The Upper Manistee and Boardman Rivers received some much needed rain and the rivers have cooled down and levels are good. Streamer fishing conditions have improved for those looking to hit the bigger fish when the bugs aren’t out.  Olive, white and yellow streamers have been working well, but mix it up to find the fish’s daily preference.

Hatches have been sporadic, but on the right night, they have been good and varied. Look for Isonychias, Brown Drakes, Gray Drakes (Boardman), little Yellow Sally Stones, Medium Brown Stones, a few of the large salmon-fly stones, Bat Flies, Light Cahills, Tan Caddis and the last of the sulphurs to be coming off in the evening hours. It’s time to have your head lamps with you as the bugs will often go well into the dark. Stick around a little later as a few hex have been seen and they will build over the next week with the warmer and more stable weather in our forecast.  This is the best time of the year to go after trout with dries.

The fishing on the Lower Manistee below Tippy is still good with trout eating a handful of flies from caddis, midges, scud and sow bug nymphs, BWOs and wet flies. Smaller baitfish/fry patterns have been working stripped and swung and the big stone fly has brought up some nice fish too. Streamer fishing has improved on this section with the increase in water flow and cloudy days.

Carp fishing has been a little tough in the past week with the change in weather and water temps. Wind direction is key and the warmer water is imperative to finding fish that want to eat. Look for the fishing for both Smallmouth Bass and carp to improve on the Grand Traverse Bays when we get some warmer weather once again. Crayfish patterns have been best lately, specifically Hadda’s Creek Crawler pattern since the fish are a little deeper and this pattern sinks quickly. Leeches and hex nymphs deserve a place in your box too with all of the nymph activity.

The Bluegills/Panfish on local lakes continue to provide fun for the fly angler. Top-water flies like min-poppers and spiders have been bringing fish up and smaller streamers like bead head buggers and minnow patterns are doing their damage sub-surface.Largemouth Bass have been getting a little more aggressive on top-water flies now that many of them have completed their spawning activities and if there are pike in the lakes you fish, don’t be surprised if they take the sliders, divers and poppers. Fish them quietly rather than big and loud until the weeds get heavy.

The Upper Manistee and Boardman rivers have been experiencing good hatches of a lot of different bugs making it tricky to figure out what the fish are keyed in on. Sometimes one fish is eating one bug and the next fish downstream is looking for something else – prepare to mix up your patterns. Here is what you can expect to find: Sulphurs, Mahoganies, Bat Flies, Isonychias, Brown Drakes, Gray Drakes, Medium Brown Stones, Little Yellow Sallies and some Large Stones – golden and black/orange, olives and caddis. Yes, a lot of bugs, but this is a great time to be on the water if you like dry fly fishing.

The Lower Manistee is still fishing well for those looking to fish a variety of ways: swinging wet flies, nymphing, streamers and dry flies. Most of the dry flies have been tiny midges and caddis; however a big stonefly pattern has been bringing up some good fish too. The carp and suckers that were spawning in the hundreds are getting thinner each day and all of the trout chomping on their eggs below them are starting to go back to their usual places in the river. When it’s bright, look for shade, no matter what river you are fishing right now!

The Carp and Smallmouth Bass on the bay have been really good lately thanks to the warm weather. Some fish are spawning while others are still in pre-spawn mode. Look for big groups of carp in shallows where the water is warmest – with the cooler evenings, the fishing in the afternoon should be better than in the mornings for carp. Smallies aren’t quite as sensitive. The typical patterns are working: crayfish, clousers and hex nymphs – all in variations that should get the job done.

The bluegill/panfish and bass in area lakes and ponds are on their beds with lots of fish around them looking to eat. Fishing dries in shallow will not only provide some fun surface action, but leave the spawners to do what they need to do. With some gills finishing, look for the fish to be closer to slight drop-offs where a bead head nymph or small streamer should get you some action.

The forecast is calling for some much needed rain and cooler temps which, I hope will bring the water levels up, but more importantly, the temperatures down. All fish – whether in rivers or lakes do not like significant change in temperatures – especially dropping mercury. This can be key when deciding when to go out or even where. Overnight temps, daily sunshine, wind direction and rainfall all have an affect so pay attention and adjust your plans if needed.

The Au Sable River

Streamer fishing has been tough since the water is low and clear – some badly needed rain will do a lot to change this. Sadly the weather man isn’t predicting any – lets hope he is wrong but in the meantime, target the low-light times of the day and/or, really go deep into structure to get them to play. The Lower Manistee below Tippy Dam is fishing decent with caddis, wets and mid-sized streamers. There are lots of suckers and carp spawning right now so a nymph fisherman would be well served to nymph some small egg patterns behind them to pick off the trout eating all of the eggs coming down the pipeline.

The Carp on both West and Grand Traverse Bay are in pre-spawn rapidly approaching spawning time. It’s a great time to get on the warmer flats and sight fish to some real bruisers. Mixed with them and in other places are some great Smallmouth Bass. The typical flies have been working: crayfish, leeches, weighted hex nymphs (click here for tying instructions) and small goby patterns. Lots of water has warmed up so most of your favorite places should have fish looking to eat a well presented fly.

The Bluegill/Panfish are in the shallows of most local lakes and are defending their beds. Top-water flies have been working well: poppers, spiders and tarantulas – great action and is a lot of fun for beginners learning to fly fish or for the seasoned angler who can’t make it to the river. Hang a small beaded nymph underneath a dry if you aren’t getting the attention you are looking for. If that doesn’t work try real small streamers with a bead, stripped slowly. Bass, too are on some beds and others are still in pre-spawn – good fun.

As you can read, there is so much to choose to fish for right now – call for a trip if you are looking to get on the water for any of the above species or what’s going to hatch soon (think: Hex). Safe travels to all of you heading Up-North for the Memorial Day weekend.

Ted Kraimer is a professional guide and fly tier, owner of Current Works Guide Service, and field editor for True North Trout. His fishing reports will continue to appear in T|N|T and on his website.

Sulpher Emerger

Trout fishing on the local rivers has been good for those looking to fish the hatches. After last week’s cool weather the bugs have been emerging and spinners returning to water throughout the afternoon with heavier numbers in the evening. With nice weather that’s forecast, look for the bugs to get back on schedule and make it an evening game. Both the Upper Manistee and the Boardman River have experienced Sulphurs, Mahoganies, medium brown Stones,  Black Quills/Borchers, March Browns and some caddis tan/brown caddis – #14. The riffle sections of the rivers have seen largest numbers of adults coming back to lay their eggs so look for the fish to sip the small spinners in the slick water just downstream. It’s a great time to have a lot of rusty spinner patterns in your box to imitate all of the spinners hitting the water.

The Lower Manistee below Tippy Dam continues to fish well with sub-surface patterns. Being a tail-water, the nymph bite is best, but keep an eye out for risers. The larger fish aren’t coming up so much, but staying down eating unsuspecting fry and stocked trout; those fishing streamers should start off with baitfish patterns like T&A Bunkers, Fin Clips, Deceivers, C&F Minnows and Cheech-Leeches to imitate the bigger fish where smaller fry patterns swung, dead-drifted and/or stripped are picking off both small and larger fish. Obviously mix it up to find out if they are being picky.

The bluegill/panfish and bass fishing on ponds continues to get better now that bright sun is warming up the water after the cool nights. Look for the gills to be on beds in the warmer lakes and don’t hesitate to fish with small nymphs if they aren’t coming to your spiders and poppers; I like brassies, damsel nymphs and bead head pheasant tails. Bass are moving closer, too, to doing their spawning thing so fish with some streamers and smaller top-water poppers and don’t be surprised if a pike enters the picture. Carp are starting to build again in the bays and since it is pre-spawn, they will eat the well presented fly in the afternoons after the sun warms up certain flats. Look for all “warm-water” fishing to improve over the next month for some of the best angling.

If out on the waters and in the woods, don’t play with matches – things are too dry and we can’t afford to have another forest fire start.

Ted Kraimer is a professional guide and fly tier, owner of Current Works Guide Service, and field editor for True North Trout. His fishing reports will continue to appear in T|N|T and on his website.

An AuSable Riverboat

Trout fishing on local rivers continues to be decent with some days being really good and others, not so much. The recent weather, in my opinion, is to blame for the inconsistencies, a little snow over the weekend, warm sun a few days later, a cold rain shower or two here and there and the bugs and their emergence just hasn’t been overly predictable – who can blame them?

What I am experiencing are: The Upper-Manistee – some Hendricksons (mostly spinners at sporadic times of the day), medium brown stones, a few march browns, black quills/Borchers, caddis, mahoganies and an increase in BWOs.  The Manistee below Tippy Dam is offering up some caddis hatches, BWO’s, and midges on top and the nymph bite is getting even stronger with scuds and sow bugs down low and fry patterns fished dead-drift, swung and stripped. The Boardman - Hendricksons and caddis have been emerging. Look for the warmer weather of next week to kick-off good emergences of sulphurs on both rivers which should be really good this year.

When not matching the hatch, the streamer fishing has been producing some nice fish for those looking to put the time in and the cast in the right spot. Water levels are lower and clearer than what is considered ideal, but good fish are still coming to the fly: CF Minnows, sculpins, deceivers and zonker/rabbit strip leeches have been working. The right color and the amount of flash varies with not only the day, but time of day – mix it up until you find what they like.

The cooler weather has had its effect on lake fish too. Bluegill/panfish are shallow in some of the smaller waters, and just into the deeper water on others. The nymph and very small streamer angler has had more success beneath the surface than those fishing on top. Look for that to change soon. Bass in the lakes have been getting active in their pre-spawn mode and the pike have been eating a streamer too, now that they are post-spawn feeding. When lake fishing, look for any weed growth to be a good place to target fish.  The carp in the bay which were very “spotty” (not widespread, but concentrated when found)  have moved back to the deeper water with a few fish coming into the flats when the sun is bright and the water temp is in the mid-50s. Pay attention to night temps, wind direction and bring your thermometer.

Ted Kraimer is a professional guide and fly tier, owner of Current Works Guide Service, and field editor for True North Trout. His fishing reports will continue to appear in T|N|T and on his website.

Manistee River

The warm weather the past seven weeks should make this year’s opener one of the best in years. Water temps are in the 50’s and the fish are out of their post hibernation-funk and eating streamers and some dry flies. The insect activity has been sporadic thanks to the cooler nights of late, but look for black stones, Hendricksons, black caddis, black quills/borcher’s drakes on the Upper Manistee. The Boardman – running cooler – has had some “henies” coming off too, but not many fish eating them. This time of year, insect activity is best when the temps are warmest so look for sun, light winds and mild overnight temperatures – the rest of the time, fish streamers and nymphs.

If you are heading out this weekend, have a box of big streamers to tie onto your sink-tip line if you are looking to score the bigger, more aggressive fish. Be around gravel and riffle areas on your favorite section of water for the best Hendrickson activity; the nymphs call that water home and the spinners come back to it when depositing their eggs. Fish a nymph and or wets – down and across, or, when you see some surface activity or an emergence tie a wet or a nymph behind a dead-drift emerger. The fish haven’t seen much activity for a while on the closed sections so use some stealth when fishing to keep fish happy.

Steelhead fishing is still going, but is winding down. Since it has been such a strange spring for steelhead, who knows what will happen – especially after our next rain. Some fresh fish are still trickling up the Manistee, Betsie, Boardman and Platte Rivers, but in small numbers while drop-back females are slipping back to the big lake. Many people are willing to subject themselves to the cold weather of winter steelhead for a chance at a few fish, but it amazes me that more people don’t pursue drop-back and the remaining fresh running fish this time of year in the warmer weather. With the warmer water, it’s the best acrobats and fighting fish of the year. Lots of Oregon Cheese eggs patterns, larger hex nymphs and steelhead buggers have been working in the deeper water with the small, pale colored eggs, small stones and caddis around gravel. With water temps in the mid 50’s it’s not necessarily a bad time to swing some flies looking for non-spawning fish to eat your bigger presentation of streamers and spey flies.

Often out of the lime-light for fly fisherman are all of the lakes in the Lower Peninsula and the other seasons that share the same opener: Pike, Musky, Walleye and catch and immediate release Bass fishing starts this Saturday, too. See the MI-DNRE for specifics on regulations.

Good luck this weekend and be sure to be considerate to other anglers you encounter on the water – we made it through another winter and opener is another confirmation that spring is here!

Brown trout in hand.

The high and dirty water that we experienced 1 ½ weeks ago has come and gone. The rivers have come back to near-normal levels and the clarity is just about ideal right now – especially with this high sun and blue skies. The lack of rain is keeping the run of fish to a trickle, but the fish that are hooked are pulling on the line hard with the water temps stable in the low 40’s. While the fishing has been comfortable, we need some of that nasty steelhead weather to bring in some more fish and with some rain, April should be great.

Most of the steelhead are either on or are staging near gravel. The fresh fish are still in the bigger, deeper holes resting as they migrate upstream so you should be able to find fish in all types of water. And with more anglers on the water lately, it’s nice to have confidence in finding fish throughout the river.

The water directly below Tippy dam on the Manistee has the most spawning gravel in it and as such the bigger numbers of fish and anglers. The Betsie has fish throughout the upper sections too from US-31 up but timing is crucial on this river after any precipitation for optimal success. Boardman anglers have experienced a pretty good spring so far if you are looking to get out close to home if in TC. Flies that have been working well are mid-sized eggs in chartreuse and Oregon cheese and nymphs including steelie buggers, caddis, fry patterns, black stones and hares ears.

The trout fishing is picking up as water temperatures increase. It’s a streamer bite fished slow with patterns that have lots of action on the pause. Fish are chasing a lot and nipping, so set the hook on the bite, not the sight – don’t pull the fly away from that big brown!

Ted Kraimer is a professional guide and fly tier, owner of Current Works Guide Service, and field editor for True North Trout. His fishing reports will continue to appear in T|N|T and on his website.

The good number of fish throughout the Manistee River this winter has taken this high-water as a cue move up and “crash the dam”. Some fish are starting to stage around gravel as water temps are just into the low 40s and a fish landed last week appeared to be spawned out. Fresh fish are moving throughout the river system, but with its volume and lack of clarity – it’s been tough fishing the last few days as there aren’t too many fish settled in their traditional holes or travelling up their typical runs thanks to the increase of water and dirt. Sometimes after a big rain my expectations get a little lofty and I want to repeat those double-digit days; while it’s not easy right now, there are still fish are being caught and they are being scrappy, pulling hard, thrashing and even jumping a bit – that’s why we fish them, right?

The Betsie River, too, had a push of water and a decent push of fish. Dirty, as always, watch your step and look for the holes and slots to hold some steelhead as they rest on their way as the move up stream. The Platte got a few fish to run through the lower river and its clear water reputation holds true – especially in this high sun we have been getting. The Boardman has some fish throughout the system for those of you who can only get out for a few hours and need to fish close to home.  You’ll find them from Sabin Dam to the mouth at the bay.

With the water being off color, the patterns that have been working are some of the tried and true… steelhead buggers, bigger stones, leeches, and yarn – egg patterns in a myriad of colors: Clown, Orange, Pinks and Chart. in Glo Bug, Rag and Krystal Egg styles.

Ted Kraimer is a professional guide and fly tier, owner of Current Works Guide Service, and field editor for True North Trout. His fishing reports will continue to appear in T|N|T and on his website.