August brings the dog days of summer with warm days and good winds blowing insects such as hoppers, ants, and beetles into rivers where the trout are waiting patiently for these tasty summer snacks. Nothing quite like casting a terrestrial fly pattern tight to the bank and watching trout suck them in. Other options for trout fly fishing this time of year include early morning trico hatches, wet fly fishing in riffle water with sink tip lines, or nymph fishing deeper troughs, shoots, and tailouts of big runs. Fly rods in 4-6 weight range, matched with the right floating line, will work best for most situations. For the light tackle spin fisherman, small Mepps and Blue Fox spinners, or small Rapala’s to imitate smaller baitfish will get fish as well. Light action spinning rods, 6-7’ long, work best for finesse fishing of summer.
Smallmouth bass are most active this time of summer and we fish for them with both light spin tackle and fly fishing gear. Light spin tackle outfits would include 7-9’ rods, reels spooled with either 6-8 pound line, or #15 braid, tipped with 6-8 pound mono for better sensitivity and hook setting. Fly fishing outfits include 5-7 weight rods for casting top water flies such as gurglers and poppers, preferably with bass taper lines, which help turn over larger flies. For subsurface fishing, the same 5-7 weight rods can be used, with reels spooled with either floating lines to attach sink tips to for streamer fishing, or sinking lines to get flies down deeper. Can’t go wrong with crayfish or bait fish imitations now, regardless of whether your fly fishing or spin fishing.
Certain rivers get a run of skamania steelhead at some point in August. Much of this depends on water temperature by the pier heads of their natal rivers. When Lake Michigan water “turns over” and brings cold water near shore, this triggers skamania movement. Tangling with one of these fresh water rockets can test both equipment and angler skill. These can be fished for from the shoreline or pier heads of Lake Michigan, or in the rivers. Those looking to tussle with a whale tail, should do so with longer rods, in the 10’ range, with reels capable of holding at least 150 yards of line and with good drags. Common baits for spin fisherman include small crayfish, spawn bags, and even raw pieces of shrimp. Fly anglers should be equipped with something along the lines of a 7 or 8 weight rod, 9 to 10 feet long, with a reel that has a good drag system. Flies include nymphs fished under an indicator, streamers swung, or retrieved with sinking or sink tip lines to imitate crayfish or small bait fish/sculpin patterns.
The Muskegon River is colder than normal for this time of summer, which may help extend the last of the trico hatch and could jump start our late summer green caddis hatch. Either way it will surely help the overall health of the river. Based on recent reports we could see some big migratory fish again this fall in the form of our annual chinook salmon run, as well as the mighty steelhead, which are fished from October until the end of December.
Should schedules and summer or fall agenda’s allow for a guided trip, please contact me at the number below or email me at jrbacon@ameritech.net and happy fishing!
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