<p style="font-size:0.85em;color:#666;margin-bottom:1.5em">By <a href="https://chrisizworski.com">Chris Izworski</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; Michigan Trout Daily &nbsp;|&nbsp; April 27, 2026</p>
<p>Chris Izworski reporting from Michigan on the current state of the Boardman River: today is not the day to make the drive to Traverse City. The forecast shows a 97 percent chance of significant rain over the next 48 hours, with thunderstorms likely tonight, and while USGS gauge data is unavailable to confirm exact flow numbers, the meteorological picture alone tells you everything you need to know. The Boardman will rise hard. It&#8217;s already mid-late April, when snowmelt has largely passed but spring rains remain unpredictable, and this system is serious enough that the river will be chocolate water by midday if it isn&#8217;t already.</p>
<p>This matters because the Boardman, for all its quiet reputation, is finally waking up. The Hendricksons are coming, maybe already here in the warmest pockets. The little black stoneflies are active along the banks. Midges are steady in the slow water. This is the river&#8217;s best window of the year, the stretch between ice-out and mid-May when a wild brown trout fishery that gets half the pressure of its famous neighbors rewards patience and decent presentation. Skip this week and you will miss it.</p>
<h2>Why the Boardman Matters, and Why It Can Wait</h2>
<p>The Boardman flows through Traverse City and downstream through Fife Lake and Boardman Valley as a genuine freestone brown and brook trout stream. It is not fashionable. It does not have the reputation of the Au Sable or the Manistee. This is an advantage. On a normal April afternoon, you can fish the better stretches without elbows touching, which means you can actually read the water and work insects the way they demand.</p>
<p>But a swollen river erases all that advantage. A freestone river in flood is a slot machine: you might get lucky, but you are mostly just casting into discolored water and hoping a fish feels your nymph by accident. The current becomes so strong that your drift is half a second long. Wading becomes dangerous. The fish drop into deep cover and stop eating.</p>
<h2>The Next Three Days: A Clear Road Wednesday</h2>
<p>Here is what the forecast actually offers. Tonight brings rain and thunderstorms. The system peaks Tuesday with a 44 percent rain chance and a high of only 57 degrees. But Wednesday clears: 52 degrees, 4 percent rain chance, and light winds. Thursday stays dry and slightly colder at 50 degrees high. By Wednesday morning the Boardman will have dropped substantially from whatever high water Tuesday brings. Visibility will begin to improve. Water temperature, which has been cold but warming through April, should be in that narrow window where fish feed actively without the flush of snowmelt or summer heat shutting them down.</p>
<p>Plan for Wednesday. If you are flexible, take Wednesday off instead of today.</p>
<h2>What to Fish When You Return</h2>
<p>When the river comes back down to fishable levels, the hatches will have progressed. Hendricksons typically peak in afternoon emergence between 2 and 4 p.m. in mid-April, and if the weather pattern holds, Wednesday afternoon could be excellent. You want a Hendrickson Dry in size 12 in your box, a Red Quill as backup, and a Hendrickson Nymph size 12 to fish the riffles before the hatch begins. Fish the rise lanes in flat water once the duns appear.</p>
<p>The little black stoneflies will still be around. Dead drift a size 14 dry along the banks where they crawl out. The blue-winged olives will be active on overcast afternoons, and given Wednesday&#8217;s conditions, that&#8217;s exactly what you&#8217;ll have. Stick with small patterns, 16 to 18, and long 5X or 6X tippet. If you see risers and the hatch is heavy, try an emerger just subsurface.</p>
<p>The Boardman&#8217;s access from Brown Bridge Road, Scheck&#8217;s Place, and Boardman Valley Road will all give you workable water once the pulse passes. Remember that this is general trout regulation water, though it&#8217;s always worth checking the DNR website for any recently designated special regulation sections.</p>
<h2>The Honest Read</h2>
<p>Today&#8217;s golden hour evening window runs from 7:11 p.m. to 8:41 p.m., and in normal conditions that would be prime dry fly time. But with storms coming tonight and flows rising, the evening will bring more rain, not clearing light. Wait. The Boardman isn&#8217;t going anywhere. By Wednesday afternoon, when the water has dropped and cleared and the air temperature sits in the low 50s under clearing skies, you will have a much better chance of connecting with the thing you drove here to do.</p>
<p>Check live gauge conditions and the forecast again Tuesday evening before you commit to the drive.</p>
<p>For live data on the Boardman and other Michigan streams, visit <a href="https://trout.chrisizworski.com">https://trout.chrisizworski.com</a>.</p>


The Boardman River in April Flood

<p>Chris Izworski&#8217;s Michigan Trout Daily weekly overview for Sunday, April 26: here is what the gauges actually show across the state right now, and it tells a story of high water nearly everywhere, with a narrow window of opportunity for Hendrickson season fishing before conditions normalize.</p>
<p>We are deep in the pre-Hendrickson moment. Water temperatures across both the Upper Peninsula and Northern Lower Peninsula remain in the 38 to 58 degree range, cold enough that hatches will be afternoon-dependent and short-lived. But the calendar is working in our favor. By late this week and into early May, daytime air temperatures should push these rivers into the sweet spot where consistent evening insect emergence becomes possible. The problem is water levels. Across Michigan&#8217;s 62 gauged trout rivers, the dominant story is runoff. Nearly every major system is running above median, and in many cases far above median. This is the spring flood pattern, and it will persist until flows stabilize.</p>
<p>The question for anglers planning the week is not whether water is high. It is: where is it high enough to be unfishable, where is it merely high but still wadeable, and where might clarity and temperature combine to allow actual dry fly fishing.</p>
<h2>Upper Peninsula: Mostly Blown Out, With Pockets</h2>
<p>The UP is getting hammered. The Michigamme River sits at 691 percent of median, which is not a fishing river this week; it is a torrent. The Cisco Branch Ontonagon River is at 329 percent, the Escanaba River at 216 percent, the Sturgeon River at 229 percent, and the Tahquamenon at 190 percent. These are not marginal exceedances. These are serious spring floods that will take time to recede.</p>
<p>The saving grace is that the UP has enough systems that some are merely running high rather than blown out. The Black River in Schoolcraft County is at 177 percent of median, the Ontonagon at 142 percent, the Black River (UP) at 136 percent, the Ford River at 148 percent, and the Sturgeon River at Loretto at 131 percent. Running high is not ideal, but it is wadeable with caution, and if you know the structure of the river, you can find softer water behind boulders and against the banks where trout will hold even in pushier conditions.</p>
<p>Water temperatures favor the northern systems. The East Branch Salmon Trout River is the coldest gauge in the entire state at 38 degrees Fahrenheit, with the Iron River at 39 and the Salmon Trout River at 41. Cold water suppresses hatches but also holds trout in predictable locations. The Escanaba is the warmest in the UP at 44 degrees, but at 216 percent of median it is not a realistic option this week.</p>
<p>If you are committed to the UP this week, focus on the slightly-below-blown-out category: the Ford River, the Black River in Schoolcraft County, and the Ontonagon main stem. These are all running high but not so high that you cannot find water where a nymph can work.</p>
<h2>Northern Lower Peninsula: Widespread High Water, Some Fishable Options</h2>
<p>The Northern Lower Peninsula has more gauged rivers than the UP, and paradoxically more of them are in the dangerous zone. The Looking Glass River is at 295 percent of median, the Pine River near Oscoda at 304 percent, and the Au Gres at 256 percent. These are unfishable. The Muskegon River at 219 percent, the Thunder Bay River at 217 percent, and the Maple River at 189 percent are also serious spate conditions.</p>
<p>But the signature rivers of the region tell a mixed story. The AuSable is running high at 148 percent of median, which is manageable for anglers who know the lower sections. The Manistee is at 163 percent and remains cold at 47 degrees, the coldest read in the NLP. The Pere Marquette is at 155 percent. The Jordan River is at 132 percent. The Rifle River is at 161 percent. The White River is at 165 percent.</p>
<p>All of these are running above median but below the blown-out threshold. For Hendrickson fishing, high water can actually be an advantage if it brings clarity and push that concentrates trout in predictable holds. The Manistee&#8217;s cold temperature is a liability for early-week fishing but becomes an asset by Thursday or Friday when air temperatures rise. The Pigeon River is only at 109 percent, near normal, making it a lower-risk option if you want to avoid the high water entirely.</p>
<p>Five gauges in the NLP are offline, so coverage is incomplete, but the trend is clear: this is high water week across northern Michigan. Water clarity should improve as silt begins to settle, but that takes time.</p>
<h2>Southern Lower Peninsula: No Gauge Data</h2>
<p>The Southern Lower Peninsula has no gauged trout rivers in the Michigan Trout Report network, so we have no real-time flow or temperature data. This is a significant gap in statewide coverage. Anglers fishing the St. Joseph, Rogue, or Kalmazoo systems will need to rely on visual assessment, personal knowledge, and local reports.</p>
<h2>Where I Would Go This Week</h2>
<p>If I were planning fishing for the coming week, I would target either the Pigeon River in the Northern Lower Peninsula, which is near normal at 109 percent of median, or the Ford River in the Upper Peninsula, which is running high but not blown out at 148 percent. Both have temperatures that will support afternoon Hendrickson activity if the sun is strong. The Pigeon&#8217;s lower flow makes it the safer choice for beginners or anglers uncomfortable in high water. The Ford River&#8217;s slightly higher water will concentrate fish and may produce better dry fly fishing by Friday if water clarity improves. Avoid everything over 180 percent of median until flows drop mid-week. By Wednesday or Thursday, systems currently at 160 percent may become fishable as discharge recedes.</p>
<p>For real-time conditions on your target river, visit <a href="https://trout.chrisizworski.com" rel="nofollow">https://trout.chrisizworski.com</a>.</p>


Michigan Trout Daily Weekly Overview: Sunday, April 26, 2026

<p style="font-size:0.85em;color:#666;margin-bottom:1.5em">By <a href="https://chrisizworski.com">Chris Izworski</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; Michigan Trout Daily &nbsp;|&nbsp; April 26, 2026</p>
<p>Chris Izworski, reporting from Michigan on the current state of the Muskegon River, begins with the hard truth: the river is not fishable today. The USGS gauge at the dam reads 5420 cubic feet per second, running at 219 percent of the historical median for late April. That&#8217;s well into unfishable territory, and the weather forecast guarantees things will get worse before they get better.</p>
<h2>What the gauge is telling you</h2>
<p>On a normal April 26, the Muskegon runs around 2480 cfs. Even on a swollen day, you&#8217;d expect something in the 3000 to 3500 range. This morning&#8217;s reading of 5420 represents a river in flood. The gauge height is 8.04 feet. The water temperature sits at 56.5 degrees, which would normally be promising for early season dry fly work, but when the river is this blown out, temperature is irrelevant. The fish are either pressed tight to structure or nowhere near feeding position.</p>
<p>A 99 percent chance of rain in the next 48 hours means the Muskegon will keep rising through Monday. Tuesday brings another 79 percent rain probability with temperatures dropping to a high of 58. The tailwater below Croton Dam will carry that cold runoff downstream, and the flow will climb further. This is not a setup that improves by Wednesday.</p>
<h2>Why the Muskegon matters in April</h2>
<p>The Muskegon is one of the most consistent and productive trout rivers in Michigan&#8217;s lower peninsula, and the Hendrickson hatch that&#8217;s coming—that classical April mayfly emergence that brings serious dry fly fishing—should have you thinking about this water. The public access at Croton Dam and the downstream sites at Newaygo and Bridgeton mean you can reach good water without navigating private land. The tailwater designation means trout live here year-round, and the cold, stable releases from above create a fishery that doesn&#8217;t depend on snowmelt the way freestone streams do.</p>
<p>But not today. Not this week, most likely.</p>
<h2>The hatch window that&#8217;s coming</h2>
<p>Hendricksons typically emerge in the afternoon, peak between 2 and 4 p.m., and fish rise in the quieter water while nymphs hold in the riffles ahead of the hatch. The evening golden hour on the Muskegon runs from 7:08 p.m. to sunset at 8:38 p.m., a window when you could expect to see some dry fly work if conditions allowed. Standard patterns are the Hendrickson Dry in size 12, the Red Quill in 12, and a Hendrickson Nymph for presoak work in the fast water.</p>
<p>Grannom caddis are on the menu too. Elk Hair Caddis in 14 and the X-Caddis have been reliable, and you can swing the LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa through rising water before the adults show.</p>
<p>None of this matters until the river settles.</p>
<h2>What to watch for before the drive</h2>
<p>Wednesday looks like the first day the rain chart clears. The probability drops to 8 percent, and flow will have had time to recede by then, assuming no surprise precipitation overnight. If you&#8217;re serious about the early Hendrickson fishing this spring, Wednesday morning might be worth the drive north. The water will be cold—likely around 52 to 54 degrees by then—but at least it will be fishable. Check the USGS gauge before you load the vehicle. If the reading is back below 3500 cfs by late Tuesday, Wednesday&#8217;s afternoon hatch could be worth your time.</p>
<p>Today is a day to tie flies, check your leader setup, and stay off the water.</p>
<p>For live gauge data and real-time updates, visit <a href="https://trout.chrisizworski.com" rel="nofollow">https://trout.chrisizworski.com</a>.</p>


The Muskegon River, Sunday April 26: Blown Out and Rising

<p style="font-size:0.85em;color:#666;margin-bottom:1.5em">By <a href="https://chrisizworski.com">Chris Izworski</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; Michigan Trout Daily &nbsp;|&nbsp; April 25, 2026</p>
<p>Chris Izworski, reporting from Michigan on the current state of the Pere Marquette, has to tell you straight: the river is running high and the fishing is tough. The gauge at the USGS station is showing 1530 cubic feet per second, which is 175 percent of the historical median for this date. To put that plainly, the water is substantially above normal for late April, and if you&#8217;re thinking about loading the truck this morning, you need to understand what that means before you drive west into Mason County.</p>
<h2>Flow and Wading Conditions</h2>
<p>At 1530 cfs, the Pere Marquette is moving with real authority. The gauge height sits at 3.98 feet, well above the 75th percentile of flows you&#8217;d expect on April 25. Wading will be difficult and dangerous in many sections. Current is pushy in the runs you&#8217;d normally fish confidently. The bottom, especially in the transition zones between pocket water and flats, will be treacherous underfoot. If you have not run the Pere Marquette during high water, this is not the day to learn the river&#8217;s temperament.</p>
<p>The water is gin-clear, which tells you the elevation is coming from volume, not from suspended sediment. That matters. It means the river has not blown out from runoff further upstream. But clarity without moderate flow makes trout spooky and selective. They&#8217;re hunkered in deeper, slower water right now, not spread across the structure where you want them.</p>
<h2>What the Fish Are Doing</h2>
<p>The Michigan Trout Report rates the conditions as Tough. Fish are off. Long leader, small fly. That assessment is correct. In high, clear water, trout retreat to energy-efficient lies. They&#8217;re not patrolling the banks or rising in the shallow flats. They&#8217;re in the deeper pools and behind the larger boulders where the current breaks. Feeding intensity drops because the increased flow provides more drifting food without the fish having to expose themselves.</p>
<p>If you do wade today, you&#8217;re fishing for scattered, selective fish that will demand accuracy and finesse. You&#8217;re not fishing a wet fly through a riffle and expecting three takes. You&#8217;re dead drifting a small nymph under an indicator in slow water, or you&#8217;re waiting for a hatch emergence and making long, drag-free drifts to individual risers. The energy expenditure rarely justifies the drive on a day like this.</p>
<h2>Hatches and Fly Patterns</h2>
<p>The Hendrickson emergence is imminent on the Pere Marquette. In normal water levels, the Hendrickson (#12 dry, #12 nymph) represents the first substantial dry-fly fishing of the season, and anglers wait for it. The emergence peaks in the afternoon, typically 2 to 4 PM. But emergence intensity is highly dependent on flow stability. High water delays hatches and suppresses the density of duns that emerge. You might see a few Hendricksons today between 2 and 4 PM, but you won&#8217;t see the thick emergence that makes dry-fly fishing rewarding.</p>
<p>What is more reliable right now are the midges and little black stoneflies. Midges (Mercury Midge or Zebra Midge, #20) fish consistently year-round on the Pere Marquette, and they don&#8217;t care about elevated flow. Dead drift your midge under an indicator in the slow pools and deeper eddies, keeping the fly close to the bottom where the trout are holding. Little black stonefly nymphs (#14) work in the faster water and riffles where the current is strongest. Blue-winged olives are present and will hatch sporadically on overcast stretches, particularly if clouds move in this afternoon. The forecast shows mostly sunny conditions through this evening, so BWO action will be minimal.</p>
<p>Early brown stoneflies are active. If you want to cover water, swing wet flies or nymphs through the riffles. Elk Hair Caddis in brown (#14) can work as a skated dry in the faster water, particularly toward evening when adults are most active on the surface.</p>
<h2>The Evening Window and Light</h2>
<p>Sunset is at 8:40 PM. Your golden-hour dry-fly window runs from 7:10 PM to 8:40 PM. If the conditions moderate slightly and you&#8217;re able to get on the water then, you&#8217;ll have stable light and potentially some activity from whatever evening hatches are going. The forecast calls for mostly sunny conditions with winds at 12 miles per hour. That wind will complicate accurate casting and drag-free drifts. A long leader and careful line management become non-negotiable. Temperature tonight drops to 39 degrees, which will depress hatch activity. The water is cold enough that emergence timing is unpredictable.</p>
<h2>The Better Plan</h2>
<p>Here&#8217;s what the next three days look like: Sunday peaks at 67 degrees with zero percent rain. Monday climbs to 71 degrees with a 24 percent rain chance. Tuesday drops back to 57 degrees with 85 percent rain and significant rainfall expected. Monday is shaping up as the strong window. Warmer water, minimal rain in the forecast, and stable flow suggest the Pere Marquette will fish considerably better on Monday than it will today. If you have flexibility in your schedule, wait the day. The river will remain fishable through Sunday and into Monday, and by Monday afternoon the flow may moderate as well.</p>
<p>Sunday night itself is worth watching. If the river continues to stabilize overnight and Monday morning breaks clear and warm, you&#8217;ll be arriving on the Pere Marquette in optimal conditions for Hendrickson emergence and early-season dry-fly fishing. The fish will be in a better mood. You won&#8217;t be fighting current just to stand upright.</p>
<p>Check the live gauge and forecast conditions at <a href="https://trout.chrisizworski.com" rel="nofollow">https://trout.chrisizworski.com</a> before you decide.</p>


Pere Marquette River — April 25, 2026

<p style="font-size:0.85em;color:#666;margin-bottom:1.5em">By <a href="https://chrisizworski.com">Chris Izworski</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; Michigan Trout Daily &nbsp;|&nbsp; April 24, 2026</p>
<p>Chris Izworski, reporting from Michigan on the current state of the Manistee River, has to lead with the honest thing: the river is running high today, and it&#8217;s not the day to make the drive north unless you&#8217;re prepared for difficult wading and limited fishing.</p>
<p>The Manistee is one of Michigan&#8217;s longest and most diverse trout rivers, and it deserves respect. It holds excellent brown trout in the upper reaches near Grayling, world-class steelhead in the lower sections, and everything in between across its freestone character. But today, at 328 cubic feet per second, it&#8217;s running 58 percent above its 30-year median for this date. The USGS gauge at 1.55 feet confirms what the water looks like: pushy, cold at 52.3 degrees, and dangerous to wade in any section where the bottom matters. The systematic conditions rating is Fair, which is Michigan Trout Report language for &#8220;you can fish, but you&#8217;re working hard and catching less for it.&#8221;</p>
<p>The weather won&#8217;t help. Rain is 74 percent likely today, with thunderstorms moving through this afternoon and evening. The system pushes another round tonight, and the three-day outlook suggests flow will trend higher before it settles. This is not the moment to be on the Manistee.</p>
<h2>Why Saturday Changes Everything</h2>
<p>Saturday, though, is a different conversation. Rain drops to 12 percent. The high is 55 degrees with a low of 34, which means the cold will actually help stabilize what water volume remains. If you can hold off one day, Saturday becomes the window worth planning around. The Manistee will have dropped some by then, the water will be cleaner, and you&#8217;ll actually be able to work the holds without fighting the current just to stay upright.</p>
<h2>What&#8217;s Hatching, and Why It Matters This Week</h2>
<p>You&#8217;re in the sweet spot of the Manistee&#8217;s spring calendar. Midges are here, holding in the slower pools and eddies where you can dead drift under an indicator. The Mercury and Zebra Midge in size 20 are doing the work in those places. Blue-winged olives are showing on overcast afternoons, and today&#8217;s cloud cover would normally be perfect for them, except the high water makes pocket water the only real option. The Hendrickson emergence is days away, not here yet, but the anticipation matters. That classic afternoon hatch, peaking 2 to 4 p.m., is what pulls serious anglers back to rivers like the Manistee in late April. When it comes, it will be worth the wait.</p>
<p>Early brown stoneflies are active in the riffles, and swing wet flies through the current. Grannom caddis are on the water too. These are all reasons to watch Saturday closely. If the water clears and drops as expected, you&#8217;ll have multiple hatches stacked for the back half of the weekend, with the evening golden hour window from 7:05 p.m. to 8:35 p.m. offering dry fly chances when the light is right.</p>
<h2>The Access Question</h2>
<p>The Manistee is accessible at Grayling in the upper reaches, and at CCC Bridge, High Bridge, and the Tippy Dam area downstream. In current high water conditions, stick to the upper sections near Grayling if you must go today. Even there, respect the current. The lower sections are not your friend today. Check the current DNR regulations by section before you fish, as special rules vary across this river&#8217;s length. There&#8217;s no substitute for knowing what water you&#8217;re legally fishing.</p>
<p>Wait for Saturday. The river will thank you with better conditions and better fishing.</p>
<p>Live gauge data and detailed conditions: <a href="https://trout.chrisizworski.com">https://trout.chrisizworski.com</a></p>


The Manistee River, April 24: High Water and the Wait

<p style="font-size:0.85em;color:#666;margin-bottom:1.5em">By <a href="https://chrisizworski.com">Chris Izworski</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; Michigan Trout Daily &nbsp;|&nbsp; April 23, 2026</p>
<p>Chris Izworski&#8217;s daily Michigan trout report turns to the AuSable this morning, and the honest assessment is this: the river is running hard, well above its historical April average, and the fishing window is narrow. Before you load the truck for the drive northeast, understand what the numbers are telling you.</p>
<p>The USGS gauge at the AuSable is holding at 2040 cubic feet per second. For a late April day, that&#8217;s running at 153 percent of the 30-year median for this date. The 75th percentile—the level you&#8217;d expect on a high-flow day—sits at 1680 cfs. You&#8217;re above that now, and the water temperature is a cold 52.2 degrees. The gauge height of 4.5 feet means the banks are wider, the current faster, and the holding water for large fish has shifted from its usual lies into the deeper pools and behind substantial structure.</p>
<p>The Michigan Trout Report rates conditions as Fair. That means fishable, with qualification: pick your spots. This is not a day to cover water aggressively or to expect the river to forgive poor presentation. Browns and rainbows are still accustomed to winter habits—they&#8217;re not yet distributed across the shallows and flats where you&#8217;d find them in May and June. High water compresses them.</p>
<h2>What the Weather Tells You</h2>
<p>Today looks pleasant enough. Mostly sunny, 75 degrees, minimal wind. The evening could be excellent: sunset at 8:30 pm, with a genuine golden-hour window from 7:00 to 8:30 where light conditions favor dry-fly rises. That matters for what comes next.</p>
<p>The forecast shows a 75 percent chance of rain in the next 48 hours. Friday carries a 64 percent rain probability with a high of only 64 degrees. Saturday drops further: 56 degrees, 50 percent rain chance. When you layer a 75 percent chance of precipitation onto a river already running at 153 percent of median flow, the outcome is clear. The AuSable will rise. Possibly significantly. The window for decent wading closes, not tomorrow, but soon.</p>
<p>Sunday is the break. Four percent rain chance, with a high near 63 degrees. If you&#8217;re flexible with your schedule and genuinely interested in the AuSable right now, that&#8217;s the day to mark. The water will be dropping by then, moving back toward something manageable.</p>
<h2>The Hatch Picture</h2>
<p>April on the AuSable means the Hendricksons are coming. You&#8217;re not quite there yet—the real emergence typically peaks in early May—but the precursors are live now. Midges and small Blue-Winged Olives are hatching sporadically in the afternoons. Early Brown Stoneflies and Grannom Caddis are active, particularly in the faster water where nymphs are drifting or where adults skitter on the surface.</p>
<p>On a day like today, with decent light and a decent evening window, the play is nymphing the riffles with a Hare&#8217;s Ear or Early Brown Stonefly pattern in the #12 range, then switching to dries in the last hour if a rise forms. The cold water and high flow mean fish are feeding, but they&#8217;re not doing it with the abandon you&#8217;ll see in three weeks. Every presentation matters.</p>
<p>If the afternoon clouds up and you&#8217;re fishing the slower water near Grayling or Burton&#8217;s Landing, small emergers—RS2 or Sparkle Dun in #18—fished just subsurface on long fluorocarbon tippet will catch fish. The special regulations water on the Holy Water stretch demands flies-only, and the pristine spring-fed currents there hold the river&#8217;s best browns. That water will fish better today than the main stem, partly because the springs moderate temperature and flow variation.</p>
<h2>The Wading Reality</h2>
<p>High water and cold temperature demand respect. The current is pushy. Wade deliberately. Know where your exits are. The AuSable has excellent public access at Grayling, Mio, Burton&#8217;s Landing, and Wakeley Bridge, but access means nothing if you&#8217;re overcommitted in a channel that&#8217;s running faster than you anticipated. Fish the edges, the slack water, the inside bends. Let the faster current run.</p>
<h2>What to Do</h2>
<p>If you&#8217;re committed to the AuSable today, fish the evening. The golden hour from 7:00 to 8:30 pm offers your best chance at dry-fly rises, and the cooler light of late day can trigger feeding in high water. Bring small flies and long, fine tippet. Expect to work for every fish.</p>
<p>If you have flexibility in your schedule, wait for Sunday. The rain will clear, the flow will decline, and the water will be fishable in a more conventional sense. One day of patience can mean the difference between an afternoon of frustration and a day that reminds you why the AuSable is considered one of the premier wild trout fisheries in the Midwest.</p>
<p>For real-time gauge data and flow updates, check <a href="https://trout.chrisizworski.com" rel="nofollow">https://trout.chrisizworski.com</a>.</p>


The AuSable in High Water: Thursday, April 23

<p style="font-size:0.85em;color:#666;margin-bottom:1.5em">By <a href="https://chrisizworski.com">Chris Izworski</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; Michigan Trout Daily &nbsp;|&nbsp; April 22, 2026</p>
<p>Chris Izworski&#8217;s daily Michigan trout report turns to the Black River this morning, where the first real hatch fishing of the season is taking shape against a river running leaner than its spring average.</p>
<h2>The Flow Picture and What It Means</h2>
<p>The Black is sitting at 653 cubic feet per second, which puts it near the 25th percentile for this date and well below the historical median of 982 cfs. For a UP freestone river in late April, this is actually welcome news. You&#8217;re not looking at the chocolate water and unfordable current that makes half the Upper Peninsula&#8217;s trout streams unfishable during spring snowmelt. The gauge height of 3.94 feet suggests the river is in a cooperating mood, at least for now.</p>
<p>That said, the systematic rating is fair, not excellent. This is a pick-your-spots day. The river will be wadeable, and the water will take a fly, but you&#8217;ll need to think deliberately about where the trout are holding and what they&#8217;re willing to eat. The cold water temperature typical of late April in this region means fish aren&#8217;t roaming far from structure. They&#8217;re concentrated in the slower water, the deeper runs, and the seams where current breaks offer a rest.</p>
<h2>Hatch Timing and What&#8217;s Coming</h2>
<p>The Hendricksons are on the cusp. You might see scattered duns in the 2 to 4 p.m. window today, particularly if the afternoon cloud cover persists and temperatures trend upward. But don&#8217;t expect a blitz. Water temperature will govern emergence more than the calendar does, and in the Porcupine Mountains area, that water is still very much in spring mode.</p>
<p>The midge hatch is active and reliable right now. Dead drifting a Mercury Midge or Zebra Midge number 20 under an indicator in the slower pools and eddies is honest work. Fish tight to the bottom where the water slows. This is not glamorous fishing, but it&#8217;s producing.</p>
<p>Little black stoneflies are also moving. You can dead drift their nymphs in the riffles or look for adults crawling out along the banks and skittering across the surface film. Pair a little black stonefly dry number 14 with the nymph as a dropper and you&#8217;re covering both possibilities.</p>
<p>Blue-winged olives will pop during overcast stretches, particularly if today stays gray and cool. Use a long fluorocarbon tippet, 5X to 6X, and fish a parachute BWO number 16 or a sparkle dun in the rise lanes where flat water meets riffles. If the hatch is heavy, drop an RS2 emerger number 18 just subsurface.</p>
<h2>Evening Light and Dry-Fly Window</h2>
<p>The evening golden hour runs from 7:26 p.m. to sunset at 8:56 p.m. That&#8217;s your best dry-fly window if the Hendricksons emerge as expected. The 13 hours and 55 minutes of daylight are growing noticeably longer now, and the quality of light in that final hour can be electric. If you&#8217;re making the drive to the Black, plan to be on the water through dusk.</p>
<h2>Water Temperature and Seasonal Context</h2>
<p>Temperature data isn&#8217;t available from the gauge today, but assume it&#8217;s still in the cold range. UP snowmelt feeds these rivers well into May. That cold water means the early brown stoneflies will be active, and swinging a wet fly or nymph through the riffles is a legitimate tactic. The elk hair caddis in brown, number 14, can also be skittered across the surface where stoneflies are present, particularly in the lower sections where the river mellows out.</p>
<h2>Access and the River Itself</h2>
<p>The Black River Harbor Recreation Area provides your main access point. County road access reaches multiple sections throughout the watershed. The river flows through stunning country near Bessemer, cutting through the Porcupine Mountains with waterfalls that remind you why this part of Michigan exists. It&#8217;s wild, it&#8217;s remote, and it holds both brook trout and browns. The brooks here are the fish you came for: dark-backed, willing, native. The browns are the bonus.</p>
<p>Fair conditions aren&#8217;t an invitation to drive four hours on the assumption of easy fishing. They&#8217;re an invitation to fish thoughtfully, to move slowly, and to fish the water you can see. Wade deliberately. Read the current. Most of the trout today are concentrated. Find the current seams, the deeper pools, the overhanging brush. Fish there.</p>
<p>Check current conditions and live gauge data at <a href="https://trout.chrisizworski.com" rel="nofollow">https://trout.chrisizworski.com</a>.</p>


Black River (UP) — Wednesday, April 22, 2026

<p style="font-size:0.85em;color:#666;margin-bottom:1.5em">By <a href="https://chrisizworski.com">Chris Izworski</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; Michigan Trout Daily &nbsp;|&nbsp; April 19, 2026</p>
<p>Chris Izworski, reporting from Michigan on the current state of the Tahquamenon, must begin with a straightforward observation: the river is running high today, and if you are thinking about making the drive north to the Paradise area, you should know what that means before you leave.</p>
<p>The USGS gauge is reporting 6080 cubic feet per second. The historical median for this date is 3180 cfs. That puts today at 191 percent of normal, well into the 75th percentile range for April. The gauge height stands at 9.92 feet. This is not a river you want to wade today.</p>
<h2>The Spring Runoff Reality</h2>
<p>The Tahquamenon, like all the great rivers of the Eastern Upper Peninsula, lives within the rhythm of the snowpack. April is the worst month for predictability. The deep snow that sits in the UP watershed all winter begins to release now, and it releases with volume. Yesterday&#8217;s rain did not help. The water is high, the current is fast, and in the riffles and runs where you would normally fish, the force of the flow will make safe wading nearly impossible for most anglers.</p>
<p>This is not a judgment. It is simply what the numbers tell us. The Tahquamenon is famous for many things, not least the tannin-stained falls that draw visitors by the thousands, but in mid-April, it is also famous for being temporarily unfishable, regardless of the hatch calendar.</p>
<h2>What Is Hatching Right Now</h2>
<p>The Hendrickson is coming. It always comes in mid-to-late April, and yes, the Tahquamenon has them, typically emerging in the afternoon window between 2 and 4 p.m. under good conditions. You can fish Hendrickson nymphs in the riffles beforehand, using a #12 pattern, dead drifted along the bottom. The dry fly fishing, when conditions allow, is the kind of classic early spring stuff that reminds you why you fish at all.</p>
<p>Before that major hatch arrives in full force, the smaller insects are already on the water. Midges are present in the slower pools and eddies, and you can take fish on a Mercury Midge or Zebra Midge in #20, dead drifted under an indicator near the bottom. Little Black Stoneflies are crawling out along the banks, and nymphs in #14 will work the riffles. The Baetis are emerging too, small and delicate, best approached with 5X or 6X fluorocarbon and emerger patterns like the RS2 in #18.</p>
<p>Caddis are also starting to show. Early Brown Stoneflies will skitter on the surface, and you can swing a Hare&#8217;s Ear Nymph in #12 through the riffles or try skating a brown Elk Hair Caddis. Grannom Caddis should be active soon as well, and the skitter technique on an Elk Hair Caddis #14 or X-Caddis #14 can be effective when the water allows you to fish it.</p>
<h2>When to Make the Drive</h2>
<p>Watch the gauge at USGS before you commit to the drive. The Tahquamenon will drop as the runoff cycle continues through late April and into May, but right now it needs time. Target a flow closer to 4000 cfs or lower if you want to wade safely and fish the water properly. The state park access around Paradise will still be there when conditions improve, and the fish will not go anywhere.</p>
<p>If you do make the trip in the next few days despite current conditions, focus on the slower water. Eddies behind boulders, the slack water along the banks, and the deeper pools will hold fish that have moved out of the main current to rest. Fish small nymphs and midges in these zones. A good indicator rig will let you work the deeper pools without the constant battle against the force of the runoff.</p>
<p>The Tahquamenon is one of the UP&#8217;s great rivers, and it holds brook trout in the upper watershed and steelhead in the lower reaches. It is worth the wait for better conditions. Check the gauge, trust what it tells you, and plan accordingly.</p>
<p>For live gauge data and updates, visit <a href="https://trout.chrisizworski.com" rel="nofollow">https://trout.chrisizworski.com</a></p>


Tahquamenon River, April 19, 2026

<p style="font-size:0.85em;color:#666;margin-bottom:1.5em">By <a href="https://chrisizworski.com">Chris Izworski</a> &nbsp;|&nbsp; Michigan Trout Daily &nbsp;|&nbsp; April 19, 2026</p>
<p>The Sturgeon River in the western UP is running cold and clear this third week of April, which is exactly what you want it to be. The USGS gauge data is unavailable today, so you will have to trust your eyes and your instincts when you get there. What matters right now is that the water is still carrying snowmelt and holding the kind of temperature that makes brook trout aggressive without making them careless. The season is turning. The first real hatch fishing of the year is starting, and if you are planning a drive north, the decision is straightforward: the Sturgeon is worth it.</p>
<h2>What to expect on the water right now</h2>
<p>April on a coldwater UP stream means you are fishing the threshold between early season subsurface work and the emergence windows that will dominate May and June. The water temperature data from the gauge is not available today, but you can assume it is still in the 40s. That matters. It means the fish are feeding, but they are not yet in the kind of feeding frenzy that comes later. You will need to be precise with your fly choice and your drift.</p>
<p>Midges are the base layer right now. Mercury Midge and Zebra Midge in size 20 dead drifted under an indicator in the slow pools and eddies will produce fish on any day. Fish tight to the bottom. The Sturgeon has plenty of water that looks too slow to hold trout, and it does not. These pools are where your brook trout are spending energy inefficiently right now, and a dead midge presentation will find them.</p>
<p>Little Black Stoneflies are emerging along the banks, particularly where the current eases near the shore. A size 14 Little Black Stonefly dry will draw rises from fish that are watching the banks. If that does not work, drop to the nymph, size 14, and work it deep through the riffles where the insects are starting to crawl out. The Sturgeon has miles of riffle water, and the nymph game is productive and meditative.</p>
<p>Blue-Winged Olives are coming. Fish overcast days especially. The hatch is not consistent yet, but when conditions tighten and the light drops, tie on a Parachute BWO or Sparkle Dun in size 16, or go subsurface with an RS2 in size 18. Use 5X or 6X fluorocarbon tippet. These are small flies, and they demand precision.</p>
<h2>The Hendrickson watch begins</h2>
<p>The Hendrickson hatch is the reason many of us keep a calendar in April. The emergence here on the Sturgeon typically peaks in the afternoon, 2 to 4 PM, on days when the sun breaks through overcast skies and the water temperature edges into the low to mid 50s. You are not quite there yet, but you are close. If you make the drive this week, plan your day around the afternoon window. Fish the nymph, size 12 Hendrickson Nymph, through the riffles in the morning. Then move to the flats and the slower water where the duns will appear and where the fish will begin to rise. A size 12 Hendrickson Dry or Red Quill will be your answer.</p>
<h2>Other insects worth noting</h2>
<p>Early Brown Stoneflies are active. These are not yet the heavy spring creek stone hatches you might encounter downstream in the Lower Peninsula, but they are real, and they respond to wet fly work. Swing a Hare&#8217;s Ear Nymph size 12 through the riffles, or try skating a dry brown Elk Hair Caddis size 14 across the surface when you see the adults moving.</p>
<p>Grannom Caddis are starting. The Elk Hair Caddis size 14 skittered across the water will draw strikes from fish that have learned to look up. The X-Caddis size 14 fished in the film is a good alternative when the fish are being selective. If you want to work subsurface, the LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa size 14 swung through the riffles on the rise will connect you to fish that are eating the emerging pupae before they reach the surface.</p>
<h2>Access and what to know</h2>
<p>The Sturgeon flows through the Ottawa National Forest in one of Michigan&#8217;s most remote brook trout strongholds. Access points are available via Ottawa National Forest roads and US-45 crossings. The fish here are wild and beautiful, and the regulations exist to protect them. Check the current DNR regulations before you go. Artificial lures only apply in certain sections, and the special brook trout regulations are worth reading carefully.</p>
<p>Plan for a full day. Bring layers. The weather in the UP in April is not reliable, and the water is cold enough that a slip matters. The roads to the Sturgeon are reliable, and the river itself is worth the drive.</p>
<p>For live gauge data and current flow conditions, check <a href="https://trout.chrisizworski.com">https://trout.chrisizworski.com</a>.</p>


Michigan Trout Daily by Chris Izworski