RAVENOUS BROWN TROUT......ISONYCHIAS, DRAKES AND MONSTER STONE FLIES THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT!

( Shawn with her third nice brown on the Isonychia hatch that evening)

It has been our best week of dry fly action this year....perhaps best in years! Hot weather started the week with Hexagenia hatches on the P.M.,,......then winter showed up! Air temperatures plummeted into the 40's,50's and 60's....lots of much needed rain and the bugs went crazy. It started Thursday chasing big brownies on the Pere Marquette with Mike Batcke- the Pteronarcys king-that's big stone flies, that look like dobson flies. June is their prime emergence and big browns lurk in the dark waiting for them to hatch all night.

( Steelie Ian- a trout bum comes home!)

Friday with air temps in the 40's, I guided Ian from Idaho, a true steelhead two hander junkie that fishes all over the west coast and used to work for Al Caucci on the Delaware...he is a true trout bum and bug guy- he loves Isonychia hatches. And whadda ya know...the night he shows up the Iso hatch goes crazy with the 45 degree air temps, overcast and drizzle.

( Swarms of gray drakes and Iso's early)

( isonychia)

(sulpher emerging from pheasant tail shuck nymph....a PT dropper or brown z-lon shuck is important)

( Giant Hexagenia and J:SON SWEDEN'S FLIES that are great large may fly imitations- float like a cork!)

Saturday saw the Murphys and Anton from Slovakia with Jeff Bacon. We witnessed more Isonychias, cahill stenos, olives, sulphers, caddis and yes....FINALLY GRAY DRAKES IN MASSIVE NUMBERS!

  Just when I thought 'ld never see drakes again, they showed up as river levels came up and temperatures dropped. Massive spinner flights and few couplings happened early cause of the cold temps.
NOTE: Increases in flow, a very cool front after a brief sunny heat spell and steady low barometric changes are preferred by mayflies,stoneflies and caddis hatches on tailwater and freestone rivers.

( My new ISO CRACK- I concocted on Saturday- a wiggle deadly affair)

( Nice P.M. brown with Mike on a giant Ken Morrish Ptyeronarcys stone on the surface)

( the awesome red dots of a true German wild brownie from the P.M.)

( Roman Moser from Austria and his 3-D Plush Sculpins- deadly on big trout!)

We hit some very nice browns...including some nice 16-18 ich fat plump Eagle Lake rainbows....some of the best fishing in years. June continues cool and seasonal....perfect for more hatch activity.

( The Murph Dog comes out slinging!)

The fish are very fat and extremely healthy from the massive food supply of the Muskegon:.....sucker and steelhead spawn hangover, chinook salmon parr and steelhead fry, the massive bug factory- including micro caddis by the  gazillions. The trout have it made!
 WATER: 2450 CFS-temp- 59-60F.......PERFECTO!

( The woods are alive- a great image taken by Melanie Morrett from Lexingtin, KY- her and her husband - both great casters and trout nuts- especially spring creeks- guided with me last Thursday- she is doing a a magnificent water color of the famed Letort for Selectivity- she is an artist with tons of talent!)

Posted in: brown trout , caddis , cahills , Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake , isonychia , michigan fly fishing , trout and eagle