5 Best Flies for Trout in Michigan

The Au Sable Hex hatch is Michigan fly fishing's most iconic event, drawing anglers from across the country to the Holy Waters section near Grayling each late June. Hexagenia limbata - one of North America's largest mayflies - emerges from the sandy river bottom after dark, triggering explosive, audible surface feeding from fish that haven't exposed themselves so completely all season.

Large yellow or cream Hex patterns in #4–6 are the standard. The hatch begins slowly around 9 PM and peaks in full darkness. Michigan's big browns rise aggressively and the takes are unmistakable - but presentation still matters. Float the fly on slack water, listen for rises, and cast to specific fish rather than blind-casting across the current.

Michigan's spring-fed rivers have strong caddis populations that provide consistent surface fishing from May through September - both before and after the Hex hatch window. The Elk Hair Caddis is the essential imitation for the Au Sable's tan and olive caddis species that emerge in the evenings from late May through August.

On the Pere Marquette and Manistee, caddis hatches are equally important and the Elk Hair Caddis performs reliably on both rivers. The fly's high-floating elk hair wing allows it to ride through the Michigan rivers' gentle currents and be tracked through long, flat evening pools.

The Hendrickson hatch on Michigan's Au Sable in late April is one of the most anticipated events in the Midwest fly fishing calendar - a pilgrimage-worthy event for anglers who have been waiting through a long Northern Michigan winter for the first serious dry-fly fishing of the year. The hatch emerges during warm, sunny afternoons and can produce exceptional surface action on the Au Sable's flat pools.

The North Branch of the Au Sable is particularly known for excellent Hendrickson hatches. Fish the seams and pool tails where drifting duns collect and large browns hold in their feeding lanes during the afternoon emergence.

Michigan's rivers hold excellent populations of Baetis and other mayfly nymphs year-round, and the Pheasant Tail Nymph is the subsurface pattern that covers them most consistently. On the Au Sable and Pere Marquette, nymphing with a PT between hatches produces a steady stream of fish that would otherwise be ignored while waiting for dry-fly action.

The bead-head version handles the moderate currents of Michigan's rivers efficiently. In fall, when BWO hatches bring fish up in October, a PT Nymph fished in the film during the emergence is often more effective than switching to a dry fly - Michigan's autumn fish can be cautious about committing fully to the surface.

After the Hex hatch passes in early July, Michigan's attention turns to the White Fly - a late-summer evening hatch that provides spectacular dry-fly fishing on the Muskegon and Manistee rivers from August through September. These pale, almost luminescent mayflies emerge in dense numbers on warm evenings, bringing the river's biggest fish to the surface for the last major hatch of the season.

A #14–16 white dry fly - a simple white-body parachute or a White Wulff - presented on the surface as dusk approaches is the standard approach. The White Fly hatch is somewhat less famous than the Hex but produces equally large fish and is a genuine highlight of Michigan's late-season fishing calendar.