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NOW
BOOKING ADVENTURES!
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~ Chrome Spring Steelhead ~
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(5/9) May is possibly one of
the best months for spring steelhead fishing in Michigan.
With a longer than expected winter, river temperatures
are about 10 degrees cooler than average putting fish
on the spawn a month later than normal.
Sight fishing has been key. Spotting
Steelhead and making the proper fly cast to the steelhead.
Highest majority of steelhead have been taken on small
nymphs and tiny egg patterns. May steelhead are very
active feeders similar to Skamania steelhead that
jump hard and fight hard. Join us for some spring
steelhead fishing on Michigan's Muskegon River.
Float Fishing with
center pin reels.
Species in the Muskegon
River are mostly Steelhead, Chinook salmon, Rainbow
and Brown Trout but also includes Smallmouth Bass,
Walleye, and Lake Run Brown trout. Sometimes Lake
Trout and Sturgeon ascend the Muskegon as well.
Due to the great quality and diversity
of fly fishing in Michigan, Michigan Fly Fishing Guides,
is pleased to offer exciting and memorable guided
trips on other outstanding Michigan rivers.
In addition to guided fishing on the
Muskegon River and given the quality and variety of
Michigan fly fishing. The St. Mary's River, St. Joseph
River, and the Big Manistee River also offer the best
in Michigan Fly Fishing.
Manistee River Steelhead in November
and December are great for Fall & Winter. The
Manistee receives a late run of Coho Salmon, Chinook
Salmon, and Michigan strain Fall Steelhead. In June
and July, it's home to Manistee River Summer Run Steelhead.
August and September is Manistee River Chinook Salmon
Season.
Chuck -N- Duck Fly Fishing
Rods: As for Fall & Winter Steelhead
fishing in November and December, I recommend a 9'6"
8wt fly rod or a 10' 8wt fly rod. These longer fly
rods help for a longer drift allowing the angler feel
the steelhead pick-up. They also keep the line off
the water and allow for better mending and better
presentation. Reels: I recommend Sage or Scientific
Anglers large arbor. These reels have an excellent
drag and very fast line pick up. Spool them with a
running line, ex, Rio slick shooter or 25lb Suffix
mono (Neon Tangerine) thinner shooting lines cut through
the water and give you a very pronounced tick.. tick
as your weight drifts along the bottom.
Chuck-n-duck rig: I use a free
sliding snap swivel clipped to pencil lead, a clear
bead, and a barrel (crane) swivel with one end to
butt (12lb) section, the other end to the tippet.
For optimal drift, I recommend a 5 foot leader (8
or 10lb) from lead to end fly, with and egg fly in
the middle and a dark nymph on the end. Also note:
For guide trips, you will need waders and polarized
sunglasses. All gear, tackle, flies (nominal cost)
and a grilled, shore lunch will be provided with all
guided trips!
Steehead flies: As for flies, I recommend
a large selection of small egg flies in natural colors
such as golden, steelhead orange, oregon cheese, peach,
and cream. Tie them in size #8, and 10's tied on a
Tiemco 105, Black stoneflies in 8's and 10's, small
hex nymphs, and green caddis. Glo-bug egg flies in
sizes #8 and #10's, natural colors such as Golden,
steelhead orange, peach, Oregon cheese, baby blue,
soft yellow. Hex Nymphs, nuke eggs, dark center, light
halo. Nymphs: Stone flies, hex nymphs, soft hackles,
green caddis rock worm. I always carry a large selection
of egg flies during fall, winter, and spring for Steelhead
and resident Trout.
Techniques for Steelhead:
Floats and Spawn
Another prefered
method for Fall and Winter Steelhead is fishing floats
and spawn.
Fishing floats and spawn
is a fast-paced style of steelhead fishing. We fish
quickly and cover miles of river in a day, usually
producing lots of hook-ups and many steelhead landed.
We prefer to fish specialized G. Loomis 10' float
rods. Loomis rods are available for your use on guided
trips. These longer rods allow the angler a longer
drift and a stronger hook set. We also use Cabela
Prodigy spinning reels or center-pins reels spooled
with 10 lb hi-vis monofilment. These smooth reels
allow for long casts and a smooth drag system to fight
big fish.. Floats for steelhead vary greatly depending
on water levels and conditions. We generally use the
orange/black Thill steelhead floats. They seem to
work best for the Muskegon and Big Manistee Rivers.
Smaller floats styles are available for the White
and Pere Marquette rivers. All gear is provided for
you. We have the spawn tied, cured, and ready to fish!
Over the past few days, we've expreinced
some great fishing! Fly Fishing has become increasing
more productive each day. Best fly patterns have been
the Egg Sucking Stone Fly, Psycho Nymph, and the Ice
Man Minnow. All of which have produced some great
fish! Josh landed a gorgeous hen on the "Golby"
ice man minnow. Dr. Reily, and Dr. Steve also landed
some great steelhead and trout on flies.
Centerpin float fishing has also been
very productive. Jigs and wax worms, and floats/spawn.The
upper sections of the Muskegon River from the Newaygo
area up to Croton have been fishing well. New Chrome
Spring Steelhead are on the way with plenty more to
come.
Steelhead fishing has been
outstanding over the last few days! Spring Steelhead
on the Muskegon River are starting to fish well near
the Croton Dam. Jigs and waxworms and floats / spawn
all fishing well for new spring steelhead.
Fly Fishing has been doing well. Best
pattern for the Muskegon have been the Mojo fry pattern,
Green caddis, Hex nymphs, and Ice Man minnows.
We should expect to receive good numbers
of steelhead and trout over the next few days. Longer
day light, Strong full moons, and slightly higher
than normal water levels have steelhead on the move.
Muskegon
River Steelhead
Report - Water levels are
low and clear - perfect for float fishing for Steelhead.
Steelhead fishing is prime right now! These fish are
hot and on fire! Levels and water temperatures have
been prime to get steelhead on the move.
With the water levels low and clear, stealth has been
the key. Small egg patterns and salmon fry have been
fishing well. Clown eggs (Grapefruit) Citrus clown,
and peach have been doing well. Halloween leaches,
sculpin, hexes, all doing well. Something different
to get bit - Trout beads have all been good choices.
Fly fishing has also been great, keeping up with bait
fishing numbers. Citrus clown eggs and golden/egg
nuke eggs have been fishing well. TroutBeads
Swung flies have produced steelhead in the pockets
and tail outs as the water begins to shallow. Mojo
Steelhead flies have also been working well. Grapefruit
Nuke eggs have been great!
Steelhead fishing
on the Muskegon River. There seems to be a fair
number of Steelhead throughout the system. With the
recent higher water levels, many of the Steelhead
have moved to the upper middle sections of river,
seeking spawning salmon near Thornapple (High Roll
Away gravel) and Henning Park. The upper river has
many resident Trout feeding behind the spawning Salmon.
There are also a few Steelhead in this area. Mike
landed a gorgeous Muskegon River Steelhead today on
a rainbow clown egg in the lower river behind spawning
salmon in deep water.
Muskegon
River Steelhead Fishing Report -
Water
levels on
the Muskegon River - Check often for Winter Steelhead
reports!
Spring Steelhead are beginning to enter the river
in good numbers. Floats and spawn along with jigs
and waxworms are working well at this time. The fish
that we have been catching (one fish per hour or more)
are Chrome!
Steelhead fishing was outstanding today! We hooked
double digits and it was great! After fighting the
low clear water, doing well but having to "work
for it", It was certainly nice to have a day
where I could kick back, relax, guide, and net fish...
all day
long! We should have a very positive experience with
lots of new fish entering the river. This could be
the legitimate kick off to fall-winter Steelhead!
Centerpin
fishing for Steelhead -
Floats and spawn has been our technique of choice
for covering water. Fly fishing has also been great,
keeping up with bait fishing numbers. Citris clown
eggs and golden/egg nuke eggs have been fishing well.
TroutBeads
have also been excellent while fishing behind the
salmon. Centerpin Steelhead fishing has been outstanding
with the low-clear water levels on the Muskegon and
Manistee Rivers. Centerpin float fishing is the best
method for a stealty presentation.
Our technique today was one of our favorites, Centerpin
float fishing with floats and spawn. We also landed
several fish on tiny Little Nipper jigs and waxworms.
Long, extended drifts, light tippets, and different
offerings paid off big time as the water levels remain
low and clear. I feel there is a great number of Steelhead
throughout the river system. These fish are wise and
may have been caught and released before. A quiet
approach and a clean drifts certainly helped to bring
fish to hand.
Muskegon
River Winter Steelhead - It's
low and clear - making steelhead fishing challenging.(unless
you're a float fishing) Stealth is the name of the
game! Low and clear means stealthy presentation! Getting
out early and fishing until dark to put lots of fish
in the boat. Bright skies the last few days have not
slowed the bite down but we've had to change our ways.
Lighter tippets, longer drifts, rowing in on fish,
and covering lots of water.
Winter
steelhead fishing has been outstanding the past few
days in the middle and upper sections of river. Lots
of trout and fall steelhead. There are a good number
of steelhead throughout the system. Deeper holes and
tailouts seem to be holding some fish. Covering ground
and moving seems to produce the most amount of steelhead
and trout with bites occuring right away or not at
all.
Floats and spawn is the perfect "stealth"
technique for low-clear water. Float fishing has been
our technique of choice for covering water. Floats
enable anglers to hook-up at long distances away from
wary fish. Pine St. to Thornapple - Cabin hole, Aquarium
run, Tire Hole, down to "Boat House" area
have all been holding Steelhead around the Thornapple
launch, High rollaway area has also been good in the
deep gravel areas and in the riffle. Trout have also
been active in these areas. Small spawn sacks, natural
mesh, and light tippets help with pressured fish.
Muskegon River
Steelhead - Water levels are low and clear - perfect
for float fishing for Steelhead. Steelhead fishing
is prime right now! These fish are hot and on fire!
Levels and water temperatures have been prime to get
steelhead on the move.
With the water levels low and clear, stealth has been
the key. Small egg patterns and salmon fry have been
fishing well. Clown eggs (Grapefruit) Citrus clown,
and peach have been doing well. Halloween leaches,
sculpin, hexes, all doing well. Something different
to get bit - Trout beads have all been good choices.
Fly fishing has also been great, keeping up with bait
fishing numbers. Citrus clown eggs and golden/egg
nuke eggs have been fishing well. TroutBeads
Swung flies have produced steelhead in the pockets
and tail outs as the water begins to shallow.
Steelhead fishing
on the Muskegon River. There seems to be a fair
number of Steelhead throughout the system. With the
recent higher water levels, many of the Steelhead
have moved to the upper middle sections of river,
seeking spawning salmon near Thornapple (High Roll
Away gravel) and Henning Park. The upper river has
many resident Trout feeding behind the spawning Salmon.
There are also a few Steelhead in this area. Mike
landed a gorgeous Muskegon River Steelhead today on
a rainbow clown egg in the lower river behind spawning
salmon in deep water.
Centerpin float fishing for Steelhead
: There are a handful of white mouthed beauties
lying in wait for fresh roe. We hooked at least four
chrome bullets this morning during low light conditions.
Greg managed to land one very nice skipper on a peach
egg patterns. Cooler water temperatures and some rain
would really help the cause for chrome! Later this
month, Steelhead fishing should be excellent as everything
seems to be a week behind.
(10/6) Manistee River Fishing
Report - High Bridge to Tippy Dam - The Big
Manistee River is in full swing with salmon. The past
few days, salmon have been everywhere in the upper
river. Gravel season is upon us! Lots of fish and
lots of gravel goblins. Small, dark flies have worked
the best for me. Drifting behind the redds has also
been great! (Ex. Stanley's 28" Brown) and Steve's
nice chrome Steelhead, all by catch of fishing behind
redds in the morning. There have also been a few Steelhead
& Coho in the the lower Manistee, a sign of good
things to come.
(10/1) Muskegon River is still far
behind, water temp is still in the low 60's. There
are a handful of salmon but not quite fishable numbers
yet. Should be a couple of weeks yet before good numbers
of Salmon in the mighty Mo. Trout fishing has been
very good in the upper river above Thornapple to Pine
St. Chrome should show up with the first good batch
of kings in the lower Muskegon. Water temperatures
need to drop before we have good fishing and decent
numbers of fish.
Pere Marquette River Salmon Reports:
Today was "Moving Day"! There was no question
that today was moving day in the lower river. "Moving
Day", as I refer to it, is the day when all the
salmon from the lower river, (Custer, Scottville,
Ludington ) move into the upper to middle sections,
(Walhalla, Rainbow, and lower Fly water) at a high
rate of speed. Today was that day. We watched as over
1500 salmon swam past the boat today between 8am and
2pm. Don't get me wrong, we had a fantastic day of
casting thundersticks with lots of fish landed. It
was, however, interesting to watch wave after wave
of salmon jet past the boat without so much as a glance
at our T-Sticks. The majority of these fish were chrome
and headed to the upper river to spawn, being a warmer
than average fall, these fish are running late, and
are ready to spawn!
Michigan Salmon Fishing Reports
- The Pere Marquette and Manistee Rivers
are both fishing well at this time. Grand River should
also start soon - Big hit of fish off piers in Grand
Haven! Wind directions have been constantly changing,
keeping fresh Salmon entering the rivers each day.
Casting crankbaits should be very good over the next
few weeks on all northern Michigan Rivers.
Manistee River Report -
The Manistee River received a very nice push of fish
this morning. We hit a nice pod of chrome salmon and
fishing was quite good most of the day. Casting cranks
was the name of the game. More wind equals more fish!
Welcome to Salmon Season in Northern Michigan with
lots of Salmon and Steelhead yet to return from the
Big Lake. It should be a wonderful fall season the
the weather we've been having!
Muskegon River Report for Salmon:
We
will guiding anglers on the Manistee and Pere Marquette
River for Salmon. There are good numbers of Salmon
on both rivers, especially after the cool rains and
cooler temperatures we've had over the past two days.
Manistee received over an inch of rain yesterday!
Water temperatures on the Muskegon River are at an
outstanding 73 degrees which means we are a solid
month away from Kings on the Muskegon River. We drive
to Manistee each morning to get our clients into numbers
of bright chrome kings on the Big Manistee and Pere
Marquette Rivers!
Manistee
River Salmon Report:
Salmon are just now entering the Big Manistee River
near Insta-Launch and Manistee harbor. There are also
fair numbers on the Little Manistee below the weir.
We have recently hit a few nice pushes of salmon on
the lower Manistee. A strong East wind or Northeast
wind to turn over the Lake and get salmon moving in
a hurry! Cold shoreline water would move salmon in
close and heading into the river.
(8/30) Pere
Marquette River Salmon Report:
Lower PM has been showing a few fish and improving
daily. Steve and Steve did quite well on Friday going
4 for 6 on crankbaits. Scottville down has had fish
moving through but have been difficult to stay with.
Walhalla and braids between Reek Rd. and upper Custer
should start seeing pushes in the next few days with
fish moving into South Branch of the Pere Marquette.
Manistee
Salmon Charters Dates:
Pere
Marquette River Fly Fishing Report -
Over the past few days, the majority of the early
season salmon have moved into the upper sections of
the Pere Marquette River, "Flies Only" section
near Baldwin. McDougals to Sulac and upper Branch
to Walhalla have been holding some fish in the holes,
beneath the log jams, and in the deeper water. A trickle
charge of salmon have been moving through the lower
river. Once again, NorthWest winds will play the biggest
role in bringing in the main run of PM River salmon
during the next few days. We should see the main run
after the next wind - rain storm. A bit higher water
levels should also bring more fish into the system.
Fly Fishing seems to be the most productive technique
in the mid -section, drifting eggs and nymphs along
the bottom of the pools.
Manistee
River Report - The
Manistee River recieved a very nice push of fish this
morning. We hit a nice pod of chrome salmon and fishing
was quite good most of the day. Casting cranks was
the name of the game. More wind equals more fish!
93 degrees to 54 degrees! Welcome to Salmon Season
in Northern Michigan!
Pere Marquette River Salmon Report:
Lower PM has been showing a few fish and improving
daily. Steve and Steve did quite well on Friday (9/5)
going 9 for 16 on crankbaits. Scottville down has
had fish moving through but have been difficult to
stay with. Walhalla and braids between Reek Rd. and
upper Custer should start seeing pushes in the next
few days with fish moving into South Branch of the
Pere Marquette River.
Muskegon River Report for Salmon: We are guiding
anglers on the Manistee and Pere Marquette River for
Salmon. There are good numbers of Salmon on both rivers,
especially after the cool rains and cooler tempratures
we've had over the past two days. Manistee received
over an inch of rain yesterday! Water temperatures
on the Muskegon River are at an outstanding 73 degrees
which means we are a solid month away from Kings on
the Muskegon River. We drive to Manistee each morning
to get our clients into numbers of bright chrome kings
on the Big Manistee and Pere Marquette Rivers!
Michigan Salmon Fishing Reports -
The Pere Marquette and Manistee Rivers are both fishing
well at this time. Grand River should also start soon
- Big hit of fish off piers in Grand Haven! Wind directions
have been constantly changing, keeping fresh Salmon
entering the rivers each day. Casting crankbaits should
be very good over the next few weeks on all northern
Michigan Rivers.
