River Conditions

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 !!

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 !!

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

April 11th

Today I was out with Ron N. and Jim F. Again, another great day in the morning with plenty of action till just after lunch and then they seemed to shut off. We found fish near spawning redds and in many pools. It looks like the spring push has finally made it. We landed 8, and all but one were chrome silver. By the looks of it, the fishing will remain solid well into May. Still prime dates this spring to be had!! 

April 10th

Fished with long time client Ron N. and his grandson Alex. Alex was out today looking for his first steelhead and he found it!! The day started a little slow but Ron got us started with a nice hen...soon after Alex answered with a beautiful spring steelie. We then lost a few before Ron put the last fish of the day in the net. Total was 3 for like 6 or 7. The river is VERY BUSY!!! Lots of traffic this weekend. Congrats Alex!!! Looking forward to our next trip.

April 8th

Today I was back on the home waters with Scott B. and Steve S. We were only out for a 1/2 day but that was all we needed to have a pretty good day. We had to change locations several times to locate the fish but the action remained steady but not fast and furious. The river still has plenty of color and has not fallen that much in the last 3 or 4 days. We still need the river to drop about 12-15 inches before the fishing really gets cranked up.

April 6th

Today I fished with Vince and Dave on the Muskegon river.......Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh good to be back on the home water. The river is still a few days out, but the conditions were better than the last 7 days prior. Visibility was down to 4-5 feet with the water seeming to drop this morning. Temps were near the 40 degree mark, helping to move a few winter fish near the gravel. We hooked into some very camera shy fish today with the days total 0-6 hookups. The word is that an area guide has been doing VERY well on the White river during this recent high water spell. Looks like it may be a good bet for the wading angler this weekend. The PM however is still a little slow, however, there are fish to be had.

April 4th

Today I fished with some guys all the way from England. Gary P. and Peter E. had been out several days prior with Pete H. fishing the Grand and the Muskegon with pretty good success for the conditions. I decided to take the guys on the Grand hoping that the dam would help concentrate fish during the high water. I was not totally wrong, we ended up hooking several, but only boating one. We did however witness plenty of action around us.

March 31th / April 1st

March 30th

Fished today with John T. and Glenn M. We fished very hard in very poor conditions. The river was still rising and the fish were turned off because of it. We did manage 1 steelhead and a nice rainbow on large egg flies. The river has risen about 18" in the last 36 hours, and gotten very muddy. Look for the run to be going full force as the water receeds.

Sorry no pics today.

March 29th

Fished with Jay and Kim today. We had to deal with rising and very dirty water....big eggs in brighter colors worked for us today. We ended up with 4 in the boat and a couple throw back walleye to finish the day. What a difference a day makes....it was a case of should have been here yesterday. Beautiful day on the river with these guys...we had a blast. 

March 28th

Fished with Jim (the fish) and Shane today. We started a little slow but once we gained momentum, we couldn't be stopped! Had a fantastic day and even caught a few in the high day sun....A task not easily accomplished lately. Mostly egg patterns and a fish or two on hex nymphs. The water started to rise around lunch and by the end of the day had come up a good 4". Nice pic of spring chrome....11.5 lb female.