Updated Fly Fishing reports for West Michigan's Salmon & Steelhead.
We look forward to guiding anglers for Muskegon River Winter & Spring
Steelhead! . (231) 519-7348
Shun with a beautiful bright Spring Steelhead
taken on a fry pattern. (2/7)
Shun with a very nice hen taken just after first light this morning
on a Stone fly. Air temp was
8 degrees this morning! (2/7)
To get the blood flowing this morning, we spent the first several
hours nymhing for trout. We landed about 15 nice Rainbows in two
hours
with floating lines, light tippet, and tiny nymphs.
As the air temperature today warmed up, so did the bite! Shun
with another bright hen. Tan Hex Nymph. (2/6)
Shun with his seventh Steelhead landed on the fly. Nymphs were
incredibly effective. The Steelhead today showed zero interest
in egg patterns proving that Spring is just around the corner.
Small Stone flies and dark nymphs were key! (2/6)
Greg with a spectacular Lake Run Brown Trout!
We had a phenomenal day of fishing! (2/5)
Greg with our first nice hen of the morning.
Warmer weather is improving the bite. (2/5)
She was a chrome bullet... Greg with a nice bright hen. New fish
from the lower river. (2/5)
A very stout buck from today. Greg with our
third Steelie of the morning. (2/5)
It was a balmy 7 degrees when Bob hooked our first Steelie of
the morning. The bite continued all day with well over a fish
per hour. (2/4)
Bob with one of many Steelhead hooked today.
John with a giant Steelhead from today! (1/25)
Warmer weather is greatly improving the bite! The last few days
have been very good! Joel with a very bright chrome hen. (1/22)
Brett and John with a great looking hen from today! Some new fish
starting to show. (1/21)
Brett with a nice afternoon buck. (1/21)
Matt with a superstar hen from today!
Fishing has been improving daily. (1/20)
Caught and released. Bob enjoyed this
beautiful buck Steelhead from today! (1/19)
Andy with a nice chrome winter hen.
John with a fantastic double stripe buck! (1/16)
John and a light biter. Trout bite with a big fish!
Ed with a great looking Winter's Buck! Warmer weather forecasted
for this week! (1/14)
Ed with another bright hen. New fish moving around a bit with
change in water levels.
Aaron with a gorgeous Rogue River Steelhead from today. The weather
was great and we did a little float fishing with jigs & Waxworms.
Aaron with another nice hen from the lower Rogue River. Both small
Mojo jigs - waxworms and spawn worked well especially for Trout.
Allen with another nice buck from today.
Dave with a nice chrome winter hen.
Chris with one of many Steelies from today.
There was a much better bite and more fish!
Todd with back to back hens. Steelies are in the slowest-deepest
pockets with the low water.
Andy with a hefty buck from today. Winter
Steelhead have been fighting great! (12/13)
Myself with a very fat hen from today. (12/13)
I believe we can call them "Winter" Steelhead!
Here's Tom with a nice Buck. (12/12)
Marty with a great looking buck from today.
Colder temps haven't bothered the bite.. (12/12)
Tom with a superstar buck from today!
A spectacular day of float fishing! (12/8)
Tom with a brute hen! This fish was a pig and fought like crazy!
(12/8)
Lucky guy, Tom, with a beautiful lake-run brown trout. Lake Browns
have been common this fall.
Dave with a hefty Buck from today. (12/8)
Jeff with a beautiful chrome hen from today.
Heavy snow did not stop the bite! (12/5)
Tony with a giant 15lb Buck from today! (11/30)
David with a chrome hen. New fish are here...
Jeremy with a nice buck from today. (11/29)
Stacie with a very nice hen from today. I was amazed that Steelhead
bit after such a cold front.
Jim with one of many chrome bright Steelies from today! We had
a fantastic day today! (11/24)
Jeff with a gorgeous colored buck. Starting to see a mixture of
fish for the first time this season.
Chris with a really nice hen from today. (11/20)
Fred Lee and I have fly fished together for over 15 years! He
has been a huge influence in my life as a Fly Fishing guide. Thank
you Fred for all that you have taught me over the years! (11/19)
Wally Riker with one of the largest Steelhead that I have seen
this season! (11/15)
Kids day on the water! Drake with his first of 5 Steelhead landed
today on the Muskegon River!
Eric with a gorgeous "Half Past Chrome" Buck Steelhead
from the lower Muskegon River. (11/9)
Congratulations Ryan! His first Michigan Fall Steelhead landed
on the Muskegon! (11/8)
Laser chrome hen so bright the scales were falling off! New chrome
moving up river! (11/4) Michigan
Fly Fishing Report
Skamania Steelhead from South West Michigan. Winter Steelhead... The crowds of salmon season
will be gone!!
- Winter
Blues Special -
$250 for 4-5 hrs. (C)
(231) 519-7348 Feelin'
like you need to get out of the house for the day? Join us for
a 4-5 hr Winter trip for only $250. Catch Steelhead and Trout
and
spend a day on the water! Warmer Weather
Ahead! Looking forward to getting out and fishing!
(2/7) Over the past two days,
I had the pleasure of fly fishing with Shun Washiya. Shun lives
in the UK and in his words, took a "fly fishing holiday to
visit Steelhead designations around the world." The Muskegon
River was first on the his list!
I was less than pleased with the weather forecast... winds 7-15
in the morning, highs in the mid twenties... Just what you want
to hear when fly fishing for Steelhead.
Nothing like frozen fly line and frost bit finger tips. After
changing fly lines and teaching Shun our bastardized method of
Great Lakes Chuck-n-Duck, things began to roll along quite nicely.(
After a morning Monster, and 6 hand warmers ) Within the first
few drifts of the morning he was in to a fat Rainbow in the riffle
above Pine Street.
This spot is loaded with trout and is a great way to start the
morning!
Around 11:30 things began to change.
The wind died down and the sun popped out for awhile. We moved
the boat to several deeper runs. Many drifts and only a few small
trout in those locations. I decided to change up patterns instead
of moving. Shun hit his first Steelhead of the day, a stout double
striped buck pictured on left. After ten photos Shun was fired
up, had faith in the water (and guide) and was now ready to fish!
We managed to hook four more Steelhead that afternoon and landed
another bright hen and a smaller buck.
Those of you that know me well understand that I prefer to fish
floats and spawn during the cold winter months. Typically, you
hook and play far more Steelhead and line management is just easier.
It did feel great to hook-up Steelhead on a fly rod. There is
certainly something different about feeling the "grab"
of the fly verses watching a float go down. They are both cool
if there is a fish at the end!
By the second day, things were beginning to groove well. Shun
had the cast and the drift down and fishing smoothly. Air temps,
still not warm, were better than the day before. Within the first
three hours on Sunday, he had landed an nice Brown, hooked two
other Steelhead and landed a dark winter hen from a deep run.
Oddly though, almost every Steelhead landed (7 for 11- 2 days)
were all on either Stone flies or Hex nymphs. Often times that
is a sign that Spring is near, the hens need protein to help mature
the eggs, Stone flies become active in late February, and salmon
fry begin to emerge this time of year. I was thinking more along
the lines that every Steelhead from the Dam to Bridgton have all
been either hooked, pricked, stung, or caught and released on
spawn sacks or egg flies. Nymphs were something different.
Point being that we both had a fantastic two days of fly fishing!
Not the best weather or best conditions. The water was 32 degrees,
low, and gin clear. Because the Muskegon is a tailwater fishery,
it has so much more to offer. It never freezes, and has piles
of resident trout and a lot of Steelhead. How many places in the
world today, can you hook over ten Steelhead in two days fly fishing
in February? This river has a lot to offer anglers. Sometime this
Spring, take and day and enjoy the river!
Muskegon River Winter
Stone Flies: During February we begin to see Stone fly movement
throughout the river. The Dark
Knight Stoneis a great stone fly imitation that also
does very well in normal water levels. I tie this pattern
primarily for Steelhead and Trout. It's a great looking bug
with movement and a true nymph profile. Fishes best drifted
as chuck & duck or floating line/ indy.
(2/5) Good numbers of Steelhead in the lower river near Muskegon!
Chrome fish are beginning to move. Spring Steelhead should enter
the river later this week in decent numbers. Longer day light
and a surge of snow melt- run off should get things going a bit.
Fishing has been good over the last week but Steelhead have become
very content to watch your offering go by. Multiple drifts through
a know location has been the key to getting hooked up. Chrome
Steelhead should greatly improve the bite!
Stone flies are now emerging along the
frozen shoreline - This is great news for Steelhead and Trout
fishing. Stone flies will be the primary food source for Trout
and Steelhead for the next several months. Look for changes in
fly patterns for Steelhead - going from egg patterns to Stone
flies- Fish should begin to key in on small dark nymphs drifted
along the bottom.
Water
conditions: (2/1)
34 degrees- Water levels are perfect with a slight stain- Upper
Muskegon River is ice free. Visibility is Vis: 6- 8ft.
Water temp: 34 degrees. Level:
med - Clear with slight stain Steelhead fishing is excellent at this time!
Unlike
the Grand River, White River, and Pere Marquette Rivers, the Muskegon
is a tailwater fishery, this means the Muskegon River never freezes!
This allows us to guide anglers throughout the winter months for
Steelhead and Trout. Float fishing during the Winter is a beautiful
time to be on the water with good numbers of Steelhead and lots
of wildlife along the rivers banks.
Now
is the time to float fish Steelhead!
New
Video Clip: Float
Fishing Muskegon River Steelhead
One of the best float fishing videos we have filmed for Fall Steelhead
on the Muskegon River and Great Lakes region. Lots of float fishing
with a ton of hook ups and fish landed on video! Now is the time
to float fish Steelhead!
Pere
Marquette River Report
(Accurate Steelhead Fishing information for the PereMarquette River)
Spring Steelhead fishing on the lower Pere Marquette River has
been improving daily. The lower sections near Custer and Scottville
have been producing fair numbers of Steelhead on Floats and Spawn.
Back Bouncing with fresh Steelhead skein has also been very productive
producing well over a fish per hour. Upper to Walhalla has also
been fishing well. Centerpin float fishing with small spawn sacks
has been producing a good number of Steelhead. Jigs and Waxworms
have also been working well.
Although crowded, the "Flies Only" section is beginning
to show signs of Steelhead on gravel. Floating lines with strike
indicators have been working best. Egg imitations, Clown Eggs,
and natural glo bugs are working well. Now is also the time for
the late winter stone fly. Stone flies have begun to emerge along
the shore lines. Steelhead have started to key on the little black
stones. Pheasant tail nymphs in chocolate and black have been
working well. Estaz Stones are also producing a fair amount of
fish.
Attempting to stop sea lamprey with an electric barrier has become
a thing of the past on the Pere Marquette River, according to
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials. The federal agency recently
announced it no longer will operate its electric weir and will
resume treating the river only with chemical lampricides.
This should greatly increase natural reproduction of Chinook Salmon
on the Pere Marquette River. It should also significantly improve
Steelhead migrations!
Floats and
Spawn for Spring Steelhead
A selection of floats and spawn.
Another preferred
method for 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 11' 3" 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 monofiliment line. 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!
Fly
Fishing: Best patterns have been Rainbow Clown, Steelhead -
Orange
Glo-Bugs, Nuke eggs in Chartreuse/flame, Chart/Golden, Egg/Golden.
Leaches such as Egg Sucking, Laser, & Steelhead buggers also
producing Steelies.
Trout have been keying on micro eggs and nukes, and Rhyacophila
(Green) Caddis. Water
levels are up today!Muskegon
River Streamflow Data
Muskegon Brown Trout
Brown Trout spawn during the late fall months. November
and December offers anglers a shot at trophy Lake-Run
Brown Trout. West Michigan's Spawning Browns on
the Muskegon River.
Michigan's
Winter Steelhead December also offers the finest in Fall Steelhead
fishing. Both Fly Fishing and Float Fishing is excellent
at this time!
Come fish Michigan's uncrowded West Side! The Muskegon
River's "Home of the Chrome!"
A selection a of Mojo Clown eggs. With it's many
color schemes, the Clown egg works in a variety
of conditions for both resident Trout and Fall Steelhead.
Egg flies For Fall Steelhead Clients often ask me...What are the best fly
patterns for Fall Steelhead?
My answer: Eggs, Eggs, and eggs!
Steelhead crave Chinook Salmon roe (spawn) and
it is without a doubt their food of choice during
the fall months.
I have several favorites: (1) The Nuke
egg . Fav. Color: Golden/ Egg halo (2) Estaz Egg - Orange/ Peach halo (3) Circus Clown egg.
Low water - Smaller- natural flies.
Higher water - Larger-brighter flies.
Muskegon River Fall Steelhead
(Late October- November)
Fall
Steelhead:
The crown jewel of Great Lakes Steelhead- Fall
Chrome is the most sought after and Jump like
no other!
We will
be offering floats and spawn, backbouncing, and
fly fishing trips for Fall Steelhead on the lower
Muskegon River. These fish are chrome and we average
well over a fish per hour!
Winter
Steelhead:
During the Winter Months,
the Muskegon River is loaded Winter Steelhead.
Unlike the Grand, Manistee, and Pere Marquette
Rivers, the Muskegon is a tailwater fishery, this
means the Muskegon River never freeze allowing
us to guide anglers throughout the winter months
for Steelhead and Trout.
Fly fishing during the Winter
is a beautiful time to be on the water with good
numbers of Steelhead and lots of wildlife along
the rivers banks.
Spring
Steelhead:
In late February, Steelhead move up river and
begin their migration to their spawning areas.
Steelhead feed heavily on stone flies, caddis
larvae, and Chinook fry. During March, April and
May, Steelhead begin to polish gravel and begin
to spawn.
During this time, Fly Fishing Steelhead is at
it's absolute best!! Anglers can visually seek
steelhead and make casts to the spawning Spring
Steelhead. Sight fishing to Steelhead on gravel
and watching them take the fly makes this an exhilarating
experience!!
Skamania
Steelhead:
We are offering Summer Run (Skamania) Steelhead
on both the Big Manistee River and the St. Joseph
River. If you've never tried Skamania Steelhead,
these fish are amazing and jump like crazy!!
(July, August) Skamania Steelhead
available on the Big Manistee & St. Joseph Rivers
in July and August!
Michigan's Big Manistee &
St. Joseph
Summer-Run Skamania Steelhead
Jet
Boats for the Muskegon River!
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the Steelhead are! Quality Custom Jet Boats for the Muskegon
River!!
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Recommended
Fly Tackle for Muskegon River Fall & Spring Steelhead.
Comments: Due to huge client request
I am posting a list of Spring Steelhead Fishing equipment.
Rods: As per Steelhead fishing in November
and December , I recommend a 9'6" 8wt fly
rod or a 10' 8wt fly rod, as for reels, I recommend
Orvis Barstock IV or a Ross big game #4.
These reels have an excellent drag and very fast line
pick up. Spool them with a running line, ex, Poly Fuse,
25lb Amnesia or Neon Tangerine Suffix.
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.
For weight on chuck-n-duck 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) and one end to 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!
Fly Fishing Knots- Steelhead
Steehead: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 at any given
time for Steelhead and resident trout.
We now also offer guided floats & spawn fishing trips
with either center-pin or spinning gear for Winter Steelhead
on the Muskegon River. Come join us.. These trips are available
during December and are a fun and exciting way to catch
numbers of Muskegon River Steelhead!
Purchase
Mojo Fly Steelhead Assortments for Great Lakes Steelhead.
Steelhead Fly assortments make excellent gifts and are
available in many assortments for steelhead and/or Trout...
Muskegon
River - The Muskegon River, as always, is far
behind, because of the warm water reservoirs. The Muskegon
should peak for Steelhead during later November. Over
the past few days, rain and cooler weather has dramatically
improved the Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River.
There seems to be good numbers of steelhead starting to
show near the Thornapple launch and high rollaways. Deeper
holes and runs have been producing the best fishing action.
With forecasted rain, fishing should continue to improve.
The middle to last week of November and December should
offer some great Fall Steelhead fishing, I would also
expect to see a handful of large, Lake-Run Brown Trout.
Book
a Winter Steelhead trip on the lower Muskegon River or Big
Manistee River!!
We have multiple jet boats & other fishing guides
with dates available for early season Spring Steelhead !!
Let us plan a Spring fly fishing adventure for you!
Fly
Fish Steelhead on the Muskegon River.
West Michigan offers trophy wild
Fall Steelhead! Great Lakes Fall Steelhead are some of the most
sought after fish of the year! The bone jarring hits and
incredible power... these chrome fish are amazing!
We have guided trips available for fly
fishing for Steelhead. Guide trips with sink-tips or chuck
& duck are available. We also specialize in fishing
with floats and spawn during the winter months. Not only
do these fish bite.. They about rip the rod out of your
hand!
Michigan's Muskegon River - Winter
Steelhead Fly Fishing
Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters - Chicago, Ill 1279 N.
Clybourn, Chicago, IL. 60610
Grand Rapids Fly Fishing Company - 49505 - Grand Rapids,
MI
Chicago Fly Fishing Steelhead Muskegon River- Chicago,
Ill.
West Michigan's Spring Steelhead ~ Muskegon River Fishing~
Fly
Patterns for Fall & Winter Steelhead.
Purchase Steelhead Patterns here: MoJo
Flies.com
Steelhead: Natural
tones of egg flies, Oregon cheese, peach, cream, Hex
nymphs, green caddis, sparkle stone flies.
Salmon: Any
two fly rig, such as an egg (middle fly) and a nymph
dropper fly seems to be working well. Dark nymphs such
stone flies, green butt skunk, large pheasant tails,
or hares ear nymphs. Tan or olive colored PM wigglers
also work.
Trout:
Small egg flies, little green caddis rock worms,
midge larvae, pheasant tail nymphs, Beatis nymphs, Clown
Eggs - Hot for Steelhead!
Hot Clown Eggs :1. Chartreuse,
Cherise, Steelhead Orange, White
2. Baby Pink, Cherise, White
3. Steelhead Orange,
Golden Nugget, White 4. Charteuse, Niagra
Gold, White.
These egg flies work very well drifted as a fly
or drifted under a float with spawn, they add color
to your presentation!
Hot
Steelhead Flies: Nuke
eggs- (Egg-Golden) (Peach- Golden)
(Grapefruit) Glo-bugs: Peach, Golden, Early Girl Cream,
Orange Dot.