Revisiting Paint Creek 2021

Fly fishing the Paint Creek in Michigan.
/ andrewpotterphoto

[@NijimasuHeaven]

I love this stretch. I lost a 12 incher there a decade ago.

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

That would be a nice fish there!

[@leonidas1179]

Such a great little stream to fish so close to home. I haven't tried fly fishing it, but get out there a lot from the opener at the end April through mid summer. We wad the river from Rochester up through the park using ultralight spin cast gear with 1/16oz rooster tails and it is such a blast catching those PC browns with that gear. Cheers and maybe run into you this spring.

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

Looking forward to it! Thinking about taking some ultralight gear to creeks with limited access for maneuverability. See you this spring.

[@shinysidedown9090]

Nostalgia! Fished here in '70s, before development. My record was 16". Good urban fishing.

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

Thank's. That's a nice size fish for the paint creek!

[@calvinfekete7892]

Been looking for good stop's to fish on paint creek!

[@EddyP313]

Going to try this spot maybe this Saturday

[@devon6623]

What do you usually use on the PC? I’ve tried dry flies and streamers and have not had much luck

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

I've done well on dry flies, streamers and wet flies. All the common flies seem to work. I recommend fishing in the spring, early in the opening. I never do well here mid-summer. Nymphs are probably your best bet.

[@chrisbegger8684]

I am gonna be in that area for military duty this upcoming summer. What is the fishing like in July, What fly patterns would you recommend?

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

I mostly fish it in the spring. I think a bit of fish die off in mid summer. That being said. I recommend having a variety of sizes (for dry flies). Bring a couple small woolly buggers. And if all else fails tie a caddis nymph on (weighted and unweighted).

[@ericheiligenstein9897]

How did you get that great guitar mix?

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

Thanks for asking. I played the same riff twice over itself. So you are hearing two takes at the same time. So, it often sounds a bit out of tune with itself especially when there's bends. A little wacky and not for everyone. But fun to do.

[@RKLIFE17]

May I ask where you were able to access this from? It is not easy to do! I live in ypsilanti

[@RKLIFE17]

I should have watched the whole video! Different paint creek

[@billblack3266]

Where is paint creek? Is that ohio or Michigan

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

This is in Michigan.

[@Buckitfeet]

What day did you go out there? I was just out last Sunday

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

This was mid may. Catch anything?

[@Buckitfeet]

@@andrewpotterphoto1 just one small brown. I’ve been fishing the same spot for a while I need to venture out to some new ones.

[@Buckitfeet]

@@andrewpotterphoto1 hard to get out with a baby at home and a needy wife. It’s once in a blue moon I get to fish lately.

[@stevekoza8881]

I am new to the area and was wondering about good access areas to the creek, not asking for your secret locations just good access areas? Thank you!

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

Start with fishing Rochester Municipal Park. Then work up stream. There's fish all the way to Lake Orion as far as I can tell. Plenty of access.

[@stevekoza8881]

@@andrewpotterphoto1 Thank you!

[@calvinfekete7892]

You live in Michigan???

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

Yep!

[@Great_Lakes_Discus]

I expected the trout to be bigger are they all that small or was it just the camera

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

Most are pretty small.

[@Great_Lakes_Discus]

Hmm that’s a little disappointing. I’m new to trout/salmon fishing and I just went up to tippy damn for the salmon run and the trout up there are huge. Granted they’re probably a different species. I did catch one that looked like what you caught at paints creek however

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

@@Great_Lakes_Discus Tippy damn is definitely a better spot for big fish. These are brown trout. There are big browns around tippy.

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

@@Great_Lakes_Discus Yeah, it's a bummer. Good job at Tippy!

[@NeonKue]

There’s definitely bigger Trout to be caught in the Paint. Biggest Brownies can be roughly 16” with its annual spring run of huge Steelhead Trout too. Just gotta be at the right place at the right time for them.

[@RamBowMike]

Never seen anyone cast down stream with a fly before!

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

Yeah, I'm no pro. But I often fish rivers with limited access. So got use to wading up a ways then turning around and fishing the same water again on the way back. Anyways, up; down; left; right, doesn't matter to me if they're biting.

[@alberthotzel2082]

On small rivers, I’ve had more takes on nymphs when my line had drifted straight down stream and became tight. It was blowing my mind so I looked it up on KZbin, I don’t remember the person or their video but they said that the flies would give the appearance of an emerger trying to get back to bottom. It works!

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

@@alberthotzel2082 Great tip! Sometimes putting a little bit of movement in a dry fly can stimulate a strike as well. There's so many different situations you can find yourself in. The more tools in your box the better:)

[@philturinsky27]

You ever see any smallies in paint creek?

[@andrewpotterphoto1]

I've never seen one. But lots of other great smallie fisheries around here.

[@NeonKue]

Caught the occasional 1-2lb Large and Smallmouths here and there. I’d assume they get dropped off from the Lake Orion dam and stay in the Paint for some time until they travel down river into the Clinton.