Muskegon River Fishing Report

Steelhead fishing on the Muskegon River was good again today.  John was in town from Arizona for a wedding yesterday and decided to book a half day Steelhead trip on the Muskegon River.  We got a pretty late start of around noon after last night's festivities but the bite was good even in the bright afternoon sunshine.  We caught a bunch of big bellied hens and a few nice bucks as well, none of the fish were chrome but none were very dark either.  I have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday open this week for anyone that wants to chase down some Great Lakes Winter Steelhead on the Muskegon or Pere Marquette River  (616)204-4999.  John is below with a few of this afternoon's Steelhead he caught back bouncing spawn on the Muskegon River.

2/19/2012  John with a plump hen.

2/19/2012  The weather was fantastic this afternoon.

2/19/2012  This buck had an interesting lamprey scar on his back. 

2/19/2012  There seems to be plenty of these fat and sassy hens around.

 

Pere Marquette Steelhead

Winter showed up again today in a big way, the temp went from 30 at 8:00 am when we left Newaygo to 17 by 2:00 pm when we were leaving Baldwin!!  The wind was blowing the snow in sideways and our centerpins were freezing up but the bite was steady for the short time we spent on the water.  With the forecasted cooler weather over the next couple nights we could run into shelf ice and slush flows in the rivers of West Michigan but we will be fishing through it no doubt.  Jim, Drew and myself with a couple Steelhead caught float fishing the lower Pere Marquette River.

2/10/2012  A nice buck I caught right at the end of our day.

2/10/2012  Drew with a hefty hen.

2/10/2012  Jimmy with a Pere Marquette Steelhead on a cold windy day.

 

Super Sunday Steelhead

Fished a 5 hour half day with Tom and Jim today and the fishing was pretty good.  Back bouncing spawn was the method of choice.  Boat traffic was pretty light compared to the last few days.  I am down to tuesday and friday open for this next week for anyone interested in getting out on the river.  Below are a few pics from yesterday and today's half day trips.

2/5/2012  A healthy winter buck.

2/5/2012  Not to be outdone by Tom, here is Jim with a good one.

2/5/2012  Muskegon River Steelhead.

2/5/2012  Back bouncing spawn for Steelhead. 

2/4/2012  Michigan Winter Steelhead on a sunny day.

2/4/2012  A healthy Muskegon River hen.

2/4/2012  Michigan Steelhead fishing.

  

Muskegon River Steelhead

Steelhead fishing has been very good over the last week and today was no exception.  Ed and Fritz hooked into good numbers of Steelhead float fishing and back bouncing today, we also caught so many trout they were almost a nuisance.  Boat traffic was pretty heavy but there are plenty of fish to go around.  My next openings are tuesday, wednesday and friday of next week if anyone wants to get out and enjoy the mild winter weather and great Steelhead fishing.  Ed and Fritz are pictured below with a few of today's Steelhead.

2/3/2012  Ed with a plump hen.

2/3/2012  Fritz with a colored up Winter buck.

2/3/2012  The mid Winter bite has been good.

2/3/2012  Lots of Steelhead in the upper Muskegon around Pine St.

  

Muskegon River Steelhead Fishing

Steelhead fishing has been outstanding on the Muskegon River the last few days.  Water level is above normal for this time of year and holding nice color.  With the exception of today boat traffic has been minimal.  Mild weather over the next week should keep the fish on the bite so give me a call if you want to get out of the house and catch some Steelhead.  Pictured below are Jim, Luke, Kurt, Kris and myself with just a sampling of the fish we caught float fishing over the last few days.

2/1/2012  Jim with a nice buck from this morning.

2/1/2012  Kurt with a Muskegon River Steelhead.

2/1/2012  Luke with a Michigan Winter Steelhead

2/1/2012  Jim and Kurt with a double header and yes Luke is fighting another one!!!

2/1/2012  Chalk one up for me.

A triple Luke, Jim and myself put to the net!!!

Jim with a very nice hen.

Kris got manhandled by this fish.

Jim with another noteworthy Steelhead.

Float fishing was great!!!

Kris and myself with a Brown Trout / Steelhead double header.

Jimmy hooked up right as Kris was letting this fish go.

Muskegon River Steelhead

The rain turned the river to chocolate milk today but we were able to sneak in a few fish before it got too bad.  Denny and Josh are pictured below with a couple Muskegon River Steelhead on a rainy January day.

1/23/2012  Josh's first river Steelhead, a grreat chrome hen!!

1/23/2012  Denny with a hen caught back bouncing spawn.

Pere Marquette River Steelhead

After breaking through 2+ inches of shelf ice at the boat ramp we spent the day dodging chunks of ice and slush but put some nice fish to the net in the process.  Water temp was 31.6 degrees when we started and peaked out at 31.9 degrees mid day before dropping back to the origional temp.  We did run into an unpassable ice jam and had to turn around before fishing some very productive water but all in all it was a great day on the river fishing for Winter Steelhead in Michigan.  Craig and Daniel are pictured below with a few Winter Steelhead from the Pere Marquette River today.

1/22/2012  Craig with a nice hen from this morning.

1/22/2012  Daniel with a Winter Buck.

1/22/2012  Back bouncing spawn on the Pere Marquette River.

1/22/2012  Daniel with a Winter Steelhead while the sun was shining.

Winter Steelhead

1/17/2012  Dale with a great Winter buck Steelhead.

1/17/2012  Mark with a bright mid January male.

Michigan Winter Steelhead

It finally looks like Winter here in Michigan with a fresh blanket of snow.  Winter Steelhead fishing has been pretty good and with some cold weather settling in most days should be spent with little to no other boat traffic as more people should be hitting the hard water.  Jimmy B. and I got out for a few hours today and caught some Steelhead float fishing.

1/14/2012  Jim with a chrome Winter buck from the Muskegon River.

1/14/2012  Michigan Winter Steelhead from the Muskegon River.

Muskegon River Winter Steelhead

Had a productive half day trip on the Muskegon River with Deb and her son Mike today back bouncing spawn for Steelhead.  We had the river completely to ourselves!  These two had not been Steelhead fishing before and both did a fine job putting some nice Steelhead in the net, a fair number of fish did a good job of getting rid of the hook before we could get a net under them as well.  Besides pretty windy conditions the weather was great and looks to be good for most of the week if anyone wants to get out before real winter sets in. Deb and Mike are pictured below with a few of today's Steelhead.

1/9/2012  Deb with a chrome Winter Steelhead.

1/9/2012  This fish fought very well in the 35 degree water.

1/9/2012  Back bouncing spawn for Muskegon River Steelhead.

1/9/2012  Mike didn't let this fish manhandle him like the other big buck did.

Muskegon River Winter Steelhead??

It sure felt like Spring on the river today, I even had a honey bee land on my water bottle!!  Mark is pictured below with some nice April in January Steelhead.

1/6/2012  Mark with a nice Muskegon River buck.

1/6/2012  The weather was fantastic today!!

1/6/2011  Muskegon River Steelhead.

1/6/2012  January chrome caught back bouncing spawn.

Grand River Steelhead

After a full week off from fishing I hit the Grand River for a few hours this morning with some buddies, we caught half our fish float fishing and the other half back bouncing spawn.  We found ourselves overdressed as the sun came up and I fished in a t-shirt for about 45 minutes!!  The weather looks pretty mild over the next week and there are plenty of Winter Steelhead around so give me a call if you want to get out on the water before winter actually shows up.

1/5/2012  Kris with a Grand River Steelhead.

1/5/2012  Michigan Winter Steelhead from 6th St. Dam in Grand Rapids.

1/5/2012  Jim with another downtown buck.

1/5/2012  A helthy male caught float fishing.