The Upper Manistee River

This is widely regarded as the best self-sustaining trout water in the Michigan. With no impoundments and wadable water from Mancelona Road all the way to Smithville, this offers many miles of easy access, wadable, hatch water. Sand and gravel bottom and steady gradient make for good hatches from April through September. The upper “headwater” Manistee from Deward downstream to CO612 has good numbers of brook trout with higher concentrations of brown trout downstream of M72 to the CCC Bridge. The “Flies-Only” water o

The Boardman River

Upper Manistee
Warm temps, clear water and normal levels are making fishing very good. Mousing continues to move some very good fish from 10:30pm-2am in the deep bends and holes. Hoppers where the sun hits the river and beetles where the cedars shade the river will move some nice fish all afternoon. Guides are catching fish on virtually every rubber-legged pattern. Ron's Yellow Skunks, and small Yellow Stimulators are best right now. Some light cahills #14 remain evenings and tricorythodes #22 will come to the water soon overnights and early mornings. Quick-Sight Beetles in the shaded areas around the cedars. If we ever get any clouds or rain, ephemerella lata (BWO #16) will show

up.

Upper Boardman River
Warm temps, clear water and normal levels are making fishing very good. Mousing continues to move some very good fish from 10:30pm-2am in the deep bends and holes. Hoppers where the sun hits the river and beetles where the cedars shade the river below the Forks will move some nice fish all afternoon. Shumsky Landing and Beitner will offer some fair hopper fishing. If we ever get any clouds or rain, ephemerella lata (BWO #16) will show up. Some trico fishing soon early mornings. No word yet on any fish in the new water below the Quiet Area. Water looks good and surprisingly good numbers of insects were reported by Dave Mahan in the AuSable Institutes bug census there. Only time will tell. Mousing at Shumsky and

As the cleanup of the dam failure at Brown Bridge waits in the wings, we turn our attention to the next dam removal, Sabin Dam. Sabin Dam is the upstream limit for Great Lakes species on the Boardman River. Thus, when it is removed, any specie that is allowed to travel above the fish ladder at Union Street Dam in downtown Traverse City will find its way all the way to the Boardman’s headwaters when all the dams are removed. There has been no stocking of the Boardman above Sabin Dam since 1979. Among the Great Lake species found below Sabin Dam are lake trout, sea lamprey, zebra mussels, steelhead, brown trout, coho salmon, Chinook salmon, carp, smallmouth bass, and northern pike.

These fly casting tips are so important and yet so basic that they are used to analyze and assist casters even at the highest levels of expertise.  So keep them in mind as you practice.  When you hit the proverbial wall with your casting and are seemingly unable to improve, consider these simple points and I believe you will most likely find your way to the next level.

1. 1. Watch your cast.  This most importantly includes watching your backcast.  No one single point more quickly helps a caster to utilize their hand and eye coordination than utilizing their eyes on the backcast.
2. 2. Stop the rod. This is the single most common failure of most casters at all levels.  Where the rod tip stops determines the path the rod tip travels on the forward cast and the backcast.  And, the path the rod tip travels from stop to stop determines the shape of the loop on both sides. Learning to control the loop shape and size will help you with wind, heavy flies

Stream Report: July 12, 2013

Fishing is now in transition. With large hexagenia limbata, isonychia bicolor, and sulfurs (ephemerella dorothea) coming to an end, our attention is now turning to midday terrestrials (grasshoppers, beetles, ants...), early morning tricorythodes, and streamer fishing. Rainy days will bring some ephemerella lata's too. But, the midday attractor and terrestrial fishing will now dominate for the next several weeks. Get out and have some fun.