Almost ready to go

We finally got a stretch of warm, dry weather and it appears we are headed in the right direction. The trees are beginning to show leaves and there are more and more bugs showing up in the air. In the past few days, I have seen some Hendricksons and a number of brown and black stoneflies. I also got my first mosquito bite of the year on Sunday. Water temperatures have reached 50 degrees and one stream was as high as 56 degrees. There are still only a handful of streams that are safe to wade, but it is possible to catch fish if you are willing to work hard for the few you do catch. Silver buggers and brown soft hackles have moved the most fish for me. The warm, dry weather is expected to continue this week and I suspect we will start seeing more bugs in the air and more fish in the hand by the first week of June. 

Large waters demand caution

With the big Memorial Day weekend looming, I recently spent a good deal of time in my waders. Here is what I learned. The larger rivers have been dropping steadily and should continue to drop barring a major rain event (which is actually forecast for early this week). Smaller creeks continue to warm up and water temperatures are fairly consistent in the middle 40s throughout the region. I was able to entice a few brook trout into eating a silver bugger, but the cold water means streamers need to be crept along the bottom instead of being stripped quickly. The largest concern continues to be wading safely. The major rivers are just plain not safe to get into, and even the smaller creeks remain above normal meaning one mistake can put a person down. I almost got sucked into deep pools twice in the past three days. I have seen a handful of stoneflies in the air as well as a few caddis, but the fish don’t seem to be looking up yet. The best advice I can give right now is that if you venture out, wade safely.

High flows, low water temps remain

The past couple of weeks have brought some changes to the fishing outlook here in the western Upper Peninsula. Most of our snow has melted, although some patches still remain in the woods and along ditch lines. The resultant melt, however, has creeks and rivers still flowing heavily with most showing two to three times normal flow for this time of the year. Some have even approached the record levels set last year. (Somewhere in the picture above, there really is a channel.) Water temperatures also remain low, hovering at 40 degrees.  Lakes are still frozen with just the edges beginning to open up.

I have been able to make my way back to some smaller streams that are no longer treacherous to wade (just scary) and spent some time tossing streamers in search of fish.  These willow-lined stretches do not afford much casting room, meaning I have been roll-casting bead-head buggers, certainly not my favorite type of fishing. The trips back to these areas have been just as frightful as the wading and I have found myself driving through snowdrifts as paths make the transformation from snowmobile trails back to roads. Whether the result of good luck or good choices, I have yet to get stuck. The fish, to my chagrin, have shown little interest in my efforts.

What we really need are some warm, dry days to get things started. I have seen a handful of crane flies in the air this week, but other than that, midges remain the only insect out and about. Barring some type of warm up, it will be a bit before things really take off. That being said, we are setting up for another epic summer of fishing.