Muskegon River Fishing Report – Newaygo, MI – June 1, 2015

Muskegon River Fishing Report-Newaygo, MI-June 1, 2015

Bluegills on light fly rods….what fun !!

The Muskegon river is running above average flows as we enter the month of June, due to the rains that came through most of Michigan over the weekend.  Although not heavy at any given time, the rains were consistent and covered most of the state, including the middle and upper 1/3 of the lower peninsula.  This added  water to the whole Muskegon river watershed, from its headwaters up by Houghton lake, south through the general Claire area, southwest through Big Rapids, Newaygo and west into the port town of Muskegon itself.  With rising water levels and cooler day and evening temperatures, water levels dropped nearly 5 degrees over the weekend.

Prior to the quick rising and cooling of the river, we had been having good hatches of both Cinnamon Caddis and Sulphurs, which stilled emerged over the weekend, but emergence, flights and spinner falls were all down due to the cold weather.  With warmer conditions forecasted for the coming week, we’ll see insect activity pick up. 

With rising-higher water, streamer fishing comes to mind for most fly fishers, as new water will push baitfish to the shore, where resident Rainbow and Brown trout can ambush them much easier.  Smallmouth bass are around as well and eager to chase down baitfish imitations.

Rigs for dry fly fishing would be 4-6 weight rods, with floating line and 9+’ tapered leaders going down to 4 or 5 x (4-6#).  Common streamer setups would be 5-7 weight rods, with sinking or sink tip lines with a sink rate in the 2-4″/second rate.  Various size baitfish imitations are most common right now, however crayfish will soon be part of the menu as well and with actively retrieved streamer patterns, we’re using 8-10# test tippet.

The best dry fly fishing of the summer is not far off.  Our next round of weather that brings upper 70’s+ day time temperatures, coupled with night temps staying above the mid 50’s, will really kick things into gear.

Present water temperature is hovering around the 60 degree mark.