Michigan River Fishing Hatch Chart
Michigan has tens of thousands of miles of rivers that both cold and warm water species of fish call home. Many of them feed on the insects that also live in the river, many of which emerge from a subsurface nymph or larva, to a flying insect that fish feed on the surface. It’s this “dry fly fishing” that lures many anglers to the stream to test their skills at fly fishing.
We are truly blessed to have some epic insect hatches, especially in west Michigan that bring fish to the surface in search of floating insects that fish eat. From “blizzard” hatches of caddis and gray drakes, to the elegant emergence of a sulphur and the fly “copters” we call Hex’s, Michigan is rich with insect filled rivers and fish that reside in them.
Below is a chart that outlines what hatches and when. We certainly welcome any calls or emails with specific questions.
*Best Hatches for the Muskegon River
| Common Name | Latin Name | Group | Emergence Dates | Emergence Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny Black Stonefly #16-20 | Allocapnia sp., Nemoura aldipennis | Stonefly | 1/1-4/30 | noon-4pm |
| Early Black Stonefly #10-14 | Taeniopteryx nivalis | Stonefly | 2/21-4/30 | noon-4pm |
| *Early Brown Stonefly #12, 14 | Brachyptera fasciata | Stonefly | 3/15-5/10 | 1pm-7pm |
| Blue-winged Olive #16 | Baetis tricaudatus | Mayfly | 4/15-11/1 | noon-3pm |
| Dark Hendrickson #12, 14 (Hendrickson, Red Quill) | Ephemerella subvaria | Mayfly | 4/20-5/20 Peak: 5/1-7 | 10am-4pm |
| Little Black Caddis #16-18 | Chimarra aterrima | Caddis fly | 4/20-5/31 Peak: 5/1-14 | noon-10pm |
| Grannom (Black) Caddis #14-16 | Brachycentrus americanus | Caddis fly | 4/20-7/31 | 2pm-dark |
| Medium Brown Stonefly #10-12 | Perlodia isoperla | Stone fly | 5/10-7/31 | afternoons |
| Little Yellow Stonefly #14-18 | Allloperla sp. | Stone fly | 5/15-8/15 Peak: 5/28-6/21 | afternoons |
| Giant Stonefly #2-8 (Salmonfly) | Pteronarcys dorsata | Stonefly | 5/15-6/30 | any time |
| Green Oak Worm #8-12 | Lepidoptera sp. | Terrestrial | 5/15-7/10 | day |
| * Green Caddis #10-18 (Green Rock Worm) | Rhycophila fenestra | Caddis fly | 5/1-6/30 Peak: 5/21-6/14 | 2pm-dark |
| March Brown #10 & 12 | Stenonema vicarium | Mayfly | 5/17-6/20 | noon-4pm |
| * Cinnamon Caddis #14-20 | Hydropsyche sp. | Caddis fly | 5/20-9/30Peak: 5/31-6/31 | 4pm-dark |
| Quill Gordon #12 & 14 | Epeorus pleuralis | Mayfly | 5/24-7/12 | 1pm-4pm |
| Light Hendrickson #14 | Ephemerella rotunda | Mayfly | 5/3-6/20 Peak: 5/7-14 | noon-5pm |
| Slate-winged Mahogany #16 & 18 (Little Red Quill) | Paraleptophlebia adoptiva | Mayfly | 5/3-7/8 | 11am-2pm |
| *Gray Drake #10 & 12 (Spinner Fall) | Siphlonurus alternatus | Mayfly | 5/15-7/26 Peak 5/21-6/15 | 9 pm – dark |
| Giant Michigan Mayfly #6 & 8 (Hex, Michigan ) | Hexagenia limbata | Mayfly | 6/10-7/10 | 10pm-4am |
| Blue-winged Olive #14, 16 | Baetis spp. | Mayfly | 6/15-7/12 Peak: 5/7-5/31 | 8pm-10pm |
| Leadwing Coachman #10 | Isonychia bicolor | Mayfly | 6/15-8/15 | 4pm-10pm |
| * Ants #12-24 (Black and Cinnamon) | Hymenoptera: Formicidae | Terrestrial | 6/15-9/30 | day, evening |
| * Sulphur #16, 18 | Ephemerella dorothea | Mayfly | 6/1-7/15 | 8pm – dark |
| Great Orange Sedge 8 & 10 | Phryganglia ptilostomis | Caddis fly | 6/1-7/31 | evenings |
| * Brown Drake #10 & 12 | Ephemera simulans | Mayfly | 6/1-7/4Peak: 6/7-14 | 8pm – dark |
| Beetles | Coleoptera | Terrestrial | 6/1-9/30 | day, evening |
| * Tiny Blue-winged Olive #22 | Baetis punctiventris | Mayfly | 6/23-9/8 | 10am-9pm |
| Light Cahill #12, 14 | Stenonema sp. | Mayfly | 6/5-8/14 | 2pm-10pm |
| Crickets | Orthoptera sp. | Terrestrial | 7/1-10/15 | any time |
| Grasshoppers #6-12 | Orthoptera sp. | Terrestrial | 7/1-9/30Peak: 7/15-8/30 | day |
| *Tiny White-winged Black #20-24(Trico) | Tricorythodes spp. | Mayfly | 7/20-9/1Peak: 7/21-8/7 | 6am-10am |