Weather is not always in your favor when it comes to UP fly fishing trips. That was the case this past Wednesday -- it poured all day. I started off trying the usual tactics, big stonefly nymphs in the deeper pockets but came up zero. Our resident brown trout wanted none of it.
We noticed a really sparse mayfly hatch, I'm talking like 20 bugs total :) and they were small, coming off in the pouring rain. No rises but could be some underwater activity so we switched to some small hares ears and started targeting soft water along pool edges and tail outs. Boom that was the ticket. We started picking up some chunky brown trout in really skinny water.
My typical rig is a 1" indicator and some big bugs dropped about 4-5 feet under. The rain rig we used was totally the opposite, a small 1/2" white indicator (to blend in) with a size 18 bead head hares ear dropped 2 ft down, added a little weight to get it down faster until we were just ticking the bottom.
Later on we saw some splashy rises and went to a #16 partridge wet fly that we swung through slower water - had some really big hits but couldn't get the hook up.
All in all a great day even despite the crazy non-stop rain. Reminded me to be adaptable and work with any clues you see on the water.
Thanks for visiting
Caddis Shack Guide Service
Guiding Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Since 2002
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We specialize in fly fishing trips for Steelhead, Smallmouth and Trout near Escanaba, MI in the beautiful Upper Peninsula (Upper Michigan). Float or Wade. Expert or Beginner.