Late March Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 29, 2025

UPDATE 3/31/25

The region received far more rainfall than forecast over the weekend leaving the rivers running very high and dirty. If you are headed to your favorite river, you are likely to find it un-wadable and boat handling risky. Use caution until water levels come down.

For more on regional water flows, you can click here.

March comes to an end and the Steelhead fishing continues.

Fishing has been solid in March despite some weather fluctuations between Spring and Winter. The river conditions have been good with water levels a little lower than what we expect for this time of year, but with some cold rain in the forecast, we should see levels come up and a little more stain to the water. And likely more fish as water temps hover around 40 degrees.

The steelhead in the Manistee river are a mix of pre-spawn fish and fish just starting to spawn. Smaller rivers like the Betsie can have water temperatures increase (and decrease) rapidly which can spur more spawning activity but look for more spawning to be the case as water temps increase with more days into “Spring”. Regardless, the pocket water, runs and holes near spawning gravel have been fishing well.

With a slight stain to the water, smaller egg imitations have been outperforming the big, bold ones, but look for that to change if water conditions change. #8 rag eggs and 8mm beads in natural colors/tones have been best and often fished in tandem with a nymph. The best fishing nymphs lately have been green caddis, alevins, and hex. When the sun heats things up, the black stoneflies have been coming off and fluttering on the surface, which is a good indication to fish them under the surface.

Like usual, the popularity of steelhead has been bringing out scores of anglers and the rivers have been crowded. It’s not a bad time to practice the golden rule but then again, that might be expecting too much from some while others try to set an example.

Good luck,

Ted

Fall Steelhead – Spring season is all booked, but a few dates remain available for the Fall Steelhead.
Trout Fishing – May and June offer some of the best technical dry fly fishing as we chase bugs and browns.
2025 Season – Now booking the entire season for trout, bass, steelhead and salmon – get your dates planned.

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Mid April Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 14, 2024

Not much has changed since the last report as a trickle of fresh fish move up the rivers as others spawn, while those that already have drop back to the lake.

We have had some rainfall but not as much as we were hoping for to really test the hypothesis that there are a bunch of steelhead ready to migrate once conditions ripened with warmer, higher and dirtier water. Temps on the Manistee are mid to upper 40s while the Betsie is hovering around 50 degrees.

While the Manistee hasn’t yet had the push of suckers to swim upstream, the Betsie has a lot of them below the old Homestead dam site. These help as indicators of the steelhead run. Typically (and this no typical year) a second, smaller run of steelhead occurs after the sucker run on both rivers.

Successful patterns have been smaller eggs, small caddis, fry and small black stones, however, the latter are starting to diminish in density when hatches do occur which should reduce the pattern’s effectiveness going forward. With water temperatures what they are, it isn’t a bad time to swing a small streamer looking for aggressive fish headed upstream or one putting some weight back on as they return to the lake.

Good luck.

Ted

Trout Season – Mid-May into July offers some of the best match-the-hatch dry fly fishing of the season.
Learn To Fly Fish – 1/2 Day trips are perfect for beginners! Learn how to cast before hitting the water to fish.
2024 Fishing – Get your dates secured to ensure your time on the water this year. Booking all seasons/species.

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Late March Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - March 20, 2024

With the official start of Spring this week, it seems that Winter is making up for some delinquency bringing us some cooler temps, wind and snow.

Steelhead fishing continues on the Manistee River below Tippy Dam and Betsie River with water conditions near ideal. It’s been a bit since we have had rain and the recent snowfall wasn’t enough to really affect levels. The mild winter brought water temperatures up to over 40 which has encouraged some early spawning in the rivers. There are still a lot of fish to come up stream over the next few weeks and these migratory fish are weather and condition dependent.

Fish are near gravel sections and others are slipping up the watersheds from the lake, preferring those soft seams to travel. The steelhead not quite ready to spawn – or those that are, on bright, sunny days – can be found in the pocket water and holes near spawning gravel.

Eggs and beads are often fished in tandem with a nymph. With the clearer water, smaller eggs have been working better and in natural shades to imitate the natural eggs in the water. Other days they take big, bright egg patterns that look like nothing in nature – that’s just the nature of steelhead fishing. Effective nymphs have been caddis, small stones, steelhead buggers and the alevin and fry bite are just starting to turn on.

Good luck.

Ted

Spring Steelhead – Just a few dates remain available in April – get your Spring fishing started right!
Trout Season – Mid-May into July offers some of the best match-the-hatch dry fly fishing of the season.
2024 Fishing – Get your dates secured to ensure your time on the water. Booking all seasons thru September.

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Early October Fly Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - October 7, 2023

Summer-like weather has come to an end after a few extra weeks of it which continued well into October.

The local rivers have been really low from a lack of rain, however today’s rain along with the rain in the forecast should really help get the local rivers into shape and get the fish moving. I am not sure I have ever seen the rivers this low at this time of year. Water temperatures, also, should get into seasonal form and drop into the 50s.

Salmon are all over the place in the local rivers (Manistee, Betsie, Platte). Because of the date/time of year and the warm water, the fish are pretty dark and busy doing their spawning ritual. It seems that there are a few more salmon around this year than in recent years which is a good thing. The more salmon in Lake Michigan usually means less pressure on the steelhead from the lake anglers which helps to bolster steelhead population. And more salmon in the river means more scent and eggs to coax steelhead upstream. A few steelhead have been moving up the river but mostly the juvenile skippers on their first return up the river.

Trout fishing was extended for those looking to fish some terrestrials thanks to the warm weather but now it’s time to pull out that 6 or 7 wt rod, sink tip lines and box full of streamers. It’s pre-spawn for the brown trout on most rivers and the fish can have an attitude and chase down a fly. Because our trout population is meager and mostly dependent on natural reproduction, please leave any visible spawning brown trout alone to help ensure a future fishery. Some rivers closed on October 1 so make sure your favorite section of water is still open before fishing it.

Regardless of where you are fishing or for what, you’ll find the trees well decorated in fall colors making for a great backdrop as you fish and wind down the season.

Good luck.

Ted

Fall Steelhead – Just a few dates in November remain available – finish the fishing season strong.
Spring Steelhead – Most of the season is booked – get your dates for March and April while you can.
2024 Fishing – Get your dates secured to ensure your time on the water. Booking all seasons thru August.

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Mid-April Fishing Report

Posted by Ted Kraimer - April 14, 2023

The water levels from last week’s rain has pretty much moved through the system and have returned to normal level. Clarity remains good, but still has a stain to it on both the Betsie and Manistee Rivers, which is usually a good thing.

The abnormal July-like weather with temps in the 80s and bright sun has made fishing very difficult the past week as steelhead hate the combination of high sun and stained water. Add the normal angler pressure that comes with this time of year along with a few extra folks taking advantage of the nice weather and, well, let’s just say I am looking forward to next week’s fishing with more seasonal temps and possibly some rain. (I will probably complain about that, too, when it happens but likely not as much as I did this week’s weather).

Eggs were working with orange hues being the leading color and chartreuse a close second. The better nymphs have been fry patterns and a few fish came on green caddis.

It’s been a mix of fish – fish are spawning hard with the increasing water temps and drop backs are headed back to lake Michigan. A few new/fresh fish are moving through the system, but it’s usually in the low light of mornings before the sun gets too high and they go hide until evening to resume their seasonal commute.

Good luck.

Ted

2023 Fishing – Get your dates secured to ensure your time on the water. Booking all seasons.
Trout – May’s streamer & dry fly fishing turns to the big bugs of June. Good dates to choose from.
Fall Steelhead – Just a few prime steelhead dates remain available in 2023 – finish the fishing season strong.

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Posts tagged "caddis"

Late March Fishing Report

Mid April Fishing Report

Late March Fishing Report

Early October Fly Fishing Report

Mid-April Fishing Report

Ted Kraimer • Current Works, LLC • PO Box 333 • Traverse City, Michigan 49685 • (231) 883-8156