Muskegon River Steelhead Fishing

Worked a 2 boat trip with David from Pere Marquette Outfitters today, Steve and his son Noah were in my boat and this was Noah's first time fly fishing and even Steelhead fishing for that matter.  He did a great job keeping up with dad who is a seasoned Steelhead angler by landing 5 of the 11 we put in the net today.  Congrats Noah!!  Muskegon River Steelhead numbers are definately down from a week ago but on days with little or no pressure there are enough around to make a great day.  Back bouncing spawn for dropback Steelhead is still a good option for those interested, casting rapalas for trout can be fun while occasionally producing a dropback Steelhead on light gear.  Now is the time to reserve your fall Steelhead dates, these are some of the most exciting fish of the year!!  Call (616)204-4999 or e-mail jeff@muskegonriverguide.com to reserve your spot.

Steve and Noah are pictured below with a few Muskegon River Steelhead from today.

5/21/2011  Noah with a nice steelhead from this afternoon.

5/21/2011  Steve holding a big hen from the Muskegon River.

5/21/2011  Noah with his first ever Steelhead!

5/21/2011  Muskegon River Steelhead.

Muskegon River Fishing Report

There are still fishable numbers of Steelhead in the Muskegon River at this time, we found fish still spawning and dropbacks in the dark water this morning.  If anyone is interested in back bouncing for dropback Steelhead, fishing should hold on for atleast another week.  Casting rapalas for trout is a good option right now and there is a good shot at dropback steelhead or two in the process.  I have dates available for Steelhead and Trout fishing thru May 31 then I take a vacation to the Florida Keys to fish for Tarpon before heading to Alaska.
Ed is pictured below with a few of the many Steelhead he landed on our half day trip.

5/19/2011  A plump hen that just started spawning.

5/19/2011  A good looking dropback Steelhead caught back bouncing spawn

5/19/2011  Still plenty of Steelhead in the Muskegon River with very few anglers.

5/19/2011  Muskegon River buck Steelhead.

Muskegon River Guide

Back bouncing spawn for dropback Steelhead was great with the cloud cover and much less boat traffic today.  Had a fun day with Scott and his dad Bob back bouncing for late spring Steelhead on the Muskegon River.  Numbers of spawning fish have seemed to drop over the last couple days but that just means more hungry dropbacks in the dark water!!  I have the next two days off then tuesday thru friday on the water to tenatively close out my spring Steelhead season, that is unless there are still fishable numbers of Steelhead which a few regulars will chase with me.  Alaska season in gettging close now, I can't wait!!  Scott and Bob are pictured below with a few late season Spring Steelhead  caught back bouncing spawn in the Muskegon River.

5/14/2011  Back bouncing spawn for dropback Steelhead was great today.

5/14/2011  Muskegon River Guide for Steelhead.

5/14/2011  This Steelhead was out of the water as much as it was in during the fight!!

5/14/2011  Bob with a dropback steelhead from today.
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Muskegon River Guide

There are still good numbers of Steelhead in the system, they can be found in and around gravel areas and in deep pools.  Boat traffic was more like mid April rather than mid May today so we decided to back bounce spawn through some pools after lunch looking for dropbacks and fish that were pushed off gravel by the boats and sun.  We found a few biters in the hour and a half we back bounced before calling it a day and pointing the boat at the ramp around 1:30.  Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River should remain good for another week or so especially if some of the boat traffic subsides.  I am going to dedicate the day to back bouncing spawn for dropbacks tomorrow as I am sure the traffic will not be less than today,  we will see how it goes.  John and Troy from yesterday morning, Ed from last evening, Mark and Jim from today are pictured below with a few Steelhead.

5/12/2011  Troy with a nice hen Steelhead.

5/12/2011  Evening fishing was very good with fewer boats.

5/12/2011  Ed with a hen from the Muskegon River.

5/13/2011  Jim with a great buck Steelhead.

5/13/2011  Mark with a feisty hen Steelhead.

5/13/2011  Dropback Steelhead caught back bouncing spawn.

5/13/2011  Spring Steelhead on the Muskegon River.

5/12/2011  John with a nice Muskegon River Steelhead.

Muskegon River Guide Service

I had the day off due to a scheduling error on my part, can anyone guess what I did??  I just had to try chasing some dropbacks down river to see how the bite was, I lasted about three hours before I decided I had enough hookups to say back bouncing spawn for dropbacks is the way to go right now.  There are still good numbers of Steelhead on gravel and dropbacks feeding behing them in the upper river but it sure is nice to go out and hook a bunch of fish without seeing another boat!!  Pictured below are a couple of this morning's hungry dropback steelhead.

Muskegon River Guide Service

Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River is good for mid May but boat traffic is higher than normal for this time.  Water level has dropped considerably and is slightly colored.  There are decent numbers of dropback fish available in the pools and still quite a few Steelhead on spawning gravel.  Ed and Fritz and I hit the Muskegon River around 8:30 today, we started out back bouncing spawn for the first hour and a half and found a few hungry dropbacks and fought through the army of trout gobbling up our bait.  Around 10:00 we switched gears to fly fishing and had good action for the rest of the day putting a bunch of fish in the net including a hefty buck that was 12 lbs. on the boga grip.  I have May 15 and 16 available for Spring Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River, back bouncing spawn can produce some exciting strikes with hungry dropback Steelhead call or email to get out and enjoy some nice weather and solitude on the river.

5/9/2011 Fritz hooked this fish back bouncing spawn and it was the best fight all day.

5/9/2011  Ed with the big fish of the day 12 lbs. on the boga!!

5/9/2011  Fritz with a colorful buck steelhead.

5/9/2011  Ed with a dropback Steelhead caught back bouncing spawn.

Mother's Day Steelhead

Ed hit the water with me for a half day this morning and we found plenty of fish to play with.  We hit a few Steelhead early back bouncing spawn and then switched to fly gear and bounced from spot to spot hooking fish in each spot we stopped.  With the amount of fish still in the upper river the dropback fishing should be good for the next 2 weeks.  Happy Mother's day.

5/8/2011  Ed with a colorful buck Steelhead from this morning.

5/8/2011  We caught this hen back bouncing and she was still tight!!

5/8/2011  Muskegon River Steelhead.

Muskegon River Fishing Charters

Muskegon River Steelhead fishing is still strong for May with a few chrome fish available and good numbers of spawners and dropbacks as well.  Water level has dropped to around 4,000 cfs and is clearing.  The way things are looking right now Steelhead numbers should hold on into late May.  Jim, Joe and Austin are pictured below with a few Muskegon River Steelhead from the past 2 days.

5/6/2011  Jim with one of many landed over two days.

5/6/2011  Joe with a chrome buck from this morning.

5/6/2011  Muskegon River Steelhead.

5/6/2011  Spring Steelhead.

5/6/2011  A big buck Steelhead.

5/6/2011  Austin with a nice hen.

 

Muskegon River Fishing Report

Back bouncing spawn was great again today, there was quite a bit more boat traffic to work around but the bite was still on in the bright sunshine.  Muskegon River water level has dropped to just over 5,000 cfs and is clearing with around 3 feet of visibility today.  We should be able to chase dropbacks throughout the river system for the next 2 weeks and get away from any crowds that may show up once they can see what fish are left on gravel.  It's almost time to head for Alaska and that means it's time to start filling the fall calendar, I have some dates left in late September for King Salmon and a few for late October and early November for those chrome bullet fall Steelhead we all love so much.  Our customers have grown to love back bouncing spawn for fall Steelhead so get your dates booked before they are gone, I have email capabilities all summer while guiding in Alaska so that is the best way to get your fall dates booked between June and September.  For those wondering I am headed back to Mission Lodge in Alaska's Bristol Bay region, this will be my 9th summer guiding in AK and I am looking forward to many more.  Jim and Alex are pictured below with a few Steelhead caught back bouncing spawn today on the Muskegon River.

5/4/2011  Alex with a nice hen, back bouncing is still going strong.

5/4/2011  Back bouncing spawn for Muskegon River Steelhead.

5/4/2011  This fish bit like a freight train.

5/4/2011  Muskegon River Steelhead.

5/4/2011  Jim with a very nice Brown Trout from this morning.

Muskegon River Guide

Back bouncing spawn was very good today, we had about 20 Steelhead hooked by 12:30 and landed half of them, we also missed quite a few short bites from aggressive Steelhead.  There was a mix of fish ranging from fairly new arrivals, dropbacks and fish that were pushed off gravel that were on the bite today along with more trout than anyone wants while Steelhead fishing.  The water took a big drop mid morning and is clearing but back bouncing should remain good until there are just no Steelhead available.  Pat and John are pictured below with a few good fish from this morning.

5/3/2011  John with his first Steelhead from the Muskegon River.

5/3/2011  Back bouncing spawn has been producing good numbers of Steelhead.

5/3/2011  This bright hen was still tight in skein.

5/3/2011  Pat with a nice hen from just below the Croton Dam.

  

Muskegon River Spring Steelhead

Fly fishing for Muskegon River Steelhead was great again today with Malcolm and Bill landing over 20 fish for the second consecutive day.  We landed a good number of hens that have just started to spawn, with the water temp hanging in the mid to high 40's the fish have not jumped up on gravel all at once, Steelhead fishing should last into late May.  Water levels are dropping at a snail's pace but once the river gets back to near normal flows dropbacks should hold long enough to proivide for another week or so of good back bouncing.  Muskegon River Steelhead open dates May 12, 14, 15 and 16 back bouncing spawn or fly fishing.  Malcolm and Bill from St. Louis Missourri are pictured below with a few Steelhead from this morning.

5/2/2011  May Steelhead Fishing has started out great..

5/2/2011  Muskegon River Spring Steelhead.

5/2/2011  A plump hen that can't have dropped an egg yet.

5/2/2011  Bill with a good buck from today.