Summertime is finally here that drylfy bite is back in gear!

Summertime is here and it has come in hot!  All of the rivers are wadeable and in excellent condition.  I have moved some of my efforts toward floating bugs and frogs.  This is a great time of year to catch fish on dry flies, poppers, gurglers, frogs, and hoppers.  We have moved past the longest day of the year and full moon. Generally in June is when I start to focus my fishing on the early and later part of the day.  The morning and evening bites are more consistent when the sun is lower.

Marabou and Rabbit Strip Streamers in black, chartreuse, white and olive

As always streamers with dumbell or bead chain eyes are producing some great action.  Let your flies sink when possible and "get jiggy with it".  Nymphs fished with an indicator or by watching the end of your fly line will catch you a bunch.  The fish are very active and aggressive when the water tempertatures are at their optimum.  

Small White Bass on a Rubber Legged Prince Nymph

Carp are in some really shallow water in the lakes right now and you can target them with "buggy flies" in brown, black, red, orange, and olive.  Let your fly sink and get their attention!  They are hard to get to hit and are spooky to any disturbance or sight of you.  Stalk these fish and be pacient.  These fish will be close to tree stumps so use heavy tippet with long leaders.  Bass are feeding well this time of year.  With spawning done, they have moved into prime real estate to ambush prey.  Fish big log jams in the rivers with shade and sunken timber.  In the lakes concentrate on dropoffs or points with 8 to 10 feet of water.  If you know there is a bass in a location and it's not cooperating, try changing strip speed, and make sure to get your fly down before retrieving if using a streamer.   

The boys with a largemouth on a Turks Tarantula at Falls Lake

Get out there and fish! It's a great time to put on your board shorts, sunscreen, a BUFF, hat, and old pair of sneakers and wet wade our local rivers and lakes!

Prime fish real estate an undercut bank with roots in the water

Fly Tackle: Orvis 4 weight Recon 8' 6" Rod, Hydros SLII Reel, Orvis Axis Rod 8'6" 7 ft tapered leader to 4x.  Mystic Au Sable 8' 3" 4 wt fly rods and Ross Fly Start # 2 reels

Dry Fly:  Elk hair Caddis Size 10-16, Turks Tarantula Size 10-14, Rubber legged Stimulator 12-16, Ants 14-18.  

Streamers: Chartreuse Zonker Strip w/ a Silver Bullet head, Clouser, Wooly Bugger in Black, Brown, Olive, White and Chartreuse Size 6- 10

Nymphs: Any nymph you cast will produce bites this time of year!

Spin Tackle: Medium light spinning rod and reel rigged with 6 or 8 lb test flourocarbon line.Berkley Power Bait Pre Rigged Atomic Tubes in white, green and pearl.1/16- 1/32 oz Jigheads with realistic eyes white twister or paddle tail.  VMC Paddletails.  Minnows will dominate under a float!

Weather:  Its been hot this June with temps in the 90s.  We have been lucky to get rain every week.  River water is in the low 80s.  Falls Lake is heating up reading 85 and climbing. 

Wildlife: The Kayak, Canoe, and Tube hatch has begun on the river.  If you desire seclusion focus your efforts during the week downstream from Capital Boulevard.  Turtles lots of them.  Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, Osprey.