Posts tagged "trout fishing"

Late July Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - July 20, 2019

As we get deeper into July we can look back and claim this year’s hex hatch as a strange one. It started much later than normal and when the bugs did come off, they came off quite heavily. With a string of cool evenings, some days there was both a spinner fall and emergence at odd times of the day complete with daylight. Now instead of fishing until the early hours in the a.m. we start our day early in the morning. I personally like taking the head lamp out of the gear bag and starting the day on the water.

With recent temps and the bright sun, the morning fishing seems to be best for the brook and brown trout as the upper Manistee can cool off overnight a few crucial degrees. Not a whole lot has been hatching as the Tricos – like most of the other bugs this year – are behind schedule. Some smaller Isonychias, Cahills, Bat Flies and Summer Olives can be found on the water with some fishing looking up. Have a few hex in your box, you know, just in case. Terrestrials are starting to get active on land which makes fishing “foam and rubber” attractor/terrestrial patterns a good approach. Click here to read more on trout fishing after the hex hatch.

Rivers are running a little higher for this time of year after some showers and thunderstorms which have left a slight stain to them.

Lake fishing continues for both bass and gills. Weed growth has really developed recently and has given us more structure to fish, especially the bigger bass that like to lurk. The occasional pike can surprise you and your light tippet when fishing weeds near drop offs, but it’s all fun even if it is short lived.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout– Match-the-Hatch fishing through June including the big bugs. Terrestrial & Tricos in July and August.
Fall Fishing – Salmon begins in September which leads to Steelhead in October and November.
2020 Fishing Season – We are booking dates through July 2020 – don’t miss the prime times.

2020 fishing seasons, bass fishing, fly-fishing guide, hex, terrestrials, traverse city fishing guide, tricos, trout fishing

Early June Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 4, 2019

June is one of the most popular times on the local rivers for trout fishing. The technical dry fly fishing of May eases up as the bugs get a little bigger and the fish tend to look up more making for a little easier dry fly fishing when bugs and feeding fish coexist.

The upper Manistee is in good shape and the Au Sable levels are dropping back to normal levels. Water temps are in the low 60’s making for ideal conditions. Streamer fishing has been tougher this year than normal but it’s still a great way to cover water when waiting for some bugs and fish to appear on the surface.

This time or year you will want a lot of different flies in your fly box to have you covered for likely hatch scenarios. Sulphurs, Great Mahoganies, Little Mahoganies, a few remaining light Hendricksons, Black Caddis, Tan Caddis, Stones (little yellow & medium brown), March Browns, Grey and Brown Drakes, and some Isonychias could show up any evening. With the cooler nights/evenings, sometimes the heavier bug densities (spinners) occur at the warmest time of day, but it’s difficult to predict. A fly box with various sizes of Borcher’s Drakes and Robert’s Yellow Drakes will cover a number of bugs right now.

[You can read more about some of the bugs that emerge this time of year by reading, Trout Fishing Before the Hex Hatch.]

Local lakes have had a lot of the spawning bass and bluegill finish up sooner than expected considering the water temps are still a bit behind, but fish in post-spawn mode are still the shallow and transition water depths that are approachable to the fly angler.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout– Match-the-Hatch fishing through June including the big bugs. Terrestrial & Tricos in July and August.
Father’s Day – Get dad on the water this year with a gift certificate for either a half and full-day trip.
Fall Fishing – Salmon begins in September which leads to Steelhead in October and November.

brown drakes, isonychias, manistee river, manistee trout fishing, sulphurs, trout, trout fishing, upper-manistee

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

Winter Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - January 23, 2019

It’s the back half of January and winter has set in with some really cold temps, periodic snow and full-on winter conditions on the rivers. Fishing is limited right now – those needing to shake cabin fever are finding the occasional steelhead on the Betsie and Manistee river. Water levels and clarity are fine, it’s just that the water temp is in the mid 30’s and shelf ice is starting to form. As usual, look for fish in the slower, deeper water because the fish too have the winter blues and are just chilling on the slow side of the current.

Not into breaking ice out of your guides every couple of casts? Then, instead tie flies/take a class, reorganize your vest and/or gear bag, read a book or watch videos on fly fishing – the weather is perfect for these activities. The days are getting noticeably longer which reminds us that Spring Steelhead season kicks off in mid-March which isn’t that far away.

Good luck on and off the water this winter.

Ted

Upcoming:

Spring Steelhead – Mid-March through April. Hit the water for this annual rite of Spring to start the fishing year.
Trout – May and June offers some of the best trout fishing of the year matching the hatch and fishing streamers.
Booking 2019 – Reserve your date(s) and schedule life around fishing rather than trying to fit fishing into life – booking all species/seasons for 2019.

Betsie, betsie river, manistee river, trout fishing, winter fishing, winter fly fishing

Early Winter Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - November 28, 2018

With November coming to an end, it is apparent that fall itself ended a few weeks ago. Winter temps and some snow have been the norm with air temps below freezing as water temperatures hover around 40 degrees on the local rivers.

There are steelhead in all the rivers, but they are spread throughout the watersheds and acting more like winter fish with their tendencies to sit in the deeper, slower holes and tail outs. There are still some fresh fish moving through as other fish transition to the cold water so don’t abandon the runs and seams that typically hold fish in the fall.

Egg patterns are still a favorite of steelhead as salmon eggs continue to trickle down the river. Small egg patterns and beads in pale colors like cream, egg, grapefruit, Oregon cheese, and buff do a good job of imitating the natural stage eggs are in after being deposited in the river over a month or so ago.

Fish eggs in tandem with some natural looking nymphs – hex, caddis and steelhead buggers are always the first nymphs to get tied on in fall, winter and spring. The swing bite continues to be tougher than we’d like as that window to get fish to chase a swung fly is getting narrower with dropping water temperatures.

Trout fishing also has slowed mostly because of dropping water temperatures. Those fishing streamers below Tippy Dam are finding natural bait fish patterns are doing a good job of imitating recently stocked/planted fish…. Dirty Hippies, Skam-Man, T&A Bunkers and bobble heads; Big trout eat smaller trout. It’s a good time of year to switch that long and heavy sink – tip for a shorter one so you can slow your presentation down without hanging up on the bottom. Nymphing under indicators close to the dam in distinct bubble lines can extend your trout season if streamer fishing isn’t your thing.

Good luck.

Ted

Early Winter Steelhead – There are decent numbers of steelhead in the Manistee and Betsie.
Fall Trout Combo – Target both steelhead and trout (with streamers) on the lower Manistee.
Gift Certificates – With the Holidays approaching fast – give or ask for some time on the water.

Betsie, caddis, egg patterns, gift certificates for fly fishing, steelhead buggers, streamer fishing, tippy dam, trout fishing, winter steelhead

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