Tag Archive for: michigan trout fishing

Conditions Matter

Conditions Matter

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Conditions Matter

Every spring we enter a transitional period between our annual spring steelhead run and our peak dry fly fishing for trout. In some years this period can be long and drawn out while others transition rapidly. This period is often overlooked and regarded as “hard fishing” as weather conditions can change rapidly and behave differently from year to year. However, if you use a conditions based decision making process to plan your outings, you can eliminate some of the frustrations often associated with transitional fishing. After all, you’re only as good as the conditions you’re fishing in. As a guide, dealing with changing conditions is a daily consideration and I am constantly looking for the best conditions based approach for my anglers.

April and early May can often be characterized by inconsistent weather patterns, but the angling opportunities available at this time are unique and often overlooked. Two of my personal favorites are 1) streamer fishing for trout while searching for the first hatches of the season and 2) the pre-spawn smallmouth bass fishing. Both of these angling opportunities offer different types of fishing, but more importantly they require different conditions for success. Having multiple opportunities to choose from allows us to cater to a conditions based approach to what, when, and where, we will fish on any given day. This is just one example of two overlapping fishing scenarios that have independent factors determining the outcome.

Trout Opener

The annual trout opener is always met with great anticipation, but more often than not we find ourselves fishing during a cold front during this weekend. Negative conditions will often make fishing tough, but understanding your target species and how it will respond to these changes is really what we should consider under these circumstances. Another scenario we often experience under stable conditions are weather patterns that impact the effectiveness of certain techniques making the fishing less productive. Understanding how certain weather parameters affect the behavior of the fish we target is important, but how do these same conditions also impact the food resources available to the fish during these same times?

One of the most common examples of this that I often have to consider is; how does a bright sunny day impact the trout fishing during early spring? Understanding that under low water conditions and bright sunny skies the streamer fishing for trout will often be tough. Another consideration I will make here is understanding how these same conditions will impact my dry fly fishing for trout. I know that under bright skies and colder conditions my hatching Hendrickson’s will be low in density. Even under bright skies and warmer conditions the Hendrickson’s tend to be lower in number, but more importantly the bugs have an easier time leaving the waters surface making them less visible to the trout. When these early hatches of insects are not drifting long distances on the waters surface, trout will often not key in on the surface to feed.

Smallmouth Bass

Under these same conditions smallmouth bass may be far more active and provide a much better alternative species to fish for especially on the bright sunny days. Cold fronts will often push bass into deeper and slower water, but I still feel that they will be more receptive and less neutral than trout under these same conditions. On the flip side, if conditions are calling for heavy cloud cover and moderate temperatures, I know the trout will be more receptive to streamers and the hatching Hendrickson’s will typically last longer and drift further on the waters surface. Not everything in nature is black and white, but if you consider the fishing conditions that are presented to you, often you will find your success improves even in the face of adversity.

Over my guiding career I have seen a lot of changes, weather patterns today are definitely less predictable and the timing of our seasons feels different as well. Being adaptable in my approach and considering the conditions I’m presented on a daily basis has definitely led to more success over time. I have always been passionate about the spring fishing for trout, but often it has been met with frustration as day to day conditions didn’t provide the opportunities I was looking for. Having a backup plan for those situations is a far less stressful strategy and it will often prevent you from getting stuck in a rut. So when planning your next trip consider choosing your target species based upon the fishing conditions you are presented, it may provide everyone with a better overall angling experience.

Ed McCoy

Chestnut Lamprey

Chestnut Lamprey

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Chestnut Lamprey
Chestnut Lamprey attached to a Brown Trout

Chestnut Lamprey

The Chestnut Lamprey, Ichthyomyzon castaneus, is a Native Species commonly found in Lakes and Rivers throughout the Great Lakes region. They are considered to be an indicator species and their presence in a body of water has been closely associated with healthy clean water. There is, however, one negative component to their presence in a watershed and that is the negative impact they can have on fish populations during their parasitic phase.

The chestnut Lamprey has two primary life stages to complete its life cycle. The first life stage is the larval phase, commonly referred to as ammocoetes, in which the larval form is primarily a filter feeding organism. The larva will live in the fine and silty bottom sediments in slower backwater pools for an average of 5-7 years. When the larva reach 4-6 years of age they go through a metamorphosis and develop teeth and a sucking mouth disk characterized by the adult parasitic phase of their life cycle.

The metamorphic phase appears to take place from October through the end of January as the ammocoetes enter the second life stage as parasitic adults. As the water begins to warm up in April the larva exit their burrows and enter the parasitic feeding phase of their life cycle. The Chestnut Lamprey tends to be more active at night and during low light periods. Peak feeding periods for the adults range from May through July with some adults holding over until the following spring to spawn. The adult chestnut lamprey will continue to feed until the peak spawning season occurs from June to July. After spawning the adults will die and the cycle is repeated. (Hall, 1963)

Manistee River

In Michigan, most of our trout streams have an established population of Chestnut Lamprey, but, the Manistee River has been mentioned as having a highly abundant population in the upper portions of the watershed, especially from County Road 612 to Sharon Road. As the water temperature reaches 50 F degrees the adults begin to feed. (Hall, 1963) This temperature change coincides nicely with the obvious annual appearance of Chestnut Lamprey on the trout we catch throughout the first half of our trout season. Most of the trout in our streams will react to streamer patterns tied with a long and “leechy” appearance and lots of undulating movement in the materials.

Matching the Hatch

Chestnut Lamprey will range in size from 4-5” early in their adult development and will attain lengths of +7” at maturity. It’s not a coincidence that as the lamprey continue to become more active that the streamer fishing becomes more consistent for us, especially on the Manistee River. The trout are not only actively feeding at this time, but they are also combating the presence of an “alien intruder” that will parasitize them if they let their guard down! It is not uncommon to see some pretty exciting visuals while fishing “leechy” patterns at this time of year. Some fish will recklessly chase them out of their territory and oftentimes will strike with violent takes.

Take this information for what it is worth, but having an understanding of the natural phenomenon that occurs during this time of the year can only help you. Fly selection, fly movement, and presentation are all critical components to angling success and having one more arrow in the quiver can only be a positive. The Chestnut Lamprey life cycle is really just an example of one more hatch that you should pay close attention to as we move closer to the opening day of trout season here in Michigan.

Hall, J. 1963. An ecological study of the chestnut lamprey, Ichthyomyzon castaneus, in the Manistee River, Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.

 

top dry fly hooks

Top Dry Fly Hook Choices

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Choosing the Correct Hook for Tying Dry Flies

Top Dry Fly Hook Choices
Top Dry Fly Hook Choices

When it comes to tying flies in today’s industry, the hook choices are almost unlimited and in many cases overwhelming. New Branding continues to increase the number of hook choices available in today’s market. However, if you pay close attention to some of the more important variables for good Dry Fly Hook choices you can eliminate most of the confusion. The purpose of this discussion is to help you think through your choices and to highlight a few of my preferred hook choices for tying Dry Flies. You can also check out the video where we covered some of our favorite hook choices on the Mangled Fly You Tube Channel.

Key Characteristics to look for in Hook Choices

Some important hook characteristics to consider in selecting an appropriate dry fly hook would be; hook eye orientation, hook gap, hook wire diameter/length, hook bend shape/point. Hook strength and hook up efficiency are very important aspects of hook choice and are directly related to the primary characteristics of the hook. The orientation of the hook eye, the length of the hook shank, and the width of the hook gap are all important components of hook design. that dictate your success. Finally a good range of hook sizes is also important in determining hook choice. If more hook sizes are available for a particular hook then you will have more variety of sizes to tailor your fly selection needs.

I prefer a down turned eye on my Dry Fly hooks. The biggest reason for this relates back to the hook setting angle of a Dry Fly presentation which is typically straight up. A down turned eye offers exceptional hook up efficiency with this type of hook set. For comparison a straight eye hook offers greater hooking efficiency with a strip set. Understanding presentation and how the hook will respond to the typical presentation you will be fishing with will determine how efficient your hook up percentage will be.

Whenever possible I will choose a wide gap hook for most of my Dry Fly hook selections as well. A bigger hook gap will tend to give you a better hookup percentage and more room for error while fighting hooked fish. Consider the style of fly you are tying as well. If you are tying extended body or foam patterns I prefer the wide gap hooks. Wide gap hooks have more of the hook point exposed and provide a bigger area for hook penetration. Most of the hooks I tie on are also chemically sharpened, this seems to be an industry standard, but hook penetration is very important.

The hook wire strength/length are important considerations too. Some of the larger insects we imitate require longer hooks to complete the platform for that bug. Longer wire hooks tend to give the fish an advantage for escape. Matching the length of the wire to strength, 2x or 3x heavy, and a wide gap would be my preferred choice. I don’t tie Dry Flies on a lot of long shank hooks basically for that reason. However, with that being said there are a few hooks available in this size combination that I have had great success with and I tend to use these hooks while tying my larger Dry Flies. Hoppers, Hex, and larger Stonefly patterns sometimes require that longer hook shank to get the appropriate size in your imitation. The TMC 5263 and Ahrex FW 570 are two of the long shank dry fly hooks I like for these larger bodied imitations.

Some of my Favorite Dry Fly Hook Choices

Here is the short list for the most commonly used Dry Fly Hooks that I prefer to tie my Dry Flies on. Feel free to substitute your own selections, these are just the hooks that I have the most confidence in for their performance on the water. You can check out the specs on the full Line of Tiemco Dry Fly Hooks

Tiemco TMC 100


The TMC 100 is the most commonly used hook for my Dry Fly tying. It is a standard Dry Fly hook that has a downturned eye, 1x fine wire, and a wide gap. This hook is available in a multitude of sizes from #8 to #26. I have used this hook in a number of flies and personally have a lot of confidence in this hook. The TMC 100 allows me to imitate countless hatch specific insects. I use this Dry Fly hook for most of my Parachute Mayfly imitations, Mayfly spinners, Mayfly/Caddis emergers, and Stonefly/Caddis adults.

Tiemco TMC 102Y


The TMC 102Y is a unique hook that has an unbelievable hook up efficiency! It was designed for fishing in Japan for quick striking trout. The TMC 102Y is a Dry Fly hook with a downturned eye, 1x fine wire, and a wide gap. This hook is available in sizes #9 to #19. The odd sizes are intriguing, but we do have some hatches here in Michigan where the insects are actually smaller than the even sizes commonly found in most standard Dry Fly hooks. The male Hendrickson Mayfly is one example that comes to mind. I have used this hook in Parachute Mayfly, Mayfly emerger, Stonefly, and Hopper imitations. It really shines as a great hook to use in a lot of my Mayfly extended body patterns, especially the All Day Dun series. This hook has quickly become one of my favorites for the majority of my Dry Fly tying.

Tiemco 5263


The TMC 5263 has a downturned eye, 3x long shank, and a 2x heavy wire. This hook is actually a Nymph and Streamer hook, but I will commonly use it in some of my larger Dry Fly patterns. I prefer to use this hook in some of my Hex, Hopper, and Stonefly patterns where I have a greater chance of encountering larger fish. This hook has a good hookup percentage and is tough as nails. I have not had one fail or bend while playing larger fish. Confidence is the name of the game with this particular hook. This is one of the long shank hooks that has a good balance of length to strength and hook gap width. This is important when it comes to hookup efficiency and battling larger fish.

Ahrex FW 570


The FW 570 is a 2x long Dry Fly hook with beefed up wire and a large gap making it a great hook choice for big fish flies. This hook is available in sizes #4 to #14 and the smaller sizes are still beefy enough to manage larger fish easily. I haven’t been using this hook as long as some, but so far it has been a great hook for some of my larger foam extended body mayfly and hopper patterns. It’s quickly finding its way into more of my tying and my confidence in this hook continues to grow. This is another great long shanked hook that has a great hookup efficiency.

Gamakatsu B10S


The B10S is a 1x strong Stinger hook that can be found in sizes #5/0 to #14. I have successfully used this hook in the smaller sizes from #6 to #14 in some of my Dry Fly patterns. It is a great hook for some of my larger foam extended body Mayfly and Stonefly patterns. It is very strong and has a pretty good hookup percentage. It has a wide gap which is great for extended body Dry Fly patterns. It meets a niche I needed to fill with a short shank hook paired with a wide gap.

Hook selection is a very important component to fly design. As you start to play with new materials and develop some pretty unique and effective fly designs, make sure you pay close attention to the hook selection. A fly is only as good as the hook it is tied upon! If you are struggling to hook fish with a certain pattern consider the hook choices available when you go back to the drawing board. Trial and error are all part of the game. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different hook types to find one that works better with a specific fly design.

Brown Trout below Tippy

Brown Trout Eating Something

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Brown Trout Eating Minnows

Been a fun fall of shooting Mother Nature dining out.  Started with the Heron and Pike images.  Now here is another image of the cycle of life.  Had the opportunity to fish below Tippy Dam for Brown Trout.  While working on a few patterns that that we will be adding to the Hawkins YouTube channel here this winter. I shot some video of the flies in action and then extracted this still image of the brown trout showing off his main meal, with my small dinner mint sized fly in his mouth.

Brown Trout below Tippy

What minnow did this Brown Trout eat?

First Hex, found on an inland lake

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Driving home from the river the other day saw my first signs of hex, on an northern michigan inland lake the streets and overheads lights to illuminate the streets were covered in this Michigan Mayfly.

Hex Hatch