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Posts tagged "upper manistee trout fishing"

Late July Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - July 21, 2024

Late July fishing finds us headed to the upper Manistee river in the mornings looking for hatches and spinner falls of Tricos for some trout. When those little flies aren’t on the water, we are using the larger, attractor/suggestive/imitative terrestrial patterns often tied with foam and rubber legs – its what I call the “Foam and Rubber” hatch.

Most of the larger, leery (and smart) brown trout have retired to the dark water and wood piles and don’t show up too often, but we are surprised from time to time – especially the overcast days. A mix of brook and brown trout keep it fun with surface activity and smaller streamers or twitch flies turn some good fish when the surface feeding is on pause.

Smallmouth bass fishing in the rivers is hitting its stride with the streamer bite being the best approach. Somedays we need to fish with a heavy sink tip but most days it’s fishing a clear intermediate sink-tip with baitfish and crayfish patterns. The bright attractor streamers seem to have lost their appeal to the fish but keep them in your box – smallmouth bass like trout and steelhead can be moody and change their preference without notice.

The smaller lakes and ponds continue to offer beginners an opportunity to learn how to fly fish with lots of action in an ideal skill building environment. Know someone that wants to get into the sport? This is a great way to introduce them.

Good luck,

Ted

Trout, Tricos & Terrestrials – July & August offer fun dry fly fishing on the upper Manistee river.
Smallmouth Bass – Fish the lower Manistee with streamers & poppers this summer for fish that can pull.
Learn To Fly Fish – 1/2 Day trips are perfect for beginners! Learn how to cast before hitting the water to fish.

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Early September Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - September 1, 2021

The water has come up and down again after heavy rains over the weekend leaving the water stained which should clear up by the weekend. The hot weather has thankfully left us with nice, cool, evenings and sunny afternoons in the forecast.

The Tricos have come and gone on the trout rivers and the terrestrials are hit and miss, so is the fishing. After a long season the trout are warry. Experience tells me once the water temps drop, the days get a little shorter and the brook trout get that pre-spawning tingle in their loins, fishing improves for both brookies and browns. Cloudy/overcast days continue to be preferred over the bright days.

Terrestrials and twitch flies are a great approach but keep some smaller Isonychia and BWO dries in your box and a few of your favorite wet flies. Have any flying ants in your box? You should because if they show up like they often do in Sept, so do the fish. Once Labor day is behind us, most folks forget about trout fishing making the local rivers good place to spend a few hours.

The cooler weather will help improve the lake fishing for those looking to get some more gill and bass fishing in as they move from deep back into the shallows again.

Good luck.

Ted

September Trout Fishing – Cool nights and warm days, this time of year you have the river to yourself.
Fall Steelhead – Some good dates remain in November and into December. Finish the season with some chrome.
2022– Booking next year’s fishing seasons through August. Don’t miss your favorite seasons and good dates!

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Late September Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - September 23, 2019

With Fall officially starting today it sure feels like we were in the middle of summer just last week with the 80-degree days. With a little color in some trees, it appears that fall is imminent.

The warm weather paused the migration of salmon on the local rivers, but the significant rains over the weekend and winds on Lake Michigan should restart the migration of King and Coho salmon as they feel comfortable moving up that increased river flow. Wading anglers will find the rivers higher and smaller rivers like the Betsie also dirty as some areas received over 4 inches of rain.

The warmer temperatures sure extended out terrestrial fishing on the trout rivers like the upper Manistee. Water temps are still around 60 degrees and the fish still looking up. Some BWOs and great olives are worth having in your box should a hatch occur, but tie on the bigger foam and rubber attractor and terrestrial patterns for what could be your last fix of dry fly fishing. The water had been too clear but with the rain there is some color to it. This is also the time that streamer fishing can be ideal for those looking to cover some water looking for the pre-spawn browns that have started to come out from cover after a long season of getting fished to.

Good luck.

Ted

Fall Steelhead – Good November and December dates remain open for these prized sport-fish.
2020 Fishing Season – We are booking dates through September of 2020 – don’t miss the prime times.

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May Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - May 1, 2018

May is here and so is some weather to make up for such a cold April. Opening day of trout season took place over the weekend and greeted anglers with slightly high river levels and water temps lower than normal. It appears a few warm days are making a difference to get the mercury to rise when taking the water temp which is needed to bring on reliable hatches of Hendricksons and active trout. Unfortunately, there is rain in the forecast and while we need it, the rivers don’t need much of it as the upper Manistee, Boardman and Au Sable rivers are all running a bit high. The next month is the perfect time to fish streamers for big browns in the higher water but have a dry fly rod rigged for when some surface activity might present itself.

As the water continues to warm, the last of the steelhead have migrated into river systems and we are well beyond peak season. That big push of fish we were hoping for never came in but rather we experienced a good flow of fish throughout March and April.  Remaining fish in the rivers are actively spawning and quickly getting it done before returning to the lake. Despite the cold April, it was a really good spring for steelhead numbers in the Manistee and Betsie rivers.

If you are still fishing steelhead rivers where they have recently stocked fish, please handle the young fish carefully as these are the big silver steelhead of the future.

More than trout season has opened up – local lakes are now ice-free and ice-out is a great time for those looking to target pike and musky in those dark, silty bays of lakes as they warm themselves up and put their post-spawn feedbag on.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout – Reliable hatches begin in May for surface activity. It’s also a great time to fish streamers for bigger trout.
Big Bugs – The big Bugs of June will be here before you know it…. Isos, Drakes and Hex – limited dates available.
Fall Steelhead –  Spring Steelhead is just finishing up but it’s time to get your Fall Dates reserved – Oct. thru Dec.

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Late September Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - September 20, 2017

While it’s late September it feels like the dog days of summer.  The cool weather we had for a while earlier this month had us thinking that it was going to be an early fall with all the fish that showed up  in local rivers. But the past 10 days of bright sun, no rain the unseasonable temps have us reaching for more sun block than we do the landing net.

Salmon fishing has been tougher than it was earlier in the run. Most of the fish that were in the Betsie have progressed further upstream and have hit the gravel to do their spawning ritual.  A few fresh  fish are still trickling throughout but are not holding so much in the holes as their biological clock is ticking. The Platte River is still getting a near record return of Coho salmon and the anglers have taken note. The Big Manistee has salmon spread throughout it with what seems like more Coho than Chinook salmon.  The water is clear and running warm but it doesn’t have as much weed /vegetation growth offering a few more runs and holes to fish this time of year. Streamer fishing for the Cohos can be a blast – they like to eat both a swung and/or stripped fly.

The trout fishing continues to be decent for those looking for solitude on the upper Manistee. The water is running clear but with the sun set a little lower in the sky and a lack of pressure, there are some fish still coming out in the sunlight to eat both dries and smaller streamers. The brook trout are spectacular as the leaves on the bank side trees start to turn. The Boardman too has offered some decent fishing for those presenting terrestrials. Just a reminder – many trout rivers close on Sept. 30 so get your time in on them before we give them a rest.  (Note: Most of the Upper Manistee remains open all year.)

Good luck

Ted

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

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