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River Report - June 16, 2016
The Old Au Sable Fly Shop Fishing Report
The weather is always a bit crazy in Northern Michigan, but this past week it was downright schizophrenic. I set the furnace at seventy degrees one day in order to keep us warm and then set the air conditioner at seventy-four the next day to keep us cool on a ninety degree afternoon. The trout fishing followed suit with confused hatches and odd fishing times.
Brown drakes spit and sputtered to an end in most of the Au Sable and showed up in fits and spurts on the Manistee, while the Isonychia’s did a bunch of flying around at dusk but didn’t seem motivated to spend much time on the water. The evening fishing was largely tough. Sulphur, stoneflies, caddis, and batflies sort of saved the rise into dark and had lots of smaller fish taking notice.
The daytime fishing has held up nicely, though. This time of year we’re all looking for the evening rise, but it’s always best to take what the river gives and not just simply try to impose our wills and expectations. Anglers that fished throughout the day, caught plenty of trout prospecting with big mayfly patterns and with just about anything else they knotted to the tippet.
But it’s we’re moving into the last throws of June and most trout fishermen aren’t participating in this report for any of that news. What folks really want to know about is whether the fabled Michigan Hex hatch has made an appearance. I can tell you that the Iris’s on the riverbank, a good omen that Hex are imminent, have started to bloom. And an even stronger indication has appeared in the form of actual bugs on the shop door. Things have started and with a string of hot weather in the forecast, it’s pretty safe to say that the hatch should explode.
Lots of folks wait the whole year to wade deep into the night and into the hope of a trophy trout that the Hex hatch promises. It’s all right in front of us. There will be lots of fishermen on the rivers in the coming weeks, so get to the stream early enough to find a good stretch and follow the golden rule and do unto others . . . Most of all have a great time.
Hope to see you all soon,
Andy
Brown drakes spit and sputtered to an end in most of the Au Sable and showed up in fits and spurts on the Manistee, while the Isonychia’s did a bunch of flying around at dusk but didn’t seem motivated to spend much time on the water. The evening fishing was largely tough. Sulphur, stoneflies, caddis, and batflies sort of saved the rise into dark and had lots of smaller fish taking notice.
The daytime fishing has held up nicely, though. This time of year we’re all looking for the evening rise, but it’s always best to take what the river gives and not just simply try to impose our wills and expectations. Anglers that fished throughout the day, caught plenty of trout prospecting with big mayfly patterns and with just about anything else they knotted to the tippet.
But it’s we’re moving into the last throws of June and most trout fishermen aren’t participating in this report for any of that news. What folks really want to know about is whether the fabled Michigan Hex hatch has made an appearance. I can tell you that the Iris’s on the riverbank, a good omen that Hex are imminent, have started to bloom. And an even stronger indication has appeared in the form of actual bugs on the shop door. Things have started and with a string of hot weather in the forecast, it’s pretty safe to say that the hatch should explode.
Lots of folks wait the whole year to wade deep into the night and into the hope of a trophy trout that the Hex hatch promises. It’s all right in front of us. There will be lots of fishermen on the rivers in the coming weeks, so get to the stream early enough to find a good stretch and follow the golden rule and do unto others . . . Most of all have a great time.
Hope to see you all soon,
Andy