The lake is open and fishing reports have ranged from fair to excellent. Access is now open on both sides of the lake. Crane can be notoriously tough early season as fish are spread out through the lake. Make sure to cover a lot of water until you find fish. Stripping leeches, baitfish patterns and wooly buggers on intermediate or sink tip fly line has been a productive way to search for fish. Fish have also been taken on chironomids, dark assassins, and balanced leeches under an indicator. Dry fly fishing should improve as temperatures rise. There has been a strong and consistent Midge hatch starting mid-day and fish are keying in on the emerging bugs at various levels in the water column. The difficulty in fishing Crane right now lies largely in finding fish, so stay take note of specific areas and features when you see success.
Suggested Flies: Black or Red Zebra Midge #16-18, Black or Red Chironocone #14-18, Grey Gillie Midge #16, Tiger Midge #16-18, Olive Juju Chironomid #14, Dark Assassin #14-18, Bird’s Nest HE #14-18, Bird’s Nest or Black Depth Charge #16-18, Bruised or Olive Balanced Leech #10-14, Ruby Leech #10-12, Agent Black #14-16, Olive or Black BH Mini Leech #12, Thin Mint #10-12, Black Wooly Bugger #10-12