River Conditions

Fishing Report - October 4th

Salmon season 2005...One to remember, first a slow start then a flood (the river was up over 14" for most of last week). Now the river is in great shape and it looks as if this week the run will reach its peak. There are fish in every section and in every stage of health; from skank dogs to fresh very nice fish. There have also been several steelies hooked this past week. One last note....the color is starting on the river and it looks amazing! Plenty of salmon fishing still remaining this October and I do still have many openings in the next two weeks.

Fishing Report - September 19th

Well..well..well....There has been a increase in the numbers of salmon since the last report. By no means is the river full, but if you cover enough water you will find a pod or two. Every section is fishing just about the same with the salmon moving quickly towards the fly water of the PM. One day they are in a hole next day they are gone. October looks to be a great month with the PM looking to peak a little later than normal. There are still some dates left for salmon in October and also several open in later October for CHROME!!!! AKA Steelhead !!!

Fishing Report - September 12th

Well.............Here it is almost mid september and no big run in the river as of yet???? The fish are trickling in and most of the new fish are very dark already...looks as if they are staging in the lake for a while before they run the river. I have been fishing the lower river and only hooking a handful each day. Not like the good old days as of yet, but that can all change very fast as rain and cooler temps are on their way. OCTOBER MAY BE THE HOTTEST KING SALMON MONTH IN 2005!!! As for the BIG Lake...there are still great numbers out there with my recent charter clients enjoying much better fishing than the river.

Fishing Report - September 7th

The salmon are in a very slow trickle mode. I covered more than 30 miles of the PM in the last two days and have not found a good concentration in any area we fished. Very slow best describes the salmon fishing on the river. We did hook several on the 6th. but today was much slower. The lake however is still fishing awesome! Looks like October will still have plenty of Salmon action! Plenty of dates available!

Fishing Report - August 26th

Salmon season 2005 has started!!!
Floated a lower streach. There are very low numbers in most pools..many with 0-1 fish. We did find a pool with several fish and hooked about 8 fish. A beautiful steelie took our offering late in the day making it a pretty good day out. Landing a couple Kings and a 30" summer run steelie.

Fishing Report - August 10th

The fishing on the lake has been awesome !!!!!

Lots of Kings in the catch has been the norm...with the 4 yr. old adults making their way near shore to gorge themselves for the big run up the river. The morining bite has been very fast and furious with plenty of action to be had. Lots of openings this month before the river fishing kicks off.

The river has been great for smallies with a few trout being mixed in on a daily basis. Streamers, poppers, and light spinning gear are taking most of my clients fish.

Fishing Report - July 18th

Great news! The boat has passed all of its inspections and is ready to go. Salmon fishing on Lake Michigan is awesome in August.

Email for rates and availablity.

Fishing Report - July 10th

The smallmouth fishing on the Muskegon has been the hot bite as of late! Plenty of action with smallies running between 9-16 inches. The mornings have also been producing a few nice browns and bows. Streamers have been the fly of choice for the bass with minnow and crayfish imitations fooling the bulk of the fish. The PM has been fishing great also with the terrestrial season in full swing....the good ol' standby hopper -n- dropper setup bringing some really nice browns to the net. The flies only stretch has been the best as long as the canoe traffic is down...early and late for the best fishing.

As far as the big lake goes...being at the mercy of the DNR is tough...with trying to finish my inspections not happening due to the schedules of the inspectors. Still planning on running some trips on the lake this summer, so please keep this in mind. The best fishing is yet to come when the mature kings start to put the feed bag on preparing to run the river.

Summer 1/2 day rates are only 200.00 for all river trips!!! The fall is really starting to fill up so don't wait to long to book your salmon steelhead trips!!!

Fishing Report - May 29th

This may has been one of the coldest I can remember! The trout fishing has been a little on the slow side the last few weeks, but has started to improve drastically the last several days. The streamer bite is still good on the cloudy overcast days on both the Muskegon and Pere Marquette rivers. The hatches of late include caddis, bwo's, sulphurs, and there are even a decent number of grey drakes in the evenings. However, the spinner falls have been weak. Look for the fishing to get going after this week as the weather is finally starting to warm. Smallmouth bass are starting to show and should be fishing well in a few more weeks.

Summer 1/2 day rates are only 200.00 for 2 anglers either on the P.M. or the Muskegon.

My new boat will be in Ludington this coming week and I am EXCITED to start my new summer business! I will be completing my Michigan DNR inspections in the next week or two. I am now booking summer charter trips out of Ludington starting on July 1. Please contact me for more information on this excellent port for both fishing and vacationing. There is also the possibility of doing multiple trips while staying in ludington we can fish salmon on the big lake one day and then float the P.M. another day fishing trout. The salmon fishing the past month has been AWESOME!!! Don't miss out!!

Also Fall salmon and steelhead dates are going fast! NOW is the time to set up a date or you may miss out on the fall salmon and steelhead fishing.

Fishing Report - May 1st

Fished with Scott and his wife Marsha today on a pretty successful 1/2 day. We put 3 in the net and hooked a few more. Today is my last steelhead trip that was scheduled. The jet boat has been washed and stored till October and the drift boat has been cleaned out and is ready for trout and smallmouth this summer.

Now is the time to book your summer trout trips !!
Also salmon dates are going FAST !! book now for fall salmon and fall steelies !!

Fishing Report - April 29th

The fish numbers have really dropped off the past day or two. You can still find a few here and there, but mostly in the mornings. Look for the run to really taper off this coming week. Streamer time is here......book a day or two of trout fishing this coming month !!

Fishing Report - April 24th

Today I was out again on the Muskegon with Rich and his son Sean. The day was very windy but we were successful in landing 7 plus a 20" brown. We lost several more, but I guess the fish need to win sometimes. The river is dropping and the run looks to be about 10 days past peek.

Fishing Report - April 27nd

Fished with long time client Ron and Doc Jack. Jack put the whooping on several including this 12.25 pound spring male. We ended up putting about 7 or 8 in the net for a very successful day for late April. There are still fishable numbers in the system and should last through next week for sure, possibly through the second week of May. Great fish Jack!!! The third largest since October. Looks like the trout fishing should be right on this spring. Now is the time for STREAMERS !!!

MAY SPECIAL : MAY 2-30
COMBINATION STEELHEAD AND TROUT TRIPS ARE POSSIBLE
1/2 DAY 200.00
FULL DAY 275.00

Fishing Report - April 26th

Fished the Muskegon with Ken and his son Dave. We ended up with 5 or 6 in the boat, but we had to hunt and peck to find fishable numbers. The cloudy days are a big plus in being successful as the fish numbers thin.

Fishing Report - April 24th

Today I was out again on the Muskegon with Rich and his son Sean. The day was very windy but we were successful in landing 7 plus a 20" brown. We lost several more, but I guess the fish need to win sometimes. The river is dropping and the run looks to be about 10 days past peek.

Fishing Report - April 22nd

A trip that will be remembered for a long time today. I was lucky enough to fish with two great guys today. Mark and his father Bernie (who is 85 yrs. young by the way). We were out only for a 1/2 day, but we ended up with 6 in the net and several more hooked. I am sure this trip meant a bunch to the both of them. Had a blast watching this father/son team put the whoopin on several great fish. Here is a great pic of this father son/team.

Thanks guys!!

Still a few openings left
April 25,30
May 2-10

Fishing Report - April 21st

Today I was out with Dick and Gene. We got into a pretty good run in the morning and put several in the net in quick order. We ended up with 5 in the boat and lost 3 times that. The sunny days are making the fish very sppoky and you must go to smaller flies and very light tippets. A nice male with a little silver caught by Gene.

Fishing Report - April 20th

Out today with Don and Dennis G we had a serious case of CLS (Can't Land $hit). We landed the first 2 hookups and then I watched as many, many more escaped the net. We finally landed the third just before lunch. After lunch we managed to hook several more but didn't bring them to the net. A great day on the river with perfect conditions..cloudy...first time in weeks!!

Fishing Report - April 19th

Today I was out with Jerry and his son Chris on the Muskegon River (again). We ended up putting 5 fish in the net, but we had our chances on many more. The run looks to have peeked last week, but there are still several weeks of steelhead fishing on the Muskegon. Several good riffles are holding spawning fish, but there are still chromers in the pools along with many dropbacks.

Fishing Report - April 18th

Again out with Ron and Denny, this time on the Muskegon river. Much better results and happier clients at the end of the day. We ended up with 6 or so good steelies in the net. Plus several that just eluded the net. Again no pics as I feel that keeping the fish in the river is most important. The river has fallen drastically and is too low now...Look for another good push with the rain this week..hopefully.Several dates still open.

Fishing Report - April 17th

Today I met Ron and Denny for another float down the pristine PM river. Another day where we did more looking and not much fishing. We did put a beautiful female in the net and a few trout. Plus we also had several fair hooked steelhead get away..Sorry no pics as I feel it is most important to get spawning fish back in the water ASAP. The water is very low and clear. Look for the last good push to show with the next rain.

Fishing Report - April 16th

Today I met John and Bill in Baldwin to try out luck on the PM. We would need lots of it to make this trip a success. We floated the flies only stretch and had to look very hard to find a few fish. We ended up hooking 6 or so....but never did get one in the net. We did manage a couple trout and enjoyed a nice boat ride down the river.

Fishing Report - April 15th

Ahhhhhhhh.....TAX DAY!! What a relief it was today fishing with Todd and Harry. We started at the crack of 8 am and got off to a slow start. The late morning thru the early afternoon proved to be the best for us today. We ended up with 4 steelies and a few trout in the boat today. Plus loosing our fair share. The pressure on the river was very heavy today. The Muskegon river looks to be the place to be.

Fishing Report - April 14th

Today I was out on yet another beautiful day...plenty of sun and warm temps. I was fishing with long time clients John and Mike. The day started well and ended well. We ended up putting more than our share in the boat and loosing more than we care to admit. It looks like the river will have plenty of fish till mid-May. A few prime dates still open.

Fishing Report - April 12th - 13th

Fished with a great group of guys the last two days. These guys were a group mixed with some experience and some without (at least to start). However, everybody quickly caught on and started putting fish in the net before long. I was out with Simon and Roger on the 12th. We quickly got into the fish, putting 5 in the net. Plus a bonus walleye and a great brown trout....in only 5 hours of fishing. On the 13th I was greeted by Roger, Gary and Rich. The action started a little slower than I had thought, but quickly gained momentum. In 5 hours we ended up with 7 in the net and several more lost.

Thanks guys, hope we can do it again.