Early April Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 1, 2024

Some rain last week gave the rivers a nice little bump in water flow and some additional steelhead moving upstream from lake Michigan.

Clarity is still really good on the Manistee River below Tippy Dam, and is a little more stained on the Betsie River. Water temperatures have pretty much remained in the low 40-degree range as overnight temps and a lack of sunlight have kept things stable. With some significant rain in the forecast this week, water levels and clarity are likely to change.

The steelhead are mixed: from fresh fish moving upstream to spawning fish and drop-backs – all stages are within the river systems and be found in all kinds of water.

Smaller, natural color egg patterns and beads continue to be the first choice in the clear water. Shades and tones of yellow, gold nugget and steelhead orange have been productive. Fry patterns are starting to increase in effectiveness as salmon fry are starting to develop and swim making them prey to the steelhead as are the smaller stoneflies when the sun warms up that water just a bit and induces an emergence.

Good luck,

Ted

— PS: New, 2024 fishing licenses are required April 1 —

Trout Season – Mid-May into July offers some of the best match-the-hatch dry fly fishing of the season.
2024 Fishing – Get your dates secured to ensure your time on the water. Booking all seasons thru September.

betsie river, egg patterns, fishing michigan, fry patterns, guided fishing trip, manistee river, steelhead fishing, stoneflies, tippy dam fishing, trout season

Mid March Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 13, 2024

Significant rains after the last fishing report brought the Manistee and Betsie River levels up quite a bit and added some color which encouraged steelhead to migrate upstream. Since then, the water levels have fallen pretty much back to normal levels for this time of year. Clarity has improved, too, offering a little color and stain which is the opposite of what we were dealing with all winter.

With the water temperatures in the low 40s, some spawning activity has taken place. Look for fish in the pocket water and holes near spawning gravel and in the soft-seamed runs where fish moving upstream prefer to swim/migrate.

The bright, sunny days made fishing a little difficult so look for shaded runs when out in those conditions in the future.

The effective fly patterns have been varied – steelhead buggers are the leading nymph with stoneflies a second. Smaller eggs (#8 rags/nukes and 8 mm beads) in natural tones/colorations have been the best producers. This time of year we always run at least one egg pattern, if not two.

Good luck!

Ted

Spring Steelhead – A few dates remain available in March and April if you want to get out.
Trout Season – Mid-May into July offers some of the best match-the-hatch dry fly fishing of the year.
2024 Fishing – Get your dates secured to ensure your time on the water. Booking all seasons thru September.

betsie river, fishing report, guided fly fishing manistee river, manistee river steelhead, spring steelhead, steelhead, steelhead flies, stoneflies, tippy dam fishing

May Showers, May Flowers and Mayflies

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 11, 2019

With May well underway, it seems that spring is catching up but is still behind on both land and on the water as the morels, leeks and trillium carpet the forest floor and the trout ignore the emerging mayflies.

Steelhead are essentially all done save for a straggler or two still in river systems – it was a great spring run with sizable fish and a very healthy population. Sadly, the harvest of these multi-year returning fish seemed much greater than normal which will affect future runs of fish. Hopefully when people throw out their stockpiles of frozen burned steelhead fillets later this year they will reconsider killing so many fish in the future.

Trout fishing on the rivers that also have trout (Manistee below Tippy Dam) have started to improve after a late start with salmon fry patterns taking some nice fish as well as small baitfish streamers fished on a sink-tip.

Last week’s rain has the rivers running high and stained and have interrupted some of the hatches that had been good. While there have been decent bug emergences (Hendricksons and BWOs) on the upper Manistee and Au Sable, the surface activity has been sparse with cool water temps in the mid-50s. We are just a few warm days and mild nights from conditions falling into sync with the time of year and fishing to improve especially the dry fly fishing.

Streamer fishing has been marginal between the cooler water temps and the angling pressure. Try fishing a little differently from the masses – with the higher water target the inside of bends and maybe tie on a little smaller streamer as the fish seem to have developed a case of streamer fatigue.

Lakes offer opportunity for those looking for the big toothy species, however the bass and bluegill fishing is still off by a week or so as the crucial moon phase occurs and waters temps increase.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout – May and June offers some of the best trout fishing of the year matching the hatch and fishing streamers.
Fall Steelhead– It’s not too early to look ahead to fall run of these fish. Hard fighting and a beautiful time of year.
Booking 2019 – Reserve your date(s) and schedule life around fishing rather than trying to fit fishing into life.

Good luck.

baitfish streamers, hendrickson, hendrickson hatch, steelhead, tippy dam fishing, trout fishing, upper manistee river, upper-manistee

December Steelhead and Trout Fishing

Posted by Ted Kraimer - December 1, 2016

With December here, it’s time to think of transitional fishing as water temps cool and the days get shorter.

Our extended Fall Season was enjoyed by most being able to hit the water without the typical number of insulating layers that’s common for this time of year. The lack of cold has kept water temps on the local Steelhead Rivers in the mid to lower 40s which is still an ideal window for good steelhead fishing. But as we approach cooler water temps with colder nights, look for the fish to transition from the seams to the inside edges of runs, in structure and the deeper holes. You will still want to target the proven fall water, but don’t hesitate to fish “off to the side” a little should you not find the fish. In other words, the fish should be scattered and a mix of fresh fish and some that have been in for a few weeks.

After a pretty dry fall, we finally received some rain fall and the water levels bumped up a little. While levels aren’t high, the rains were needed to increase and inspire more fish to move in from the lake as well as redistribute some of the fish already in the systems. Smaller rivers like the Betsie, Boardman and PM should get their first significant push of fish into the systems. The Manistee with its volume off flow has had fish in it all fall, but now the gin-clear water has finally picked up a little stain which is more than welcome.

This time of year fly choice and technique can include just about any with considerable expectations on their effectiveness. Drift/Duck and Chuck, Indicator/Floats, and Swung Streamers are all worthy of exploration for good steelhead fishing. Big egg patterns fished with a nymph (hex or bugger) is great on fresh migratory fish but more realistic egg color and size and smaller nymphs are a good choice for those fish that have already settled into a river environment. Swung flies include black with chartreuse, Olive with Copper and natural sculpin schemes/colors have all been good choices.

Trout fishing on the upper Manistee and below Tippy Dam has been decent as they begin to transition a bit, too. Smaller sink-tips and mid-sized streamers fished slower than normal and with lots of twitches is a good approach. Colors, shape, size and retrieve is often different each day so mix it up until you find success.

Good luck!

Ted

Fall Steelhead – Warmer than normal water and air temps will keep us chasing chrome fish for a while yet.
Late Fall Trout – After gorging on salmon eggs, streamer fishing below Tippy Dam can be outstanding.
Gift Certificates – With the holidays upon us, ask for or give the gift of a guided fishing trip – Half or Full-Days.

Betsie, boardman river, egg patterns, manistee, migratory fish, steelhead rivers, tippy dam fishing, trout fishing

Steelhead Fishing – April Fools?

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 1, 2015

There is no fooling that the steelhead run is behind schedule. Typically the run-off and rains have increased river flows encouraging fish to migrate upstream by now. With the cold winter, drawn-out thaw of snow (and not much of it) and cold nights, the water has been running lower, clearer, and colder than normal for this time of year – it’s been right about 40 degrees. Conditions are good for the wading angler as the water is easy to read with decent clarity and its levels, but the fish just don’t seem to be around partly because the number of fall fish that wintered over was lower than normal.

After some rain look for things to change as water flow increases. Tippy Dam pond above the dam on the Manistee river has melted quite a bit in the past week and should be ice-free by the end of the week which should help warm up the river. While there isn’t a significant amount of rain in the forecast, there is some and it should really kick things into gear and get those fish moving.

Good fly patterns lately have been green caddis, hex nymphs and egg patterns in shades of Oregon cheese and steelhead orange. On bright, sunny days look for fish to be in the deeper water and around wood and other structure. As fish begin to think about spawning look for fish to stage in the holes close to spawning gravel. It appears that this year’s run should extend a while and into May since it is slow to get going.

Just a reminder – a new fishing license is required April 1 and certain rivers/sections are now open. Some new rules exist too, check out the new MI-DNR regulation book.

Good luck.
Ted

Open April Dates: 24 & 26th

The Spring Newsletter just went out – click here to read and/or subscribe.

Spring Steelhead – From mid-March through early May on the Manistee and Betsie. Few dates available.
September Salmon – Dates are limited for fishing the Betsie River in early Sept. and later on the Manistee.
2015 Fishing – It isn’t too early to get your fishing trips planned for the year. Booking all species/seasons.

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