Time flies when the run is on !

Sorry for the lapse of updates as well as fish pics, I will be doing a huge photo update and you will want to check out some of the great fish we brought to hand this spring.

The last month seemed to just disappear, time seemed to fly by as we were waiting for the big spring push…well that never happened. What we saw was a very light trickle of fish that lasted for most of the month of March and a couple weeks into April. We had our big thaw and rain / runoff event too early in the season to bring a big push of fish. The super cold weather pattern as well as dry didn’t help either. This all contributed to the abnormal spring fishing. Inconsistent is the correct word to describe the fishing. One day its easy..hooking double digits and the next working hard to hook 5-7 fish. The water temps are now in the 40’s and the fish are working gravel and dropping back fast. It seems like more fish are leaving the system than arriving for the last week or so.

I’m sure that there will be steelhead around for the next week or two but you will have to work hard and cover the right types of water to find them.

Its almost May and I will be launching the Hattrick soon, the big water offers a great change of pace to the fishing for us and is always looked forward to. If you interested in joining us in Ludington please contact us for more info and to lock in a date. We are hoping for another good summer of fishing like we had last year.

Spring has arrived….

Sorry for the lapse, its been a pretty busy several weeks on the rivers. The fishing has had its ups and downs…but overall if you put your time in the fishing has been pretty good. Hopefully we have already had our spring flood and we will have a decent spring without a big washout. The fish are trickling in right now with very little spawning going on from what I’ve seen….that’s not my thing anyway. The spring fish are looking healthy and well fed. We have been floatfishing for the most part with beads, bags and small nymphs. Colors and sizes seem to change daily, if your not catching, change it up.
I have a few dates open in April, if your looking to get out please let me know.

Mid February and again we are staring down the barrel of a couple days of temps in the 50’s….this winter weather has been a true roller coaster. A few days of warmer than average….then the temps plummet into the teens for a few days, plenty of snow then rainy days with temps in the 50’s. I guess the saying is true for Michigan, “if you don’t like the weather wait ten minutes”

The roller coaster weather also plays a role in the fishing, one thing for sure its always better when you have a constant weather pattern…several days of the same weather generally provide us with the best fishing. Rapidly arriving cold fronts generally make the bite tougher. But still worth spending time on the water chasing these great winter steelhead. For the most part the fish are winter holdovers, hopefully we see some runoff next week and some chrome fish with it.

Float fishing with beads, spawn and small nymphs has been our go to method, the fish that are here are pretty smart right now, near perfect presentation seems more important than what you are using. Although some days the color of your bead can make a huge difference.

Give us a call to get in on the action before the crowds descend on the river this spring. Winter 1/2 day trips are still only $200 for 1-2 anglers.

17……er….18…. Happy New Year!!

The days are flying by!!! and for the better part I’ve been on dry land in the new year. Sub arctic temps slowed down the start of January, but things seem to bee falling into line now with more of a typical winter weather pattern setting up. The times I’ve been out so far have been fishing pretty decent. The fish are locked into their winter patterns and the lack of fishing pressure sure helps, the bite has been tougher on the busy days. Float fishing with beads and spawn have been the most consistent, though jigs and waxworms are taking some older winter holdovers. Spring will be here before you know it, its time to lock in your spring steelhead dates.

My winter 1/2 day trips are pretty popular this time of year, $200 for 1-2 anglers for 4 hours on the water. Grab a friend dress warm and give us a call…your steelhead are waiting.

Merry Christmas !

Winter has arrived officially and its my favorite time of the year to chase our Michigan winter steelhead. Although I’m getting older and my hardcore levels at have been adjusted slightly, I still have the craving to get out there and deal with clod icy boat ramps just to chase some winter steelhead. The key to enjoying winter fishing is to be mentally prepared as well as wearing the right gear. If you are every planning on booking a winter trip with a guide, pick his brain a bit and see how they dress for winter fishing. Multiple layers and little to no garments made with cotton. Dress right and you will be surprised on how warm it can be in the outdoors. Dress wrong….and it will be miserable.

As for the fishing, it hasn’t changed that much, some days fish pretty good, others make you hunt a bit harder for them. But by days end, we find fish and have a few battles won and lost. The fish are moving into their winter pools and settling in for the winter. Float fishing with beads and small spawn bags has been our go to method. Remember the fish can be fussy now, change colors and sizes until you figure it out.

We are currently running our winter 1/2 day special until March 1, 1-2 anglers for 4 hours for only $200. 

Also if you are interested in learning how to fish with center pin reels give us a shout, instruction is also available.

Winter arrives this week!

Wow, what a nice fall it has been, river conditions on most rivers were great all fall. Finally a year where we were not doing the rain dance every day. Water levels were up and the fishing was decent. No real big number days but consistent fishing day in and day out for us. We have been float fishing for the most part, but also ran some flyfishing trips. The fish are still running up the river and once the weather cools off we should see the fishing improve as water temps drop and drive the fish into their winter holding pools. Cool weather will also give the fish a much needed break. I’m looking forward to getting a few hours of fishing in myself in the coming weeks. Smaller beads in natural colors have been the best for us.

Remember gift certificates make great holiday gifts, full and half day trips available.

Winter half day specials start on Dec 15th. $200 for 1-2 people on the Muskegon river 4 hours of fishing.

Fall colors….

I transitioned to guiding on the Muskegon about 10 days ago, there were some kings at that time, but they were pooled up in about 5 pools. The river was very low and navigating the shallows was spooky to say the least. Well…we have received some much needed precipitation now, and the river is up a few inches. More kings have poured into the system and the salmon fishing has improved. The middle of last week I began looking for some fall steelhead, we fished hard, covered a bunch of spots and found a few. The steelhead numbers should be on the rise with every rainfall we get. Cooler days and night will help as well. River temps are still about 61 degrees. Another big help would be some big winds from the east to flip the lake, the nearshore waters are very warm.

The kings are spread out well from the pools and runs to the spawning areas. Look for steelhead and some nice river trout to be around the salmon looking for the easy meals.

Its time to book those fall steelhead trips, still some great dates available.

Summer or fall?

Record high temps are blasting Michigan and putting the hurting on the fall fishing in our rivers. Water temps are higher than normal and lack of rain has them in very low levels. That aside….we are still getting into a few fish each trip, landing some…loosing some. The size is still running on the large side, heard of a few fish over 30 landed this fall out of the rivers. We have been casting crankbaits and float fishing with skein each day. Working for our bites….but at least the bites are legit! Mouth hooked fish that ate because they made the choice to.

We still have some dates available for salmon, steelhead season is filling up as well. Call soon and lock in your trips.

We are having technical difficulties adding photos to the site, you can find us on facebook to view some recent photos.

Change of pace feels good…

I ran a few river trips this past week and although the fishing wasn’t as good as we would hoped, we had a good time and got into a few fall run Chinooks each trip. We spent most of the time float fishing with skein, but hooked a couple on deep jr thundersticks as well. The river was super busy due to the holiday weekend as one would expect. I’m sure all the extra traffic had a negative impact on the fishing as well. Look for the fishing to improve as we move forward, so rain and cooler temps would also improve things.

If your interested in a river trip please contact us for openings and more info.

River trips begin this week…

Look for more first hand info on the river fishing later this week as I begin running a few days on the PM this week. Reports are that there are fishable numbers around, not red hot but enough to fish for. Look for this coming weekend to be very busy on west Michigan streams.

Your best bets will be casting hardware such as storm thundersticks,hot n tots and rapala stick baits in hot bright colors. Float fishing with skein eggs can also produce some great action for these fall run fish.