Fully Guided Spring Steelhead Trips for Michigan Rivers.
Full Day Trips ( 8 hours) $395
Half Day Guided Fishing Tours (4 hours) $295

** All Gear, Tackle, Rods, Reels, Fishing Cleaning Provided**
Super Prime Spring Steelhead Dates & Half days available.

Spring Steelhead fishing is in full swing on the Muskegon River. Water levels have bumped up, making for excellent fishing. Grace with a gorgeous spring Steelhead from today. New fish moving in from Lake Michigan.

Longer daylight is really improving the Spring Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River. Longer days trigger the steelhead to migrate up river into the spawning sections near the Croton Dam. Water levels are perfect. We expect a large, early run of steelhead in later February, early March. Good water conditions help fish migrate and move freely through the Muskegon River system.
Best bites have been on small spawn sacks, trout beads in natural colors, and feather jigs tipped with wax worms. Fly Fishing has also been good, as steelhead key heavily on small black stone flies during early Spring. Text to Book >>> (231) 519-7348

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Trophy Brown Trout on the White River.

Eugene with a gorgeous Spring Steelhead from the Muskegon River. Steelhead fishing has been very good and continues to improve. Longer daylight brings new fish.

Spring Steelhead Fishing – Steve with a beast! New Bright Steelhead entering the river in good numbers. (1/24)

Kyle with his first Steelhead in Michigan. Warmer weather has improved fishing conditions. Spring is just around the corner.

Spring thaw is bringing more Steelhead into the upper river. Croton Dam Steelhead Fishing has been good. (1/24)

Now Booking Muskegon River Spring Steelhead Trips.

There’s no question that the Muskegon river offers the best Steelhead fishing in the Great Lakes region. We have prime Spring Steelhead dates available for Steelhead during March, April, and May for the Muskegon and Big Manistee Rivers. Guided trips are all inclusive. (All gear, tackle, bait and flies provided) Fish cleaning is also included at no charge. We look forward to fishing with you this Spring season!!
Text to book>>> (231) 519 7348

Michigan Winter Steelhead – The Muskegon River offers the best steelhead fishing in Michigan. Because the Muskegon River is a mid draw dam, the Muskegon River never freezes, allowing anglers an opportunity for good steelhead fishing throughout the winter months. Trout fishing is also excellent. Trophy Brown Trout spawn during December, offering shots and some very big trout. (231) 519-7348

It looks like we’re finally going to get a reprieve from these brutal cold temperatures. It’s finally tolerable to get out and fish! This weather feels a lot warmer, almost mild temperatures. The good news is, that nobody has been on the water bothering the fish! Steelhead and Trout should be unmolested and biting well.
The Muskegon River is a tail water fishery which means, Consumers Energy takes water from the river about ten feet below the ice on Croton Pond. The water for the river is several degrees warmer. This means that the Muskegon River never freezes below the Croton Dam. Warmer water temperatures allow us to fish – guide through out the winter months. Unlike the Pere Marquette, White, Rogue, and Grand Rivers, the Muskegon River Never freezes. Offering very good Trout and Steelhead fishing all winter long.
Steelhead and Trout fishing has been consistently good throughout the winter. Good numbers of Steelhead in the upper stretches of the main stream.
Best techniques during the winter months are presentations that slow the bait down a bit. Back bouncing spawn sacks, back trolling plugs, drifting trout beads under a float, or chuck and duck fly fishing are all productive methods that we use when the water is cold. Steelhead metabolism is slow this time of year, techniques that keep the bait in their face, are the best producers.

Guided Winter Trips for Michigan Rivers. Full Day Trips ( 8 hours) $350
Half Day Guided Fishing Tours (4 hours) $250

** All Gear, Tackle, Rods, Reels, Fishing Cleaning Provided**
Super Prime Spring Steelhead Dates & Half days available.

Don landed this gorgeous West Michigan Muskegon River Brown Trout. Winter time can offer some outstanding Trout fishing. Trophy Browns spawn during December.

Casey with a gorgeous bullet hen. Recent rains helped shuffle the deck – Bring Chrome fish.

Top 5 Tips for Winter Steelhead.

Staying warm and comfortable is by far the most important thing while fishing during the winter and early spring. Basic components such as keeping the head and feet warm is key. Don’t skimp on a good hat. Insulated is the key. A hat that is insulated with a bill goes well with polarized sunglasses. You get twice the glare in the winter. (Sun & Snow) Another major wicking socks go on your feet first, then your heavy wool socks. These socks wick moisture away from your skin. If you haven’t tried them, they’re seriously a game changer. Part of staying warm is good boots. Muck Boot Artic, Sorrel Blizzard, and Mickey Mouse boots are some good ones, notice I did not say waders. Wicking socks (Polycapilene Socks) resemble woman nylons, usually black and thin, wicking socks go on your feet first, then your heavy wool socks. These socks wick moisture away from your skin. If you haven’t tried them, they’re seriously a game changer.
Gloves are another major deal with fishing steelhead in the winter. There are a million brands and styles out there. I’ve tried all of them and settled on old school military style fingerless rag wool gloves. These stay warm even when wet, and lead into another key. Hot Hands shakable hand warmers. There things are phenomenal!!
Rag wool gloves keep the hand warmers exposed to oxygen. I put hand warmers on the back side of my gloves (Not the palm side) This allows the hand warmers to warm the blood flow going into your finger tips, and stay out of your way while casting. Use the Hot Hands brand, the Grabber brand just plan suck, barely warm up and are dead in a few hours. Hot hands get very warm and last 10 plus hours.
For hardcore Winter – Spring Steelhead fishing I love to wear a water proof shell. Snow boarding pants or snow pants work exceptionally well for fishing. They repel some water and trap a lot of air to keep you warm. I wear heavy duty fleece pants under snow pants. I layer the hell out of my upper body. I want to stay warm but also need range of motion for fishing. I start with long sleeve under amour against my skin, then a synthetic thin hoodie, (Patagonia or Outdoor Research) with a regular cotton hoodie over everything. Last but not least, a down vest. Down keeps my core warm and I can cast and row well.
Guiding and being on the river every day, I get to watch clients not dress properly and freeze while they’re fishing. Most anglers or clients, don’t really understand that while steelhead fishing, you’re not super active, and the river always seems about 10 degree colder than the main land. Also the air above the river is very damp, making things feel colder . Before each guide trip, I text my clients a list of warm clothes to wear on their fishing adventure. People hook and land a lot more trout and steelhead when they’re warm.

Here ‘s a quick list of the best clothing for Winter – Spring Steelhead.
Warm Winter boots, Snow pants, Polycapilene socks. wool socks. Hot Hands hand warmers. Under armor shirt, quality synthetic hoodie, XL Regular hoodie, down west. Rag Wool fingerless gloves.
Text to Book >>> (231) 519-7348

I haven’t had too much time to update the report with the artic weather last week. I’ve been getting a lot of texts as to, How are the boat launches? I took a drive this morning, here’s what I found. Croton Dam Launch (Just below the dam) Croton Launch is plowed shut so it’s not usable. Pine St Launch is plowed completely for parking. The boat launch itself is clear but very icy. Salt, sand, or ash is a must for Pine St. but overall it looks good. Thornapple Launch is in excellent condition. Plowed with a bare spot to launch. Maybe a bit of salt. Henning Park launch is excellent. Plowed and sanded. Didn’t get a chance to hit Bridgeton but usually that is usable but shelf and pancake ice down there.

Chad Schaub and Zack are doing guided ice fishing trips for those who are interested. Ice conditions are excellent!! Clear blue ice. 4″ – 6″ in most areas. Ice fishing guides are doing very well on Blue gills, Specks, and Pike. Not much going so far for Walleye and Perch yet. Jake and I are still doing Steelhead and Trout Trips on the river. Text to Book >>> (231) 519-7348

Good numbers of fall – winter steelhead throughout the system on the Muskegon River. New fish coming in from Lake Michigan.

After a few days of some wild weather, steelhead fishing has returned to normal. There has been several decent pushes of steelhead moving in from Lake Michigan. The lower sections of river have been fishing well as steelhead move into the winter lies. Water temperatures are beginning to cool, so slower techniques have been fishing the best. Drifting spawn sacks along the bottom has been working well, along with back bouncing, drifting beads, and jigs tipped with wax worms.
There’s been a good mix of chrome and winter hold over steelhead in most of the sections. Lake Run Brown Trout are starting to become a big deal. Brown’s spawn during December so this is an excellent time to look for a trophy Brown Trout. Pine St to Henning park holds the best gravel (slower, deeper, and a bit more fine than steelhead prefer) for these beautiful fish. Streamer fishing has been best for big Brown Trout.

Text to Book >>> (231) 519-7348

Trophy Lake Run Brown Trout Spawn during December. Both the Big Manistee River (Above Pic) and the Muskegon River, get a decent migration of big Brown Trout through out December and early January.