The low clear water of October is behind us as November brings cooler and higher water. Significant recent rains has the river levels up on the local rivers including the Manistee, Betsie, Boardman and others. And with it should be another push of steelhead. Water levels are going to get a bit stained but that […]
As we flip the calendar to November it is full-on steelhead season. Almost all of the salmon are gone in rivers like the Manistee, Betsie and Platte but there are a few remaining chinook and coho salmon around providing an egg drop to help keep the steelhead focused on eggs. Northwest Michigan hasn’t received significant […]
It definitely feels like Fall on and off the river. The recent winds have really put a lot of leaves into the river leaving a number of trees bare and anglers putting on an extra layer. Cooler temperatures have dropped the water temps significantly the past week as they hover around 50 degrees. Between the […]
With a week of October behind us it’s looking and feeling like fall. Trees have started to turn color and so have the salmon. There are still a number of salmon in the local rivers – Betsie, Manistee, Platte, but its safe to say we are past the stage of bright, fresh fish. Most of […]
As we approach the end of September the weather is transitioning to what we should have had the past few weeks – cooler nights, some precipitation and some color in the trees to let us know that fall is here. More fish, too. The extension of summer has kept a trickle of chinook/king salmon moving […]
At the mid-point of September, it has felt more like the middle of summer. After a lot of rain the first part of the month the rivers came up and have since come down. The Betsie still has the “Betsie Stain” to it but reveals that there just aren’t as many salmon around as we […]
With September here, so are the salmon. Heavy rains and favorable winds the past week has kicked off the migration of salmon in rivers. While there are fish around, anglers will find other anglers as well as higher water and some new logs, branches and trees in your favorite bend. Water clarity is decent on […]
The long and hot summer remains with us making for some challenging trout fishing conditions on the local rivers. The water is low and clear and the fish are pretty well aware of what we are trying to do after fishing them hard for a few months. The best fishing tends to be whenever it […]
As August begins we find ourselves in familiar territory on the trout rivers. Terrestrials are becoming a bit more active in and around the bushes and grasses, Tricos dancing above and falling to the water mid-morning and wild brook trout outcompeting the browns for dry flies. A mix of patterns are bringing fish to the […]
With Mid-July comes mid-July fishing conditions. With the warmer weather and bright sun we are finding the best trout fishing to be in the morning or late evening when the sun isn’t so bright and the fish are out looking to eat. Mid-mornings are offering good hatches of Tricos and BWOs with fish looking for […]
The current heat wave leaves no doubt that July is here and limits our fishing opportunities. As water temperatures increase the trout become vulnerable to the stress of fishing and therefore we are limiting our fishing to the early and late hours of the day for their sake and ours. The nocturnal hex hatch is […]
With summer Solstice occurring this past week it’s the time of year trout anglers stay out late and well after the sun goes down. The nocturnal Hex Hatch is off to a start on just about all local rivers in Northwest Michigan: The Au Sable, Boardman, Manistee, Pine, Platte, PM – it’s that time of […]
