Thunder calls and rain falls, migrating flies equal more river guides, let’s hope the brown trout rise!! I hope all managed through the recent heat wave well and found some Michigan waters to stay cool this past holiday weekend. The blue gills are bedding, the lupine is blooming, southerners are returning to their northern lake cottages, and mayflies are gathering in the evening along the riverside thick as a heavy snow….summer is here!!

Gray Drakes are covering the river corridor with spinners leaving little time for things like fishing reports. If you have a passion for trout now is your time to get to the river or take an evening guide trip and get educated on what all the excitement is about. I will return soon with a report but for now…here is your flie of the month and a few fish pics. Sorry for the short report but the fishing is just more enjoyable!!

Bear Andrew’s Drake Spinner #10

Wrapped by: someone in China or possibly Malaysia…ask Bear.

Pere Marquette Watershed Conditions

River level: Low

River temp: 59

River Clarity: Slight Stain

Get off your phone and go fish!!!

The steelhead are almost finished with their 2018 spring migration, the bugs are starting to pop, the fry and par are out everywhere, and summer is on the way. The past week has been beautiful and has fished fantastic!! I hope everyone got a chance to spend some quality time with moms this weekend and Happy mother’s day mom!!

You can say goodbye to our spring steelhead, there are some isolated steel gravel around still feeding trout but for the record our 2018 run is finished. You may get the opportunity at a dropback on a streamer or surprise yourself with a summer run at night but for most of us, see ya in fall Michigan steelhead .

The salmo trutta is our game from here until September!! The past week streamers have been the best morsel to get wet. The bugs are popping fast though and as the water clears fish should start to take notice. Sulphurs and drakes should show up in the next week based on temps. Streamers will hold if we continue to get enough surprise showers to keep the river stained. If not, things will start to go nocturnal…and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing lol.

Love your Mom and catch a fish!!

Pere Marquette Watershed Conditions

Water level: Normal

Water temp: 53

Water clarity: Stained

The water looked great, the water temps where perfect, the weather was gorgeous, traffic was light, steelhead where plentiful, and trout had the munchies. This past week the Pere Marquette’s puzzle fit together perfect and everything was in its right place. It was a wicked start for April and it finally feels, looks, and smells like it should.

The spring steelhead migration seems to have peaked this past week. My assumption is things will slow down quickly with it being this warm and this late into April…but hey one never knows for sure. There should be plenty of good opportunities for steel this week but these fish won’t linger long and next week I would assume those opportunities will return to the big lake. No those jumping steelhead are not eating flies they are just happy to go home. Steel are nipping eggs, alvin, and nymphs around the gravels and holding water. Streamers are getting the dropbacks and more aggressive males in the packs behind the ladies. This being the most exciting way to target these brutes!!!

Now for the trout program. Eggs, eggs, eggs and a little of everything is the menu. Get away from steel and a streamer, stone nymph or wiggler might work but the river is full of orange candy at moment. The Alvin are starting to ball up the bugs are starting to fly and next week other techniques should start to fall back into the fold but for now eggs, eggs, and eggs will fool most of our trout.

Go enjoy a watershed.

Pere Marquette Watershed conditions

Water level: normal

Water temp: 52

Water clarity: light stain

I am not really into records unless the are vinyl, but we must be setting some sort of record with this special spring weather. It is easy to forget what country we are in at times this April. Even with the snow, ice, hail, and severe winds there have been moments of luck on our side and fish have been caught.

The spring steelhead migration should swing into full gear the remainder of April. The run is late this spring and I feel for the early crowd, I really do, with the weather it has been just brutal. The positive spin is steelheading should be great through the rest of April as well as the weather and the trout bite!!

Get to a river near you today!!

Pere Marquette icebergs

Pere Marquette Watershed

Water level: Very High

Water Temp:36

Water clarity: Heavy Stain

Well this is not the first nor the last time Michigan weather will fool you…i wish it was a joke but it isn’t. We can hope that this is the last of winter, fingers are crossed and hope is high. The river is still there and some will still fish.

Steelhead where starting to show up and the trout bite was heating up. This weather should put a pause on things but once the weather passes everything should pick back up. Fishing the deep water around the spawning steel is steel the main event still but a streamer can have its moment amongst all the eggs.

Brew some hot jasmine flower green tea, take a Sunday drive, and the last white winter covering. You may even get lucky and see a Bald Eagle eating a dead dear…just proves nobody should pass on a free meal.

Let there be no more snow!!

Pere Marquette Watershed

Water level: low

Water temp: 38

Water clarity: slight stain