Early spring is all about loving those warm afternoons on a trout stream and looking for surface rising activity. As steelhead and rainbows are pounding gravel and procreating,  the greatest of all finicky predators: Salmo trutta/ browns, are on a new mission after the fall and winter spawn to eat every black stone they can! On our Michigan rivers winter can be brutal on the trout. The early black stone flies are literally the true"manna from heaven", as the ova-positing females fall from the sky to the water like fluttering black ashes. As the sun warms the afternoon- the greedy browns lie in wait!

 One would think that the trout are easy game at this early in the dry fly game-WRONG!,One would think that.since they haven't been rising all winter except for the random black midge or two, they would be easy targets. But this is one of the most difficult hatches to figure out. I learned a new respect and perspective yesterday while self-quarantining in my backyard- the Muskegon River!
                      (I spent nearly an hour and half stalking this elusive beast yesterday- it succumbed to my CDC black stone)

HATCH BIO

Early Black stones ( Allocapnia/Taeniopteryx ) are extremely prevalent in most trout streams around the world. They are extremely abundant in Michigan's trout streams which are subterranean ground flows that run more on the Alkaline side and have a good mix of gravel, rock, sand/silt and vegetation, with lots of wooded debris for these detritus eating mandibular shredders. February thru May: depending on where you are and water temperatures, will see their peak emergence. The manner on which this hatch behaves which is dictated by weather conditions and temperatures , make it extremely difficult to predict and time. But when you do?, its dry fly Nirvana! 
 EMERGENCE

The nymphs start to stir when water temps hit 36F,  and start their classic " wiggling" downstream with the bio drift on warm sunny afternoons. They will float helplessly for miles in the frigid waters and are total targets for the trout, where they become gluttons and eat them until their bellies are distended .          ( here are three Muskegon "fat belly bulging,footballs", that were chomping on the surface)                                                 
The best way to start fishing the hatch if you are a dirty nympher, is Euro or strike indy fishing with long drifts and occasional "twitching" of your offerings. Where you can use two flies, having your flies separated (one on the bottom, one higher up in mid-strata) so you are covering all depths
                                       ( A JSON Sweden and my wiggle nymph do the trick, also black tape Edward's stone- box above)

The nymphs eventually wiggle to the shore and crawl up on the banks and go into the woods or emerge from water - 50/50 hatch where some like water or shore. You will often see "the walk of the Penguins" as black stone nymphs walk on snow like they are headed with some destiny-odd! Their mating takes place all  over and their coupling always baffles me ( very secretive) and how they get it done is a miracle by itself ( often I see them in the town I live in on a warm sunny afternoon at the  gas station, miles away from the river on windy days)

When we actually observe " the hatch", it is the afternoon flight of airborne ova- positing mating females coming back to lay eggs, along with those ones that are actually emerging from the water simultaneously . Their "ash-like" falls are very dainty, and come from the sky like light gray snowflakes. They float for great distances due to icy water temps if hatched from water, or egg laying. Herein lies the hatch complexity!

THE HATCH SKINNY-DRY FLY MENISCUS NOTES FOR THIS TRICKY ORDEAL

What I learned yesterday on my Facebook post was very affirming on all the observations I have made over the three decades I've chased this hatch. As a dry fly fanatic, here are my notes and observations so you will be better prepared

* Feeding habitat- Due to the usually very cold spring water temps( yesterday water was 37F, and not the classic "45-55" ideal surface feeding range) trout don't have the metabolic luxury to hold in midstream in faster flows. Through the winter they find log jams close to shore-where the stone nymphs crawl up on and in deep /slow pools as food banks.The image I posted is where to find these fish and the risers. It is in the back eddies/slack water where the fallen female stones accumulate in the counterclockwise back flows, and it is here where you will find the ultra selective/reflective browns at a "picky" grazing table. Her they can cruise these back eddies in metabolic comfort, usually sunning themselves ( yes sun!, for brown trout that abhor sun, now it means water warmth an mobility. (Preston Marson on my Facebook said " could use a little cloud cover-wrong Preston!, you want the sun!) Also since browns are very skittish critters, the log jam provides a security blanket if shocked by an avian predator or shocked by you hooking it! The bubble line brings the steady flow and bio drift. 

*Weather is the most important factor- Wind is the enemy here. On warm spring afternoons winds are bound to kick up and female stones that hate wind as much as Trump with this comb-over and hairspray :)- blows them away from their landing strips-the river!
Time your river adventures on the warmest and wind-free parts of the afternoon.If you have wind, find places on the river where there is a bluff and trees like I did yesterday- the stones were dropping like dark ash on my spot so thick, while around one windy bend downstream it was virtually empty of bugs. Also depending on wind, usually one side of the river will have the bio drift of female stones, and the other side of flow void of them.Also the early blacks are often confused for dark caddis and big bwo's.

*Feeding Intervals/ Masking Hatch/Presentation

So yesterday, I posted that I scouted that nice brown for over an hour before I finally caught it- correct!, here is why. The surface feeding to these ova-positers is in long slow flat/slack water. There were hundreds of bugs on the water and yet  no rising going on- I WAS BAFFLED!. I knew the water had to hold browns but yet nothing ( common early black stone scenario) Here is what was going on:

# First and foremost, a brown trout/is not a cuddly "warm up to anything" type creature. It moves slowly, pragmatically and deliberate until all systems are "GO" ( Read about all that in my Selectivity and Nexus Books) Also since they are slowly trying to awaken their metabolism in the frigid waters, sometimes they are not warmed up  yet ( like if your honey is warmed up yet  in foreplay! :)) and ready to start feeding on the surface. Plus the water surface is still strange and foreign territory to them after all winter  dredging bottom ( the water I caught my fish was at least 5 feet deep) That surface orientation will only get stronger as the season and hatches progress. than the chosen modem/(predator foraging profile-PFP) for browns will be the surface. ( again, all this is in Selectivity and Nexus)
# A massive factor was river traffic- the Muskegon yesterday was a ZOO with jet boast, drift boats, Moon rovers, jet ski's - freak show!- I was waiting for Elvis to appear! Everyone was driving 100 miles an hour looking for steelhead as I stalked the back eddies like an old gray bearded heron in search of rising trout. Every boat put some  "footprint wake/noise vibration" that every brown trout from youth to adult can detect , especially in the flat still waters where they hunt these prey. Once the boat traffic and noise subsided( around 5 PM) and the winds died down to almost nothing-BINGO!, there came the first two risers in a spot I've been starring at forever, and I was ready to pack it up and ready to call it failure! ( couple noise/vibration and sun!- not good combos, but the sun helped get the metabolism going!)
# A smaller 10 inch brown started feeding first. I had to make at least two dozen presentations over it before it took- THANK GOD!, I wasn't skunked. Then Mrs. Big made her presence The first few rises were barley dimples, like a chub, then I saw a big tail and back and that quickly got my attention. It was taking wiggling stone nymphs under the surface, and simultaneously taking adults on top The rises came  in very long intervals- 5-8 minutes, if not longer,It was the slow metabolism and water temp that was causing the fish to move, digest and rise slowly. Also their was a tiny black "masking hatch ' of midges going on, and I saw that fish rise several times to a spec on the surface( midge). I made at least 30 plus casts and drifts to that fish, until BAHM!, she took it and ripped me into my Abel reel drag and backing. I lifted anchor and drifted with the fish or I would have broken it off- she dove right into the current fast.  After she jumped totally airborne upon hooking, the net came out and she was one of the finest Selectivity games I ever played- and loved it!
# Presentation-Even though they will be taking a good number of in the "upper"  meniscus nymphs wiggling below , stay with your big fluffy CDC dry- they will eventually succumb to its meaty nature! I tried a dry /dropper, but I was confusing this selective bastard  and just causing drag by the two fly rig.
Use 18 foot leaders with 5-7 feet of 4x tippet( no lighter!), since you have a crack at a 20 incher on this hatch. Throw big "puddle casts" high and letting them fall in a pile to let the backwater tricky counter clockwise currents unravel your leader ( I learned this from Marinaro on the Letort back in my youth) Let your drift/ floats go for long distances, stack mending as the fish will do complex and complex rises due to having plenty of time and no current for the most part.

Here is to a 20 inch brown on the dry this spring!
                                                           ( 20' on a dry CDC black stone)

END

Stay safe and healthy, read more in these times where we have more of it than ever., also pray for everyone! I'll try to update these informative posts and start podcasting and videos more often as I venture to self-quarantine on the river!

Meantime, my books #Selectivity and #Nexus are waiting for you!- they have this content and so many more juicy stories. If they have been sitting on your shelves, dust them off and dig in- it will be worth it- confidently ! Cheers!, Na Zdrowie! 

MS






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Catch Information

Species:
Brown Trout


Rainbow Trout

This Fishing Report was submitted on 3/29/2020 1:41:25 PM by Seamus and last updated on 3/29/2020 1:41:25 PM.

Location

7522 S Gray Drake Bluff
Newaygo, MI US

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