Caddis and Isonychia hatches have been great!- the whole river is fishing very well/excellent conditions

With higher than normal flows (3,000cfs)-actually perfect flows and water releases for this time of year!... and cool water temps, the Muskegon has been fishing AWESOME!...caddis all day have the trout looking up, and Isonychias, Stenos and still have gray drakes at dusk, the browns and rainbows are fatter and healthy than I've seen in 20 years...

We have availability this week and next week, so come on out and enjoy it!...
For up to the minute posts from the river, view us on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter for "real time" river reports:
Facebook :Gray Drake/Trout Eagle page Matthew Supinski page/Selectivity TSS page
Instagram : Gray Drake Lodge page
Twitter @MattSupinski

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Posted in: Brown Trout-Atlantic Salmon Nexus , Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake lodge , isonychia , muskegon fly fishing , muskegon browns , Muskegon hatches , super caddis hatches

Finally!!... cooler weather and the Tailwater trout have survived and are fat and healthy!

After chasing wild #groundzero Browns on local ice cold Michigan spring creeks last week during the heat waves with my clients and avoiding the bigger rivers and tailwaters , the cooler nights and rainfall has lowered the temps of tailwaters to cooler levels that you could get out at 5:30 am and fish at the crack of dawn for a half day and quit by 10 before waters warm up. I was amazed to see how fat and healthy our Eagle Lake California rainbows Michigan has adopted as their own have held up so far thru the worst heat wave and drought Michigan has seen. Thank you Charlie Atkinson for staying on top of Consumers Power and exposing their shifty doings on WOOD TV as far as their flow regime inconsistency and temperature / oxygen bubbler maintenance.

Please carry a very functioning digital thermometer and take temps at all sides of the tailwaters. Yesterday I found a significant cooler water difference between which side of the river I was on , and dissolved oxygen levels just by moving 20 feet- and different from USGS Gages that are set up in the wrong place- a series of new temperature monitoring is coming at the end of July by trout unlimited to our tailwaters - bravo!!!.

Now that Consumers are experimenting with the mixing bottom and top spill blubber flows, I think they are finding their groove and what is working- the trout seem to love it!. I pumped a throat and the rainbows were filled with caddis and midge larvae and were fat and happy . If you fish , do it very early and fight fish fast and keep them in the water, or holding up near it for 2 seconds, and only using Ketchum release to slide down to your barbless hook for fast release .
Tricos, midges, ants, soft hackles and caddis are getting ready to start- the rocks are covered with caddis larvae, and the best trout fishing on the MO is August and September to come!!!!

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Posted in: brown trout , Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake lodge , michigan fly fishing , muskegon browns , Muskegon hatches , muskegon river fly fishing

LARGE TROUT SIZES ON MUSKEGON SPRING 2013

(remarkable Eagle Lake strain Rainbow last night on gray drake spinner fall- not a steelhead due to orange slits below gills and belly and bright rose color throughout body)

( our guide John with a nice brownie which are common this year)

 

It has been a remarkable spring so far with all the cold water and cool/wet weather. Last night we hit a 23 inch Eagle Lake rainbow on the gray drake spinner. These fish strain, according to DNR biologists, are not supposed to get big....this girl did not get the email/memo! . Their are many 14-23 inch fish surface feeding to the prolific hatches despite last years epic 100 year drought/heat wave. I had to talk to Mark Tonello of the Michigan DNR this morning to inform him of the tremendous growth rates of trout on our DNR labeled "marginal trout waters"...;)., since no research on trout populations have been done by DNR staff since late 1990's-short staffed..below is my conversation and email...hope you can get out and enjoy this perfect trout weather. Yes!...there are still steelhead in the Muskegon river!

river level -2500 cfs- wadeable

water temps 59 F

cheers!

 

email to M. Tonello- Michigan DNR Biologist- Cadillac office

 

Mark et al.,

It was nice talking to you today. Hope you found my information informative and useful. Per our conversation today, it is amazing to see how many 14-23 inch Wild Rose browns and Eagle Lake strain rainbows are on the surface taking Gray Drake/ suplher mayflies and caddis hatches right now on the Muskegon ...truly astounding the number of big fish around this spring after last year's 100 year devastating heat and drought as we discussed. Even to me an eternal optimist, I would have never believed it!  It looks like the entire ground spring water system of seeps and capillaries that the Muskegon has due to its higher gradients and deep pools , along with the slightest of influence the cool bubbler at Croton contributed positively last summer  was enough to have tremendous holdover- that's the only explanation I can think of. 

 

Last fall, once the 100F heat was over, we started to see  13-14 inch browns and rainbows feeding to caddis in late September, with a few 18-19 inch browns in the mix- they were very fat and gorged with caddis larvae/pupae. I think the incredible caddis population of the Muskegon, AS A RESULT OF THE PLANKTON LOADS IN THE IMPOUNDMENTS , allows the trout to feed all summer heavily despite the 74F TEMPERATURES, THUS STILL GROWING AND NOT EXPERIENCING ATROPHY/MORTEM, which usually occurs when the fish's metabolism shuts down in critical Passive /Dormant stages of heat stress. Plus cold weather and lots of water is the key this year and is helping things greatly. As of today, there are still numbers of spring steelhead spawning Below Pine St and at Thornapple. I have identified the critical refuge areas on the Muskegon where the trout summer-over. They are the deep,spring -fed pools from just above Carmichael flats to just below Bigalow Creek. Last summer Bigalow creek was jammed with large trout seeking refuge due to its cold water and the creek is almost impossible to fish at low water with all the woody debris and USFS/TU built lunker structure undercut banks- thus providing great refuge for the large trout. With the massive floods and rains this spring, many of those fish washed back down into the main Muskegon I believe. Also the number of large brown trout in this section can be directly correlated to the springs and Bigalow and fast oxygenated currents below the High Overlook- this would be a great section to manage for trophy trout as I have mentioned in the past. Also the number of large brown trout from the Croton Dam to Pine Ave is astonishing this year due to the nutrient load of freshwater daphnia/ diptera, which the trout gorge on prior to the hatches that emanates from the reservoirs. . One huge positive factor that has a great influence on the tremendous mayfly, stonefly, midge and caddis life on the Muskegon is the water being quite alkaline - PH of 8 and above, which is unusual for a peat/marl tannic freestone river which tend to be acidic. This signals the importance and presence of the clay/limestone/subterranean aquifer influences on the river. The survival of wild steelhead/salmon fry/parr should be substantial this year given the devastating blow it received last year with the heat/drought. 

 Regardless, its good news and haven't seen this good dry fly fishing since 1996-1997- along with hatches at biblical proportions and lots of water. The gray drake hatch last year was non-existent- this year its like a plague of the Locusts!....pretty cool stuff all in all !

 The 23 inch Eagle lake rainbow taken last night on the gray drake mayfly spinner fall was the largest I've ever seen in 19 years of guiding.

 Hope the information is useful and the amount of stocking and money vested in the Muskegon is well spent and showing gorgeous trophy fish. I cant imagine what next year will bring given a cool wet summer which they are predicting this year. Good to have 'ole' Michigan weather back!- cool and wet!.

 

Thanks for taking the time to absorb the information. Your comments are welcome.

 

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Posted in: Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake lodge , michigan fly fishing , muskegon river fly fishing , Muskegon trout , siphlonorus gray drakes , spring steelhead , sulphers , trout and eagle lodge

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!)

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

WHAT A WONDERFUL TIME OF YEAR!....SALMON MADNESS........,SUMMER SKAMANIA STEELHEAD, TROUT ON THE DRY FLY!!!.........WE'VE GOT IT ALL!

IF YOU ARE A "TROUTBUM', and want to catch a sneak preview of my "SELECTIVITY-TROUT DVD', click here and enjoy!!!. It has been getting impressive reviews in AMERICAN ANGLER and FLY FISHERMAN''S next issue!

Trout Activity Stages, by Matt Supinski from Thomas Harman on Vimeo.

Sorry for the delay in posting. Between guiding for summer runs on the St. Joe, doing trips for trout and caddis on the Muskegon and putting the finishing touches on my new 'Selectivity' book, I have been running with alligators nipping!
 Cool nights, cool days!!!!! and BHAM!...............Chinook-King- salmon are all over the Pere Marquette, Manistee and YES!!!, in the Muskegon!... Last night watching trout slash caddis pupae at dusk , we saw several king salmon swim up very shallow gravel by the dam- they have jumped in our Gray Drake pool also.

 There are a ton more fresh summer steelhead in the St.Joe and Indiana's Trail creek.

(caddis images by Jon Miller- cinnamon pupa and green caddis larvae in pupal case)

 The heavy Hydropsyche cinnamon and green caddis hatches are starting on the Muskegon and we have hit some nice browns and rainbows.

ANOTHER WTF!!! MOMENT LAST FRIDAY ON THE MUSKEGON!!!!!!!!!!- Guiding and instructing the Markus's from Cleveland on the Muskegon, we had polar fleece on by 7 P.M.. Caddis (cinns.) were going crazy and we hit 6 browns between 13 and 17 inches that were fat footballs ( they looked like post steelhead/sucker/mayfly fish!) So, where the hell did these fish go all brutally hot summer and get so fat! They were not heat stressed and "slinkie and skinny" that you would think from the super heated up waters. Th caddis population, with the demise of the zebra mussels, have put so many caddis larvae in the water, the fish are just chowing down on them like pigs- regardless of the less then desirable water temps from the crazy heat...GO FIGURE!
 If you haven't made plans for fall salmon, steelhead and yes- Atlantic salmon-( remember that big fish we caught last year?).........we have been booking at a feverish pace and we only have a few more dates left.

My DVD- 'SELECTIVITY-TROUT', is having very nice reviews in AMERICAN ANGLER and the new FLY FISHERMAN, and will soon be available at our new "shopping cart' online! IF you are a "TROUTBUM', and want to see a sneak preview videographer Dr. Tom Harman did On VIMEO, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,TAKE A LOOK AND ENJOY- HOPE YOU LIKE IT!!!



Don't forget to book your fall steelhead dates- they are going fast!

 Hope to see you!

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Posted in: brown trout , caddis , Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake lodge , Great Lakes atlantic salmon , Great Lakes steelhead , Great Lakes summer steelhead , muskegon salmon , trout and eagle

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A RIVER IS ACTUALLY "TOO FERTILE!"............SOUP TO NUTS MAN!

( Todd hit a nice brownie on a caddis pupae the night before before the 'soup to nuts " hatch)

Last night on the Muskegon was a true eye opener- an almost surreal exhibition by the power of nature and its ability to tame even the most astute fly angler that knows the hatches, tout behavior and "what they think!" is going on.
Todd and I decided to catch the dusk hatch of caddis which are second brood style starting up around now and will last thru October.

( the heat is pushing the bug activity to o'dark hundred!)

Yes the little green caddis, (Cheum. Spec.), the next brood of Hydro Cinnamon's, the Macronema Zebra caddis and whatever mayflies are ending/starting etc.
 WOW!!!!!!!!!!....................we were practically shell shocked when dusk came and the river and its bugs went absolutely "insane"! Seriously, in all my years (hate to admit it but now 23 years fishing the Muskegon hatches), I've never seen the water turn to "mulligatawny soup to nuts".

( hexes and white flies taken by the dam street lights)

( a perfect wiggle hex/iso/white fly/Poto imitation)

 After a nice grilled dinner of Angus T-bones, with balsamic mushrooms and roasted new potatoes and onions in olive oil and fresh rosemary, we were seeing a few big trout working the caddis pupae at dark/dusk. The few rises of good "bulging backs and tails" turned into dozens upon dozens of rising rings. It got too dark to see your 6x, and size 18/20 imitations and the scary part happened when we turned our big spotlights on the water. That was both depressing and and amazing ! It looked like someone sprinkled saw-dust on the water of bugs................it went from nothing to unfishable in ten minutes!!! There literally was a hundred bugs in a one foot square area.........."by george baffling mind you my mates!"

( the bows are fatter than ever- my client got a nice 19 inch fat rainbow on a scud by the dam on his bamboo rod made by Mac- The Vogelmeister")

When I sifted the surface, here is what we found:
Diptera; midges -cream and black by the bajillions-black flies mostly- cranflies
Caddis; geens, cinnamons, spent pupae ,adults, micro caddis by the bajillions, zebra caddis
MayFlies: YES HEX SPINNERS! they were all over- my assumption is they are coming from Croton Pond and spinner falling over the dam or thru the turbines, also tons of white fly spinners( Ephron Leukon- size 12#, blue winged olive, Isonychias, yes even a few late gray drake spinners.

( little greens are just getting ready to pupate-they are coming and in droves!)John Miller insect images@

 THIS WAS SIMPLY MAD!
SO...............how do you put any reason to this caotic madness for the hatch matcher.
 Here is the dope! Given the fact that there are still soft shell crayfish around, tons of dace and shiners, small steelhead fry- PLUS- this insane amount of insect life, the browns and rainbows got TONS of food and are very selective- almost impossible!
 My best success has been early in the evening before the bug onslaught hits at dark and on caddis pupae TWITCHING AND DEAD DRIFTING!. If the water turns to"soup to nuts ' it is over.
 The bubbler is on and dropping the water temps at night( if you notice the USGS graph you can see the spikes). The fish are extremely fat and broad shouldered with all the food.
 They are not just up by the dam to Pine St. I talked to Rod Geers this morning who lives below Cottonwood flats and he caught a nice 17 inch brown on a spinner at dawn right by his glass house.
 So are the fish spread around- YES!- has the heat effected them -NO!- does the fishing get easier as the summer progresses- YES!...............WHY?
 soft shell crayfish will be gone, so will hexes, white flies, midges, black flies.
 What will remain is caddis and flying ants and the fish will tune into the all day emergence and egg laying like clock work! Even this tough hatch to fish becomes easy if you've read Richards and Pobsts books on caddis and have the right fly, tippet and technique. The Muskegon trout really pack on the pounds during late July and August from the fat pistachio nut caddis pupae.
 That is my story and I'm sticking to it! 
Besides , it has been that way for 23 years- BUT!.................never in this fertile intensity!
 For the trout, that is a good thing. For the 'Joe' fly dude, it makes it very, very interesting!

( Good Client and B.C. speymaster Doc Flaherty from Chicago sent me this picture of the beautifiul rainbows he got last week on the Babine during the salmon fly hatch- GORGEOUS FISH!)

 This is the time that separates the casual hatch matcher from the seasoned pro......I love it!

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Posted in: babine steelhead , brown trout , caddis , Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake lodge , hexagenia limbata , michigan fly fishing , midges , muskegon river , trout eagle lodge and outfitters , white fly

HATCH MATCHING CONUNDRUM!!!!!!!!...........THE INFAMOUS MUSKEGON MASKING HATCH

Hatch matching on the Muskegon, P.M.,Manistee-West Branch of the Delaware..you name a selective trout river!, can be very tricky business.

( gosh are these browns getting really fat and healthy- I did a stomach pump on a few 12 inchers and found the following: caddis-cinn., greens, micro blacks,/ cahills, sulphers, bwo's,craneflies, graydrakes, olive stones, sucker eggs, a chinook par/ anewly hatched steelhead fry- it was a damn buffet!)

I've had the extreme pleasure of guiding Tip from the Grand Cayman Islands and Wally , his friend from Charlevoix all week. We streamer stripped in the mornings and chased the hatch and bugs on the second evening shift. Being on the water from dawn till dusk- with an afternoon siesta break gave us a whole gamete of possibilities. We've also expiereinced every weather extreme- stifling upper 90's heat, thunder, and now cold wet rainy weather.

(note: gray drake dry spinner above the adipose fin- dropper in the mouth- 4 nice size browns fell for Tip's dropper, the bows took the gray drake!!!)

 We have witnessed blizzard gray drakes, significant sulphers, cahills, and gazillions of caddis at dark.

( yet to come any day- the ISO!)

 Last night's conditions were ideal- overcast, cool and not tons of bugs- just enough to really get the fish moving. The gray drakes started early, so did all of the above mentioned mayflies and caddis.

 The late great Carl Richards always talked of the "masking hatch"- just when you thought you knew what the trout were keying in on the surface- guess what!- they were not!!!
We had some very large browns and bows making some significant bulging, boil rises and some drakes were copulating and falling.BUT-----, they were not taking them. Tip finally hit a nice 19-20 inch  brown but it took the dropper under the gray drake spinner.

 Can anyone guess what the masking food form choice this extremely wary brown was keying in on?

( Hmmm........!!!)

Water conditions perfect- 2,210 cfs- water cool 59F-cool damp weather and cool days for the rest of the week...............IDEAL FOR THE HATCH MATCHING FANATICS! GOD I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!!

( gray drakes on the tree- next couplke of nights should see good bugs since the past two were cold )

( Jerff from Abel spent the night with us- I took a shot of his new vented brownie)

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Posted in: brown trout , caddis , Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake lodge , masking hatch , michigan fly fishing , muskegon trout steelhead , selective trout , sulphers , trout and eagle

NIGHTS OF SCHERERAZADE!,,,,,,,,,,,,SEXY DOINGS WITH BUGS, GULPING TROUT AND YES!......ANOTHER FRESH STEELHEAD SIGHTING!

( Cast master Todd)

This has been an incredible past two weeks on the Muskegon! Tremendous mayfly and caddis, activity, lots of fat browns and rainbows feeding on the surface and yes!..........another fresh steelhead sighting yesterday!
 Had the pleasure of having Todd Jensen last night for some hatch matching and it was another amazing fantasy night. We witnessed another "sexual orgy"( as my title implies) of gray darks, sulphers and caddis mating into frenzies! The cool weather-upper 60's-low 70's daytime highs, coupled with cold 40-50F nights have spurned tremendous hatching activity that we last saw in 2009. After the oppressive heat and lack of hatches of 2010's spring which made us scratch our heads with" where have all those bugs gone?"- it just goes to show you how amazingly resilient mother nature is!

( very nice rainbow taken on a drake!- the ones that don't die at ten inches.lol!)

The real big story is the almost blizzard like caddis ova-positing female flights of the last few nights. We almost lost our caddis hatches due to the invasion of the zebra mussels for over ten years. The water was clear and empty of case /clinging caddis larvae.Why?- cause caddis larvae are plankton filter feeders- so are the zebra mussels attached to the very same rocks on the bottom of the river.

( my new gray drake soft hackle- works before the hatch and anytime of day)

So the zebras filtered millions of gallons of water daily and stripped all the plankton and any debris in the water, thus starving out the caddis literally.
 The river today is crawling with caddis larvae everywhere and has a strong"tea tannin stain' we have not seen since the late 80's /early 90's........WHY!

( peat color evident)

 Because the zebra have been dying at an alarming rate for the past three years- Consumers Power has the turbine power steaming facts to back this up. The tea stain is caused by the rivers high marl, deciduous,pine emanations in its system. So the mussels, are not capable of removing those tannin particles due to the lack of them.

( caddis females ova -positing all day!- each year will only get better!- like the old days when Carl Richards and Pobst wrote their caddis books on this river)

What the tea stain means for the trout? Nothing but fantastic news. We had trout rising in the past few nights literally 2-3 feet of the side of the boat -or where you were wading. In that water, you could barely see the bottom- normally you could see 12 feet down easily on the Muskegon1-not no more. So the trout will feel more comfortable and less skittish in the darker water and are more prone to rise at all times of day and closer to you.

( how big browns can get with healthy caddis and big mayfly populayions on the Mo- Bacon with a hog taken on a drake!)

 Also, Todd made an excellent comment. The tannin stain will also lower summer water temperatures since light penetration will be mush less then it was in very gin clear water.

( gray drake image -John Miller@)copyright)

 So why the reduction in zebra mussels you ask?
 three things have occurred
* when a new exotic invader infiltrates a new ecosystem, their proliferation is quick and explosive, eventually over-reproducing and dying off in big numbers due to over eating their food source
*they don't like cold winters, which we have had several strong ones
* they don't like high fast water flows. This last flood was the second worst in the past 100 years(86 was the biggest). We also had several big floods since 2004.
 SO ANYWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT'S THE GOOD DAM NEWS!
 River levels- 2019 cfs- water temp 58F---------all is good and ready for some great hatch matching!
 Todd saw two chrome steelhead on gravel yesterday while wading- yes they are still winter strain steelhead!. I asked Todd, " you sure they are steelhead not suckers?. "Not unless these suckers have a red stripe and spotted triangular tails!,"he shot back.
 Life on the river is good!

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Posted in: brown trout , caddis , Eagle Lake Rainbows , gray drake , gray drake lodge , michigan fly fishing , Nights of Scheherazade , sexy bug doings , soft hackle wets , sulphers , trout and eagle , zebra mussels downfall