Dropback Steelhead Fishing

Fishing for dropback Steelhead in the Muskegon River has still been producing some action but the fish are scattered and numbers are on the decline.  I have not seen any pre spawn Steelhead in weeks and while there are some fish still sawning in the upper sections I am not sure there are enough to recharge the dropback fishing back to what it was the past few weeks.  At any rate we will keep fishing for the biters that are here until they are all gone. Below are a few pictures of Steelhead caught back bouncing from the last few days.

Muskegon River Steelhead

Despite a very large number of our Spring fish getting their job done in mid to late March this spring the Steelhead numbers are respectable in the Muskegon River.  Back bouncing in the deep water has been good and for the guys looking to fish shallow there are enough fish around with a few select areas being better than others.  Below are a few pics from some recent back bouncing days.

4/21/2012  Ed with a very healthy dropback Steelhead from today.

4/21/2012  Fritz with a nice Steelhead caught back bouncing today.

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4/21/2012  Dropback fishing is still holding on. 

4/21/2012  Another nice hen from today.

Dan with a dropback Steelhead from a recent afternoon trip.

The dropbacks were hanging close to spawners on this day.

Bright sunny skies and the Steelhead bit was fine.

Afternoon fishing has been good.

Steelhead Fishing in the wind

It was a very windy day on the Muskegon River today making for some difficult back bouncing conditions.   Dave and Dan did pull through with a few nice fish despite the tough conditions.

4/16/2012  Dave with a nice Steelhead from today.

4/16/2012  Dan is on the board.

4/16/2012  Back bouncing for Steelhead.

Michigan Steelhead Fishing

Steelhead fishing is still good for us on the Muskegon River, dropbacks are plentiful and traffic is minimal.  Ed is pictured below with a few he caught back bouncing today.

4/15/2012  Ed with a nice dropback Steelhead.

4/15/2012  Steelhead fishing has been great.

4/15/2012  The sun came out for a while but the camera was a bit wet from the rain.

4/15/2012  Back bouncing for dropback Steelhead.

Muskegon River Steelhead

Steelhead fishing was action packed today with well into double digits landed before noon and the action kept up after lunch too!!   Dan and Bob went home with sore arms after their first time back bouncing spawn for Steelhead on the Muskegon River.

4/14/2012  Dan with a great buck that went nuts when he hooked it.

4/14/2012  Bob with a chrome dropback Steelhead.

4/14/2012  These fish were on fire today.

4/14/2012  Bob with a very healthy fish from today.

 

Spring Steelhead Fishing

Dropback fishing continues to be great on the Muskegon River.  Pete and Dan are pictured with a few from today and Mark with a couple of yesterday's fish.

4/13/2012  Dan with a bright chrome dropback Steelhead.

4/13/2012  Pete with a nice hen from today.

4/13/2012  Back bouncing for dropbacks has been great.

4/13/2012  These fish are bouncing back into great shape after spawning.

Back bouncing spawn for dropback Steelhead has been consistently productive and should continue to be as long as there are good numbers of fish in the upper river.  There are still fair numbers of pre spawn fish being caught in  the upper sections as well which is very good news for the longevity of our season.  Brian and Chris from Columbus, OH are below with a few dropbacks from this bright sunny day.

4/11/2012  Brian with a great looking dropback Steelhead.

4/11/2012  This hen was actually plump and full of eggs.

4/11/2012  Fishing was good in the bright sun today.

4/11/2012  Chris with a Muskegon River Steelhead.   

Muskegon River Steelhead

Back bouncing for Steelhead was outstanding for us today, lots of dropback fish that are on the feed after spending the energy it takes to spawn.  A good portion of these fish are already looking very healthy again and a few even had us fooled into thinking we were on some fresh arrivals until they hit the net.  The good fishing should hold atleast through the end of the month or a bit longer if we get another little shot of chromers.  Ed did work on the Steelhead today, he is pictured below with just a few of the many landed.

4/10/2012  A good looking dropback Steelhead.

4/10/2012  This fish definately had us fooled into thinking it was right out of the lake!!

4/10/2012  Ed with one that was still full of eggs.

4/10/2012  Hens, hens, hens.

Float Fishing for Steelhead

Steelhead fishing was great again today, float fishing has been great for us as we are finding lots of Steelhead feeding in small pockets.  There are a lot of dropback Steelhead around but we are seeing a handfull of pre spawn fish each day as well.  Fred and Rick are pictured below with a couple of the Steelhead they caught float fishing today.

4/9/2012  Fred with a nice tight hen from a mid river pocket.

4/9/2012  Rick with a long dropback hen.

4/9/2012  This plump hen is just getting ready to drop eggs.

4/9/2012  This fish almost landed in the boat on it's third jump!!

4/9/2012  Dropback hens like this one are plentiful.

4/9/2012  Muskegon River Steelhead 

Dropback Steelhead

We decided to avoid the weekend fishing pressure in the upper river and go back bouncing spawn for dropbacks today, it turned out to be a great decision.  We did see a couple of boats but those were just joy riding enjoying the weather, no other fishermen!!  The fish we hooked today were on fire making long runs and getting some good air.  Tomorrow brings my only day off for quite some time, Happy Easter.  Chaz, Mike and Bob are pictured below with some of today's fun.

4/7/2012  Chaz with a dropback Steelhead from the Muskegon River.

4/7/2012  Mike with a hen he caught back bouncing.

4/7/2012  Bob had the hot hand in the morning.

4/7/2012  These fish fought like crazy today!!

4/7/2012  One of a few males caught today.

4/7/2012  Muskegon River Steelhead