MICHIGAN TAILWATERS NEW SUPER HATCH...MIDGING

Ever since the FERC relicensing for stable flows on the Muskegon, Big Manistee and AuSable occurred back in the early 90's the diptera/simulium midge populations have steadily been building- THIS SUMMER THEY ARE EXPLODING TO EPIC PROPORTIONS! At dusk below Croton and Tippy dams the midges are so thick you will need a mesh mask to breath...thick is an understatement! The trout still key in on the continuing to grow in  abundance cinnamon and little green caddis hatches, tiny Pseudo olives, steno cahills etc., but once the midges are on the water at dusk, they chow down on them by the thousands nightly. Midge pupae and emergers will take good trout up to 18 inches all day before the caddis afternoon/dusk hatches.

Midges love the detritus from the pond/reservoir releases as food- plus decaying fecal matter from zebra mussels fuels their food chain with the vegetation- just like scuds which are becoming a stable food source for Muskegon trout year round just like on all other tailwater/spring creek environments. Your same midge/bwo/scud boxes you use for spring creeks (20-28#) work great on the Muskegon- 7x a must!

Yeah...all the kool/bad ass buzz is about throwing big streamers !...but if you want a real true fly fishing challenge at the highest and most pure level...midging is the real deal- ask the San Juan/spring creek boys . Fooling a large trout on a size #22 you tied is beyond cool!.... not a Michigan tradition yet except for maybe the purists on the Au Sable. But if you want to catch big selective/reflective trout year round- mostly summer and dead of winter when trout rise on the Mo and Big Man even on the coldest snowiest days...MIDGING IS THE NEW SUPER GLORY HATCH!...GET YOU OPTICIAN TO GIVE YOU A CHECK UP AND BIFOCALS AND GO HAVE FUN!...its contagious...NEXT WEEK- MIDGE PATTERNS FOR MICHIGAN TAILWATERS

( my biggest spring creek/tailwater trout yet -28 in.-came on my WMD ( weapon of midge destruction) #24 midge pupae in Wisconsin Driftless area-big fish love midges cause nobody is tormenting them with midges- big streamers they see all the time and yawn-except at night in the A/A kill artist phase- there they are lethal- Tommy Lynch knows!

( the same midge /scud boxes you use on spring creeks work well all year on Michigan tailwaters- late summer/fall-cream and tan are the colors- black is winter)

Posted in: Big Manistee , gray darke lodge , midge pupae , midges , muskegon fly fishing , Muskegon hatches , scuds , Selectivity book , Wisconsin spring creeks