Fly patterns

Michigan's own fly, born on the Boardman, and still the default searching dry on every river in the state. Hawkins recommends a slim-tied #10 to #12 Adams for Gray Drake spinner falls at dusk on the Pere Marquette and Muskegon, and smaller sizes pass for most gray-winged mayflies from April through October.

Dry fly

Baetis hatch three broods in Michigan, with the biggest in early May, a second in late June and a third in September, and they run through winter on the Muskegon and Big Manistee tailwaters. Current Works lists BWOs #16 to #22 as year-round on the Upper Manistee. Fish it midday, especially on overcast, drizzly afternoons, and go down to #24 for the late-season Pseudocloeon on the Muskegon.

Dry fly

Grayling's dark all-purpose mayfly, listed by Hawkins in #10 to #16 for Mahogany and Isonychia spinners. It doubles as a Hendrickson and Black Quill dun in spring and a fall Mahogany Dun on the Pere Marquette from mid September through October. Fish it at dusk for Iso spinner falls from June through September.

Dry fly

Brown Drakes hatch at dusk into darkness for only three to seven nights per reach, moving upriver, from late May to mid June on the Au Sable, Pere Marquette and Upper Manistee (mid June to mid July in the U.P.). Fish a #8 to #12 extended-body parachute from 8 pm to midnight over sand and silt flats where the nymphs burrow.

Dry fly

The spinner fall at dusk into darkness is the best Brown Drake fishing, often on the same nights as the emergence in early June. Fish a #8 to #10 spent-wing pattern with a short leader on the South Branch Au Sable, Boardman and Pere Marquette, listening for rises after dark.

Dry fly

The all-purpose adult caddis for Michigan's May through October caddis season, which Houghton's Manistee work shows peaking in early to mid July with flight heaviest an hour or two after sunset. Carry tan #14 to #16 for Hydropsyche, black #16 to #20 for the spring black caddis, and #8 to #10 orange for October Caddis. Skitter it at dusk when egg-layers are on the water.

Dry fly

Hex spinners fall shortly after dark one to three nights after the duns emerge, and the spent-wing pattern is what the largest browns eat once the flat is covered in dead bugs. Fish a #4 to #8 spinner from about 10:30 pm on Au Sable, Manistee and Pere Marquette silt flats in late June and early July.

Dry fly

Chimarra aterrima emerges midday and lays eggs late afternoon from April 20 to June 30, peaking May 1 to 14, alongside the Hendricksons on the Au Sable, Upper Manistee, Boardman and Pere Marquette; on the Muskegon black caddis are extremely heavy at dusk mid May through June. Fish a #16 to #20 black adult or emerger low in the film.

Dry fly

A Hex dun named by Hawkins for the giant Michigan mayfly, which emerges after dark once water reaches 68 F, peaking June 21 to July 7 on the Au Sable and Manistee (June 8 to 20 on the Muskegon, two to three weeks later in the U.P.). Fish it from 10 pm on a 6 ft 2X leader over silt banks, casting to the sound of rises.

Dry fly

Gray Drake nymphs crawl out to emerge, so the spinner is the only stage worth imitating, and this is the Michigan pattern for it. Spinner flights happen every evening from 7 pm until dark from the third week of May through July on the Muskegon and Pere Marquette, and in June on most northern rivers. Fish it over riffly current where the mating swarms drop.

Dry fly

The Au Sable guide standard for the first of the Big Five hatches, fished from the last week of April into mid May when water holds 50 to 55 F. Duns come off mid-afternoon (2 to 5 pm on the Au Sable) for one to two hours; drift it drag-free over riffles and tailouts. Carry both the dark male and lighter female shades in #12 and #14.

Dry fly

Rusty spinner for the Hendrickson fall, which happens late afternoon into dusk over riffles and is often compressed into about thirty minutes. Cool evenings suppress the fall and push it to the next morning. Fish it flush in the film below riffles from late April through mid May.

Dry fly

Grayling's all-purpose pale mayfly, an extended deer-hair body under a parachute post, sized #4 through #18 to cover Sulphurs, Cahills, Brown Drakes and the Hex. Hawkins names a large Roberts Yellow Drake as a Hex dun and spinner; fish it after dark in late June on a short 6 ft 2X leader. Every Au Sable shop stocks it.

Dry fly

Supinski's Muskegon chart says 'rusty spinners at dark' for Sulphurs, and the same fly covers Hendrickson, Cahill and March Brown falls over riffles at sunset. Fish it flush in the film at dusk from May through July when you see spent wings in the foam lines.

Dry fly

Michigan Sulphurs emerge slowly through the film and trout often refuse duns, so emergers with a trailing shuck outfish the dry from mid May through July on the Au Sable, Pere Marquette and Muskegon. Fish it low in the film during the afternoon and evening emergence in 52 to 60 F water; size #16 for invaria and #18 to #20 for dorothea.

Dry fly

Current Works' first-named hopper for the mid July through September grasshopper season on the Upper and Lower Manistee, Betsie and Boardman, when 'grasshoppers and other terrestrial patterns come out of the box.' Hit the bank and plop, twitch and dead-drift it midday after the dew burns off; hang a beetle or ant behind it.

Dry fly

The morning spinner fall, 6 to 10 am, from July 20 to mid October on the Au Sable, Boardman and Pere Marquette (August 3 onward in the U.P.). Supinski's Muskegon chart says fish #24 double spinner patterns, since fish gorge on clumps. Requires 6X to 7X and a downstream drift over flat water.

Dry fly

Matches the Great Mahogany or Black Quill (Leptophlebia cupida), a #10 to #14 spring mayfly on Michigan charts from late April to mid June, and the Muskegon's 'Early Quills' around May 10. It emerges midday, often crawling out, so a low-floating parachute or emerger works best in the slow edges where the nymphs live.

Dry fly

Matches the Little Mahogany (Neoleptophlebia adoptiva), a #16 to #18 mayfly that emerges midday once water has held above 50 F for a few days, from mid April into early July with a peak in the first half of May. Fish it in slower edges and eddies alongside the Hendrickson, since the two overlap on the Au Sable and Manistee.

Dry fly

Ed McCoy's high-floating Hex pattern, recommended by Hawkins alongside the All Day Dun and a large Roberts Yellow Drake. It rides through the chop of a night rise and is easy to track by sound and feel. Fish it during the late June to mid July Hex window on the Au Sable, Manistee, Pere Marquette and Rifle.

Dry fly

Current Works names Chernobyl Ants among its Michigan terrestrials for the July and August peak, along with Club Sandwiches and Fuzzy Wuzzies. A big foam attractor that suggests hoppers, beetles and cicadas at once; plop it against the bank and twitch on the Manistee and Betsie.

Dry fly

A white-winged foam hopper that is the most common dry-dropper indicator fly in the country, though the notes found no Michigan guide naming it. Use it from July through September to float a nymph along Au Sable and Manistee banks, or in yellow during the golden stone weeks of June.

Dry fly

A foam hopper and cicada that floats a heavy dropper, listed by RiverReports with the Parachute Hopper, Charlie Boy and Moorish Hopper for August on the Au Sable. Fish it hopper-dropper style along banks and under overhanging cedars from mid July through September.

Dry fly

Brown flying ants #16 to #22 fall on the Muskegon from mid August to mid September on hot afternoons, and RiverReports notes black and cinnamon flying ants on the Au Sable during late-summer mating flights. Trout key on them hard; carry winged ants on 6X for the two-week window.

Dry fly

Galloup's foam ant, named by Current Works for the mid June through September ant season, fished dry or sunk. Ants are on Michigan charts #12 to #24 from June 15 to September 30; fish it in the film along shaded banks and after wind, and as a sunken dropper when trout refuse the floating version.

Dry fly

Brachycentrus emerges in intense afternoon bursts once water holds in the low 50s, from late April on Michigan charts (Mother's Day caddis), a week or two later in the U.P. Swing or dead-drift a green-bodied pupa toward the surface in the hour before the adults appear, then fish it as a dropper behind an Elk Hair Caddis.

Indicator nymphing · Dry fly · Euro / tight-line nymphing

A cluster-midge dry for trout surface-feeding on winter midges near Muskegon springs and on summer evenings on northern rivers. Fish it on 6X to 7X in slow seams when fish are dimpling on clusters of adults, typically warm afternoons from December through April on the tailwaters.

Dry fly

Au Sable guides and Old Au Sable Fly Shop both recommend an emerger or floating nymph alongside the parachute during Hendricksons. Fish it in the film or as a dropper behind the dry when trout are bulging rather than breaking the surface in the first days of the hatch.

Dry fly

Michigan charts list the Green Oak Worm #8 to #12 from May 15 to July 10, when inchworms dangle from streamside oaks into the Au Sable and Manistee. Fish a chenille or foam inchworm dead-drift under overhanging branches, floating or slightly sunk.

Dry fly · Indicator nymphing

Isonychia is one of the Au Sable's Big Five, hatching in two peaks, June and September, from mid May to the end of September. The nymphs crawl out to emerge, so Michigan guides fish nymphs and spinners more than duns; use this parachute as a spinner or searching dry on evening riffles, and midday in fall.

Dry fly

Cream Stenacron and Maccaffertium mayflies hatch from early June to mid August, 2 pm to 10 pm, and carry the evening fishing after the Hex on the Upper Manistee, Au Sable and Muskegon. Fish a #12 to #14 cream parachute or Catskill tie in the last two hours of light through July and August.

Dry fly

For the fall Mahogany Duns that draw feeding fish on the Pere Marquette from mid September through October, and the Slate Wing Mahoganies of U.P. charts. Fish it on cool afternoons in slow seams; it also matches the spring Blue Quill in #16 to #18.

Dry fly

Michigan's March Brown (Maccaffertium vicarium) hatches mid May into July once water reaches the mid 50s, sporadically through the afternoon rather than in a blizzard. The same species appears as the paler Gray Fox, so carry both shades in #10 to #12. Strongest on the Upper Manistee, Muskegon and Chocolay.

Dry fly

Pycnopsyche, about 20 mm and uniformly reddish brown, flies mostly August through October in Michigan, listed as October Caddis #8 to #14 on state charts. Skate or dead-drift a big orange-brown caddis in the evening and morning from late September into October on the Au Sable, Manistee and Pere Marquette; fall steelhead occasionally rise to it.

Dry fly

A lower-riding hopper named by RiverReports for August on the Au Sable, where 'August is prime terrestrial season' and hoppers show on the Pere Marquette by August. Fish it tight to grassy banks with a dead drift and an occasional twitch on flat, clear water where foam hoppers spook fish.

Dry fly

Imitates the male Hendrickson dun, which is darker and one hook size smaller than the female Light Hendrickson. Useful when fish key on the smaller males late in the Michigan Hendrickson window (early to mid May in the northern Lower Peninsula, a week or two later in the U.P.).

Dry fly

Perfect Fly lists wet flies among St. Marys Atlantic salmon patterns, and Atlantics feed on caddis and midges from mid July through August. A swung soft hackle covers emerging caddis pupae and Sulphurs on any Michigan river; swing it down and across in riffles at dusk, or hang it below a dry.

Swinging flies (spey / switch) · Dry fly · Indicator nymphing

Muskegon trout feed heavily on spent 'quad-wing' egg-layers at dusk, and the same happens on the Au Sable and Manistee when female caddis die on the water after ovipositing. Fish a flush-floating spent pattern on 6X in the foam lines in the last light from May through September.

Dry fly

Hydropsyche and Cheumatopsyche net-spinners are the season-long caddis from May through September on every Michigan river, and the Muskegon is 'world renowned' for them. Pupal wing pads darken a day before emergence; swing a tan or olive pupa on the rise toward dusk, or hang it under an Elk Hair. St. Marys Atlantics feed on caddis pupae from mid July.

Indicator nymphing · Dry fly · Euro / tight-line nymphing

A buoyant palmered dry that stands in for golden stone adults during the Hex weeks (Gates reports yellow and golden stones concurrent with the June Hex), Yellow Sallies in May and June, and October Caddis in fall. It also floats a dropper nymph in fast water on the Pine and Sturgeon.

Dry fly

A low-riding no-hackle dun for the Sulphur hatch that runs mid May into July on Michigan rivers, with an afternoon emergence window of one to two hours. Carry creamy yellow through olive and orange shades to match the Au Sable's variable naturals, in #14 to #16 for E. invaria and #18 to #20 for E. dorothea. Switch to an emerger or rusty spinner when fish refuse it.

Dry fly

Ephoron hatches at dusk for about two hours from around August 14 through September once water reaches 65 to 70 F, on the Au Sable, White, Huron and Escanaba. FlyFishFinder lists the White Parachute, White Wulff and White Comparadun in #14 to #16; the naturals are cream with gray wings, so avoid pure white. Females never molt, so one pattern covers dun and spinner.

Dry fly

Nectopsyche, the White Miller, hatches July 1 to September 30 on northern charts and at dark in #14 on the Muskegon from mid July through October. Fish a cream #12 to #16 caddis in the afternoon and again after dark on warm summer nights.

Dry fly

A high-floating, easily seen White Fly dun for the last light and first dark of the mid August to September hatch. Fish it in riffle tails on the Au Sable from Mio downstream and on the White River when the swarms come off around sunset.

Dry fly

A trailing-shuck caddis that sits low in the film, matching Troutnut's advice that Chimarra and Grannom need low-floating emergers because they emerge slowly through the surface. Fish black #16 to #20 midday during the late April to June Little Black Caddis, and tan or olive through summer evenings.

Dry fly

Current Works lists the XO Beetle and Tar Baby and suggests beetles as a dropper behind a visible pattern, since black beetles are hard to see. Michigan charts run beetles June 1 to September 30; fish it under overhanging trees, log jams and undercut banks on the Au Sable where RiverReports says black beetles produce.

Dry fly

Isoperla Yellow Sallies hatch sporadically May through June and into summer on the Upper Manistee, Jordan and Au Sable, #10 to #16 depending on the chart. Fish a small yellow stimulator-style dry in the afternoon along the banks where nymphs crawl out, or as the indicator fly over a nymph.

Dry fly

A cigar-shaped deer-hair dry that is skated or dead-drifted over holding Atlantic salmon. Generic to Atlantic salmon fishing and not named by any Michigan source for the St. Marys; a niche option for warm, low water in late summer.

Dry fly · Swinging flies (spey / switch)

Current Works names cicadas among Michigan's summer terrestrials, sporadic rather than an annual hatch. Plop a big foam cicada against the bank during July and August when you hear them in the trees; no Michigan source gives periodical brood years.

Dry fly

Michigan charts run crickets July 1 to October 15, and Current Works says to fish them 'after a good rainfall as they often get washed into the river.' A black foam or deer-hair cricket fished along grass banks the day after rain extends the terrestrial season into October.

Dry fly

A classic down-wing caddis dry with a slimmer silhouette than an Elk Hair, good on flat water for the Grannom and black caddis of May and the Hydropsyche of summer. Dead-drift it in the film, then twitch as egg-laying females skitter in the last hour of light.

Dry fly

A foam beetle in metallic green and copper for the July and August Japanese beetle flight along riparian trees. The notes found no Michigan source specific to Japanese beetles, so treat it as a generic summer beetle option for the southern and mid-state rivers.

Dry fly

A CDC-winged adult early black stonefly for the egg-laying flights on warm late-winter afternoons, when females beat their wings continuously on the surface. Fish it noon to 4 pm on the Muskegon and Pere Marquette from late February through April for resident trout and the occasional rising steelhead.

Dry fly

Supinski's Muskegon chart notes #16 yellow crane flies hatching along with the Sulphurs in late May and June, often confused with mayflies by anglers. Skate or dead-drift a long-legged yellow adult in the evening when fish refuse Sulphur duns on the Muskegon.

Dry fly