Northern Michigan Fly Fishing Report 7-9-2009

The up and down, inconsistent weather has our hex hatch continuing a little longer than anyone would have guessed at the beginning of the season. Numerous days of cool (sometimes cold) weather put the bugs on hold while little warm-ups triggered small emergences. The heat and sun forecast for this week should get those patient nymphs out of their beds and into the air and bring an end to the hatch. Water levels and temps are good for this time of year. The Upper-Manistee River has had sporadic hex bugs and the Isonycias have been pretty solid with the fish responding well. Other bugs include: Little Yellow Sally Stones, BWOs, Light Cahills, and some Big Stones. Look for Tricos to start shortly in the early mornings and small terrestrial patterns turning some fish as the day goes on. Evenings are the best time to experience a hatch of the bugs detailed above. After dark, try a mouse/large surface fly that moves water and casts a silhouette. The Lower- Manistee below Tippy Dam is still fishing well for trout as the water temperatures have remained cooler than normal for this time of year. Caddis, wet flies, midge and streamers are all taking fish. The smallmouth bass fishing in this section of river is building each day and look for them to be the primary target over the next six weeks. The Boardman is still experiencing Hex duns and spinner falls and the Gray Drake spinners continue to build above riffles at dusk. Have some Little Yellow Sallies, Light Cahills, Tan Caddis #16/18 and some terrestrials in your box. Carp fishing in the bays is winding way down but there are still some out there. The weather has made it difficult to pattern the fish – (when and where), but with this warm-up keep your eye out as you drive along the bay – you might just find a pod to fish to. Smallmouth bass numbers are dwindling as they are moving back into some deeper water, but look for fish cruising the shallow water during mornings and evenings. With the recent full-moon, crayfish molt and become a favorite of smallmouth. Lake fishing is prime for small and largemouth fishing. With the weed growth, look for the largemouth bass to come on poppers, divers and sliders – a great way to spend a morning or evening. Look for the smallmouth to be on the edges of drop-offs looking to eat crayfish and baitfish patterns. Bring a hex dun pattern too if you are going to be out late – some good surface action can occur as lakes often experience a long, drawn out emergence lasting up to five weeks. Charter Boats on Lake Michigan are reporting healthy and large salmon so far this spring and early summer. This fall’s run that begins in late August continuing into October should be a good one. If you don’t have your dates reserved for a guided trip, start your planning and be in touch to ensure a day or two in a boat on the water doing battle with fresh, strong salmon. Good Luck! The Nothern Angler

Northern Michigan Fly Fishing Report July 2, 2009

Last week’s hot spell helped kick-off the hex hatch, but this week’s cool-down has shifted it into idle. The Upper Manistee and Boardman Rivers had respectable hatches lasting about five days, but with the cool down came few bugs – hex and others. Our forecast is favorable looking forward so look for the hatch to start up again and continue for sometime after warmer weather and some solar action.

While the hatches aren’t thick, there are still finding some bugs on the water. These cool evenings can bring evening spinner falls of hex which is almost magical; big fish that normally don’t come out in the daylight can’t help themselves when the meaty-hex come floating by. Make sure you flies are natural looking, your tippet a little lighter and your presentation flawless. This can be some of the most spectacular dry fly fishing one can witness.

Other bugs:

The Manistee has a smattering of bugs floating down the river right now – just not very significant numbers. Look for: Isonycias, Big Stones (both Golden and Black/Orange), Little Yellow Sallies, Epeorus/Quill Gordons, BWOs, Light Cahills and another yellow like mayfly I can’t seem to identify aprox. Size 14/16.

The Boardman still has a few Brown Drakes and the Gray Drakes should continue for a while. Caddis are popping as well as little yellow Sally Stones. Always have some BWO’s in your box – especially when cool and clouds are above the river.

Once the heat comes back to our local rivers, look for terrestrial activity to build and be sure to keep things small. Tricos typically are here the first week of July but look for things them to be late like most bugs have been this year.

The Lower Manistee below Tippy is fishing o.k. Midges, fry patterns and caddis are your best bet right now. There are just a couple of Skamania Steelhead in the river right now as they are every year at this time. Look for the smallmouth bass to get going once the weather warms up again and anglers shift from trout fishing to smallmouth for the rest of the summer.

The Carp and Smallmouth fishing on the Bay continues, but when it’s cool and cloudy, the fish simply aren’t easy to see, let alone find. Scout and cover lots of water. This is when wind can make the difference since most of the carp are done with their spawning. Crayfish, hexes, clousers and leeches/wooly buggers are working on both species.

Weed growth in the local lakes has begun and this can be a great time to target largemouth bass with top water flies. Don’t hesitate going sub-surface on the edges of the weeds and drops-offs for some pike.

The Northern Angler

Carp Fever!

Carp on the fly in Grand Traverse Bay is HOT! It has been a lot of fun in the shop the last couple of weeks, especially the last few days, chatting with people that have been out on the flats fly fishing for carp. This week, Steve from Florida (Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing) went out after a quick strategy session in the shop on Saturday and came back to tell me "I have never seen anything like that!" after catching 9 carp on Sunday morning. Now this is coming from a guy that guides in FL for snook, tarpon, redfish, and whatever else swims down there and he couldn't believe what a great fishery this is. He went back out the next day and landed 15 carp, including one that, based on the picture, easily topped 30 pounds! We also have a guy in town this week from Scotland that came over after reading about our carp fishing and wanted to give it a try, all the way from across the pond to try carp on the fly. I saw a few pictures of him fishing and based on the smile and our conversations, it sounds like it's been worth the trip. Pictured above is a bruiser taken by Jeff who went out on the bay with a group of college buddies on Sunday. Numerous fish were hooked and a good time was definitely had by the gang. The guys came back to give me the report and then went to hit the evening hatch for trout. That's one of the great things about the carp fishing, the best of it is from 8:00am-4:00pm and then it's pretty much done, just in time to go hit the river for the prime evening hatch for trout. I would have to say based on weather and the recent reports that we are really peaking right now for the carp but there should be at least 3 good weeks left to get out there. The smallmouth are moving in shallow too, I know of one guy that hit an 18" and a monster 23" smallie last Friday at Old Mission (of course no pictures, but personally I believe the guy). If you haven't tried it yet, stop in and we'll point you in the right direction, hook you up with the right flies and leader, and eagerly await your report and pictures!

The Northern Angler

Northern Michigan Fly Fishing Report June 11, 2009

A bunch of rain earlier this week brought up our rivers but its on the way down again. Some areas received as much as two inches, bringing levels up and adding some needed color. Streamer fishing has been mixed – some days being better than others, but it sure is nice having color rather than clear water – it gives you confidence that the next streamer cast is the one. Levels are up, but not bad and they should return to “normal” levels for this time of year by the end of the weekend. It might take the Boardman a extra day or two to drain.

While this is a great time of the year for dry fly fishing, the cooler weather has kept the fishing from being hot. It won’t take much sun to change things – however, know that our hatches are running 7 to 10 days late this year. There is something seriously wrong wearing fleece and long underwear in June.

What’s been hatching on the Upper Manistee: a number of bugs, but not in great numbers have included: March Browns Spinners/Rusty Spinners, Little Yellow Sallies, Sulphurs, BWOs, Size 10 Brown/Yellow Stoneflies, some Mahoganies, and size14-16 Tan Caddis. I have been seeing the first of the Isonycias, but not any significant number. Look for hatch densities to increase and Iso numbers to build and Brown Drakes to start with rise in water temperatures. The fish will look for them too as they are the first good-sized bugs to emerge bringing some great fish to the surface.

Fishing below Tippy Dam is still fishing well despite getting some color from this week’s rain. A mixed bag of smaller, stocked fish to larger fish past the teens can be had by those fishing both streamers and nymphs. Look for this water to change into a technical dry fly fishery over the next few weeks as temperatures stabilize and the tail water hatches increase.

The Boardman is running high, but Sulphurs and Grey Drakes have been emerging along with the caddis. Look for Brown Drakes to start any day after some heat and the fishing to get really improve. Now is not a bad time to cast some large streamers imitating leeches/lampreys as the fish are taking advantage of the dirty water and what food it is washing downstream with it in the seams.

Carp are fishing well in the bay despite the cooler water and air temperatures. In some areas the spawning is taking place heavily and others, just starting. Regardless, not all of the fish are spawning right now and they are the ones to target, as they don’t have their minds set on one thing. Some smallmouth bass have been seen, a few caught and look for them to come shallower cruising for a crustacean snack. The best flies for carp and smallmouth have been crayfish patterns, clouser minnows and leeches/woolly buggers.

Good Luck

The Northern Angler

Northern Michigan Fly Fishing Report June 9th, 2009

Well, rain returned over the weekend and brought river levels back up quite a bit but they are on the decrease now and things should be in good shape within the next couple of days. Those that were/are throwing streamers have had some success and should continue. The hatches seem to (surprisingly) be close to on track to only slightly behind for this time of year, brown drakes are out on the AuSable system, sulphurs, mahoganies, Borchers, March Browns, olive and tan caddis, and olives are all present on area rivers. The weather is due to warm up this weekend a bit, although I feel like I've been using that line for 3-4 weeks now, that should get things going a little better. The cooler weather hasn't held the carp off, they are in the flats and feeding. I have seen many pictures form the last two weeks of fish from Old Mission and all along M-22, still have not heard much from East Bay but my guess is that with the higher water levels in the bay, some of the "old" spots should be fishing well again.

On the lakes, bluegill continue to provide good action and the bass are finally moving up in the shallows in good numbers. Numerous reports of good pike fishing along the weedbeds near and bordering dropoffs as well as some fish still hanging in the shallows.

Bottom lne, don't wait for the 75 degree slightly overcast day to get out there and fish, the fishing is good now and the way it's going, you may not get that warm day for at least a week or two.

Good Luck!
The Northern Angler

Northern Michigan Fly Fishing Report May 29th

While we were in dire need of rain, we got a lot all at once; our rivers are running high after two days of a cool rain – some places received over 2 inches. Thankfully it was a soft rain and the sandy soil was thirsty so it isn’t as bad as it normally would be. Levels are up a bit on the Upper Manistee and will probably continue to rise some more, but it is still fishable. The Lower Manistee is up too and it's clarity is good, but look for that to change over the weekend as the run-off from the Pine River works its way through the system. The Boardman is up but should be close to normal by the end of the weekend barring significant additional rainfall.

While this rain might put a kybosh on the hatches, don’t count them out totally. Before the rain the sulphur numbers were building nicely. Along with these prolific bugs, it’s been pretty much more of the same: the last of the Hendricksons, Black Quills, Caddis, Mahoganies, March Browns, medium Brown Stones and a few Yellow Sallies. With the water up, look for the streamer fishing to improve now that there is some color to the water.

To learn more about our great dry fly fishing in June, read, "Fishing Before the Hex Hatch" by our head guide, Ted Kraimer.

Fortunately, if you don’t like the river conditions right now, we have other fishing options. The carp have been on the flats of Grand Traverse Bay. Having a high sun and fishing afternoons will be the key to having good success since we are forecasted to have cooler days in the forecast with highs in the 60s. Wind direction and the night’s temperature are the key to success. A few smallmouth bass are around too doing a little pre-spawn feeding. If you haven’t pursued carp this could be a great opportunity to try it - guide dates available.

Lake and pond fishing is really good right now for those looking to catch bass, bluegill and pike. The bluegill are mostly on beds and are eating poppers and spiders, but the nymphs are working too when fished as a dropper from something on top.

If you are heading up North this weekend, please note that The Northern Angler has moved. Our new address is 803 W. Front Street. Call if you need directions 231-9323-4730

Good luck!

The Northern Angler

Cleaning Fly Rod Handles

I get a number of fly rods in the shop that people want me to look over and a lot that I sell for people on Ebay. If there is one thing that will improve the appeal of a used fly rod more than anything else, it's a clean cork handle. Not only does it look much better but it works better too. A clean cork grip is easier to hold and nicer to fish with. I thought I'd share a quick trick that I have figured out for cleaning cork rod grips that works on everything from a bit dirty to absolutely grimy grips and it will make them look new. I have heard and tried a number of things and many of you may know or have a method that works for you but this is quick, easy, and works wonders. It's very simple really, the best thing that I have found is the Scotch-Brite heavy duty dishwand replacement heads and just about any liquid hand dishsoap. I wet the cork then rub on a generous amount of dishsoap, then wet the sponge down and start scrubbing. Lots of soap, lots of water. The Scotch-Brite is abrasive enough to get the hardest dirt off but has yet to damage any cork grip that I have tried it on and that's quite a few. I have used it on newer high end fly rods down to 50 year old garage sale specials and expensive bamboo fly rods too, the results are always very good! One exception or area to be careful with is if there is already a large chunk missing or the cork rubs/flakes away in your hand. So the next time I disappear to the back of the shop with a ratty old fly rod only to return 2 minutes later with a new looking fly rod, that's it (who says a magician never reveals his secrets). Just remember to mark the one sponge for "dishes" and the other for "rod grips" please.

Now go scrub, fish, repeat!
The Northern Angler