Big Mayfly Time- The light giant drakes of Summer ( and heat wave warning)

( A Hex/yellow drake/ Danica  imitation- author image and tie)

Summer's  giant drakes are one mayfly hatch period that guarantees big trout will be on the prowl for them. Besides the legendary Hexagenia/( light hex) and Rithrogena (dark hex) hatch of Michigan and the Midwest, Hexs' /giant drakes exist all over the globe and east coast were you have silty stream bottoms and fine gravel . Even on classic eastern/western freestone/cobblestone rivers, the lower silty portions of them have Hexagenia hatches, as do limeteoners and spring creeks everywhere. Big trout will pack on the weight from these hatches, and the fact that many do not fish late into the night on ice cold spring creeks since they fish well in mid-day, they often emerge without notice.

Europe's Ephemera Danica comes off a little earlier starting in May ( thus the word Mayfly). It is very similar to the Green Drake emergence cycle, but will continue its hatching throughout summer on the ice cold spring creek/chalk streams of Europe well into July. I once encountered excellent Danica hatches on the River Avon spring creek/chalk stream in Salisbury England in late July, and the big browns went ballistic for them!) For the amazing landlocked salmon/lake/sea browns of Michigan , and New England/Scandinavia/Baltic areas the Hexagenia is a big appetite arouse where the Hex nymphs comprise an amazing part of the diets of big water salmonids where found- especially in Great Lakes/Finger Lakes.

                 (What we see of the Hex hatch is only skin deep. An amazing autopsy from a  Great Lakes charter guide friend (James Chamberlin image )on northern glacial inland lake in Michigan- lake trout belly stuffed with hex nymphs)

(Hex nymph image J.G. Miller)

( massive vertical growth takes place on these lake systems with hexagenia overload- Landlocked Atlantic shown here- browns get even more glutton-like. Author image)

Here they emerge from their burrows to relocate by massive schools/pods, especially in fall and spring, and the salmonids chow-down heavily on them in deep water depths. Atlantics' , steelhead and browns, plus char binge down on them all year. Sometimes the sonar graphs of fish finders in these lakes are a blizzard cloud of them on the graph)

                                  ( I'm a big fan of the amazing foam mayfly bodies of Frosty Fly  https://frostyfly.com/. , a Slavic based company in Canada that does excellent mail-order.They come in all varieties and are insect specific ( here is Hex, Danica)- tell them I sent you. You can combine them with wings of CDC, duck feathers, Snowshoe rabbit, traditional hackle- you can custom infuse them into your creations like I do)

              ( my Nexus Hex wiggle nymph from my "Brown Trout-Atlantic Salmon Nexus" Book- author image)

                         ( light and dark Hex- sometimes a gender or species specific trait= J.G. Miller "the Bug Doctor" image)

                (Top: more traditional yellow drake/Potamanthus wiggle from my "Selectivity" book- a killer on many classic freestone and spring creeks in late summer...Below: a beautiful wild  Catskill's/Neversink brown trout of September that love to eat them in between meals of olives and beetles ( fish embodies the Salmo Nexus morphology- author images )

The other Yellow Drakes : Potamanthus, Ephemera varia and Epeorus vitreus , all emerge sporadically many times on most waters and stand out like a giant yellow flower on the water. You can be sure they will get gulped up fast by any trout due to their meaty proportions and being extremely obvious.
On the ice cold Catskill tailwaters they float for long duration's and will get extremely long compound/complex  rises from the trout, which have been used to sipping # 20's. Both Classic eastern freestoners and spring creeks have them, and they start to hatch in June, but will sporadically hatch all summer at odd times of the day- you will never know when they turn up! They are excellent indicators of good healthy freestone and spring creek water qualities.

More to come in the "Rise Forms" departmental column of my new online magazine being released this month- cheers!, stay cool, give the trout a break, and turn off all electronics in the house to save electricity- use solar chargers for your smart phones and tabs- mine is working great!
Matthew Supinski

                                       (NOTE: Please stay advised on heat wave conditions: carry a thermometer, and don't fish waters that are approaching or are over 70 F . Only fish cold limestone/subterranean spring creeks that stay ice cold year-round, alpine environment brooks ( Rockies/Appalachians etc.) also Catskill and other tailwaters around the globe that have very deep 150 plus impoundments depths for bottom draw. Michigan is loaded with subterranean spring creeks and they are the tiny creeks that you never fish because they are obscure and require the art of walking-they carry more wilds than you ever thought!, but watch out for heat stroke and carry lots of water) Usually very tiny feeder springs of tributaries of rivers will have icy conditions that hold up. But the farther you move away from spring sources, the warmer it will get. Also watch out for large thermally stressed fish in springs that have migrated there for survival, They are usually larger and darker and move lethargically- MOST WILL SURVIVE IF YOU LEAVE THEM THE F' ALONE!- best to stay inside and tie flies, READ!, yes read books (long lost art due to modern society's ADHD) until the heat breaks- you can do it!, like the commercials say "we're in this together eh!)


( for more reading and  fly tying recipes /tactics on this subject and others. Lots of  in-depth/code cracking hatch matching conundrums :

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Posted in: gray drake lodge , Great Lakes , hexagenia limbata , Matt Supinski #Brown Trout-Atlantic Salmon Nexus book , Matthew Supinski new books , may fly hatches , Michigan ground zero legacy , Selectivity book

BIG BUG SEASON ON...HOW DOES SELECTIVITY SHAPE TROPHY TROUT FEEDERS

                                           ( REALISTIC MAYFLY PATTERNS LIKE HERE WITH THE J:SON WINGS/FOAM DO THE TRICK FOR ULTRA SELECTIVE /REFLECTIVE LOW WATER GULPERS- TAIL: MOOSE MANE...BODY 2/4MM FOAM CUT BY HARELINE MAYFLY FOAM CUTTER BOXES-RIBBED BY GRAY THREAD...GRIZZLY HACKLE TIED PARACHUTE...JSON WINGS AND BURNERS FROM HARELINE...FLY TYING TIME; 10 MINUTES MAX----(Flies can be bought from your local fly shop distributed by Angler Sport Group for those that dont tie)

What to expect during the big bug hatch progression :

DAY 1- Trout not yet familiar with the onset of new big bugs- Habituation at play ( see Selectivity book)

Day 2-5- heavy Aggressive/active feeding

Day 6  thru wainning days..ultra selective fussy behavior where sparse silhouette flies like the J:SON foam above comes into play

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Posted in: brown drake , gray drake lodge , green drake , hexagenia limbata , isonychia , Michigan hatches , muskegon fly fishing , muskegon river fly fishing , Selectivity book

COULEE SPRING CREEKS...MICHIGAN HATCHES...SUMMER STEELHEAD

                                                                ( 27 1/2" Driftless WI spring creek trout
                                                                           taken Wednesday)
Had the extreme pleasure of visiting my good client and friend, Dr. Jack Flaherty from Chicago, and his lovely farm  in the Amish country of Wisconsin's amazing Driftless spring creek country. Though I fished the Driftless limestone spring creeks of Minnesota and Iowa, it was my first visit to the mind boggling natural spring coulee riches this vast Wisconsin chain of rolling hills and meadows have to offer.

Jack's lovely wife Kathy just passed away from cancer a month ago and it hit all of us very hard. I spent many a day with Kathy who was becoming an avid steelheader- I will miss her very much. I was so glad to see her one more time in May when she came up with Dr Jack , weak from the Chemo but with serene spirit. Jack loved these spring creeks and was a kind host to show me his 'decompression farm' from the hectic ER hospital shifts and hustle and bustle of Chicago.
 (Ruland's Coulee)
I am simply awestruck by the natural beauty of these steep hills and valleys ( the French called them 'coulees'), with gorgeous farms with grazing cattle, sheep and horses. It is a mini Switzerland and tons of Amish farms and cheese/farmer co-op outlets abound- a' farm to table' chef's dream come true. These ice cold limestone spring creeks come out of the hard dolomite limestone caverns at 46-57F year round and are managed by the WDNR for wild brown and brook trout. This area did not get the flattening glacial upheavals that the lower Great Lakes did and have all the limestone/dolomite cliffs mountains and valleys that are not present in lower MI/IN/IL and eastern Wisconsin. There are hundreds if not thousands of miles of pure limestone spring creeks with most of them blue ribbon wild trout waters managed for catch&release...totally amazing!. 

Each valley /coulee has a spring creek and you can literally spend a lifetime exploring this vast mind boggling resource of this endless trout Mecca. I believe God created these creeks for himself to fish!  The tremendous stream structural improvements done by Chicago and Wisconsin Trout Unlimited chapters for the last half a century is obvious everywhere. Cattle grazing is contained and stiles/fences are carefully managed . WDNR strict September 30th closure is not liked by many, but this staunch regulation protects the spawning year class fish and the results are obvious everywhere with the mind boggling wild trout per square hectare numbers. These creeks fish like the Letort and Falling Springs back 40 years ago. I spent every weekend on the Limestone Springs of PA when I was in the hotel business back in the 80's in Washington DC. It is here I fell in love with their complexity. These creeks also brought my romantic feelings out as they look alot like the upper Wiscoy Creek in the Allegany foothills of southern New York , and similar to the Wieprza and her small tributaries in certain sections on my Dad's farm in Poland, both creeks I fished as a boy and honed my skills and observance of trout behavior. 

The absolute highlight and lifetime event of this trip was my first WI Coulee trout- it was a massive 27 1/2 inch brown I stalked for over an hour after I noticed the fish midging in pure daylight of a hot afternoon.The fish succumbed to my new creation, the WMD ( weapons of midge destruction) pupae I tied at the ranch that morning. It is the second largest spring creek trout of my life ( actually about the same size as my first), taken at Skelly's farm meadow on the Falling Spring Run , and another similar sized one in Virginia on Mossy Creek- both in the 80's.

( my beast!...I'm still shaking from it days later!)

The great thing about these spring creeks is that the prime time of year is just starting...Tricos in the morning and terrestrial hoppers/ants /crickets in the afternoon- that is the best time to fish these springs and have large A/A browns cruising about for a hopper sandwich- they can get a little dumb then when their kill artist response is on full alert......I'll be back in September!- I am counting down the days!

MICHIGAN REPORT: The Muskegon is at a good flow and fishing very well since the trout have packed down so many drakes and Isos over the weeks , their bellies are gorged and now on the hunt for more food sources. The stocked trout will put a serious bend in your 4/5 weights and are starting to target the caddis hatches. Some Cahill Stenos at dark- still a few drakes and Isos- but caddis will now be the mainstay for the rest of the year.Lat evening's guide trip saw my couple having fun with the numbers of fish and quality that can excite many novice anglers- great summer to get kids and spouses into fly fishing with so many trout about. Water is still cool and "FINALLY"...they fixed the turbines and are no longer top spilling off the dam. This will keep water temperatures down all summer since there is still plenty of cold water in reservoirs and the cool water bubbler gets turned on in July. It will be a great summer and fall- last year the Trico hatches really started to kick in. Back to air temps in the mid/low 70's this week. Hex action is yet to explode on the PM due to rain/high water and the bitter cold spring. Up on the Au Sable , Hex action is at peak. The smaller streams of the White/Tamarack etc. are full of water and fishing amazing since they were flooded and unfishable all spring.

SUMMER SKAMANIA STEELHEAD

Lake Michigan is still ice cold- 40F in the center. I came over both the Muskegon and Manitowoc ferries this week and the lake was one huge foggy arctic cold zone. The summer run will start any day now and July thru September should see excellent returns with lots of cold water in both lake and rivers and good flows. Last year's big girthed fish- approaching the 20 mark, was hopefully an indication of what is to come. Also their appetite for beetles and mysis shrimp was a great learning experience. I still have some good dates available  for guiding on the St. Joe and IN spring creeks. 

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Posted in: Coulee , Driftless area , gray drake lodge , hexagenia limbata , michigan fly fishing , muskegon river fly fishing , spring creeks , summer skamania steelhead , trout and eagle , Wisconsin spring creeks

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

CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT IS SHOWING UP LATELY!...HEXES AND BROWN DRAKES-ON THE MUSKEGON?........YOUR MAD SUPINSKI!

( hex?......yup!)

It has been a "bug festival" this spring on the  Muskegon! With the downright cold and wet weather, our mayflies ,caddis and some stones have truly gone through the roof!
Honestly, I haven't seen the diversity of aquatic invertabrate life like I have seen in twenty years!
 Last night and a week ago, Had HEXES!(YES HEXAGENIA LIMBATA!) on the door under the lights at the Gray Drake in the mornings.

( brown drake0

Frank, my next door neighbor sent me a picture of a brown drake ( one of several that were on his screen doors at his magnificent river view home). Yes, that is a Brown Drake!
Water conditions are ideal- 2,180 cfs- water temp at High Overlook this morning- 59F- at the dam- 62F. Still a strong tea color which is making for 'exceptional' dry fly and swinging wets. Had the guys from OST systems from G.R. yesterday and my clients broke off an exceptional 20 " plus brown swinging soft hackles in the morning- he didn't let it run and the 5x snapped fast. We unfortunately watched the hog jump 5 times next to the boat trying to check the size 16 wet fly- we were dejected to say the least after witnessing the size of that huge red spotted sucker...lol!

( that is why these guys are packing on the pounds!!!- if we continue with the cool summer which they have predicted, and the cold -water bubbler combo- we "all' might have to take these trophy fish more seriously- much to the reluctance of the many that want a strictly"catch-and-kill' fishery- your comments are welcome! Despite having one of the "hottest and driest" summers on record last year, our trout survival was significant when compared to other 'cold water" rivers in the state- reason-tons of sub-terranean spring creek/seeps throughout the entire higher gradient Muskegon))

Here are the current hatches you can expect right now
MAYFLIES: sulphers(16-18), American March Browns( 12), light cahills( 14), blue-winged-olives(16-24) brown drake(8-10, Hex( 4-6) gray drake (10-12), Isonychias(10)
CADDIS:CINN. AND GREENS( 16-20), black glossosomas/dot winged sedges,( 14-16), plus tons of micro black/green caddis by the bazillions
Stoneflies: giant black pteronarcys(2-4), olive stones-(12-14)
PLUS TO ADD TO THIS CRAZY FOOD SUPPLY!.............newly hatched steelhead fry, chinook salmon parr, sucker minnows, newly hatched dace fry........sucker eggs..........no wonder these fish are fat hogs!!!!

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Posted in: brown drake , brown trout , gray drake lodge , hexagenia limbata , michigan fly fishing , muskegon trout steelhead , sulphers , trout eagle lodge and outfitters