Muskegon River Steelhead

Muskegon River Steelhead fishing has been pretty good.  Below are a few pics from the last 2 days.

3/26/2012  Alex with a nice buck from this afternoon.

3/26/2012  Fishing was great on our evening trip.

3/26/2012  Dave with a buck he caught back bouncing this morning.

3/26/2012  Gene with a drop back hen from this morning's trip.

3/25/2012  Ed with a bright hen from yesterday.

3/25/2012  Muskegon River Steelhead.

Steelhead Fishing

Here are a few pics of Pete and Paul from today, the river was busy.

3/23/2012  Paul with a chrome hen.

3/23/2012  Pete with a bright buck.

3/23/2012  Muskegon River Steelhead.

3/23/2012  This was one of several drop back hens from today. 

Spring Steelhead Fishing

There is not much new to report on the fishing, lots of fish and lots of boats.  Water is still up and has good color but is starting to drop and clear up, bring on some rain!!  Craig and Keith were with me today and put a good number of Steelhead in the net.

3/21/2012  Craig with a bright hen to start a great day.

3/21/2012  Keith with a great buck in the bright sunshine.

3/21/2012  Spring Chrome.

3/21/2012  Back bouncing for Steelhead has been great.

Steelhead Fishing

Steelhead fishing has been consistent on the Muskegon River lately.  Jed is pictured below with a few from today.

2/7/2012  Jed with a nice male Steelhead.

2/7/2012  A chunky hen.

2/7/2012  A nice hen Steelhead from the Muskegon.

2/7/2012  There are some fairly bright fish in the system. 

Muskegon River Steelhead



12/26/2011  Blair with a nice buck from this morning.



12/26/2011  Muskegon River Steelhead.

12/26/2011  A colored up buck Steelhead from this afternoon.

12/26/2011  Winter Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River.

Pere Marquette River Steelhead Fishing

The Pere Marquette River fished great today for Dan and I.  With the exception of one or two Steelhead just doing the old winter twist most of the fish we hooked were on fire, jumping and running for any cover they could find, including the boat where I did have one break me off after running under the boat and jumping on the other side before I could react!!  It felt like real Winter Steelhead fishing once the snow started to come down and by the time we were done everything had just enough snow cover to make you think it actually was winter.  The PM is in great shape and should fish great this winter. 

12/17/2011  Dan clowning around after landing the big fish of the day, 13.5 lbs.
"he wanted me to call it 14 but the boga said 13.5 sorry Dan!!"

12/17/2011  Yes that is me with a fish, I actually got to fish today!!

12/17/2011  Dan with a nice Pere Marquette River Steelhead caught back bouncing spawn.

12/17/2011  Pere Marquette Chrome!!

 

December or November Steelhead??

Following yesterday's rain the water level on the Muskegon River has risen to about 2,800 cfs. and has about 4 feet of visibility which is right where I like it!!  The fishing was good and the fish fought like it was November 15 not December, they were jumping all over the river and burning line off the reel like they were shot from a cannon!!??  We caught a good mix of bright chrome Steelhead and a few that were colored up and about an equal amount of hens vs. males.  Here is Ed with a few of the nicer males he caught today.

12/15/2011  This fish took Ed for a ride.

12/15/2011  Back bouncing for Muskegon River Steelhead.

12/15/2011  Chrome Muskegon River buck.

12/15/2011  Back bouncing spawn is great in higher water.

 

December Steelhead

Muskegon River Steelhead Fishing was very good today.  Pete and Stu did a great job hooking and landing lots of Steelhead back bouncing spawn.

12/13/2011  Stu with a nice Muskegon River Steelhead.

12/13/2011  Back bouncing spawn bags tied with Salmon eggs has been the ticket.

12/13/2011  Winter Steelhead fishing is off to a great start.

12/13/2011  A chrome bullet hen from the Muskegon River.

 

Muskegon River Steelhead

After the river turned to chocolate milk yesterday from swollen creeks I was not sure what to expect this morning, we drove into the launch to find much improved clarity over yesterday.  The river flow is now just over 3,000 cfs. and visibility is 5 to 6 feet.  Steelhead fishing was outstanding today as Ed and Derek learned the technique of back bouncing spawn, they must have put in a reservation because we were the only anglers in the section of river we fished!!  Fishing should be great over the next week or more with this shot of water and less boat traffic with the turn of the calendar into December. 

I sill have November 30 and plenty of openings in December for those wanting to get in on the fall Steelhead action on the Muskegon River.

11/28/2011  Derek with some Muskegon River Chrome.

11/28/2011  Ed with a colorful buck caught back bouncing.

11/28/2011  Back bouncing for Muskegon River Steelhead.

11/28/2011  November chrome!!

  

Happy Thanksgiving Report

The Muskegon River is still fishing very good for Steelhead.  The river dropped a bit today to around 1,500 cfs. and is clear, water temp is still in the 40's.  Despite low, clear water and bright sunny skies today the bite was quite strong, maybe it was the Steelhead's Thanksgiving feast??  Steve and Greg are pictured below with a couple of their fish from today.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.

11/23/2011  Greg with a bright hen under bright skies.

11/23/2011  Steve had to wrestle this big buck out of a very woody spot.

11/23/2011  Back bouncing for Muskegon River Steelhead.

11/23/2011  Steve with a nice buck caught back bouncing.

  

Halloween Steelhead

Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River has been very consistent, most years when you have a great day in a certain section of river you can see the effects the next day but this year they just keep biting and biting day after day.  Back bouncing spawn for steelhead has been our method of choice but fishing beads on the fly rod has provided some good action as well.  Ed put a beating on the fish today switching between back bouncing and fly fishing.

10/31/2011  Fly fishing with beads behing spawning Kings.

10/31/2011  This fish was taken back bouncing spawn.

10/31/2011  This buck was full of energy.

10/31/2011  Ed hit this fish within 2 minutes of casting on a bead rig.

 

Muskegon River Steelhead

Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River continues to be great, there is a bit more boat traffic on the weekend but if you just fish and don't worry about who is where you will do fine.  There have been some good sized Steelhead this season including fish up to 13 lbs. but one fish that Gerald caught today took the prize weighing in at 17 lbs.!!!!  Congrats on a great fish Gerald.  Gerald and Jeremy are pictured below with a few of the many caught today.

November openings 23, 28, 29, 30

10/29/2011  Gerald with his 17lb. Steelhead from the Muskegon River.

10/29/2011  Gerald and Jeremy with a double header.

10/29/2011  One more double in the last spot of the day.

10/29/2011  Jeremy with a nice male in the early morning fog.