- 231-250-9745
- SEND A MESSAGE
-
NEWSLETTER
NEWSLETTER
Spring has finally arrived!!!!
We are now past our spring steelhead season, and booking spring and summer river trips. We offer trips for both trout and smallmouth on the Muskegon river. Both with fly tackle and ultra-light spinning gear. The Muskegon has some pretty good hatches in May and June and can offer up some great dry flyfishing, as well as streamer fishing for both trout and smallmouth. River trips are available all summer and are offered as full and half day trips.
Please reach out if you have any questions.
Well…we finally crossed the season finish line for steelhead. It was a tough season going all the way back to October of 2023. If I had to say…the best fishing was from late January through the first week of March, with February being the best by far…this is mostly due to the mild winter. Though we worked hard and struggled some days, others fished fairly average…in the end…they are steelhead and you can’t catch them on the couch.
So… why do I think the run was so poor…COVID is the reason, the spring of 2020 when covid hit, our governor did not allow the state weirs to take eggs from the spring run steelhead of 2020, therefore there were no fish to plant is 2021….fast forward to this spring, we are seeing the gap in adult fish. But that is all in the past now and I expect next fall and spring to be back to the numbers we are use to. Just think how good the fishing will “seem”.
It’s never too early to get your fall, winter or spring dates booked. Our calendar is always open and is booked first come first served. Fall river trips for chinook begin on September 3rd of 2024, until then we are now focused on river trout, smallmouth and of course big lake fishing in Ludington on our 31′ tiara the “Hattrick”
Ok, were back…had a few issues with the web site and finally had time to get most of it all sorted out.
The fall steelhead fishing has been a grind across the entire state due to the covid of 2020. In 2020 the spring covid hit, our governor did not allow the MIDNR to operate the little Manistee weir and do an egg take for the planting of hatchery steelhead. The eggs that would have been taken in April of 2020 would have been planted in west Michigan waters in spring of 2021, there were no eggs taken in 2020, therefore no steelhead to plant in 2021…thus fast forward to this year’s run fall 23/spring24….we are not seeing the numbers of fish that we are used to, but we are grinding every day and having some great days mixed in with some pretty tough days as well.
That being said…we are still catching fish, but honestly you have to work for them every day and make the best of your opportunities.
Please get with us for a day or two of chasing steelhead and getting some great water therapy.
Float fishing has been the go-to method, covering water quickly is key…. the water has been very clear, so smaller, lighter presentations are working best, deeper slower water is a great place to start each day…. please practice catch and release of the fish you catch this year.