Chris Izworski, reporting from Michigan, turns to the Tahquamenon River this morning as the first real hatch fishing of the spring season comes into focus across the Upper Peninsula. The river sits in that narrow window where the water is still cold enough to fish well but warm enough to bring the bugs off reliably, and if you can manage the drive to Paradise, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon than working a Hendrickson hatch on one of the UP’s most storied rivers.
The Gauge and What It Doesn’t Tell You
USGS data is not available for the Tahquamenon today, which means you need to call ahead or simply show up and read the river itself. This time of year, that’s not as much of a liability as it sounds. April in the Upper Peninsula means the snow is mostly gone but the ground is still frozen enough to shed runoff steadily rather than in bursts. The river will be running fuller than summer levels but should be dropping into a fishable band if it hasn’t already. Watch for current speed in the main channels and look for water clarity in the slower water. The Tahquamenon’s famous tannin stain is part of its character, not a sign of trouble, but you want to see the bottom in a foot of water if you’re going to fish emergers and small dries effectively.
What’s Hatching Now and What’s Coming
Midges are already working in the slower pools and eddies, and they’ll continue all season. Fish a Mercury Midge or Zebra Midge in size 20 dead drift under an indicator, keeping your nymph tight to the bottom where the trout are sitting in the cold water. This is not glamorous fishing, but it works, and it’s honest work on a river like this.
Little Black Stoneflies are emerging along the banks and in the riffles, and you can fish both the dry and the nymph. Crawl a size 14 Little Black Stonefly dry along the edges where the insects are coming out of the water. Upstream, work a Black Stonefly Nymph size 14 tight to the bottom in current. Early Brown Stoneflies are also beginning to show, and the same approach holds: swing a Hare’s Ear Nymph size 12 or wet fly through the broken water, and if you see adults skittering on the surface, try skating a brown Elk Hair Caddis size 14.
The caddis are ramping up. Grannom Caddis are emerging, and fish can be selective when they’re on them. Start with an Elk Hair Caddis size 14 and skitter it across the film. If that doesn’t produce, try the X-Caddis size 14 or the LaFontaine Sparkle Pupa size 14 swung through the rises.
Blue-Winged Olives will show during overcast periods, and they often pull fish when nothing else seems to. Use a fine tippet, 5X or 6X, and keep your Parachute BWO size 16 or Sparkle Dun size 16 in your box. During a heavy hatch, fish an RS2 size 18 just under the surface as an emerger.
The Hendrickson is coming, and it is what drives many Michigan trout anglers to start making their seasonal drives to the Upper Peninsula. This river will have them, and they’ll emerge in the afternoons from roughly 2 to 4 pm. Fish a Hendrickson Nymph size 12 through the riffles before the hatch, then switch to the dry Hendrickson size 12 or a Red Quill size 12 when the flies start showing in the rise lanes on flatter water. This is classic dry fly fishing, the kind that makes you remember why you do this.
Access and What to Expect
You’ll find public access through Tahquamenon Falls State Park in the Paradise area. The park surrounds much of the river, and this is a freestone stream with brook trout in the upper watershed and steelhead entering the lower sections from Lake Superior. Remember that steelhead regulations apply here as a Superior tributary, so understand what that means for your choice of water and your intention before you go.
The Tahquamenon is one of the UP’s great rivers, and April is when it begins to offer the kind of fishing that justifies that reputation. Make the drive.
For live gauge data, visit https://trout.chrisizworski.com.