Last week was bizarre – the steelhead came before the rain and then the rain came and has left us wondering where the fish are in the Manistee River. A few days last week fished really well with some big, bright fish playing along nicely, but lately, they have been mostly shy. The water came up […]
We still haven’t received significant rainfall but a few fresh fish have moved upstream with warmer water temperatures while the older fish in the river have moved out of the deep winter water/holes and closer to gravel. Some days are better than others but the action has been trending nicely and improving. The forecast is […]
There is no fooling that the steelhead run is behind schedule. Typically the run-off and rains have increased river flows encouraging fish to migrate upstream by now. With the cold winter, drawn-out thaw of snow (and not much of it) and cold nights, the water has been running lower, clearer, and colder than normal for […]
It’s officially Spring! The first of the Cranes have migrated back to the river banks while the colder nights confirm that we are still in the very early part of the season. Steelhead fishing has been a little slower than normal for this time of year since the number of fall fish that wintered over […]
Winter has finally loosened its death grip on us as warmer and longer days, sunshine, and daylight savings time all converged having us feeling like Spring isn’t that far away. Often when the weather gets warm and the snow melts at this time of year, many of us head to the river looking to shake […]
There is no doubt that winter’s here and so are some record low temperatures making fly fishing on local rivers pretty much non-existent. Shelf ice is pretty prominent on the river’s edges and some slower portions are covered with ice, limiting access should you decide to venture out when cabin fever gets you to that […]
The last couple of weeks has provided some opportunity to get on the water with some warmer than normal days for the season. It is now winter and while it isn’t white outside, the thermometer isn’t showing a lot of red, either. The long term forecast calls for below freezing temps which pretty much puts […]
It’s mid-December and it feels kind of like mid-November should have. Air temps have increased a little and are forecast to remain that way until early next week. Anglers looking to fish for steelhead are finding fish in the local rivers including the Betsie and Manistee. It sounds as if all rivers have some fish […]
After our first (and hopefully last) polar vortex of the season came through dropping the air temperature and lots of snow, the weather this weekend became a little more typical of what the November offers. Most of the snow has melted although there are still some traces. Well, until the next snow comes which is […]
Old man winter came in with force and a little early as our friends from Canada sent us a powerful cold front that should be with us for a while. Just how long is unknown. Steelhead fishing has improved after a pretty dismal couple of weeks. Not sure if that’s because there are less people […]
There hasn’t been much of a change in fishing the past week – one day we do good, then it is tough again for a few. The bottom line – in my opinion – is that fishing has been inconsistent and tougher than it should be for this time of year and basically has been […]
With a day like today (high north winds, snow and rain) we can’t help but think that it is fall and the fall steelhead should get their act in order and show up in a little more force since they have been trickling in the past 6 weeks. Then again, all bets are off this […]
