Third Coast Fly

Spring in some of west Michigan’s rivers that have wild salmon, like the Pere Marquette, is a time of an often overlooked hatch. From mid April through May, these rivers can be stuffed with clouds of salmon fry. A look along the shoreline will often reveal dozens of these 1-1 1/2″ baby salmon.

Everything loves to eat these little guys, so I always have some in my steelhead box for drifting with an egg. If that gym sock sized streamer isn’t turning any spring trout, tie on a fry pattern, it will often turn your day around.

My Baby Salmon Fly:
Hook… Daiichi 1530, size 6 or 8
Tail and Body… Flashabou Mirage, 3005 opal
Wing… natural mallard
Head Base… built up black thread
Gill Accent… red thread
Head Finish… your favorite head hardener

Steve sends the following:

Late fall on the Pere Marquette means it’s time to start steelhead fishing and with the amount of spawning kings around this season there is really only one good fly choice, eggs.  Sure you could get bit using nymphs, you might even get lucky and swing a fish up but eggs are what they want and anything else is a much tougher sell.

Just give them what they want and here are a few of my favorites from this fall:  Triple Threat Egg, steelhead orange halo egg and Oregon cheese McFly Foam egg.