June is one of the greatest months to be a fly angler in Michigan. It’s the months of hatches. It’s when the bigger mayflies start to hit our rivers and streams, and the trout go crazy over for such an easy meal. As we roll into June on the Pere Marquette River, we will start to see prolific hatches of sulphurs in the evenings. Don’t be fooled by this smaller fly it can entice even some of the biggest trout. Next, on the list would be the gray drake a hatch that can be sporadic, especially the spinner falls. Sometimes weather can be a factor in the evening when this mayfly usually mates and drops it eggs on the surface of the river. When it’s on, however, it’s awesome one because you can fish to rising fish before the lights go completely out. Makes it a little easier and the visual of seeing a nice trout slurp your fly is always cool.
Then comes the hex, fly anglers turn into night owl’s this time of year. Sleep all day and then creep the river in pure darkness for hours on end listening for the gulp of that trophy-size fish taking in the trophy-size fly, the hex. This hatch usually occurs from the end of June through the first part of July depending on weather patterns. Here on the Pere Marquette River, we don’t see the bugs as well as some of the more fertile rivers like the AuSable and Manistee, but we still have fun chasing trout on dry flies. For myself, that’s what summer is all about – fly fishing with dry flies
for trout.