Posts tagged "traverse city"

Steelhead Fishing Report – Mid-November

Posted by Ted Kraimer - November 14, 2012

Not much has changed with conditions on the Manistee over the past week. The water is still low and clear because it’s been a while since we received any significant amounts of rain. Same with fresh pushes of fish. The fish in the system are spread out and becoming weary with a few new fish trickling in. With water temps dropping fast (lower 40’s) due to more seasonal weather we have been receiving, the steelhead are starting to transition into to slower seams and pools. Multiple approaches are working including big streamers swung on sink-tips to pull fish out of structure to eat something big. Fishing under indicators/floats, too, are allowing presentations in water that would otherwise result in snags if drift fishing. Cover lots of water, fish thoroughly and enjoy the solitude on the river – most people are in the woods right now leaving the rivers less pressured. With Firearm Deer season extending from Nov. 15 – 30, a little hunter’s orange will go a long way for safety while you fish.

Good luck,

Ted

Fall Steelhead: It’s time to target angler’s favorite sport-fish through November and into December.
Fall Trout: Fish the Upper Manistee throughout fall or Lower Manistee through November.
Booking for all 2013 Seasons and through September – reserve your place in the boat.

current works, fall steelhead, fly fishing, manistee, manistee river, s, steelhead, ted kraimer, traverse city

Steelhead & Trout Fishing Report – Nov. 8 2012

Posted by Ted Kraimer - November 8, 2012

Steelhead continue to be the target of most anglers these days on the Manistee, however the targets are moving around and getting smart. The lack of any recent rainfall has kept any fresh pushes of fish from moving in from the lake and the fish in the system are spread out from Tippy dam to Lake Michigan.

With the low, clear water, fish are scattered and can be found in various types of water with more recently fish moving to and near wood structure. The runs, slots and holes are still a great place to target but look for fish in the secondary lies to provide opportunity as well. Float fishing/Fly pinning is a good way to keep your flies off of the bottom and keep your drift natural. With water temps in the mid-40s, now is a great time to carve the active fish away from wood and grabbing a swung fly. For more on rigging and the methods used for steelhead, click here.

Look for fresh fish to continue to trickle in until we receive rain when a larger push should migrate. Trout fishing with streamers is a good bet for anglers looking to catch post-spawn browns on the upper and lower Manistee with a few nice brookies also eating after their fall activities.

Good Luck,

Ted

current works, fall steelhead, fly-fishing guide, manistee, manistee river, michigan, steelhead, ted kraimer, traverse city, upper-manistee

Largemouth Bass on the Fly

Posted by Ted Kraimer - August 17, 2012

By the time July and August have arrived in northern Michigan, fly anglers have had months to fish for trout and other cold-water species. As the weather and water temperatures increase, it’s a great time to fly fish for largemouth bass in the local lakes.

While the Traverse City area does not have the huge bass found in the managed ponds of southern states, or as you might see on a Saturday morning bass fishing TV show, we do have good population — some over the 5-pound mark.

Being a versatile angler (fishing slowly retrieved nymphs, streamers on a sink-tip or casting bulky poppers) will not increase the odds of finding what the fish are in the mood for, but it will make you a better fly angler regardless of the species you pursue in the future — it’s a great way to improve while having fun.

Structure

Target Weed Beds, Wood & Drop-Offs

Structure is a great place to start looking for bass, as it is for just about any species of fish. The increased weed growth, swim platforms and docks found on most lake edges are a great place to start.

Large mats of lily pads and other aquatic weeds are a good place to focus. When the weeds are close or adjacent to drop-offs, another form of structure, it’s that much more likely you will find the bigger, more predatory bass. This cover not only provides safety from larger predators (osprey, eagles, loons, pike, anglers), it more importantly serves as a place where they can eat smaller fish, insects and other food sources. In low light, look for fish to become a little more bold, moving into shallower water and flats to eat minnow and other baitfish.

Flies for Largemouth Bass

Poppers and Chuggers = Surface Fun

Some like it on top, others like it down low. Both the bass and the bass angler have preferences, and it’s up to the angler to either figure out what the fish are in the mood for or how they, as anglers, want to fish that particular day. Personally, there is nothing better than chugging a popper near lily pads only to have it inhaled by a bass.

But like most fishing, bass may want a different presentation, and the versatile angler equipped with various fly styles will be able to adapt to the fish’s preference. Sliders and diving flies fished on either a floating line or clear sink-tip are a nice mix as long, slow strips swims the fly from the surface, down and back up covering more of the water column.

Classic streamers like weighted wooly buggers slowly retrieved do a great job of imitating leeches, and have taken their fair share of fish. So have larger, streamer patterns that look like natural baitfish stripped along the weed bed and/or drop off.

The big popper with rubber legs on the surface, Sneaky Pete’s, frogs, crawfish, small poppers, dragon and damsel flies (both nymph and adult) an assortment of streamers all deserve a place in your fly box.

Equipment

Casting Bulky Flies Requires the Right Equipment

The versatile angler will have both a floating and a sink-tip line to meet the demands of the fish. Specialty tapers for bass exist, but I have found some other lines that I feel perform better: Scientific Angler’s Magnum and Titan tapers and Rio’s Outbound fly lines are a joy to cast.

Reels don’t necessarily need to have the most advanced drag system, as the bass aren’t like a steelhead and we are not protecting light tippets — reels simply serve as line holders.

Leaders are more important than most anglers recognize — the tapper and stiffness of a leader trying to carry and turn over a large, wind-resistant fly is crucial; while we aren’t catching 12-pound bass, we often need that much stiffness and mass to cast the fly well and to muscle fish in and out of weed beds. Look for tapered leaders formulated for bass or even saltwater species.

Rod size varies, but most will find 6- and 7-weight rods, 9-feet in length, are ideal. Some anglers choose to have some fun with the smaller rods for a “ultra-light” approach, where the serious big-fly and heavy-cover angler might opt for the power and efficiency of an 8-weight. Manufacturers like Sage, Redington and Scott have developed rods specifically for warm-water fishing with unique lengths and tapers you might consider if you really get into this type of fishing. Just remember, the best rod is the rod you cast best.

Timing

Morning, Noon or Night - Catch Largemouth Anytime

Some times are better to fish for bass than others, but anytime you can get out and fish is a good time. One of the advantages to fishing largemouth is that they are typically accessible and eager to eat at all times of the day.

Some days the best surface fishing is twilight — the time when the sun has gone over the tree line. Other days, after a cool front has moved through, the sun brings them out and gets them active. Often early mornings are good, too, for the same reason as twilight. During the summer, the daytime temperature forecast is usually what helps me and my customers decide when is best to fish — after all — it’s about getting on the water to fish, having some fun and catching.

Seasonally the bass move from the deep water into shallower, more “fly-angler-friendly” depths in May and can be caught through September. To me, anytime you can catch fish is a good time, but when the trout fishing has slowed or you are looking to mix it up, give bass on a fly rod a chance.

Spending my formative angling years using spinning rod chasing bass, I see July and August as time to reconnect with those early fishing memories of northern Michigan lakes using a fly rod – try it yourself if you haven’t yet.

bass, fishing, fly fishing, fly rod, largemouth bass fishing, traverse city

Trout Fishing Before the Hex Hatch

Posted by Jeanne Kraimer - March 16, 2012

Great Hatches & Fishing Before the Hex Hatch

The hex hatch that occurs every year from Mid-June and sometimes extending into Mid-July is no secret to anyone who has fished and/or read about Northern Michigan’s trout fishing. Just as the western rivers are known for the salmonfly or stonefly hatch, the hex is our claim to angling and fly fishing notoriety.

The large, nocturnal hatching hexagenia limbata mayflies bring out some of the largest and most-weary fish, but it also brings on big expectations, crowded riverbanks, and dark fishing condition. Do I dare suggest abandoning hex fishing? Absolutely not – just consider the great fishing opportunities just prior to the hex hatch for the year’s best dry fly fishing.

The Good News

Spinner Fall

In early June, anglers can expect to find a smorgasbord of bugs on the water. Mayflies, stoneflies and caddis – often at the same time – can be floating down the river. As they often do, trout can key in on not only a particular insect, but also life-stage providing anglers with some great dry-fly challenges.

Here is a breakdown of what mayflies you can expect to find on the water in the weeks prior to the hex emergence:

Sulphurs

Ted’s Sulphur Emerger

Latin: Ephemerella subvaria, rotunda, invaria, & dorthea
Common Name: Sulphurs, Light Hendricksons, Pale Evening Dun
Hook Size: #14-16

The Sulphur hatch encompasses a number of similar looking bugs all rolled up into one, long lasting hatch. Starting as early as mid-May, look for the bugs to continue well into the first few weeks of June.

The prolific nature of these bugs is partly due to a wide range of conditions that the bugs call home. From slow moving water to the fastest of riffles, the nymphs crawl around until conditions are right to emerge. Typically in the last two-three hours of evening before dark, these easy to identify bugs will start to populate the water’s surface before flying off to mature in to adults. Duns vary in color; they can be: yellow, creamy yellow, orange, yellow with hints of olive, and light green. They dun’s wings are a true dun (grey) color and all stages of this bug have three tails.

Sulphur spinners love riffles and can range in color from “rusty spinners”/ maroon to a mix of brown and yellow while all Sulphurs spinners sport clear wings. They can build in numbers a few hours before dark and fall to the water even past dark making for some of the most challenging fishing – small sips from large fish in low light. Be there.

Tip: Emergers are deadly for Sulphurs since they typically leave the water’s surface immediately after shucking its nymphal exoskeleton. Spinners at dark can bring up great fish. Although difficult to see, look for them in fading seams. Crouch down low in the water to help locate those delicate sippers.

Mahogany Dun

Sparkle Dun Emerger

Latin: Paraleptophlebia Adoptiva
Common Name: Mahogany Dun, Small Slate Wing Dun
Hook Size: #16

Found in mixed water: slow, moderate and quick riffles, these bugs are difficult to see on the broken surface of riffles, so be sure to look in the smoother water for not only identification, but also feeding fish. With three tails, the duns have grayish wings and a reddish brown color (hence the name Mahogany) whereas the duns have a slightly darker body and a clear wing.

The small size of the Mahogany Dun can bring up some of the larger fish to feed. What makes this bug a little less known to most anglers is that fish gently sip on them and hearing them is unlikely – you need to look astutely for risers. Once you see fish in their teens and into twenty inches feeding on these you might not be a believer that such a small bug is of significance. Look closely at tail outs and glassy flats for the smallest ring of the rise for fish feeding. Because they often hatch the last couple of hours before dark, the fish can be very selective to your presentation. One blown cast or some drag on the fly that resembles a mayfly on water skis crossing the wake and its all over.

Tip: The Mahogany Dun is one of those flies that the fish just like to key on some days even though there are other bugs to choose from. Do these bugs sit in the water differently, dead-drift longer or simply taste better? It doesn’t matter; learn to recognize when this bug is on the water and have a skeleton key to some of the most selective trout.

Black Quills

Borcher’s Drake Parachute

Latin: Leptophlebia cupida
Common Name: Borchers Drake
Hook Size: #12-14

Black Quills are not one of our most prolific bugs populating our local rivers, but they are worth making note of. Starting in the first part of May, anglers will find these bugs on and above the water.

This bug consistently shows itself in daylight and because of its size it is significant to trout and trout anglers. Make some room in your fly box for some Borcher’s Drake Parachute imitations and don’t be afraid to fish them blindly as you cover water when no fish are rising.

Look for this three tailed bug to have a very dark colored body and a wing with black splotches. Spinners are clear winged and prefer riffles. The tails are noticeable on these flies as they are longer than most mayfly’s tails – approximately 2 times rather than 1 ½ times the body length.

Tip: The Borcher’s Drake pattern is a great imitation for Black Quills. Borchers also do a good job of suggesting other patterns that are dark in color when in spinner form – no fly box in Michigan should be without a collection of these flies in sizes 12-16.

Learn how to tie the Borcher’s Drake Parachute fly pattern »

Bat Flies

Jerry Regan’s Bat Fly

Latin: Baetisca
Common Name: Bat Fly, Armored Mayfly
Hook Size: # 16-18

Not much is known about this bug, but you should know this: if you fish the Upper Manistee, The Boardman or AuSable Rivers in June, have some. Have you ever experienced fish rising but not being able to determine what it was they were eating? Chances are it was the Bat Fly the fish were keyed in on.

Named for its shape, the Bat Fly has practically no abdomen – a lot like a bat itself; lots of wing and a robust thorax to support them. This bug has three tails with the middle one shorter than the others. Its body color is a golden brown to olive color and is slightly mottled as is the wing of the dun. Spinner’s wings are clear. The spinner is the pattern of most importance to anglers and they often are on the water for weeks becoming an important source of food for fish.

Fished to rising fish in slow to moderate flats in fading light is the best way to describe situations you are most-likely to experience. While I nor clients have been lucky enough to witness fish over twenty inches feeding on these bugs, I will say it is a staple diet of fish up to 18 inches in length.

Tip: Because this isn’t a well-known mayfly, your fishing buddy probably will be unprepared. Make some money on the water by selling him some extra flies or just make him green with envy at the success your small, “body-less” fly is bringing you.

Brown Drakes

Neally’s Brown Drake

Latin: Ephemera Simulans
Common Name: Brown Drakes, Roberts Yellow Drake
Hook Size: #10

The second largest mayfly we experience next to the hex – the Brown Drake is an emergence you don’t want to miss. When they come off, they typically do so heavily and the fish are taking clear advantage of the low-light gravy train. Not a long hatch – typically less than an hour just before dark and sometimes into dark – and for only a few days, trying to nail down and be on the water when they come off is well worth it.

The three tailed nymphs live in both silt in sand, but can be found in mixed sand and gravel areas. The emergers take a while to make the transition into an adult and therefore it’s a good stage to represent with a fly. Duns have a brown body with yellow/cream splotches and medium tan wings with darker splotches. Spinners with their clear wings with dark splotches usually return to the water a few days after emergence to mate over riffle areas where they become easy prey for trout. Because of their size, fishing a brown drake nymph during its hatch window can be effective – down and across with rising/jigging of the rod tip. The same holds true with Isonycias (see below).

Tip: Neally’s Brown Drake Pattern is simply an awesome imitation for this bug. Not only do the fish like it, but in low light, you will too!

Isonychias

Ted’s Tilt-Shoot Iso

Latin: Isonychia Bicolor & Isonychia salderi
Common Name: Slate Wing Dun, Iso, White Glove Howdy, Maroon Duns
Hook Size: 12-14

Found on our rivers in two varieties – Iso’s are one of the most prolific bugs that rivers like the Manistee are enriched with. This fly loves riffles and according to entomology text books, they emerge into an adult after they crawl to the bank. I am confident in telling you that these bugs do float down the river and make the transition from nymph to adult. The fish take notice also. Their size helps make them an important food source and they are known to sometimes emerge in small numbers throughout the day.

Isonychia duns have two legs and can vary in color – from a light olive/gray to medium brown with hints of red (think large Mahogany); their wings are a milky dun color. Spinners often collect in the evening above riffles or any slight break in the water’s surface. Their bodies are much thinner now and are a dark maroon and clear wing fall to the water. These bugs are easy to identify as the front two legs are white/cream in color – pick one off the water and look.

Tip: Realistic looking patterns fished throughout the day – blindly (boon-dogging) can produce some surprising results. While streamer fishing is preferred by many during the light of day, it’s not for everyone. If this is the case, tie on a dun or spinner and work seams on top and be sure to set the hook slowly when you see a lot of trout come up and eat.

Learn how to tie the Tilt-Shoot Isonychia fly pattern »

Gray Drakes

Ted’s Gray Drake Spinner

Latin: Siphlonurus
Common Name: Gray Drake
Size: 10-12

Grey Drakes are a bug that build in prolific numbers above any type of broken water, but are rarely seen on the water as adults. These flies are Gray in color as their name suggests and often hit the water hard giving the fish a predominate choice in food. Like most spinners, look for them to collect in swarms up to two hours prior nightfall.

The spinners have two tails and are easily identified by a white ring around the bottom of their eye. Be ready to fish after dark as the spinners can continue to fall if the air temperatures stay warm.

Tip: A tandem rig of two flies works great – my favorite combo is a #12 Parachute Adams and a Gray Drake Spinner. Use the leading parachute to help you track the two flies and use it as an indicator since rises in broken water can be difficult to detect.

Presentation and Equipment

The Magic Hour

Having the right fly in your box is only part of the equation that is going to make the night on the water memorable. Remember: presentation trumps fly selection.

If you have the right fly but don’t effectively present it to the fish, you are likely to miss out on hooking fish. A little practice during the day to make sure your flies and leaders are turning over, that your mends are proactive and that your casting accuracy is dialed in can pay off later when you might get your chance at rising fish.

Even though all of the flies listed vary in size, your favorite rods in 4 & 5 weight will work just fine. Length is a matter of preference – just make sure you have a rod that will assist you with good line control once it’s on the water. Leaders from 4x-6x are fine and should be at least 9ft in length. With the great mayfly hatches of June come other bugs; the mosquitoes and no-see-ums can be heavy so make sure you have your favorite bug repellent stashed in your vest. Note: Repellent containing DEET will damage leaders, line and other equipment so be careful applying it and be sure to keep it off of the insides of your hands. Even though it’s not the hex hatch, you will still want a headlamp because many of these bugs will still feed fish when it is difficult to see. Having a light makes it not only easy to tie your fly on, but also getting back to your car.

Weather or Not

All rivers have a different hatch calendar – that is the exact times that particular bugs emerge. Mostly dependent on water temperatures, “hatch-windows” can carry-on for weeks if an angler is looking to move to different sections of a river chasing bugs or even change which river to fish.

The weather, it seems, the past number of years has been more unstable and fairly inconsistent day to day through the month of June. Cooler evenings, hotter days, stretches of cool days and/or a mix of all of these has had an effect on what bugs hatch and when. The good news is, when we have the diversity of various bugs emerging at overlapping periods there are several possibilities to catch fish on. The end of May and the month of June is a great time of the year to experience some of the best dry fly fishing this State has to offer – get out there before the hex, the crowds and the dark.

Author’s Note: Most of the fly patterns used in this article are commercially tied and available locally at The Northern Angler, here in Traverse City, Michigan.

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The Betsie River

Posted by Jeanne Kraimer - March 13, 2012

Betsie River Bright King Salmon - Guided Fly Fishing Trips

Fresh Chinook/King Salmon as early as Mid-August

The Betsie River is located in Benzie County, 30 miles south of Traverse City, and is most known for its Steelhead and Salmon fishing. The river itself has a mix of sand, gravel and clay bottoms, and the depths vary from long shallow flats to short, deep, cool holes for fish to hold in. The river is anywhere between 30 and 60 feet wide and is relatively easy to wade when using common sense.

Because of the watershed’s composition, the Betsie River can be easily affected by rain and run-off, and this impacts the fishing. While these surges of water “muck-up” the fishing for a while, it is the catalyst that brings more migratory fish into the river — take the good with the bad.

The banks are mostly covered with trees, tags and other vegetation so those with a good roll cast will be the most rewarded. When fishing below Homestead dam you will find the highest concentration of anglers which is why I prefer to take clients to more secluded sections of the river. Regardless of where you fish the steelhead and salmon in this size river, you will find that landing them is challenging adding to the experience.

Salmon

King / Chinook Salmon

Early runs of King (Chinook) Salmon helps extend the angler’s fishing season as there are typically fishable numbers by the last weeks of August and continues through the month of September and sometimes into October. Believe it or not, there are salmon caught in the Betsie sometimes into January, but few. Pools loaded with fish holding and waiting to move up even closer to their spawning habitat provides lots of fun and challenges for the angler with the fly rod. Imagine 20 pounds of fresh salmon in a small river with lots of logs in it – more fish are lost than landed adding to the enjoyment of this fishery I refer to as the “Betty-Lou”.

Steelhead

Double-Striped Steelhead

Eggs and nymphs (particularly small black stone flies, caddis, hex nymphs, buggers and b.h. hare’s ears) are typical flies used for the spring steelhead with either floating lines with and without indicators or bottom-bouncing with split shot on a “duck-and-chuck” set up.

Fall steelhead are much like the spring steelhead; water conditions are absolutely key to a good run. If the fish are close to shore at the pier heads in Frankfort and a good rain increases water levels, the fish come in eating salmon eggs their entire way up the river. Hint: Use lots of egg patterns for the fall fish.

Early Fall Steelhead

While there are trout that live in the Betsie, they are the minority species. Although I am not a biologist, it is my understanding that the Betsie’s water temperatures increase a little too much for healthy populations of trout, but I could be wrong — it’s yours to discover. When catching rainbows 6 to 10 inches long, treat them with care — these are the steelhead of the future. Each fall, anglers catch lake-run brown trout. These fish usually enter the Betsie in November and are caught by anglers fishing for fall steelhead.

Where

King Salmon

The Betsie River has a number of state access points including River Road, Grace Road, US-31 and Homestead Dam. The latter is the most popular as fish tend to stack up below the dam; however some fish do breach the dam. There is fishing above the dam, but it’s limited by the amount of state property.

Eventually as you travel upstream you will find the river is closed to fishing during the fall, winter and early spring and follows the traditional trout season dates. This upper water works as a sanctuary for the fish to spawn to ensure future populations of fish.

Coho / Silver Salmon

The Betsie River flows west and before emptying into Lake Michigan it flows into Betsie Lake, which is connected to Lake Michigan. A popular “port” for charter boats, Betsie Lake and its neighboring villages of Frankfort and Elberta offer surf fishing both on the piers and in the lake itself, all within a short distance of good restaurants when the fishing is done.

The State of the Betsie River

Bruiser of a King Salmon

The Steelhead run on the Betsie was one of legend. After a dam washed out in the upper watershed years ago, the river has had to deal with a significant increase of sand and silt. This “erosion” filled up holes that once held good populations of steelhead which now temporarily stay in those “holes” before continuing to move upstream. Efforts by various conservation groups (Conservation Resource Alliance / CRA, Betsie River Watershed Restoration committee, Trout Unlimited and others) have stabilized banks to eliminate further degrading, and I am happy to report improvements based off of observing deeper water, better spawning gravel and cooler water temperatures.

Winter Steelhead

In addition, there seems to be better returns of Steelhead through the stocking program done in conjunction with the state’s Department of Natural Resources and a local conservation group. Other projects include rehabilitating access for fish to Dair Creek which should also increase successful natural reproduction of both Steelhead and Salmon.

Directions

The Betsie river is located in Benzie County 30 miles South of Traverse City, 10 miles East of Frankfort / Elberta and runs through Benzonia. The Homestead dam is located just outside of Benzonia and is a popular place to fish because of parking and access.

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