March 31st - Finally Spring
Have you been to the river in the last week or so and seemed to shine a little bit more than normal? Well you're right, there's chrome everywhere. April brings some of the best spring fishing you can get into, with steelhead flooding into most rivers in Michigan. Steelhead are right in the peak of their spring migration so now is the time to get out and try your shot with some of the best fighting fish Michigan has to offer.
As the days go on and we head into the warmer days of April, the fishing will really start to heat up. Once that water hits that magic temperature in the mid to upper 40's you will see a huge increase in fish activity along with a increase of those Steelhead wanting to get a quick bite to eat, hopefully your fly.
Some of the main patterns that have been getting the bites throughout the state have been on nymphs like the Squirmy Alevin, Krilla, Rogue Hex, and Fenestra's BTS. The other tried and true pattern working is the good ole Egg fly in a variety of colors mostly just depending on water color. Rag eggs, nuke eggs, and bright colors should be your go to colors in high dirty water. If you want to try your luck at catching a steelhead on the swing try some small natural baitfish patterns, and don't be afraid to size down and swing an alevin/Fry pattern.
Trout bite has been picking up as well. Egg bite has been good, euro nymphing is a consistent producer, and the streamer bite has been heating up as well. Hopefully some warmer weather will grace our future and these trends will continue.
This week we got a huge shot of rain, and there is more in the forecast, so this weekends fishing is a bit up in the air with most rivers on the steady rise. The good news is this should really push fish upstream and shuffle the deck a bit. Hopefully things fall back into shape quickly, but if nothing else this is a great time to refill the boxes and get ready for what is ahead. Grand Rapids just got a huge re-stock in tying materials so swing by and load up for the weekends fishing or tying.
