June 23rd 2026

Last week was a bit tough on the dry fly front. I was able to get out of the shop for a few days on the water up north. Unfortunately the weather did not really cooperate and it made for a tough couple of days of fishing. 

Early in the week we had some cloudy weather which made for a good iso bite in between rain storms. The Iso is always one of my favorite hatches of the year. Fish love to chase these swimming mayflies down as they emerge. Blind fishing Isos can be some of the best daytime fishing of the year. They are often the pre-curser to the hex hatch and in my opinion can be even more fun. But, the older I get the less I like staying up late, so I may be biased...

We sat out some heavy rain and were rewarded with a few hours of good daytime fishing. As the sun went down, so did the temps and things really slowed down making for an early night. The next day we got a lot of rain and the rivers came up quite a bit. Dirty  water and cooler temperatures made for some grumpy trout and the fishing the next few days was challenging to say the least. Streamer fishing was alright in the dirty water, but its June, we are supposed to be dry fly fishing right? 

But that was last week...this week we have some warmer temperatures in the forecast and I think things will be back on schedule shortly. I welcome the cooler weather we are having this June after a few summers of oppressive heat and high water temperatures during the hex hatch. By the weekend I think hex will be firing on all cylinders across the state. Swing by the shop and pick up some bugs, stout leaders, and floatant before you head out. And don't forget to grab some Isos, they just might save the day. 

A note for the Bass Angler... We are having our second annual Bass 1 Fly Tournament on Saturday July 25th on the Grand River. The rules are pretty simple: Teams of (up to) 3, one fly per angler, the team that catches the most bass wins. Registration is $60 per team and you can find more details and get signed HERE. We had a great time last year and we hope to see you there this year!

- Justin