Mid May is a great time of the year for dry fly fishing! With the cool spring so far there have not been as many trout rising as some years but of late its been pretty good. More warm weather will keep improving the dry fly fishing. In the Big Waters of the Au Sable (above Mio and below) the last week its been all the Dark Hendrickson and still a lot of this bug to come.
Look for afternoon to hatches to continue and cooler cloudy days are the best. With more heat comes a evening hatch and more toward dark.
Spinner falls have started the last few days but the heaviest are still yet to come. Time of day for these spinner falls can vary for this bug and some days have more than one. Often in the late afternoon or evening but if it gets hot look for them just before dark and even into darkness.
The new bug that has now started is the Light Hendrickson. It is also a afternoon hatcher but can come all the way up to dark. This bug is much more yellow or tan than the Dark Hendrickson and most days both will be hatching for the next week. An excellent fly to carry now is the Roberts Yellow Drake in size #14. Also best have some in #16 and #18 in the box because the Sulphur hatch will be starting soon. The small Sulphur is a major hatch on the Au Sable and last for a couple weeks. Does not always bring up the biggest Brown Trout on this hatch but it can on real heavy days. Also these spinner falls will last into darkness and can produce big trout. The other bug that is starting in the lower parts of the Mio water is the Great Speckled Olive. This large spinner (size #10-12) can get some big trout rising in the late evenings and should be carried in box. Right now also seeing small Mahogany and Caddis. Both of these bugs don’t seem to bring up big trout but still get eaten at times. When hatches and spinner falls are not happening still a great time to strip streamers and currently the conditions are excellent for this.