Pigeon River (Pigeon River Country)

The tiny morning mayfly of late July through October, fished from 6 to 10 am when the spinner clouds drop onto flat water and pods of trout sip steadily. Duns hatch late evening or very early morning; the mid-morning spinner fall (roughly 9-11 am, keyed to warming air) is the event, and it runs daily for weeks on the Au Sable, Upper Manistee, Boardman and Pigeon, and on the Muskegon between the dam and Henning Park. Fish a #22-24 Trico spinner on 6X-7X, or a double-spinner pattern as the Muskegon guides do, with a long drag-free drift. September Tricos on the South Branch Au Sable are a reliable close to the season.

The all-summer caddis of Michigan rivers, from May through September and heaviest in early-to-mid July, when the Manistee system's caddis abundance peaks an hour or two after sunset. The Trails to Trout chart splits it into Spotted Sedge (#12-16, from May 1) and Cinnamon Caddis (#14-18, from May 20); both are net-spinners that emerge slowly through the film, so a sparkle pupa or soft-hackle swung at dusk is often the best fly. Larvae are available year-round in the riffles and are a steelhead and trout staple. For the egg-laying flights at dark fish a #14-16 tan elk-hair caddis; on the Muskegon the cinnamon caddis (#16) starts mid-May and the tan/olive caddis fishes into August on the Upper Manistee.

The longest-running mayfly on the Michigan calendar, from mid-April through late October, with the biggest brood the first week of May, a second in mid-June and a third in September. Duns come off midday to mid-afternoon and are best on gray, drizzly days; the tailwaters below Croton and Tippy dams keep BWOs going through the winter. Fish a #18-20 CDC or Sparkle Dun for risers, a Pheasant Tail or olive nymph before and between hatches, and a rusty olive spinner in the evening. Sizes shrink through the season, so carry #16 in spring and #20-22 in fall.

The second of the Au Sable's Big Five and the bread-and-butter afternoon hatch of late May and June on the northern rivers, with dense hatches on the Pere Marquette that create selective risers in slow glides and tail-outs. Emergence is sporadic through the day with an afternoon-to-evening peak, and spinners drop at sunset. Trout routinely refuse duns during this hatch, so emergers and rusty spinners outfish dun patterns; carry pale yellow, orange and olive shades because body color varies. On the Muskegon and Pere Marquette the hatch runs a size smaller and continues through July.