Fishing the Traverse City region in early June offers plenty of choices. Most fly fishers are going after trout since this time of year offers some technical dry fly fishing. Rivers like the Manistee, Boardman and Au Sable continue to produce a smorgasbord of flies on the water including: Gray Drakes, Great and Little Mahoganies, Sulphurs, Little Yellow Sally Stones, Medium Brown Stones, Brown Drakes, Isonychias and Caddis. Any given day you can see a few different kinds of bugs, other days only one type but you should head out to the water with a loaded fly box and a headlamp with fresh batteries because a lot of times the spinner fall is taking place at dusk. Bring some bug spray, too.
Streamers and twitch flies on smaller sink tips have been working during the day to bring a fish out of the wood and onto the hook. This time of year, lightening up your streamer approach can be a good thing as the fish like a different presentation after six weeks of heavy streamer pressure.
The current cold-front has brought the water temperatures down in the river which is good – last week’s heat warmed them up a little too much, too quick. Levels and clarity are about perfect if there is such a thing. As always, handle the trout quickly and get them back in – most of these rivers rely on natural reproduction so even the small ones are important to tomorrow’s quality of fishing.
The inland lakes continue to produce good bluegill fishing as well as large and smallmouth bass fishing. The smallmouth are typically deeper and weighted flies and/or clear sink-tip lines will help you get to fish near those slight drop-offs. The largemouth and bluegill are in the shallow water and are mostly done spawning but are in a post-spawn mood.
With all the wind and cool temps, the fishing on the bay is still in its infancy for the carp and smallmouth but there are still some opportunities for those willing to put in the time and cover some water. Sustained weather (and warmth) will help make for some better fishing that is sure to come as June progresses.
If you are into the warm-water fishing, this weekend The Northern Angler is hosting there 2nd Annual Cheese Cup Warm-water fishing tournament. This is a fun, fundraising event for the Third Level Crisis Center in honor of Alex “Cheese” Hawke who lost his battle with depression. The format is easy going and focuses on the warm-water species including bass, carp, pike, and bluegill. The after party is one you won’t want to miss. More detail’s here.
Good luck.
Ted
Trout – The big Bugs of June will be here before you know it…. Isos, Drakes and Hex – limited dates available.
Stillwater- Bluegill, Bass and Carp. With the best trout fishing in the evening, try fishing lakes during the day.
Fall Steelhead – With Summer just arriving, it’s time to think about getting your Fall dates – Oct. thru Dec.