Bugs, kings and rainbows help tell much of the fishing story this week in Leelanau County.

The bugs, as lakefront owners know, are the Giant Michigan Mayflies. Also called “hexes” after their scientific name Hexagenia limbata, their nymphs have been rising to the surface and hatching into adults by the thousands.

A good day's catch

An exterior wall at St. Mary Church was covered with dark-winged Hex images last week, and a South Lake Leelanau property owner had to rake discarded shucks from his lake frontage Sunday.

The hatch temporarily cooled off what had been some hot perch fishing on Glen Lake last week, according to Bob Smith, owner of The Sportsman Shop in Glen Arbor. However, many anglers have been concentrating on the lake’s very healthy smallmouth population near drop-offs, or a relatively new fishery generated by recent plants by the DNR of rainbow trout.

“They are beautiful fish, and have been really good-sized,” said Smith of the rainbows. Fishermen are generally “long-lining” for rainbows, trolling Rapalas 150-200 feet behind boats. The rainbows have been suspended in about 30 feet of water, but a recent warm spell will begin dropping them to 70 foot depths at which time downriggers will be needed.

Fishing on the Big Lake has been pretty good, especially for this time of year.

Traditionally Lake Michigan salmon stocks migrate northward as summer progresses, peaking in numbers off Leelanau County in July and August.

“We’re not marking a lot of fish, but we’re catching them,” said Smith, who also operates a charter boat business out of Glen Arbor. He said that Stinger Spoons in double orange crush or “lunky puke” colors have been gold for 3-year-old salmon, which have made up the bulk of catches. Half-day charters have generally been boating 7-14 salmon in the 5-6 pound range.

Depths have varied as winds have changed, ushering in colder water temperatures from the middle of Lake Michigan, although the smaller salmon largely have been caught in just 40-60 feet of water. The 4-year-olds, which range up to 20 pounds, have been deeper, up to 120 feet.

Bigger kings seem to be looking for King Flasher dodgers with green flies, Smith added.

While salmon have been scattered, lakers have stacked in 48-60 foot depths, according to Leland charter fisherman Scott Anderson.

Strong winds created unsafe conditions earlier this week for motoring to the Manitou islands, where charter captains prefer to take clients for sure salmon hookups. Instead, Anderson and fellow captain Jeff Tropf stayed closer to shore and caught a mixed bag of salmon and lake trout.

Tropf’s clientele returned Monday with 3 salmon and 8 lake trout. Anderson’s strangely familiar guests boated 9 lakers.

“This guy (from Chicago) calls me and says, ‘I’m interested in taking my dad on a Father’s Day gift’,” recalled Anderson. Turns out the same father and son had spent a day salmon fishing with Anderson 20 years ago — when the son was just 10.

Leelanau County is attracting fishermen from all over. Patrick Mallory from Fort Worth joined his brother Brett Mallory of Allegan on a fishing excursion Monday from the Leland harbor aboard a boat owned by friend Bill Kumm of Antrim County.

They hooked up with four salmon, netting three, despite having fished through high winds and thick waves.

“They were slow and small, but we caught some,” said Kumm with the confidence of a captain with a history of success.

His friends, however, couldn’t be happier — for two reasons.

“We found a spot, and kept catching them and coming back around,” said Patrick Mallory. “They’ll be bigger later in the year, but these will be great on the grill.”