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.