Now that it is March, it seems that April Showers – both rain and snow came a little early. The big storm last week left plenty of snow here in Northern Michigan but the 50 degree temps and rain this week has melted most of it. There is no doubt that a significant amount of water is in the local rivers and they will continue to rise as more melting takes place with the extended forecast. Thankfully a lot of the water went into the unfrozen ground, restoring the water table after a pretty dry winter.
The Manistee is experiencing a good number of fish and water rising. Many steelhead are staging around the gravel areas and this burst of water should bring more fish upstream to play with. The water closer to the dam is going to have better clarity than downstream however that should change as the Pine River and Upper Manistee’s dirty water flows through the pond and under the dam by the weekend.
The Betsie River has had some good pushes of fish move through it lately with timing being paramount. Some of these fresh fish are stopping to hang around with the winter hold over fish while the others continue to move through. The water is rising rapidly and as of Wednesday it still offered good clarity but it was changing and today it is colored up.
Flies: eggs flies in a multitude of colors – clown, steelhead orange, chartreuse, and Oregon Cheese are good bets along with bigger nymphs including steely buggers, leeches, caddis, hex nymphs, stones and fry patterns. Little stone flies are hatching so have a few in the box especially for any sunny days as slight bumps in water temps increases bug densities.
To check on water levels on various rivers (there isn’t one for the Betsie) click on the USGS Waterflow site. Be careful wading.
Good Luck,
Ted