River Conditions

Fishing Report - Sept 9 2009

With Charters on the lake keeping me busy and a couple of dates that opened up due to cancelations I have only been on the river a couple days...there are Kings available,but the fish are very spread out. Making it hard to find any type of numbers to play with. The plug bite has been the best,simply for the fact that you are targeting FRESH fish. The fly "bite" has been slow just for the fact that the fish that are up river are getting pounded.

There are fish spread from the lake to Baldwin. Look for some much needed rain and East/North winds to help the numbers and send the fish up river.

We have a few dates open due to cancelations and would like to get you on the water this fall.

Fishing Report - Sept 1 2009

Its September and this means one thing....the return of the King !

Fresh King Salmon are beginning to run into the lower end of the rivers and streams of west Michigan. Look for rivers to get the best numbers in the next few weeks,rain and east winds will help the most to increase the numbers of fish in the systems.

We have a few dates open due to cancelations and would like to get you on the water this fall.

Fishing Report - August 21 2009

The smallie fishing continues to be going well on the river. The water has warmed up and dropped quite a bit allowing the smallies to spread out and feed in different types of water. Still the best seems to be 4-6 foot with large rocks and slower flows. Floating stick baits,poppers and flies are all hammering the smallies.

Due to cancelations I have some prime Pere Marquette salmon dates that have opened up, please contact me if you are interested in taking advantage of these prime openings.

About another week and a half remain for me in the port of Ludington on my charter boat the "Hattrick" it has been a very busy year for us on the lake. I am looking forward to the simple fishing on the river soon. www.hattrickfishing.com If you are interested in getting on the alke for a day.

Fishing Report - August 6 2009

The smallie fishing has been great the last few weeks. Good numbers of fish in the 10-15 inch range and some over 17 inches. Both flies and light spinnig gear have been equally effective on the aggressive summertime smallies. The fishing should continue to be good for them until the Salmon arrive in a month or so.

We still have a few dates open for September Salmon on the Pere Marquette river,October Kings on the Muskegon and Fall Steelhead on the Muskegon River.

Fishing Report - July 23 2009

Wow....back on the river again ! It felt good to be back in the driftboat...running a simple smallie trip down the river. Running my charterboat with a 16 +  rod spread is soooo much more complicated !

We got into several nice fish,some medium fish and some small fish....a great time was had for sure. We threw both stickbaits and streamers and the guys did very well on both. Perch and solid yellow were the hot colors today.

Fishing Report - June 25 2009

Back on the river today !

The river is for sure in its summer mode. The water temps are up and the river is dropping. Smallies seem to be a little tempermental....one minute I am scratching my head wondering why we cant get the fish to go...the next you are getting doubles. Changing baits has been the key..once you find what they want its on ! Although we didnt get any monsters we had enough decent fish to keep everyone happy.

Fishing Report - June 13 2009

Finally back on the river after many trips on the "Hattrick" www.hattrickfishing.com

Recent rains have raised the river a bit and added some much needed color to the river. We floated a middle section yesterday and found the smallie fishing to better than it has been. We had lots of chances on a quick 4 hour 1/2 day and got several respectable fish to the net. Several smaller browns and bows also came aboard. We threw small stickbaits on ultra light spinning rods and the guys had a great time.

The dry fly fishing is still there daily,but the drakes do seem to be slowing down, still plenty of caddis and Iso's for the next few weeks along with drakes to get the trout looking up. Nymphing the deep fast slots will fish the biggest fish during the middle of the day. Streamers on cloudy-rainy days are a great option.

Now is the perfect time to book a 1/2 day trip on the Muskegon ! The best dry fly fishing of the eason is going on now. You will have a chance at fish over 20" everynight.

Fishing Report - May 26 2009

I spent a coupld days on the river this weekend with some die hard blackhawks fans...Sorry.... GO WINGS!!! The good news for them was that the Gray Drakes were going hot and heavy by 8pm on Sat evening and we had plenty of chances at very LARGE browns. These guys went from never casting dry flies to getting the fly to the fish, mending,drifting and hooking up some hogs! Only bringing a few fish to the boat...landing the big fish on light tippests was another story. Sunday we ran a AM trip and had good flyfishing first thing and then threw stickbaits for smallies and trout to fishing the day. Most of the smallies were on the smaller side, except this great 17 1/2 inch bronzeback.

Now is the perfect time to book a 1/2 day trip on the Muskegon ! The best dry fly fishing of the eason is going on now. You will have a chance at fish over 20" everynight.

Fishing Report - May 21 2009

The last of the remaining steelhead are finishing up their spring duties.....But the trout fishing is begining to take off ! There is decent evening activity up top with caddis,grey drakes and sulphurs. The salmon fry are providing the streamer fishermen with good chances at large trout during the mornings and cloudy days. Nymphing around gravel bars has also been working well.

I have been up in Ludington getting the Hattrick ready and spending a few days on the big lake. The spring fishing in Ludington has been nothing short of AWESOME ! Big kings have been the catch. If you are interested in booking a charter please contact me .We are running some great spring specials right now.

www.hattrickfishing.com for my charter info.

5 hour trout trips are only $200 on the Muskegon river.

Fishing Report - May 3 2009

May Steelhead still going strong !

 Recent rains have brought the river up once again and the fishing has been good for the conditions. There seem to be plenty of fish in certain areas and those spots are filled with several boats, it seems everyone is getting along pretty good though.

 We should have decent fishing through this week and then we will have to wait and see from there.

I have openings this week for either full or 1/2 day trips if you would like to get out and fish for some May steelies.

Fishing Report - April 28 2009

April showers have finally arrived

The fishing in the river remains pretty steady with a good amount of fish pressing up on the gravel. There are a freshies in the runs along with dropbacks. The higher water has given the fish a bit of cover and the fishing has taken off once again, I had my best day of flyfishing on the 27th in several weeks.

 Pictured is Greg with a nice steelie and 2 great browns measured at 18" and 19" both fat and healthy.

A good friend was fishing the harbor at Muskegon today and they did very well on fresh spring steelhead. This should be a pretty good sign for the upcoming month of May.

We still have openings for both full and 1/2 day trips for steelhead  and combo trips for steelies and trout.

Fishing Report - April 21 2009

Finally some steelhead weather.... 

Recent cloudy rainy days have improved the fishing quite a bit, we are seeing more fish spawning, but no huge numbers anywhere, they seem to be spread out pretty well. The best times have been early and late, with the mid-day bite the toughest.

Fishing Report - April 17 2009

Got sunblock ??

The fishing continues to be a struggle the last few days with our sunny bright days ! Where are our April showers?

We are hooking just  several fish daily and you have to really work for most of those. Gone this week are the easy ones. Make every cast count and be ready to deal with tough lock jawed fish until we get some clouds and rain.

Fishing Report - April 15 2009

Peak ? Prime time ? Judging by the calender it should be right about the peak right now.... judging by the fishing you would not guess that the last few days. There are a good number of fish in the system and with the right conditions the fishing is about normal. The biggest factor by far has been pressure on the fish and the SUN !! The sun does not help at all ! Water temps are in the low 40's and this has the fish spread throughout every bit of possible water type.. pools,runs,pockets,flats, and gravel bars.

The bite the last few days has been fair at most, today we fly angled for some spring chrome and ended up hooking only 3 fish and put 2 in the boat. Not anywhere near the fishing we had several weeks ago.

Fishing Report - April 9 2009

Due to a recent MAJOR increase in fishing pressure and clear bright days the fishing has gotten a little tougher. The morning bite has been about the same with several fish coming rather quickly most days ..but the after 10 am bite has gotten tough. The key has been to fish lesser known spots and to pretty much skip the prime time holes and runs unless you know you are the first or second boat in that spot.

Look for low light times to be the best until we get some clouds or more water in the river.

Fishing Report - April 5 2009

Wheeewwwww....the weekend is over !

This weekend was CRAZY!!! Saturday was possibly the bussiest day I have EVER seen in my 17 years of guiding. And the fishing showed this big time, Saturday am was fine , we managed several fish in the first few spots we fished, but as soon as most places were fished the bite got very tough or not at all. Sunday started out tough also but as time passed and things settled down the fishing was quite good later in the day Sunday.

We took fish on egg flies,stones and spawn this weekend. You just have to be in the right place at the right time. I am looking forward to fishing this week and the cooler temp should help prolong the run even more.

Fishing Report - April 2 2009

Ditto....Ditto !!! The fishing continues to be great !

 I had a chance to meet up with a long time friend ,fishing guide today and jumped at the chance to spend a few hours chasing chrome with a great friend Russ today. We fished about a half day and had more than enough shots at steelies today. We spend as much time bull$#%&^ing as we did fishing...Floats and spawn still getting it done, but flies have also been fishing well.

I still have a few PRIME dates available and would love to fill them up, If you are looking to have a great day on the water and catch a bunch of fish please call me before its too late.

Fishing Report - March 30 2009

Wow...has the fishing been great the last week or so !

The fish are very well spread out this spring which has helped the fishing I am sure. There are a few fish starting to spawn, but there are plenty of fish in the pools and runs also. Water temps are in the high 30's and the fish are starting to move into faster lies.

I still have a few PRIME dates available and would love to fill them up, If you are looking to have a great day on the water and catch a bunch of fish please call me before its too late.

Fishing Report - March 25 2009

The fishing continues to be GREAT !! on my boat this week, others are struggling big time though.

There are plenty of fish around but some of the fish have been in rather un-traditional spots. Tis the season I guess...thinking outside the norm has paid off for me the last few days.

I still have some openings and would love to get them all filled, please call or email for current dates.

Fishing Report - March 23 2009

It seems that I have battled out of my slump and have been able to get the fish to go again the last few days ! Lets just hope that I can keep it up !

The last 2 days have fished great for my boat, others have struggled to find them. The fish are well spread out but there are a few spots that hold concentrations. Floats and spawn are still out fishing flies by a large margin.

Pictures from 3-23 show what it is all about !! I had the honor of having a wonderful young steelheader in my boat and was impressed to say the least ! Austin managed several fish to the boat and lost a few, he had a BLAST ! What better way is there to spend a day away from school. He even hugged a fish ! Now that's dedication !

Plenty of chrome fish coming in ! This year I feel we will see great fishing through mid- May !

Fishing Report - March 21 2009

The river continues to flow at a higher level and the silver fish of spring are showing up daily.

We had great fishing earlier this week, but the last two days in my boat have been a bit of a struggle getting the fish to go. There are plenty of fish around but with the massive amounts of water they are spreading out very fast. The key has been to cover a ton of places and be ready when you get bit.

Floats and spawn are still the best option in my mind. Flyfishing has been a little slower but eggs and stones are producing fish.

Fishing Report - March 16 2009

Wow ! We are half way through March already and finally it feels like spring. The fishing looks to be a week or so behind as far as numbers go, but there are plenty of steelies in the rivers with a good mix of both freshies and some winter holdovers. Look for bigger numbers in the next few days to show up as the water temps rise a bit. Float fishing still is out producing the fly bite. But big eggs are getting it done as far as flies go. Fish hard and keep notes as to where you get your fish...then find more places just like those, that has been the key. High water is the perfect time to think outside the box.

Fishing Report - March 13 2009

FRIDAY the 13 TH !!

Took a quick trip to the river with Steelhead Guru aka Al "jigman" . We float fished and ran plugs through some likely high water spots and connected with a few spring steelies.

Fishing Report - March 11 2009

The recent pics were taken Tuesday afternoon and show the river flowing a bit high as expected. Notice the color line in the pic taken at Croton Dam launch site. The water coming thru the spillways is clear but the water coming from the Little Muskegon side is very brown and chalky looking. This should improve drastically over the next few days as the run off stops and the backwaters get a chance to flush themselves.

I am planing on running trips by the weekend the water should be settled down a bit by then. Cross your fingers.

Fishing Report - March 9 2009

Well, the rain has stopped and the river has come up a bit....not as high as I would have though, but I am sure we have not seen the crest as of yet. I have re-scheduled my trips for early this week, hopefully by mid-week things will have settled down a bit on the river.

The good news is that it is sunny as I type this and things will begin to dry out today ,we are forcasted to see a little precip this week but I do not think it will amount to much. Cooler temps will help freeze things up a bit also.

Look for a bunch of new fish to be in the river later this week !