Trout fishing is the main theme right now as the next two months are some of the best for anglers looking to fish dry flies and streamers for brown and brook trout. All local rivers are pretty much experiencing ideal conditions and with that comes the emergence of various bugs.

On the upper Manistee, AuSable and Boardman rivers, look for the Hendricksons to continue to come off in the afternoons and their spinner falls to drop in the evenings. A few other mayflies including BWOs, Black Quills/Borchers Drake, and even a few Sulphurs/light Hendricksons are around to compliment the caddis that are a little more consistent these days.  This is only the beginning of an emergence calendar that keeps us thinking about trout, dry flies and being on the water.

When nothing is happening on the surface, focus on fishing sub-surface with streamers.  With the rivers having a slight stain to them right now, it’s a great time to cast a big fly on a sink-tip for those larger fish that haven’t totally gone nocturnal on us right now. After a mild winter, the fish are looking well fed and they don’t seem to be wanting to go on a diet right now.

Good streamers include baitfish patterns – especially in waters are stocked by the DNR. While Fin Clips do a good job of imitating stocked rainbows, there are other patterns that do a good job of imitating trout and other juvenile fish….Cheech Leech, Dirty Hippy, Brook Trout,  mini D&Ds, Deceivers and more. And when those don’t work – or you are fishing non-stocked water – try sculpin patterns to imitate a prolific natural food source.

Bluegill are just starting to work their way up into the shallows of certain lakes and ponds. This week’s warmer weather should push them up from the depths and into water that is more conducive to fly anglers. This is a blast when you: need to fish closer to home, are introducing someone to the sport, or are simply looking for not overly technical fishing opportunities. Largemouth bass, too, are starting to get active where we can present small streamers on floating lines to them. But look out for aggressive pike that want to take your fly and keep it, too.

Good luck,

Ted

May Fishing – Trout, late steelhead, hatches, streamer fishing, bluegill on lakes – don’t overlook fishing in May.
Trout – The hatches of late May lead into June making for some of the year’s best dry fly fishing – don’t miss out.
2017 Fishing – Plan your year around your fishing – get your dates on the calendar, life will fit in around it.