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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Mid-June Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 12, 2023

Mid June’s trout fishing has been decent considering the bugs have been fickle.

The days of reliable hatches in the evenings and spinner falls at dusk seem to be something of the past. I can’t help but think it’s weather related and in the past couple of weeks its been bright sunny and hot days and cool evenings. This week, it’s a cold front. I’d say the best time to hit the trout rivers is any time you can, especially early or later in the day when the sun is lower and shadows offer the fish some security and anglers, hope. Or, take advantage of cloudy days.

On the Manistee the Brown Drakes are wrapping up, as are the Mahoganies and an errant Sulphur can be seen if you look closely. Medium Brown Stones are bopping around along with some Little Yellow Sally Stones. A Borcher’s Drake will cover you through various mayflies as will Robert’s Yellow Drakes – both in size 10-14. The bug savvy anglers are anticipating the most this time of year are the Isonychias. These once prolific mayflies have been hard to find the past few years but when you do, the fish only want them so have them in your box.

<<You can read more on fishing hatches prior to the Hex Hatch here.>>

Smaller streamers have been fished on floating lines or intermediate tip lines to cover water between hatches and have been reliable for those that can fish them effectively.

Bass and bluegill on local lakes are still fishing well with a number of the bigger gills still up shallow. The bass are in a post-spawn feed which seems to be different from the smallmouth bass that tend to go on a post-spawn diet. As such, the smallmouth fishing hasn’t been as good as it had been since mid-May. Look for the river fishing for smallmouth to start up again after another week – these fish like to eat and they don’t stay on the diet too long.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout – It’s Match-the-Hatch time on the trout rivers through June. Tricos and Terrestrials in July and August.
Smallmouth Bass– Spend a half or full-day on the lower Manistee fishing smallies – June through Late August.
Fall Steelhead – November still has some dates available in 2023 – finish the fishing season strong.

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End of August Fly Fishing Report – Current Works Guide Service

Posted by Ted Kraimer - August 30, 2017

As August comes to an end, September has most of us thinking about salmon and fall.

With the cooler temps the past few weeks, ideal winds and some rain, fish are starting to show up in the west coast rivers including the Betsie, Manistee, Bear Creek and Pere Marquette and should continue throughout the month. Many of these fish are staging and holding in deeper, slow holes in the lower sections of the rivers . Presentations can be difficult for fish that sit just on insides of seams and sometimes simply aren’t thinking about eating but perseverance and pattern changes can make the difference some days. Eggs and nymphs are the standard when it comes to nymphing, but those looking to put in time can sometimes get a grab on a streamer – it’s not a quantity thing, but a quality thing.

Not into the crowds, big fish and heavy rods? Trout rivers become vacant this time of year with school starting up, weekend football games taking place and vacations winding down. The terrestrial fishing can be good as the unpressured fish slip out from hiding. And as cooler temps continue with some overcast days, look for the streamer fishing to start up again. The water temps on the Manistee and Boardman are cool and the brook trout have take notice – they are about as vibrant as I have ever seen. Terrestrials, foam and rubber legged patterns and attractors are a great place to start on the surface with small streamers fished on a floating line working below the surface.

Bass fishing remains decent on local lakes with the top water fishing being a lot of fun with all of the weed growth found this time of year. The bluegill fishing has tapered off a little but are still around to put a bend in the rod for those looking for simple fishing or introducing someone to the sport.

Have a safe holiday weekend and good luck.

Ted

Salmon/Steelhead Combo – Late Sept. through early October offers a chance at both species on the Manistee.
Fall Steelhead – October, November and into December, these fish will bend your rod like no other – experience it.
Trout/Steelhead – The lower Manistee offers some great streamer fishing for trout in late Fall as another option.

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Posts tagged "trout fishing michigan"

Late April Fishing Report

Mid-June Fishing Report

End of August Fly Fishing Report – Current Works Guide Service

Ted Kraimer • Current Works, LLC • PO Box 333 • Traverse City, Michigan 49685 • (231) 883-8156