Night Fishing for Brown Trout On Michigan Small Streams
By Bill Ludlow
AZFlytyer@aol.com
Being a flyfishing teenager in Lansing, Michigan during the 1970’s was not an easy thing. While the famous trout streams were a few hours north, there were several small “marginal” streams within an hours drive. During my senior year of high school, I found myself knee deep in Sebewa Creek, Tyler Creek, or the Coldwater River almost as often as I attended class. Springtime mayfly hatches on these streams rivaled the most written about eastern streams, and the hatchery trout were usually very cooperative. The necessity of attending classes eventually led to my fishing later and later in the evening until many times I found myself casting in the dark. I quickly began to realize that the largest Brown trout were nocturnal feeders and I began to tie flies strictly for the purpose of night fishing. Jeff “Bear” Andrews was my mentor in those early years, and he was an expert at night fishing. He taught me the importance of “making a wake” and other nighttime fishing techniques.
Many of these streams are no longer stocked with trout, a decision by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources that I fail to understand, but there are still dozens if not hundreds of small Michigan streams worthy of a night fishing expedition.
Fishing Techniques
Standard daytime
techniques won’t be effective on small streams at night. Big
brown trout in these streams are nocturnal feeders and can be
found anywhere. I have caught fish over 20 inches in just 8
inches of water! One of the most important things to remember is
to wade the stretch of river during the daytime and become
familiar with deep holes or logs. Maybe someday I will write a
story about the time I stepped over a log into a hole six feet
deep! Night wading can be dangerous, so never fish an unfamiliar
stream.
Fish with a very short line. 6 to 20 feet of fly line and a 6
foot leader is plenty long enough to cover most small streams.
Unless I am fishing Hexagenia or Brown Drake patterns, I always
fish down and across stream. When fishing a big floating “wake”
type fly, I like to cast across stream and feed line out as it
drifts down. After the fly has drifted about 20 feet, pull in the
slack and retrieve the fly with a series of short pulls to create
a waking or bubbling action as the fly comes back upstream.
Don’t be afraid to get on your knees in shallow water to get
a better casting angle or avoid overhead trees. I learned this
technique on some very small feeder creeks. Roll casting can also
give you the ability to get your fly into places where an
overhead or sidearm cast wont reach. I have even had to use the
“bow and arrow” cast on several occasions. This cast is
made by holding the fly in your hand and pulling it towards you
to load the rod. When you release the fly, it springs forward in
a very short cast. I once hooked a 22 inch brown in a small,
brushy feeder creek with this method. There was no other way to
cast the fly through the brush and into the tiny stream.
Tackle
Small streams
require some specialized tackle, especially at night. My favorite
rods are short enough to keep me out of the trees (most of the
time) yet stout enough to handle a 6 wt. double taper line and an
O X tippet. If anyone manufactured a 7’ 8 wt., it would be
perfect for this type of fishing. I still have an old Philipson 7’
6 wt. fiberglass pack rod that I prefer over my longer graphite
rods when night fishing small brushy streams.
Rods
7 or 7 1/2 foot for # 6 or #7 line
Reel
Doesn’t really matter. You don’t need a lot of line and
I’ve never had a small stream brown take me into my backing.
Line
I prefer a 6 wt. double taper floating line. Since you are
casting less than 30 feet, a weight forward line will not help.
Leaders
I use a 6 foot O X leader for most night fishing. If I am “matching
the hatch” with a #8 Brown Drake, I may drop down to 2 X.
Fish are not usually tippet shy at night.
Types
of “Night Flies”
Night flies will
generally fall into one of two categories, attractors or
imitators. Some of my favorite “attractor” patterns are:
Marabou Muddler
Marabou Matuka
Au Sable Skunk
Dahlberg Diver
My favorite “imitator” patterns are:
Baitfish imitations (muddler, sculpin)
Giant Stoneflies
Giant Michigan Mayfly (Hexagenia limbata)
Deer Hair Mouse
Where to fish
Successful night
fishing requires locating streams with a good population of brown
trout.
Some excellent streams are:
The Little South Branch of the Pere Marquette in Lake and Newaygo
Counties.
Gilchrist Creek in Montmorency County near Lewiston.
Big Creek in Crawford County near Lovells.
East Branch of the Au Sable north of Grayling
The Manistee headwaters near Deward
Almost any small feeder stream to Michigan’s popular trout
rivers will hold some nice sized brown trout. As long as they
have enough water flow year round to support them, the fish will
migrate there and stay. The next time you see a feeder creek that
looks promising, you may want to check it for night fishing
potential. The fishing can sometimes be hard, but the rewards can
be plenty.
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