streamer or diving bug near the weed beds and drop offs for those bigger largemouth bass.

Good luck!

Ted

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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

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