It feels like May. And Spring. Finally.

Its time to transition from steelhead to trout and take advantage of the streamer fishing and hatches of Mayflies on the local rivers like the upper Manistee, Au Sable and Boardman. The rivers are running full but are clear with temps  mostly in the mid to upper 50s and the forecast weather should steady the temps some providing we don’t have those cold overnights.

Look for small Stoneflies, Hendricksons, and caddis on the surface and always have some Blue Winged Olives in your box. Bright days help with warming the water temps which will ultimately help the fishing on the days that are overcast.

This is a great time of the year to have a rod rigged with a sink-tip and streamer and another with a dry fly when some surface action begins. Late afternoons and early evenings get cool this time of year and the promise of spinner falls typically is just that – so be on the water at the warmer times of the day for both hatches and spinner falls. With the clear water, smaller streamers are a better choice than the triple articulated and highly accessorized patterns the length of a tube sock.

The late arrival of spring has prolonged the steelhead run in most rivers with a few fish around for those that just didn’t get enough this year. It was a solid run of fish this year and already I am looking forward to the fall run.

Good luck.

Ted