Grand Traverse Bay, MI Fishing Report

Doug all the way from Oregon wanted to see our MI small mouth, 5/10

Our local inland lakes are starting to shape up nicely for the angler looking for a different kind of tug. Had a chance to hit some smallmouth water today and with water temps in the low sixties bass are starting to bed up. Look for fish to be in that 6-10 foot range focusing on the drop-offs and structure as we found fish in both today. Also look to saddle areas for those pre-spawn traveling fish on the move to spawn! Fish were reacting to a few key colors: olive blend, baitfish, and black. It was a very light bite with black being most productive so slow down your presentation with short pop strips to increase hook-ups.

Some cool stuff is starting to happen (finally), as mother nature is letting some of her grip loose on a very long winter season. Spring is in the air with a couple days of 50's and a weekend forecast of 60's. Inland lakes and Michigan shoreline are heating up for the angler curious about the next frontier. As fish start to hunt down bait fish that is on their own spawning migration. Bait fish is balling up and big predator fish are keying in on this easy food. Warm water discharges are great places to find some of the warmest water, this being warmer creeks and springs as most creeks and springs are running high and dirty this is a great transition line for fish to ambush bait fish.

Fly patterns in the 2-4" range are best this time of year, you don't have to throw big sink tips as most fish can be found on intermediate lines, but a 300 grain sink tip will also get the job done. Today blue and silver and the seducer sculpin (pattern can be found on the small mouth DVD) did the best. Last week we had a couple nice 6-8 pound browns come close to the boat follow our flies in, but only to turn away at the last minute. With water temps still really cold, we have plenty of time in the next couple weeks to score a big trout.

Mother Nature has not been giving us much of a break as far as cooler weather trends go, but lake fishing remains decent if you hit the water at key times during the day. Remember it's also about presentation and depth, so selecting the right gear set up for a day on the water is key during this time of year to have greater success. Heavy sink tip lines 350grains or > will certainly help achieve the right depth one should be aiming for!

Bass and Pike fishing remains decent; for this time of year, for those looking to go on the hunt in one of the many pristine lakes the MITTEN has to offer. Look to deep weed drops, and structure for more hook ups. These fish are consistently in deeper water and suspended right now so get that fly deep and keep it in the 10-15ft zone with a fishy presentation and you will find success. Low light days have been key, but fish can be found in all conditions. Look to shallower water when you have good low light cooler days. Fly selection can vary, with medium baitfish patterns in more natural colors getting most of the takes. Think what a predator fish might eat this time of year and what abundant food source the lake has. (crayfish, shad,perch, etc...)Match that hatch and you will find success!

The Flats are starting to produce some more action for the fly angler searching for Carp. With steady numbers of post spawn fish showing up feeding in the flats, the spot and stalk is on. Patience is key to having good chances at getting down to your backing with these bruisers.

Reading the feeding patters and the movement of these pods will greatly improve hookups. Remember, don’t just jump in on a pod and smack your fly around. Take your time and be patient, let the pod of fish get accustomed to your presence in the water and key in on fish that are actively feeding. Smaller crayfish patterns and leaches have been getting the most chases.

For those looking for smallmouth action, boulder hopping is a great method to cover the water. Larger crayfish and goby patterns jigged over the boulders produced our strikes and chases today.

Would not say this has been a normal carp year so far, would of guessed very early fishing with outstanding numbers of fish in shallow. By no means has that been the case in the first 3 weeks of the normal season. While some days they are everywhere, but most days it is hunt, hunt, and more hunting. Did see some signs of normal carping taking place this weekend, and then the north wind blew and mixed up the bay one more time.

If you enjoy the hunt for the big ugly's looks like mother nature is going to give us a week of sun, light wind, and normal temps. This consistency should make for the best weather of the season so far to hunt down the great lake bonefish.

Inland lakes have been on fire for the past week or so, with smallmouth bass, bluegills, and largemouth all hitting the shallow water flats and points. Fishing a variety of topwater and streamers has been very productive. With so many different lakes to venture onto, opportunities are endless for the fly anger. 

Also made it out to the bay a couple times this week, with carp fishing a little spotty. Smallmouth bass pretty much saved the day. We had big south winds all week, so water temps really changed and moved fish around, but Old Mission had good fishing one day, but nothing the next. But with a so much warm air, the carp scene should be hot this coming week, with more west winds changing the game to the east side of the bays. Bass will continue to be very aggressive but should start to move to that the first break. Crayfish patterns in the bay are always a winner, and anything that you can make swim like a goby is a great choice as well.

Inland lakes the topwater bite is heating up, in the low light periods of the day. Look for the first real weed beds to be start to show themselves. Flashy flies in and out of the weeds will bring pike and bass to the fly. With most smallmouth bass post spawn now, they will be very hungry to put the the weight again.

With record setting temperatures all weekend, an idea to hit the inland lakes instead of the river proved to be well worth it. With mid to low 90's as temps, trout streams took a beating with plenty of bugs but inconsistent trout fishing. Where the inland lake scene is red hot right now, as gills and other pan fish are storming the shallows. Throwing top water poppers for pan fish on light weight rods is an absolute blast. Will also help with, understanding the timing of the standard dry fly bite. Fishing many of the inland lakes in northern Michigan, that are as clear as gin, this sight casting game installs good habits that we can bring back to the trout stream when mother nature gives us "normal weather". Another positive to inland lakes is the opportunity to practice your distance casting. Where most trout streams are location, location, location. Inland it is good if you can lay out some line, a great tune up for our upcoming carp fishing, which is actually already underway.

Inland lakes are good for all ages, a great way to get kids into the sport of fishing. The next couple weeks are prime.

With Esox (pike) season officially open, and some sections of our rivers a little muddy to throw even the biggest streamers. Inland lakes provide a different type of fishing, and plenty of solitude. When hunting for the magnum size toothy creatures, you truly are never sure what is going to bite. Plenty of our northern michigan inland lakes, have largemouth, small mouth, pike, and even musky. We marked some big marks in 15-20 feet of water today over weeds, so we decided to throw the biggest flies we had. Only to find super aggressive largemouth willing to chase down and munch on our flash offering.

All our fish today were found in the weeds, as ledges and slopes did not have fish cruising today. This is common this time of year, as we are in a post spawn pattern for our Esox, and they are on the hunt for food, and the bait fish are hiding in the weeds before their spawn starts.

Water temps today we found close to 50, so bluegills and largemouth should be hitting the shallows soon. Look for the next warm up to kick off the bluegill season. Some of the best dry fly action for fly anglers on the inland lakes. Great for kids and adults. Great opportunity to teach with endless action.

With more than a handful of inland lakes in Leelanau, Benzie, and Grand Traverse that are stocked with trout, there are endless opportunity for the fly fisherman to hunt his quarry. While the size of most of our rivers protects the angler from the long cast, inland lakes and Lake Michigan shorelines are not so kind. When hunting Mr. Lake Brown. Today Aaron joined me for a day of hunting the big one. And while Mr. Trout got away, some of the "none target" species have started to show up in the less than 25 foot depths that the fly angler and hunt effectively.

With some of the river in northern michigan this week, getting pretty darn clear from a couple weeks of little rain, inland lakes are setting up niclely to hunt breaks and drops off for predator gamefish. Fish coming out of winter mode should be hunting the smelt that are setting up to do there thing. A varitey of minnow patterns will work, but long and slender is usually the key.

Still believe one of the largest bodies of water that is so under utilized for a fly angler is Lake Michigan. Now saying this, there might not be a harder place to fly fish. Especially when chasing trout or salmonids. Having the want and desire to cover miles of beach, make hundreds of casts, and understanding your windows of opportunity are short. But still with all those things against us, we keep coming back. While the early part of the salmonid run was hard to find fish willing to stage long enough to cast too, this past week fish have hung out a little longer and are more willing to play. A good mixture of fish are on the beaches, look for Kings, Coho's, some steelhead around and most harbors and ports.

With the lower river starting to fill of salmon and people some of the best fishing of the year for smallmouth and other warmwater species start to occur in the less traveled river miles of our great state. The backwaters and inland lakes start to cool off and the predators of the deep will for sure start to put on the pounds as the long winter is slowly approaching.

Throwing suspending dying minnow patterns over weed beds is key, as the slow sinking minnow on an intermediate will bring some very nice fish to hand. Also bouncing the bottom in the shallows with weighted crayfish imitations will work very well too.

I had the chance to take Jack, Mom Emily and Grandpa Steve to an inland lake today to give Jack his first fly fishing lesson. He tore up the bluegill. All on surface on poppers the bluegill provided great action for a beginning fly angler. We also had a bass eat one of our bluegills which added to the excitement.

Inland lake and bluegills are a great way to introduce kids to fly fishing. If you are up north on vacation and want to spend a morning or afternoon catching lots of fish with beginners give us a call.

Bays are slow. Anglers are trolling trout using cowbells and peanuts.

A good mixture of fishing presents itself on the bay right now, from carp, smallmouth, and lake trout. Carp and smallmouth are the primary focus as this sight casting opportunity in shallow water simulates salt water bone fishing to a tie.

Crayfish, damsel, and truly and other small food item will work. Casting to the pie plate is the key to success, and of course understand what fish are you players. Next two weeks should be prime, a great way to spend part of the day before the big hatches come off.

How is Fishing this Week:

Grand Traverse Bay is starting to fish well with warmer temps. Pre-spawn smallies are starting to move to shallow water to feed and get ready for the spawning season. East winds have water temps all over the place, best fishing has been at river mouths and drainage areas of warmer water into the Bay. Look for great fishing and the peak of the season for Carp and smallies on the flats of Grand Traverse Bay over the next several weeks!

Clarity:Clear

Water Temp: 48 - 52 

 
Current Weather/Forecast:

Today:Windy with strong thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may produce large hail and strong winds. High 84F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 70%.

Tonight:Scattered thunderstorms, some strong during the evening, will give way to mainly clear skies after midnight. Storms may produce large hail and strong winds. Low 53F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%

Where are Fish?

Most fish are still on the deep drops, but some numbers are going to the shallow flats to feed and to start to spawn.

Best Time of Day:

Morning- Good      

Noon- Good              

Evening- Good

What are you catching?

Smallmouth bass / Carp

Best Set-Up (Rod weight, line, leader, tippet):  8wt sinking line / Floating line

Best Technique (example: Nymphing w/indicator or Dry Dropper) and Tips: Stripping flies (baitfish patterns / Crawfish patterns / Goby patterns)

Hatches, Best Patterns, color & Size:

Streamers # 2-6 / Crawfish patterns #4-8 / Sculpin (Gobby) #4-#8

Access: Elk Rapids, Traverse City

Hunter and Chuck joined me today for a little inland lake adventure. We found a nice batch of mid-sized smallmouth to keep us busy in the morning hours. With packs of bass cruising the shallows hunting down a variety of minnows we set up ambush and fired a smorgasbord of streamers at them, with often times multiple fish coming in on each retrieve. While action was not a full day affair it was fun to get out on a perfect day in northern Michigan.

Look for inland lakes to really take off the next week with a good forecast, bluegills should really hit the shallows. Again one of the best times to introduce kids to fly fishing is on a local pond. Try spiders and poppers to bring fish to the surface.

On the hunt for the bigger toothy creatures today, the inland lakes showed the next wave of fish are ready to go. With water temps in the mid to low 60's on the two different lakes that we explored today. Pike are spread out, you will find your biggest females back in their favorite hunting lies now. But working that 7-10 foot depth with some sort of weed line has been the best over the past couple weeks. When I have had the chance to get out.

Look for inland lakes to really start to fire off especially for bluegills over the next couple weeks. More and more fish are moving shallow as temps are hitting their primes. Bluegills on a fly rod are a blast and a great way to bring kids into the sport.

Inland lake are starting to heat up, temps on most lakes in the area are ranging from 45-52 degrees. A variety of species can be found in depths from 5-15 feet right now. Pike opened this past Saturday and provides a great alternative when conditions are not right on the river. Pike are using the first break currently and can be found over weed beds that have not grown to their fullest yet.

We had fun with fish in the 20-25" range and lost one that severed our twenty pound fluorocarbon tippet in seconds. With so many inland lakes holding pike, and some monsters fish over 40" this provides fly anglers with the opportunity to really get out and boom some casts and practice our skills that most rivers can't provide. With the upcoming carp season quickly approaching something more than a twenty foot roll cast is needed. After a long winter the overhead cast needs to be polished off.