Traverse City Flyfishing

Traverse City Michigan is one of the lower forty-eight states' truly great fly fishing destinations. An angler can find hundreds of miles of Blue Ribbon trout streams like the Manistee, Ausable and Pere Marquette and dozens of quality inland lakes. Within an one and one-half hour driving radius a fly fisher can find good to excellent fly fishing for trout, steelhead, salmon (3 species), small and large mouth bass, walleye, pike and panfish. In addition Traverse City offers the non-angling members of your party quality shopping, dining, golfing and entertainment.

The area rivers, including the Manistee, Ausable and the Pere Marquette boast quality fly-fishing for brown, rainbow and brook trout with all of these rivers offering flies only stretches with quality fishing regulations. Within a one-half hour of the Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City you can be standing in the cold clear waters of the Manistee in a flies only stretch challenging the wily old brown trout or admiring the beauty of a highly colored brook trout. We have trout rising to dry flies from April to Oct. The streamer and nymph fishing are productive year round. The major hatches include the world famous hex hatch where you have a chance at a trout up to 30"s fishing at night. In addition we have terrific Hendricksen, Sulphur, Isonychia, and Brown and Gray drake hatches. Later in the season Blue Wing Olives and Effrons (white fly) become major players bringing large trout to the surface.

Spring and fall bring the anadromous fish into the rivers to spawn. Starting in September steelhead and salmon ascend the rivers. The king and coho salmon are looking for spawning gravel while the steelhead are looking to dine on the banquet of eggs produced by the salmon. There is no greater thrill in freshwater fly fishing than hooking a dime bright fall steelhead on a fly. Or try landing a thirty-pound king salmon on fly tackle with 8 or 10 pound test tippet. The steelhead are available all winter long in the rivers around Traverse City. There is nothing more beautiful than a nice winter day on the river with just you and your fishing companions chasing winter steelhead. Come March the spring run of steelhead gets under way; it keeps us hopping until the beginning of May. It isn’t uncommon to hook 10 steelhead a day in our area rivers. These hard fighting fish provide as much fun on a fly rod as is possible. Some years you can spend one day fishing for steelhead and the next chasing brown trout upstream above the dams that stop the migration.

If you are interested in lake fishing we have dozens of lakes that produce well for fly anglers. Some of the best fishing is found in Grand Traverse Bay. Both Smallmouth Bass and Carp are found in significant numbers and large in size. A twenty-pound carp is common and available 15 minutes from downtown Traverse City. Large Smallmouth spawn in the shallows of the Bay and are susceptible to a well-placed fly. All of the area lakes host hatches of large mayflies during the summer. A quality guide can put you into some tremendous fly-fishing in the evenings hooking bass, large pan fish, and other warm water species.

Traverse City boosts great accommodations for the time you spend relaxing after hard days fishing. There are literally thousands of rooms available in all types, from five star resorts to cozy cabins on the river. Dining and golf are as varied also. There is a symphony and a playhouse, museum and a college almost all big city amenities are available to a visiting angler. Choose your type of trip and it can be found.

Year round quality fly angling with a variety of species and water types are our claim to fame. Beautiful settings, a variety of entertainment, abundant amenities and more fishing opportunities than can be outlined here describe Traverse City. If you are looking for quality angling in a wonderful northern Michigan setting, Traverse City is the place for you.