May 24, 2019 | Trout Season
Fishing has been fantastic on all fronts. Dries, streamers, nymphs, you name it. It's all in play. Despite some cold over night temps, conditions have been superb. Water has stayed on the high side, with good shots of rain every few days, but not enough to flood anything. We've had a great week,and the warmer weather in the forecast is promising for the long weekend.
We've been employing all techniques, but nymphing has by far been the most productive during the day when not much is going on. Once the bugs start (usually 2pm), the dry fly stuff has been good up until dusk. The following are all nymph fish.
Steelhead on 4wt and 5x tippet. That was a fun ride!
Nymphing has been solid. If you haven't tried Euro Nymphing yet we highly recommend it. We are hosting a Euronymphing 101 class in East Lansing on June 5th from 6-8pm. Call or email info@nomadanglers to RSVP, and come learn what its all about.
We also have Ann Miller Author of the Hatch Guide For Upper Midwest Streams coming by the Grand Rapids Shop Tuesday May 28th for a FREE Fly Fishing Entomology Course and we have added a host of Fly Fishing 101 classes. Check our Class Schedule regularly for up coming classes.
Dry fly action has been a mixed bag of Light Hennies, Caddis, Stones, BWOs, Mahoganies, and even Sulphers. This weekend is liable to be a weekend of "Bug Soup" so make sure your fly box is prepared with everything from Olives to Borchers. Pretty soon, we will shift to the next rotation of hatches; March Browns, Sulphers, Grey Drakes, Brown Drakes, Cahills, Hex, etc. Lots of action ahead of us, but we are in the midst of greatness.
Here's a sampling of what some of the GR crew did up north this past weekend.
We can now, officially, say that trout season is in full swing. Things have been glorious. Lots of reliable action no matter what technique you choose. Days are longer, air is warmer, water is warmer, fish are more active, bugs are more prevalent. The angler has the upper hand in many ways. Unreal!
One thing to keep in mind, when fishing dries, is to be persistent. If you see a rising fish, stay on it. Even if it came up once, and hasn't come up again in 5 mins. Stay on him. Don't hastily move downstream hoping for the next one. Bottom line, that fish is feeding. Sometimes it's easy to convince yourself it spooked, or is done feeding. Chances are, that thing is down there, looking up. Can't tell you how many times we've seen a fish rise once, we anchor on it, and wait. And wait. And wait. Then finally we decide to pull anchor and move on. And of course, once we are 10 feet down river, the thing decides to feed again. It's almost like they are laughing at us. Taunting us. Admittedly, it's hard to park and wait on a single riser, hoping he comes up again. It's a tough choice to make when you know there's the possibility of another feeder just around the bend. Next time you see a singular rise from a trout, give it some time. Give it enough time to where it might feel like all hope is lost. Then before you move downstream, cast at that idle fish a few more times. Be relentless.
A new Fly Tying Tutorial dropped this week, learn to tie the Parachute Patriot, a killer attractor fly.
Finally, if you are thinking about upgrading your fly rod, make sure to take advantage of the Orvis Rod Swap running through fathers day. Bring in any usable fly rod, and receive 20% OFF any new H3, Recon, or Superfine rod. The old rod gets donated to a local charity, and you get to save on a new rod, win win.
Good luck to everyone who is getting out on the water over this holiday weekend!
