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.

 

Michigan Fall Steelhead

Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River remains great.  Ken and Dale are pictured below with a few Steelhead from today.

10/30/2011  Ken with a Muskegon River Steelhead.

10/30/2011  Back bouncing spawn has been great.

10/30/2011  A nice Steelhead caught back bouncing spawn.

10/30/2011  Dale with a chrome hen from the morning.

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.

  

Michigan Steelhead Fishing

Steelhead Fishing here in Michigan is great and we are set up for an epic November on the Muskegon River.  Our method of choice has been back bouncing spawn but good numbers of fish are also being taken float fishing as well as fly fishing.  If anyone is interested in getting out I have November 3, 13, 14 and 16 open right now.  Mark and Rodney joined me today and found out just how good the Steelhead fishing has been, the bites were aggressive and the fish were hot!!

10/27/2011  Mark with a nice hen that was sitting close behind some spawning salmon.

10/27/2011  Rodney "got one!"  Mark "me too"  Gotta love double headers.

10/27/2011  Rodney with one that actually took the rod out of his hand when it hit!! 
He grabbed the rod again before it was gone for good.

Muskegon River Fall Steelhead

There are good numbers of Steelhead in the Muskegon River and they still have plenty of Salmon to sit behind for a free meal.  Water level on the Muskegon River is good right now at 1700 cfs but dropping slowly and clearing, water temp is in the mid 50's.  The fish are on fire right now flying out of the water and making scorching runs, fall Steelhead on the Muskegon River are the best fighting fish of the year.  Ed and Fritz put on a Steelhead catching clinic today!!

10/265/2011  This fish had Ed's baitcaster nearly spooled on the first run!!

10/26/2011  Ed and Fritz with a nice pair of Steelhead.

10/26/2011  These two tried a few times to cause trouble on the way to the boat.

10/26/2011  Fritz with a chrome bullet.

Muskegon River Steelhead

Dave and Rick are pictured below with a few Steelhead from the Muskegon River today.

10/25/2011  Rick was on fire today!!

10/25/2011  A great Steelhead caught back bouncing spawn.

10/25/2011  Steelhead fishing has been great.

10/25/2011  Dave and Rick with a double header.

10/25/2011  Dave with a good fish at 11lbs.

Michigan Fall Steelhead

Dave and Chuck joined me today for some Muskegon River Steelhead fun, they are pictured belkow with some of today's fish.

10/24/2011  Dave with an early morning chromer.

10/24/2011  Double headers have become more common over the last few days.

10/24/2011  Chuck with the first fish of the day in the fog.

Muskegon River Steelhead Fishing

There is not much new to report on the river, we are still putting up unbelievable numbers of Steelhead each day.  I don't know how long fishing can stay this good but we will enjoy it while we have it.  Mike, Barney, Tom and Gerald Joined Kris and myself today for some Steelhead fishing,  Barney and Tom were in my boat and had more fish than they knew what to do with, Mike and Gerald fished with Kris and they put a beating on the Steelhead as well.  This was Barney's 90th birthday present from his son and he caught fish like it was his birthday, he and Tom are pictured below with a few Steelhead.

10/23/2011  Tom with a nice buck from this morning.

10/23/2011  Tom and Barney with one of multiple double headers.

10/23/2011  Another Muskegon River double header.

10/23/2011  Barney hits the first one of the day!!

Muskegon River Fishing Report

Steelhead fishing has been very good on the Muskegon River this October and it only seems to be getting better.  Water level is very nice right now with good color.  There is still a good number of Salmon around and the Steelhead are taking full advantage of the eggs being deposited.  Boat traffic as expected has picked up this weekend but the bite was still very strong throughout the day today.  Brian is pictured below with a few of his Steelhead and a bonus Lake Run Brown Trout from today.

10/22/2011  Brian with a chrome bullet.

10/22/2011  A great Steelhead with the sun poking through the trees and fog.

10/22/2011  Muskegon River Steelhead Fishing is fantastic!

10/22/2011  Brian with a great Lake Run Brown Trout.

10/22/2011  Brian had an unbelievable day on the river.

10/22/2011  Muskegon River Fall Steelhead.

Michigan Fall Steelhead

Steelhead fishing was great again today even starting at 1:00 in the afternoon we had no trouble finding fish that wanted to bite.  Muskegon River water level is up just a bit with some color after the rain over the last couple days which should put some more Fall Steelhead on the move.  Joe, Dave and Hod are pictured below with a few of their fish from today.

10/21/2011  Hod with a chrome hen.

10/21/2011  I thought Dave was going to lose his rod when this fish hit!!

10/21/2011  Joe with a great buck Steelhead from this afternoon.

Muskegon River Steelhead

Had a cancellation today so I got out on the river for a couple of hours with a friend I guide with in Alaska.  Despite the forecasted wind and foul weather it was actually quite pleasant on the river this afternoon and the fishing was great.  There seems to be a good number of bigger than normal fish around this October and if November follows suit we are in for a treat.  Dan and I are pictured below with a pair  big Steelhead at 10 and 11lbs. that came back to back from the same run.

10/20/2011  Dan with a 10lb. chrome buck Steelhead.

10/20/2011  A hefty buck at 11lbs.

October Steelheadfest

This has been a well above average October for Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River thus far.  I will admit that I have been sandbagging on the fishing quality for the last 2 weeks but I have a good reason, when you get an early run of Steelhead and the only other fishermen you see are in your boat life is good!!  The average size of the Steelhead has been very impressive, normally we get an invasion of skippers, 16 to 20 inch fish, before the adults but this year we are catching lots of 5 to 8lb. fish with a handfull of smaller ones each day.  There have been some big fish mixed in as well and Ed caught 2 of the biggest in my boat today, 12 and 13lbs.!!!  I have a limited number of dates available for November and Steelhead fishing should be great so don't wait to call.

On another note, it was great to see our Michigan DNR patrolling the river today checking "guides" for proper licensing and safety equipment, I wish this was an every day occurance.

10/19/2011  Ed with a 12lb. buck steelhead from today.

10/19/2011  If 12lbs. was not enough here is one that pulled the boga to 13!!!!

      

Steelhead fishing at it's finest

The Muskegon River recieved a very good push of chrome Steelhead that all seemed to stop in the section of river we fished today and they were on the bite in a big way.  Long time customer of Muskegon River Guide Service, Gerald Magee brought his wife Andrea for her first time Steelhead fishing and she picked up on the program right away putting a nice 9lb. buck Steelhead in the net before we were a full minute into our first spot of the day!!  They both kept up the pace for the whole day hooking and landing enough Steelhead that I think it's best we do not even get into the numbers here.  Boat traffic is slowly starting to build though it does not yet reflect the fishing quality.  We are set up for a great fall season and I am looking forward to fishing with all of you who are on the schedule or will be in the near future.  Gerald and Andrea are pictured below with a couple of great Steelhead from today and a bonus fresh King Salmon.

10/18/2011  Don't let the picture fool you, she caught the fish but would not touch it!

10/18/2011  A healthy Muskegon River Steelhead.

10/18/2011  Gerald with a fresh Salmon from today.  Not a bad bycatch.

 

Muskegon River Fall Steelhead

Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River has been above average for the time since the first week of October, partly due to fair numbers of fish but the lack of fishing pressure has contributed to our great success as well.  The best place to find Steelhead has been in, around or just below gravel holding spawning Salmon where eggs are available, although over the last two days there has been a few fish shifting to other fall lies absent of gravel or spawning Salmon.  Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River should be great thru November and December. 

Today was the 8th and final day for the Aaron Day group from the UK, these guys had great fishing throughout the week with guides Gabe, Tim, Kris and myself, fishing the Muskegon River, Manistee River and the Pere Marquette River.   Thanks to Aaron, Andy, Andy, Martin, Dan, Mike, Lee and John for a great 8 days,  we are looking forward to next year.  Pictured below is John and Andy with a couple Steelhead from today.

10/17/2011  John with a heavy buck Steelhead.

10/17/2011  Andy with a great Steelhead from this morning.

  

Muskegon River Fishing Report

The Muskegon River is up just a bit with nice color after some rain over the last few days and there seems to be an increasing number of Steelhead in the system.  Look for more fish to come making late October thru November excellent fall Steelhead fishing.  Andy and Dan are pictured below with a couple chromers from today.

10/16/2011  Dan with a chrome buck Steelhead.

10/16/2011  Andy with a bright hen right out of the gate this morning.