The longer days, return of sunshine and the installation of frost law speed limit signs on the shoulders of highways are indications that it’s Spring Steelhead season. A late arriving but “old school” winter with lots of snow and cold temps kept winter enthusiasts happy in N.W. Michigan, but the slow thaw these past weeks […]
As December winds down, so does the year. Thanks to all of you who got into the boat this past year and spent some time fishing for the so many different species we luckily have in our watersheds – it was a privilege to guide you and spend some time together on the water. For […]
Winter has come in hard with some sustained lake effect snow like we haven’t seen in some time. Thankfully the ground isn’t frozen and some of this snow will slowly seep into the water table to replenish an aquifer that was parched from last summer’s and fall’s drought. Steelhead fishing has slowed down with water […]
The unseasonably mild fall weather continues to make for comfortable fishing. While we have had some rain in the past, the river levels have only experienced moderate increases in levels before dropping back to the low-levels we have had for months. Still, the steelhead have been showing up as they move upstream from the Lake […]
October is winding down and water levels remain low. The lack of any significant precipitation has kept local rivers low and running clear. Still, some steelhead have moved into rivers and have been hard to hold onto once hooked with the water being warmer than normal. Larger rivers and their volume of water have been […]
It’s starting to feel like fall with lots of color in the trees but also cooler air temperatures. The salmon fishing is past its peak on local rivers that continue to run low and clear and warmer than it should for mid-October. The rain is falling as I type and hopefully continues all day and […]
With Fall officially starting last week and September coming to an end, it still kind of feels like summer with temperatures in the 80s. I guess, the summer of 2024 continues. With salmon being a migratory species looking to get upstream to spawn, they have a biological clock that sometimes can’t wait for conditions to […]
The 4th month of summer continues with some warm temperatures. The forecast calls for even more. Water temperatures on the upper Manistee are in good shape with the cool nights and sometimes, they drop too low, and you need to wait until the sun warms it up a little for fish activity. The problem is, […]
The fishing in the region has avoided some of the typical slow-down that usually occurs this time of year thanks to some cooler nights and much needed rain. The rivers like the Manistee and Boardman are moving along nicely with ideal temperatures and just a hint of color. Some days we need to wait until […]
July ended with some hot weather and it appears the start of August will continue with more of the same. With this heat, the water temperatures in the trout rivers are getting too warm at mid-day and through the evening making for dangerous conditions for the fish. Until water temperatures drop (thanks to cooler night-time […]
Late July fishing finds us headed to the upper Manistee river in the mornings looking for hatches and spinner falls of Tricos for some trout. When those little flies aren’t on the water, we are using the larger, attractor/suggestive/imitative terrestrial patterns often tied with foam and rubber legs – its what I call the “Foam […]
Trout fishing on the local rivers continues but with a more casual approach as we aren’t matching hatches in low light to finicky fish. Instead head to the river with a mix of general dry flies that imitate mayflies since they have been eating them regularly for the past 10 weeks. Beyond fishing those natural […]
