Muskegon River Fishing Report – June 13, 2019 – Newaygo, Michigan

Muskegon River Fishing Report – June 13, 2019 – Newaygo, Michigan

Ellie went fly fishing for the first time with dad Chad and this was her FIRST fly rod caught fish…a lovely Rainbow trout from the Muskegon river!

The Muskegon river fishing report for June 13, 2019 in the Newaygo, Michigan area is all about trout fishing, massive insect hatches and the dry fly fishing opportunities they provide.

The last week or so has seen a LOT of rain come through most of Michigan and the Midwest, coupled with some cooler than normal air temperatures for the onset of the “summer” season.  As a result of this, the river levels are up and river temperatures have either tapered off or even come down a little.  Insect activity has been all over the board with regards to hatch schedules.    Click HERE for current Muskegon river water flow data.  If these rains continue over the next few days, the river may come up too much and shut down fly fishing for a number of days.  Click HERE for current and forecasted weather for the Newaygo, Michigan area.

We’re seeing bugs on the water pretty much at any point during the day, as long as it’s not raining out.  From Caddis, to Sulphurs and Gray Drakes, the fish can pretty much feed on the surface whenever they want on most days.   This can be good or bad, as there are trout rising to feed on surface insects, but they can do so on their schedule.  We’ve seen quality fish come up to take a bug off the surface, only to wait 10-20 minutes or even longer, for the fish to come up again.

Recent outings have been a mix of searching for surface feeding fish, with some streamer fishing in between with either sinking or sink tip lines for the fly fisher, or conventional equipment and lures imitating baitfish, crayfish, etc..

Due to how many thousands of insects are hatching, flying, mating and falling over the last near 2 weeks, it’s only a matter of time before the “bug barrage” tapers off and comes to an end.

Before that’s all said and done though, we still have another hatch on the horizon, which will be Isonychia’s.  The nymph of this large mayfly is an incredible swimmer and fishing them subsurface can produce some great strikes.  Trout are eager to pounce on an emerging bug as well, with a ferocious takes at the surface.

Present flows on the Muskegon river in the Croton, MI area are just above 3,000 cfs, with normal flows closer to 2,000, if not a bit below and river tempertaure hovering around the 60 degree mark.