And here I though we had dodged a major bullet this year….mother nature is a cold cold woman!!! We have recieved anywhere from 3-6 inches of rain the last 48 hours and all local rivers are blown out and un fishable for a few days now. All launches are closed on the Muskegon river.

The good news is that the river is still cold and the fishing should be just fine when the water drops, look for reports to resume when the launches re open and the water clears a bit.

Finally a little spring weather has shown up….now if only the fish thought so. Water temps are still quite low in the Muskegon River. Hovering between 34-36 most days. With the pond and Muskegon lake still frozen..we are just seeing a trickle of fresh fish, this should change once we get rid of all the ice around.

Float fishing has still been the best,hands down. The fish have moved into slower pools and current seams for the most part and float fishing allows us to target these areas the best.

The good news is that we should see some great fishing well into May, so if you are still interested in getting some steelheading in, I do have plenty of openings in May.

Open Dates

Due to cancelation April 22 is now open….prime date!!

May 2,5-10

Spring…..almost…

Spring weather will be here is another day or three…The fishing is still pretty much in winter mode. Water temps and levels have what fresh fish there are in the system in lock down mode….just a slow trickle of chromers….mostly colored males and fat pre spawn hens.

Look for river levels to rise finally next wee and the run to kick in big time. Floatfishing is still my prefered method for covering tons of water and getting the biters.

Spring…..well kinda!!

The calendar says mid march, but temps and river conditions are showing like mid- winter. Water temps are cold,clear and the fish are in winter mode for sure. We did see a small batch of fresher fish a week or so ago. But for the most part we are catching fall/ winter holdovers.

Ice in the rivers,guides and at the boat launches has pushed back early moring starts many many days. The cloudy overcast days and low light periods of the clear bright days have been best. The bite has just about shut off when the sun gets above the trees,making those morning hookups that much more important on the clear days.

Despite the minor thaws and melts the river levels have remained low and clear. Light lines and smaller baits are the best option. We have been floatfishing for the most part,But chuck and duck nymphing will get a few with a little patience and good long drifts.

Just a quick update today…

The fishing last week was great, the fish are well rested and ready to snap when the weather permits us to hit the river. This weeks big freeze will give the fish a much needed rest after we hammered them pretty hard. Look for the fishing to be great again once we get through this arctic blast.

I still have openings for this spring for anyone looking to get on the water. I’m hoping that we see the size of the spring fish similar to those that we saw last fall.

Half day trips thru March 10— $200 for 1-2 anglers

Well….

As you can se we have made it out several times in the last week, we found the fishing to be very good in some areas…and lesser fish in some very prime winter spots.

We landed some really nice winter males pushing into the high teens. All of the fish seem to be winter holdovers, but a few fresher females were landed.

I have the cure for cabin fever for those that are infected and need to shake the winter blues…Your steelhead are waiting.

Floatfishing with eggs…is pretty much the only way to go when its this cold out.

Yuck!!

Ok Im pretty sure everyone is with me on this one….its time for old man winter to kick the bucket and move on…Its very rare for me to say I’m ready for spring, because I enjoy winter steelheading so much, but enough is enough…its time to move on and spring cant come too soon.

The truth is I think I’m on my longest fishless streak in forever….I just have not felt like hitting the water with temps in the single digits and wind chills below zero!

Im sure the fishing will be great as soon as I get back to the river,the fish are well rested and should be pretty dumb again, with very little food in the rivers this time of year, our offerings should look very tempting.

So…look for a warm up, get your dates booked and lets fish!!!

Its time to get those warm spring guide trips locked in as well.

I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year.

I wish I could tell you I have been on the water every day….I really do wish I could, but….I cant. The weather these last two weeks has been frigid to say the least.

I did get out this past saturday, with the short break in the weather we had, and we had a pretty good day. We were float fishing and covered a bunch of water,looking for the hungry fish and moving on.

It looks like we have a good break in the weather coming in a few days, if you need to shake those winter blues please give us a call and get on the water. The fishing should be great!

Its also a good time to get those spring dates booked.