River Conditions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 !!!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

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.