Michigan Fly Fishing Report | Nomad Anglers RSS

Despite the low water and hot temperatures, fishing has been solid. Getting plenty of trout on hoppers, ants, and nymphs. A big foam hopper twitched along the bank can yield some surprising results. By far, the most important aspect of this approach is stealth. With the water the way it is, you must keep a low profile. Wade quietly and slowly. Keep a very long distance between you and your target. The longer drift you make, the better.  Foam hoppers in tan and yellow are safe bets. A small beadhead nymph dropper can pick up some fish too. Ant patterns...

Now that it's August, we are entering the final phase of summer. Attractor flies for trout is a good option, nymphing is productive, and mousing at night can be epic. Tricos fished with extremely light tippet and super small flies can be fun (if you're into that sort of thing). Hoppers, ants, and beetles are also on the menu. Daytime smallmouth fishing is in it's prime. August is great for smallies. They are widespread, and willing to chase and eat nearly any type of fly as long as you don't spook them. Everyone loves to fish poppers and topwater flies, but...

Summer is here and it's HOT. This weekend will be in the upper 80s, which will continue into next week. It's always fun to think back to the polar vortex, when everyone was hunkered indoors, thinking about those long summer evenings on the river. It's here, get out and take advantage of it!  We've been mainly targeting smallmouth bass. Lots of topwater action, requiring long stealthy casts with little foam bugs and poppers. It can be pretty challenging, especially when fishing narrow rivers, where you have to place your fly a long way downstream from the boat. Many times, they...

Lots of options this time of year, even as the big bugs dwindle. Sounds like there are still some hex flying around and hatching up north, but overall, the hatch is way past peak. Right now, most of us are focusing on the daytime trout program. Morning hatches, daytime attractors, and evening spinner falls. Mousing is becoming more of an option, with water dropping and clearing, giving the fish fewer food options. With the warmwater stuff holding steady, this time of year provides endless opportunities for the Michigan angler! Smallmouth have been good, with lots of fish coming on boogle...

This has been, hands down, the strangest dry fly season in recent memory. The hatch charts and meticulously kept fishing journals can be thrown right out the window. Its late June and there are still no solid reports of hex. Dry fly windows have been short, but when the stars have aligned, there has been some great fishing.  Brown Drakes are still around on many rivers, even gray drakes, but it seems they're there one night and gone the next. Iso fishing during the day and in the evening has been productive and should continue to be for some time....