River Conditions

Fishing Report - March 22nd

Had a great day on the Muskegon today. We fished bait today, so I had planned on doing a little better and we did. Proving that the fish are there but need to smell the bait as the water is still very cloudy. The water is still pretty high but is dropping slowly. Water temps are still around the mid-30's. Look for softer water and fish hard for the biters. The pressure on the river is coming up, look for the weekend to be busy.

Fishing Report - March 21st

Hit the Muskegon today for the first time since the big flood. We fished flies and had to work for our fish....mostly because the water is still very clouded. I believe that there are plenty of fish its just a matter of getting the fly in front of the fish. Huge egg flies in bright colors hooked all of our fish today. We landed 2 and lost several more. Look for things to get rocking once the water clears.

Fishing Report - March 20th

Just a quick report. We have been on th PM the last few days. There are fish around, but you really have to work for them. We have had our best luck with steelies on natural eggs and small nymphs. Several nice browns also taking interest in our offerings. The water is back to normal with just a slight stain. Back on the Muskegon for March 21. The water is still cold and high, but very close to being fishable. Look for a Big Mo report tomorrow.

Friday is still open 3/24 also 4/1 and 4/2....

Fishing Report - March 18th

Due to the recent high waters I had to cancel or reschedule trips thru Thursday of last week. I have been fishing the Pm the last few days and we have been managing a few fish per day. No big numbers have passed the weir yet, but that will improve big time with the next warm up. Most of the fish we are catching are mid winter holdovers. I believe many fish from the fall have already completed their duties on that river. The best files have been natural sized eggs in Chart.,Orange and Cheese colors. The normal nymphs have also been working.

As for the Muskegon look for it to start fishing by mid week. The water has only dropped a foot or two but it has cleared up considerably. This river should be great when the water returns to normal. Trips all week except Friday.

Fishing Report - March 10th

The river is rising and the fish are on their way. Plenty of new fish will be entering the rivers this weekend. The question is how fishable will the rivers stay? Try larger flies and brighter eggs for sucess. Look for a great fishing as the rivers begin to take shape in a few days. The word on th Pm is that the weir is on and very few fish have passed. Still a few days open so call or email soon for availability.

Still some openings so if your sitting on the fence give us a call soon.
Also it is time to book your summer charters as things will fill up fast as the weather warms.

Fishing Report - March 5th

Fished with Dave for a 1/2 day trip today again on the Big "MO".We really had to work for our fish today hooking up 4 times but only getting looks at the fish while they were still in the river. Very camera shy fish today. Sometimes fishing goes this way...I guess this is what keeps us all coming back. If it was easy everyone would do it! All and all still a great day on the river. Look for a fresh push of silver fish by the weekend. Crowds are starting to show...book a trip with us to get away from the crowds and have a succesful day. Sorry no pics

Fishing Report - March 4th

Today I was out with Mark and Bob chasing Muskegon river steelies. We had a great day, putting 5 steelies and many great trout in the boat. Also loosing a few...Egg flies fooled all the steelies, but the trout were looking for the small nymphs. Stoneflies are starting to become active and will influence fly choice very soon. You could tell spring is around the corner as fish and wildlife were very active.

Fishing Report - March 3rd

Hit the river with Dan S. We decided to try a technique a little different from the way I have been fishing. We spent a 1/2 day on the Muskegon river hotshotting for March steelies. After a couple of weak hits we finally saved the day with this awesome march male steelie. We had several hits but only stuck this one....The water is perfect and we are looking forward to a warm up next week. Trips all weekend watch for further updates.

Fishing Report - Feburary 27th-28th

Fished the last two days with a good friend and client Jeff B. The afternoon bite was the best on Monday and the morning bite was the best on Tuesday...go figure. There are a decent number of fish in the system both new and old. The water temps have been in the low to mid-30's and should warm quickly due to the fact that there is no snow cover to speak of. The stoneflies should be hatching any day now and this will get the steelies to key in on those tiny nymphs. As of late, egg patterns have still been producing the best. Try an egg and a nymph dropper to cover all the bases.

Open dates are still available for this spring but are going fast.

Fishing Report - Feburary 26th

Today I fished with a couple of compadres. It was nice change of pace to fish out of somebody else's rig. The conditions today weren't exactly ideal. The day started out pretty cold and it was mostly sunny. However, we hit it fairly hard and the fish came steadily through out the day. We were able to cover quite a bit of water. Traffic was quite light for a weekend. A couple of fish we hit were hot (including the bright fish I'm holding in one of the thumbnail pics). It was a great day on the water. This is a good time of the year to be out on the water...before the spring crowds start showing up.

Fishing Report - Feburary 17th

Cold...who said it was cold? Temps hovered in the low 20's. We fished Friday with a large group of 10 clients and everyone had hooked a few fish or two. We ended up boating 4 and loosing a few. The river was absolutely amazing to see, with all the ice on the trees and a light covering of snow it was something to see. We often put to much importance in the tally for the day and not enough emphasis on the surroundings we are lucky to experience. The river level are perfect and the pressure has been light during the last few trips. Book now as there are still dates open for the spring run.

Fishing Report - Feburary 13th

What do the a couple of the top guides on the Muskegon river do when they cant convince clients to go....... We'll we go out and put a whooping on a few steelies. We fished today from about 9 till 2 pm and put a pretty good butt kicking on ol' Mr. Steelhead. Also landed a really nice lake run brown. (rare this late in the season) Sure is strange how you dont even notice the cold,when you have a 10 lb fish on ! Spring is coming fast, Book now to take advantage of the special rates.

Fishing Report - Feburary 9th

Fished today with a good friend on an exciting but chilly day on the Muskegon river.Although the wind was biting it was'nt the only thing. We hit the river from abour 9 am till 1 pm and ended up with three and lost a few also. Some newer fish starting to show in the upper river.

Fishing Report - January 31st

Had a chance to hit the river with good friend Fred S. We ended up fishing the upper Muskegon due to the rising water caused by recent melt off and rains. In only about 3 hours of fishing we ended up landing several fish and loosing a couple too. The recent warmer temps have made it great to get out and spend some time on the river. Spring dates are going quickly so if your on the fence now is the time to call to reserve your dates this spring.

Fishing Report - January 25th

Just a quick update. I was out several days this past week and we were able to get into several fish each day. The best patterns have been very natural eggs and small nymphs...caddis,and pt's have been my best. Lighter tippets have also been fooling more fish as they are getting very smart. Another rig that has worked was using a brighter egg and a natural dropper. Still lots of fish being caught by my guide service so give us a call to set up a day or two. 200.00 1/2 days have been popular the last few weeks.

Fishing Report - January 10th

Ice fishing anyone??? Why go ice fishing when you can go steelheading....ohhhh yea....you can't ice fish because there is no ice! What month is this anyway??? The weather has been great for steelheading. As for the fishing it has been decent with several landed fish each day. But you must be willing to work a bit for them. With the higher water the fish have spread out making it very necessary to cover lots of water and keep moving till you come in contact with Mr. Steelhead. I have fished over 20 miles of the Muskegon in the last few days and found fish spread through all of it. Spring trips are starting to book but there is still lots of time to take advantage of the winter 1/2 day special.The weather forcast looks pretty decent for the next week or so....give me a call to get out and rid yourself of the mid-winter blues.

Fishing Report - December 29th

I hope everyone had a great holiday. And it looks like old man winter has loosened up his grip on us steelhead fishermen. The temps for the next week or so look pretty mild and would be great days to get out on the river. Look for a small push of fish with the river coming up and also the existing fish to become a little more active with the recent fresh runoff. Plenty of open dates the rest of the winter so give us a call to get out and get rid of those holiday blues. 1/2 day special 200.00 for 2 anglers and 5 hours of steelie fishing.

Fishing Report - December 2nd

Well, it is that time of year again. The banks are white and the rod guides are frozen! The good news is that fishing still remains very good. The recent rain hasn't hurt things. As a matter of fact, the river is up but remains clear. The some of the fish are quite silver and still have quite a bit of fight in them. Today the fishing started off a bit slow but eventually picked up and was very steady through out the day. Among all the rainbows and steelhead, we picked up a large lake run brown. It fought very well (for a brown) and had great coloration on it. Unfortunately, we had a camera malfunction so we didn't get a picture of it.

Fishing Report - November 18th

What month is it??? This week winter has moved in and it looks like its here to stay! The fishing has still been good to very good with some great steelhead being landed by my clients. This past week I had clients here from England! These guys are serious hard core steelheaders as we braved all sorts of weather from sun to freezing rain to sub zero wind chills and heavy snowfalls with out one complaint. With the number of fish in the river, it looks as the winter will produce some great fishing!

Fishing Report - November 10th

We the recent rains have done their thing! There have been decent numbers of new steelies in all the rivers, fish are starting to take up their prefered fall/winter lies and are still very interested in salmon eggs. So matching the hatch still remains your best bet! Most of the fish are running 6-7 pounds with a few larger ones. Look for the next rain/cool weather to bring in one more push of fish. Looks like we will have another great winter steelhead season so book now for the december 1/2 day specials!

Fishing Report - November 7th

Plenty of rain in West Michigan will really get the steelies poppin on most west Michigan rivers. The Muskegon has been fishing pretty steady with some really nice fresh fish and even a few colored steelies too. Salmon seem to be gone for the most part as the high water has flushed the steel from the salmon. Look for steelies to start taking up residence in their fall lies now and concentrating less on salmon beds. Still have Nov. 27 open. Egg flies still producing most of the fish.

Fishing Report - October 31th

Well, salmon season has officially ended for my clients. Just in time because many of the salmon are doning their haloween costumes. Although, it looks like most are dressed alike...black/white and some with the extra gooy white puss oooozing from thier sides. Looks better than many hollywood makeup artists could do!! Woohoo...time for the silver! The picture to the right explains all! Although steelhead numbers are decent they can be tricky to fool with all the feed in the river. Salmon numbers are still pretty good for this time of year, but myself and my clients are looking for the lesser populated species! Chrome bullets fresh from the lake and very aggressive takes have been the excitement this week!

Fishing Report - October 24th

Well the salmon run on the Muskegon looks to have peaked about the early part of last week, although there are still plenty of salmon to target. I have switched my focus towards the silver bullets that are starting to show in ok numbers. Recent mornings have produced several quick hookups with MR.STEELHEAD! Before we switched over to salmon. Look near salmon and make sure you are matching the hatch to have a chance with a silver bullet! Still a few openings in the next two weeks, after that the calendar is very full.

Fishing Report - October 18th

Well as far as salmon go, there are still plenty of them around on both the PM and some pretty fresh fish in the Muskegon river. As for steelhead, there are some of those around also for those that are willing to work a bit for them and know where the early fish are going to be. Egg flies, egg flies, egg flies, and more egg flies!!! These early fish are looking for eggs...so you may want to try something that looks or smells like an egg! I do still have a few dates this month and a couple left in November. December is also starting to book. This weekends rain will bring a good push of chrome in.

Fishing Report - October 8th

I have moved my guiding south for the next month as the PM has peaked and the Mighty Mo is just starting to fish well for salmon. There are great numbers of fresh kings in the river and it looks as if the Muskegon will be having a great run again this year. I still have several dates for October and also a few have opened in November due to some recent cancelations. Also I am offering a 1/2 day rate for the month of October....a great way to get out and fish the best part of the day.