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Posts tagged "king salmon"

Lower Manistee River (below Tippy Dam)

Posted by Jeanne Kraimer - March 14, 2012
Lower Manistee River in the Fall

October Morning on the Manistee

Tippy Dam is known for its migratory runs of Steelhead and Salmon. The dam itself is the upper boundary of these great game fish that leave the big water of Lake Michigan and return to their natal river to take part in their spawning mission. Beyond steelhead and salmon, anglers will find healthy populations of both Brown & Rainbow Trout and Smallmouth Bass.

The river below the dam is some of the widest water in the state, varying from 200 – 300 feet in width. Depths vary depending on run, pool, tail-out relationship but all wading anglers will want to be cautious when on foot — especially in times of stained run-off conditions.

Lower Manistee River Below Tippy Dam

Spring Below Tippy Dam

Much of the land adjacent to the river is USFS property and is open to the public. As you move downriver and approach the High Bridge access and Bridge, private property becomes intermixed.

Those fishing the Manistee are typically best served fishing from a boat as not only is it a strong and often deep river, but a lot of submerged logs can trip you up, a reminder of the lumbering days of northern Michigan.

The Fish
Salmon

Lower Manistee - King Salmon

Chinook / King Salmon

Most anglers have heard of “The Big River” from stories told by a friend or articles in magazines. This river simply has one of the best salmon runs in the lower 48 states. Chinook (King) Salmon are the most common salmon, but Coho (silvers) numbers seem to be getting stronger each year.

While snagging was once legal years ago, the practice is no longer legal or acceptable. With the big fish come some crowds, so having the place to yourself isn’t a problem in the Spring and Fall. There are sections of the river that tend to be less populated and are some of my favorite sections.

Frankly, there are plenty of fish to go around in the Big Manistee.

Fall Steelhead

Lower Manistee River Fall Steelhead

Fall Steelhead

The Fall Steelhead follow the salmon into the river each year at the end of September and continue to build in numbers through the fall. When water temperatures are good and water/river levels are strong after a fall rain – things only get better. Hooking a fall steelhead that has been living on a steady diet of salmon eggs in 50-degree water can give you the hardest, most unpredictable and spastic fight you can imagine a freshwater fish could provide.

Throughout the winter anglers will find fall fish that become characterized as “winter fish.” With those hold-over fish comes trickles of new fish throughout the winter months, and those looking to get a cabin-fever-reliever can find some fish to play the game while getting away from the four walls that seem to close in on us during the Fall Steelhead winter months.

Spring Steelhead

Lower Manistee - Spring Steelhead

Spring Steelhead

Spring Steelhead are typically in the river system in good numbers from Mid-March through the first part of May. Fish that entered in the fall and winter join the newly arrived fish with their intent to spawn and thus the number/population of fish in the river are at their highest.

A Right of Spring, fishing for steelhead is one of the best times for people to get into steelhead and after a winter spent indoors, it feels good to get fishing again. Look for a warm rain to bring up the water temps and levels bringing up a fresh a “run” of fish in the river.

Read more about Steelhead here »

Brown Trout

Lower Manistee River Trout Fishing

Brown Trout

Throughout the spring steelhead run, anglers usually find their fly rods bent, but not by the sheer weight of a Steelhead alone. There is a healthy population of Brown Trout in this section of the river that remains here all year. And why should they leave? The dam itself creates a tail water fishery which equates to a food factory.

Large populations of scuds and sowbugs provide a healthy diet for the fish when the midges and baetis aren’t around. In the spring and fall there are literally thousands of pounds of eggs drifting down the river from spawning fish for the trout to eat.

If that isn’t enough, there are lots of fry from steelhead, Lower Manistee - Trout Food - Match the Hatchsalmon, suckers and walleye which makes this fishery an all-you-can-eat fish dinner for the resident trout. Ever see a trout with stretch marks? This is the place where they live.

Trout fishing below Tippy Dam is scenic, solitary and peaceful river setting compared to the spring and fall seasons when the migratory fish are in season. Fishing remains good until early July when water temperatures become dangerous for trout survival but turn optimal for Smallmouth Bass.

Smallmouth Bass

Lower Manistee - Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth Bass

Smallies migrate into the river in mid-June as water temps increase and provides both great streamer and top-water action through August. Targeting woody structure and rocky drop-offs, these “bronzebacks” are fun to watch as you feed them a fly. And once hooked, they pull hard and often throw in a couple of jumps to make it more fun.

Gaudy baitfish streamers one day, loud poppers and sneaky sliders the next offer the angler a variety of conditions during the warmer months making them a great alternative to trout fishing in the Summer months.

Read more on Smallmouth Bass here>>

Tippy Dam on the Manistee River

At one time the dam significantly fluctuated water levels on a daily basis when “peak electricity demands” required it. Through efforts of the Federation of Fly Fishers (Now FFI), Consumer Power and FERC, this now is a “run of river” where the amount of water flow above the dam is what comes out of the dam. This has helped eliminate some of the erosion and as a result has exposed a lot of gravel for both aquatic insects and natural reproduction.

Map & Directions

Tippy Dam is 25 miles West of the City of Manistee, just north of Wellston and East of Brethren 4 miles. Coming from Cadillac the drive is about 40 miles. It takes an hour from downtown Traverse City.

Map of the Lower Manistee River

Map of the Lower Manistee River

 

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The Betsie River

Posted by Jeanne Kraimer - March 13, 2012
Betsie River Bright King Salmon - Guided Fly Fishing Trips

Fresh Chinook/King Salmon as early as Mid-August

The Betsie River is located in Benzie County, 30 miles south of Traverse City, and is most known for its Steelhead and Salmon fishing. The river itself has a mix of sand, gravel and clay bottoms, and the depths vary from long shallow flats to short, deep, cool holes for fish to hold in. The river is anywhere between 30 and 60 feet wide and is relatively easy to wade when using common sense.

Because of the watershed’s composition, the Betsie River can be easily affected by rain and run-off, and this impacts the fishing. While these surges of water “muck-up” the fishing for a while, it is the catalyst that brings more migratory fish into the river — take the good with the bad.

Betsie River Fly Fishing - Near Traverse City, MI
The banks are mostly covered with trees, tags and other vegetation so those with a good roll cast will be the most rewarded. When fishing below Homestead dam you will find the highest concentration of anglers which is why I prefer to take clients to more secluded sections of the river. Regardless of where you fish the steelhead and salmon in this size river, you will find that landing them is challenging adding to the experience.

Salmon

Betsie River Fall Salmon Fishing

King / Chinook Salmon

Early runs of King (Chinook) Salmon helps extend the angler’s fishing season as there are typically fishable numbers by the last weeks of August and continues through the month of September and sometimes into October. Believe it or not, there are salmon caught in the Betsie sometimes into January, but few. Pools loaded with fish holding and waiting to move up even closer to their spawning habitat provides lots of fun and challenges for the angler with the fly rod. Imagine 20 pounds of fresh salmon in a small river with lots of logs in it – more fish are lost than landed adding to the enjoyment of this fishery I refer to as the “Betty-Lou”.

Steelhead

Betsie River Steelhead Fly Fishing

Double-Striped Steelhead

Eggs and nymphs (particularly small black stone flies, caddis, hex nymphs, buggers and b.h. hare’s ears) are typical flies used for the spring steelhead with either floating lines with and without indicators or bottom-bouncing with split shot on a “duck-and-chuck” set up.

Fall steelhead are much like the spring steelhead; water conditions are absolutely key to a good run. If the fish are close to shore at the pier heads in Frankfort and a good rain increases water levels, the fish come in eating salmon eggs their entire way up the river. Hint: Use lots of egg patterns for the fall fish.

Betsie River Fall Steelehad

Early Fall Steelhead

While there are trout that live in the Betsie, they are the minority species. Although I am not a biologist, it is my understanding that the Betsie’s water temperatures increase a little too much for healthy populations of trout, but I could be wrong — it’s yours to discover. When catching rainbows 6 to 10 inches long, treat them with care — these are the steelhead of the future. Each fall, anglers catch lake-run brown trout. These fish usually enter the Betsie in November and are caught by anglers fishing for fall steelhead.
 

Where

Betsie River Fresh Chinook Salmon

King Salmon

The Betsie River has a number of state access points including River Road, Grace Road, US-31 and Homestead Dam. The latter is the most popular as fish tend to stack up below the dam; however some fish do breach the dam. There is fishing above the dam, but it’s limited by the amount of state property.

Eventually as you travel upstream you will find the river is closed to fishing during the fall, winter and early spring and follows the traditional trout season dates. This upper water works as a sanctuary for the fish to spawn to ensure future populations of fish.

Betsie River Coho (Silver) Salmon

Coho / Silver Salmon

The Betsie River flows west and before emptying into Lake Michigan it flows into Betsie Lake, which is connected to Lake Michigan. A popular “port” for charter boats, Betsie Lake and its neighboring villages of Frankfort and Elberta offer surf fishing both on the piers and in the lake itself, all within a short distance of good restaurants when the fishing is done.
 
 
 

The State of the Betsie River

Betsie River King Salmon

Bruiser of a King Salmon

The Steelhead run on the Betsie was one of legend. After a dam washed out in the upper watershed years ago, the river has had to deal with a significant increase of sand and silt. This “erosion” filled up holes that once held good populations of steelhead which now temporarily stay in those “holes” before continuing to move upstream. Efforts by various conservation groups (Conservation Resource Alliance / CRA, Betsie River Watershed Restoration committee, Trout Unlimited and others) have stabilized banks to eliminate further degrading, and I am happy to report improvements based off of observing deeper water, better spawning gravel and cooler water temperatures.

Betsie River Fly Fishing Guide

Winter Steelhead

In addition, there seems to be better returns of Steelhead through the stocking program done in conjunction with the state’s Department of Natural Resources and a local conservation group. Other projects include rehabilitating access for fish to Dair Creek which should also increase successful natural reproduction of both Steelhead and Salmon.
 
 
 

Directions

The Betsie river is located in Benzie County 30 miles South of Traverse City, 10 miles East of Frankfort / Elberta and runs through Benzonia. The Homestead dam is located just outside of Benzonia and is a popular place to fish because of parking and access.

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Trout Fishing Manistee River near Traverse City Michigan

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Fall Steelhead Manistee River

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Bluegill, Panfish and Bass Fly Fishing on Local Lakes Near Traverse City

Bluegill / Panfish / Bass

Fly fishing for smallmouth bass Manistee River and Northern Michigan Lakes

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King Salmon Fly Fishing - Betsie River Near Traverse City

Salmon

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

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