Like Salmon season, I am going to try and keep my fellow Fields and Stream team members up to date on what is going on around the state with Steelhead fishing. If anyone has any questions, feel free to get a hold of me.
After waiting around for a month, the stars aligned and I was able to get on the Muskegon. What a great weekend we had. I was fishing with my buddy Rob. Roger from Steelhead Manitesto also came out with us on Sunday.
Although the weather was fantastic, the fishing was really slow. We managed a few bites every day but really had to work for them. The jig that worked best was a jig that I was trying to tie that did not turn out. Last year I ended up killing the steelhead below Tippy on this “mistake” jig. This weekend it took the most fish while tipped with waxies. Needless to say, it is now called the “the mistake.” Only one hole put up fish all weekend. Don’t know what was up with that. We worked a lot of water. My buddy Rob also caught his first adult steelhead on the center pin with a jig he tied himself.
I also caught my biggest resident brown to date; 21.5 inches long. Truly, a very special specimens:
The river is really low. I banged up my prop pretty badly. If you have a prop, I would wait til the water comes up. It was at 1500 CFS this weekend.
Now that the water is starting to warm up, fishing should improve when new fish come into the system. I don’t think many newbies (fresh fish) have shown up lately and the reason why we struggled all weekend. It should improve from here on out. Once fresh fish come up, fishing should improve. Don’t wait for an online report though if you want to get into good fishing. Steelhead fishing is great one day and slow the next so hit it anytime you can because you never know.
I heard the Manistee is dammed up at the mouth. Supposedly the ice is so bad that the river is coming onto the sand and rushing around the ice. This is third person information so I don’t know how much truth to that there is. From some of my sources, the fishing is still slow and the dammed up part would explain the slow fishing.
Were still a couple of weeks away from great fishing. However, the crowds are not out yet and it is very peaceful on the river, which is my favorite part. This weekend we saw bald eagles, squirrels and turkeys. Regardless how the fishing was, we still had a blast on the river.
Here are some pictures from the weekend:
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