Two Hearted River

The first of the Au Sable's Big Five, starting the last week of April and peaking the first two weeks of May on the northern rivers. Duns emerge mid-afternoon (roughly 2-5 pm on the Au Sable) for one to two hours, and spinners return to the riffles late afternoon to dusk, often compressed into a half hour; cool evenings push the spinner fall to the next morning. Fish a Pheasant Tail or dark-wingcase nymph before the hatch, then an emerger or Regan's Hendrickson Parachute (#14) during it, and a rusty spinner at dusk. The male dun is the darker Red Quill, tied a size smaller.

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.

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 third of the Au Sable's Big Five: short-lived, blizzard-like hatches from about 8 pm to midnight in the first half of June on the northern rivers, late May on the Pere Marquette and Muskegon. Each reach gets three to seven nights before the hatch moves upstream, so the trick is being on the right stretch. Duns emerge at dusk and the spinner fall into darkness is the best fishing; Brown Drakes and Sulphurs drive the evening rise on the South Branch. Fish a #10 Brown Drake dun or spinner, or a Robert's Yellow Drake, and a burrowing-nymph pattern over sand and silt before dark.

Michigan's signature spinner-only hatch: nymphs crawl out on shore to emerge, so the dun stage is not imitated and the whole game is the dusk spinner fall over riffled water. Most important on the Pere Marquette and Muskegon, where spinner flights occur every evening from the third week of May into July, but Gray Drakes occur on most Michigan trout streams including the Boardman and Pine. Fish Ed McCoy's Real McCoy Gray Drake Spinner or a slim-tied #10-12 Adams from 7 pm to dark, and watch for trout targeting mating doubles. Swim a gray Siphlonurus nymph through slow water near wood earlier in the day.

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 bigger early black stone, #10-14, emerging from late February through April on warm afternoons and the first insect that Michigan steelhead see in numbers. Nymphs crawl to shore to emerge and drift heavily beforehand, so a weighted black stonefly nymph such as the Sly Stone Wiggle drifted along the banks is the main fly; on the Muskegon and Pere Marquette it fishes from mid-February. When females return to lay eggs on sunny afternoons, trout and even steelhead will take a #12-14 black CDC-wing adult skated on the surface. The Upper Manistee lists early black stones as its April hatch.

Michigan's biggest hatch and the last of the Au Sable's Big Five: 4-8 duns emerging in the dark from silt banks on muggy nights from about 10 pm, with spinner falls one to three nights after the first duns. Peak on the Au Sable Holy Water is June 20-28 (Mio Trophy Water is the classic Hex water), Manistee June 25-July 5, Pere Marquette June 10-25, Muskegon tailwater June 8-20, and the U.P. two to three weeks later (Superior Flies peak July 5-21). Fish a Hex dun or spinner such as Robert's Yellow Drake, McCoy's All Day Dun or a Boondoggle Hex on a short 6-foot 2X leader, and a Hex wiggle nymph or Spring Wiggler year-round; trout in prime habitat may see up to 2,000 nymphs a day outside the hatch. Watch water temperature from June 10 and expect the hatch within days once the Au Sable holds 62-65 F.

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 last big mayfly of the season: a burrowing mayfly that erupts at dusk from about August 14 through September on the Au Sable, Huron, White and Rifle rivers, with huge numbers emerging after dark. The event is compressed into about two hours; males molt to spinners in flight while females stay as duns, so a single cream-bodied, gray-winged pattern (White Wulff, White Parachute, White Comparadun #12-14) covers it. Bright white flies are inaccurate; the naturals are cream with light gray wings. Get in position before dark and expect a short, frantic rise.