Muskegon River Salmon

Salmon fishing was pretty good again today for Ed and Scott, they had a pretty productive 4 hours of float fishing.

Muskegon River Fishing Report

Another good day float fishing for Salmon on the Muskegon River was had today.  Here are Mark and Jim with a few they put in the net.

 

 

Kings

Float fishing for Kings has been pretty good for us lately.  Most of the fishing pressure is concentrated on the fish in shallow water leaving the fish staging in pool left alone except for the couple boats targeting them.  There are a limited number of Steelhead around and numbers should grow soon.  Look for Kings to keep trickling in over the next week or two with more Steelhead in tow.  Here are a few pictures of egg hungry Kings over the last week or so.  I will try to get back to the normal daily pictures but remember I said "try".

September Kings

Salmon fishing this fall has been a little more work than we are used to.  We have been catching fish every day but the number of fish is nowhere near what we had last year.  We have pretty much been sticking with fishing eggs under floats to put fish in the boat.  The up side to things is slower fishing means less boat traffic and with Michigan's archery season opening Wednesday there should be even less fishing pressure.  There are a few random Steelhead being caught in some rivers especially to the north and we will be after them as soon as numbers increase.  Bright sunny days and mid to high 70 degree weather for the last week plus has not been what we need to get whatever push of kings may be waiting to come but it is windy and raining as I type so it could still get good.  Below are a couple pictures of Kings we have put in the net over the last week or so since my last report.

This was a crazy looking fish

Michigan King Salmon

We are back in Michigan and on the river chasing King Salmon.  We have been primarily float fishing eggs the last few days but have hit a few fish casting crank baits as well.  The fishing is by no means "on fire" but we are hooking a decent number of fish each day.  Boat traffic has been light most likely due to slower fishing than everyone is used to.  The fish are fighting hard and looking for cover so a heavy drag and good leader has been the only way to put them in the net.  Most rivers should have fishable numbers within the next week which should keep any one spot from getting too congested with boat traffic.  Openings are on the lighter side but if you are looking to get out for Kings or Steelhead this fall don't wait any longer to get a day booked.  Here are a few pictures from the last couple days.

September

Well it's September already!!  Fishing on the rivers of South West Alaska had been outstanding, the silvers showed up in huge numbers in every river we fish this year making for easy scheduling and happy fishermen.  I will be headed back to Michigan in 1 week and start King Salmon trips on the 15th of September.  Openings are very limited but for anyone interested in hitting the river for Michigan Kings I have some days available for 4 or 5 hr evening trips.  Steelhead dates are almost gone as well so don't wait any longer, I have 1 boat available due to cancellation on October 13, 14, 15, 17, 19 and 20 which are great dates also November 20, 24, 26 and 30 are available.  Reports of big Steelhead are coming from Lake Michigan again this summer so hopefully we will have a repeat of last fall with numerous fish weighing in the mid to upper teens.  I have been on and off the water up here with a bad knee so pictures of me on crutches are not as much fun as fish but here are a couple.

A couple Goodnews River Coho.

Topwater action on the Togiak.

Almost August

Wow have I been slacking on the reports this summer!!  It's been a busy one and I have a lot more on my plate with the Head Guide title.  Fishing has been pretty good overall, water levels are ultra low across Bristol Bay due to a lack of snow pack this winter, add a warm sunny summer with very little rain and the fish run out of places to hide.  The King run has been slower than normal because of this, we are still catching them but instead of big pushes of fish they have just trickled in all season.  Dolly Varden are here in force gorging on salmon eggs along with the rainbows.  Silvers are starting to show up and it is an even year so that means those pesky pink salmon, but they can save the day while we wait for silvers to show up in the masses.  I have a handful of openings for Kings and Steelhead this fall in Michigan so let me know soon if you want a day or two as they will surely be gone before you know it.  Here are a few pictures from recent days.