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Updated 07-2-08

Well it isn't last year folks, but there are bugs flying down there a few nights a week.  Hex fishing has been in and out with some really good nights and some really off nights and everything in between.  The weather hasn't held long enough to heat the water a ton, but the few days a week that mud does heat up the bugs show up in pretty good numbers down there.  Fishing pressure has been very high in the lower sections with the bulk of the bugs showing up down there so far but the upper sections are starting to see a few popping here and there and I suppose by this time next week we will have had some decent hatches in the Fly Water as there have been some Hex seen around those and middle river sections this past week.  The mouse fishing is still living down the high waters of a couple weeks ago when the fish just fattened right up and have since been keeping me and Brad shaking our heads the last few attempts in the dark.  We have been scoring teeners and rolling and pricking some nicer fish, but it is still a little behind par; best reason I can think of is until they thin down a little from the worm binder a week ago, I don't think they have enough room for the larger meals just yet.  Nymph fishing has been very good for those on the day trips with water color stained just a bit still and the terrestrial action is just starting to get good finally with the grass now around 4' in length now with all kinds of bugs and critters crawling on and in them.

With the mouse fishing doing ok but not great and the Hex fishing tough to predict the best bet for action oddly lately has been the middle of the day between nymphs, hoppers and a few stray hatches going off.  Fishing pressure during the day has been lower then the evenings minus the weekends when the canoe hatch goes off in full strength and there is still some color to the water so the fish aren't wary in the clarity yet.  Nymph fishing is the most consistent way to get fish going lately with the fish really looking subsurface more then anywhere lately.  The lack of heat has kept the terrestrial fishing somewhat at bay leaving a good amount of underwater targets for them to choose from.  Epoxy backs any things, bead headed what have you, and anything else that twinkles a little as it comes down will get you some attention.  The soft hackle assaults are there for those that hate to mend, but the nymphing dead drift will eventually pick up a bigger fish and up to twenty has been tangoed with so far on the lighter tippets. Iso's have been coming of nicely the last week or so and so have the big and bigger stones.  Bigger stimulators in the evenings and just into dark have been doing well, and the blind Hex cast anywhere in the river could be greeted with good results this late in June.  The streamer fishing is there for those that love to strip, at least first thing and after any good rain, but the bug fishing and especially surface fishing will be the main focus during daylight for awhile to come.  Daytimes are great for novice fisherman and beginner fisherman since you can see what your doing and where your casting versus the nighttime trips that are more for fisherman that already know how to cast and know what a mend is prior to getting into the boat; try and keep that in mind even when you see the  larger fish of the dark hours.

Nighttime fishing lately has been in and out with all the fishing pressure down low and the fishing conditions in and out.  The Hex Hatch as is stands is about two weeks late and isn't hatching to full potential yet though there have been four maybe five, very large spinner flights so far.  The bugs have been out every night to some extent but daytime temps have been dictating how many fly and how many die.  We have been getting some twenty plus inch fish so far on the bigger bugs, but not like we normally do by now and if that heat doesn't get here soon I am wondering just how good of a hatch this '08 is going to be.  Upper sections have been seeing a few Hex flies flying above the Drakes the last few nights, but up there fishing a giant stimulator will get you as much if not more love right now as there have been many B-2 Bombers around the Upper section riffles.  The Hex Hatch for the middle and upper sections will be improving over the next week into next and might be pretty good by comparison to what we have seen so far down river with a little less water then there the last few weeks.  Water levels are back to normal or will be in a few more days as we slowly get rid of that last little rain shower and hopefully that is the last of the water for a little while, we sure have gotten a bunch of it.  The Hex theoretically could last for another month with everything being two weeks being this year, or we may have seen the best of it already it really is tough to say with the conditions in place the way they have been this year.  Keep your fingers crossed that summer shows up quick!!!

Mouse fishing is still the most likely way to put the slob in the net but lately it has been tough as the fish are full and reluctant to tackle anything as big as some of the critters we have been throwing at night.  We are getting a couple fish a night but nothing like we were doing just before the water came up several weeks ago.  Me and Brad were averaging over a hundred inches a night with the big wakers, and a couple of those nights we got over two hundred and then it rained, then rained some more then all of a sudden Ludington was almost washed away then it stopped raining the river came down and ever since it has been tough to get a good night of mouse fishing in with the fish being so high water fattened, though we have been trying hard.  Been getting a couple smaller teeners, but zero slobs and inches total have been down too.  When the water drops and clears the fish will thin and get hungry again but that may take a week or so as they had a full ten days of dirty water to sift through.  Fishing pressure for the mice fisherman have been better then the lower river which has been littered with Hex fisherman for a week or so.  Fishing pressure down there should start to drop around the 4th but with any luck the hatch will last a little longer.  The mouse fishing is the best way to take a novice night fishing for the first time versus the Hex Hatch which should be limited to experienced fisherman who have at least tried to cast in the dark.  Mouse casting doesn't require as much technique and can still be productive when fished less then perfect unlike the Hex cast that has more or less a half dozen elements when it is casted, mended and drifted to the fish all of which is followed by a good hook-set with the right amount of tension, this all with the lights off!!  If this is your first time in the dark I would highly recommend the mouse fishing over the Hex fishing unless you just want to land some humility over the coarse of the evening; Hex and Mouse fishing are tricky only in that the lights are off, you should already know how to cast before attempting either!!!!

Franko has the shop looking good and all the Hex and hairballs you might need out there are in there, so swing by the shop for some bug spray, batteries and bugs for browns and see what is up with the fishing.  The Hex Hatch right now is lacking but should rebound nicely with the heat these next few days but this year has been a very weird year with the surplus of rain and cooler weather.  Pray they all eat fewer Hex and are famished by the middle of this month to make for some good midnight waking because we will not be having a banner Hex season this year as it is beyond late and was drowned and frozen for showing up.  Terrestrial fishing should go no where but up and is fishing good right now as is the daytime nymph fishing with indis or under a hopper.  Soft hackles can get it done but should be better when the water really clears up.  Daytime hatches have been mostly sally, iso, BWO, and sporadic others including the Drakes that are still flying in the evenings.   Haven't seen allot of caddis, but the punky midges are doing just fine, especially in the moon light.  Bring the bug spray, headlamps, breathable's if your coming this week or any other for the next month or so because the bugs have been bad with all that rain.  Lighter colors seem to be left alone more but Deet rules.  The deer are moving about like cattle so try and drive before dark because that is when they are moving the most.  Finally starting to look like summer and it is about time as we are going into July now. 

Good Luck and Good Fishing......Tommy Lynch/aka The Fish Whisperer