Chris Izworski, reporting from Michigan on the current state of the Jordan River this Monday morning in the settled heart of June. The gauge at 04127800 reads 193 cubic feet per second at a height of 3.5 feet, which is moderate and fishable, not low enough to spook fish in the skinny runs but not high enough to cloud the water or drown the hatches. The Jordan flows clear through its cedar bends and sand channels in Antrim County, a designated Wild and Scenic corridor where the character of the water does not change much across the calendar, only the insects and the light.
The Window This Week
You are past sulphurs now, though stragglers may appear in the slowest pools near Graves Crossing if the evening is cool. The brown drakes have been off for a week, their heavy emergence concentrated in the first half of June, and what remains are the scattered spinners some mornings and the occasional dun that did not crawl out on schedule. What you have now, and what you will have through the end of this month, is Isonychia in the faster water and the leading edge of Hexagenia limbata in the softer bends and backwaters. The Hex are not yet thick, but they are present. Anglers working the water between Graves Crossing and the old railroad grade below Rogers Road have been seeing sporadic risers after ten o’clock at night, which is the pattern before the main emergence locks in during the first week of July. If you are on the water tonight under the clear sky and cooling air the forecast calls for, you may find fish working in the half-dark, though it will not be carnival fishing yet.
The Isonychia, meanwhile, are reliable. They emerge in midafternoon, slate-bodied mayflies that prefer the riffles and broken pockets where the Jordan picks up speed over gravel. A size 12 Slate Drake or Mahogany Comparadun fished in the faster runs between Deadman’s Hill access and Graves Crossing will find fish. The takes are not showy, but they are deliberate. You are not fishing to pods of risers; you are fishing to single trout holding in defined lies, and you must cover the water methodically.
What Is Hatching
The Isonychia bicolor hatch runs from roughly two o’clock until four or five in the afternoon, stronger on cloudy days but present even when the sun is full. These are large, dark mayflies, size 10 to 12, and the trout in the Jordan know them well. Fish a Slate Drake dry or a soft hackle swung through the riffles if you prefer the wet fly. Spinner falls occur near dusk, though they are less concentrated than the emergence.
The Hex are beginning. You will see them in the soft silt-bottomed sections below Graves Crossing and in the slower bends near the lower access points. They are not yet emerging in numbers sufficient to bring every trout in the river to the surface, but that will change within a week. For now, you are fishing to the early risers, the fish that begin feeding before the full carnival starts. A size 6 or 8 Hex pattern in tan or cream, fished dead drift in the slow lanes, will work if you time it right. The emergence begins near full dark and continues past the point when you can see your fly clearly. Bring a headlamp and do not expect to fish long; the window is brief and specific.
Where to Go
Deadman’s Hill provides access to fast water and gravel runs where the Isonychia are strong. The pocket water above and below the access is productive in midafternoon. Wade carefully; the bottom is uneven and the current is stronger than it appears. Graves Crossing offers slower water and access to the cedar bends where the Hex are beginning to show. Rogers Road and the old railroad grade section below it are worth the walk if you are fishing after dark. The Jordan is not large water, and you will encounter other anglers during prime hours, but the river absorbs pressure well if you are willing to move between the named runs.
The Practical Read
The forecast for this afternoon calls for sun and seventy-two degrees with light wind, conditions that will warm the water slightly but not enough to shut down the Isonychia. Tonight will be clear with patchy fog forming late, which means good visibility for the early Hex activity if you are on the water by ten. Tuesday repeats the pattern: morning fog, then sun, high in the low seventies. This is stable midsummer weather, and the hatches will follow their schedules. Bring a selection that covers both: size 12 Slate Drakes or Mahogany Comparaduns for the afternoon Isonychia, size 6 to 8 Hex dries in tan or cream for the late evening. A spool of 5X tippet for the daytime work, 4X for the Hex if you are confident in low light. The Jordan fishes best when you fish it slowly, covering water with intention rather than speed. The trout are there, holding in predictable lies, and they will eat if you show them the right fly at the right hour.
For live flow data, detailed hatch charts, and current conditions across the network, visit michigantroutreport.com.