Upper Manistee River Trout Fishing

Manistee River Trout Report

The Upper Manistee River Trout Fishing report for the third week of April has us fishing for trout with streamers.  Our weather this past month has been up and down, but mostly on the cold side.  It’s been an old fashioned spring this year as we have been slow to warm. Water conditions are improving after some heavy rains and a long sustained high water period.  Visibility is pretty clear in the upper sections, however, as you venture downstream the levels and color intensify below each tributary. Water temps have been in the upper 40’s to low 50’s with some sunshine.  

As a reminder, access sites are now snow free, but some of the upper sections were affected by the ice storm a few weeks back. Some heavy rains the first part of April also produced some of the highest flows I have seen on the Upper Manistee River in quite some time.  There has been a lot of wood that moved around and several tree falls along the river course.  Make sure you have a saw and be prepared to portage your craft as we have all ready found a few challenging obstacles so far. 

We have had a typical spring so far and the river is currently dropping and clearing.  Flows are going to be higher for a while after another heavy rain event before the weekend. If you’re a wading angler be careful and use caution.  The water temperatures have been 45-52 depending upon the overnight lows and how much sunshine we receive.  The 10 day forecast shows a significant warmup heading our way with some more precipitation mixed in.

Streamer Fishing

The Streamer Fishing on the Upper Manistee River has been slower than expected recently and we have had to grind thru long periods of inactivity. The lack of consistency has stemmed primarily from the longer high water cycle and cold weather patterns.  More stable weather has been producing better bite windows and fish activity.  Colder mornings have been the slowest for us, but warming trends have been the most consistent.  Smaller streamers are getting the most attention and fly color has been all over the board.  Black, yellow, tan, and white, have all had their moments, even over the course of the same day.  

Presentation and the depth you are fishing your fly have been the most important factors so far.  Fly color can be important, but right now retrieval speed and the depth of your fly seem to be more critical for success. Weighted flies are currently outpacing unweighted swim fly style patterns.  You will also need to play with fly size and color throughout the day.  This time of year conditions can change quickly and so will presentation and fly selection.  Grinding through the slow periods and constantly changing things up will be your key to success.

Streamer Tactics

With the current water conditions you will need a couple of different setups to fish effectively while streamer fishing. You will need to consider the water type, depth, and retrieval speed you are fishing and match the proper line for that situation.  In deeper sections you can still get away with a 300-350 grain line, but with colder temps you will need to slow down your retreival.  I would also consider carrying a 200-250 grain line as well.  This will allow you to fish slower and maintain your flies in the strike zone longer. Right now a 250 grain line has been about right in the upper sections. 

Cloudy days are always the best streamer fishing days, but colder weather can make it challenging sometimes.  Interestingly enough, the better bite windows this week have come as the sun popped out from behind the clouds.  The fish have been sluggish lately and warmer water will help our fishing. On colder days you may find several bite windows, especially under moderately sunny conditions.  Right now water temps and flow will be the biggest factors controlling your current level of success.  Understanding fish behavior in cold- high water will be critical to catching more fish. 

Dry Fly Fishing

So far we haven’t had many days of good insect activity, but we did have some good numbers of Blue Wing Olives and Stones over the weekend.  With the current water temps we didn’t find many rising fish, but we did see a couple of small fish taking advantage of the bugs.  For the most part we have only seen Black Stones and BWO’s hatching and no Hendrickson sightings as of yet.  With the Michigan Trout Opener this weekend, and some warmer weather heading our way, I would expect to see our Hendrickson hatch start by the coming weekend.   

Didymo

Didymo on the Upper Manistee continues to be a problem with a high level of concern.  I would consider the entire Upper Manistee River System to be contaminated with this Diatom. There hasn’t been any recent Didymo growth to my knowledge and we haven’t seen any blooming like during the 2022 season.  Didymo is considered a very resilient invasive species so you need to educate yourself on safe cleaning techniques.  River Users will need to clean their gear or anything that touches the water.  Didymo can easily be spread between watersheds and can be detrimental to our trout streams.

I would consider the ENTIRE RIVER TO BE CONTAMINATED and treat it as such. Clean, Drain, Dry your gear before entering another Body of Water.  Currently, there are no effective methods to eradicate didymo once it is established in a river.  To prevent spreading Didymo and other aquatic invasive species to new locations, it is critical for users to thoroughly Clean, Drain and Dry waders, equipment, and boats upon leaving a waterway.

• Clean by removing mud and debris from all surfaces.
• Use a 10% Solution of Dishwashing Soap with hot water for 10 minutes (Example 1 gallon of water is 12.8 oz of Dawn Soap). Then it must dry for 48 hours (mandatory if your fishing different water systems).

Trout Guide Trips 

We have very limited openings available during the peak hatch season, so make sure to book your dates now for 2025!  If you’re looking to book a Trout Guide Trip you can reach us at 231-631-5701 (leave a message) or shoot us an email.  We are excited for the upcoming Trout Season.   Also make sure to follow along on our social pages and our online fishing report page  for more updates. 

Tight Lines,

Ed