Fishermen blame the moon, the falling barometer and even the sun for being too … sunny. Late November and December are great months to catch steelhead on the Manistee, Muskegon, and Pere Marquette rivers. Those who … They’re content to tie flies and spawn bags while watching the weather and waiting for word that the winter run has commenced. King salmon usually suspend in Michigan rivers, so half the depth is pretty accurate for salmon fishing. Michigan Salmon Fishing Report. Steelhead basics - IF The most popular way to catch steelhead trout is called backtrolling. Visit the Muskegon and Pere Marquette in the early spring and see what you can find. I usually use 15 lb fluorocarbon leader. Steelhead anglers in Michigan and the Great Lakes have a lot of choices when looking to stock their fly boxes. The Other day on Klamath river there were some hard hits but I wondered as I was only catching the rowdy trout, when here comes a steelhead flying out of the water almost in rocks- and what did he leave behind- a wriggling lamprey. Because the Muskegon River is a mid draw dam, the Muskegon River never freezes, allowing anglers an opportunity for good steelhead fishing throughout the winter months. Steelhead fresh from Lake Michigan are leaping, surging, chrome-colored bullets that will aggressively take everything from Spin-Glo rigs, gold Wiggle Warts and chrome/blue Hot-N-Tots to pink colored spawn bags drifted under a bobber, hand-tied leach imitations and fuzzy, peach-colored eggs (both in size 8). Did you ever wonder if steelhead in your favorite river are mostly stocked or mostly wild? Sometimes at the take, there’s a flash of unseasonal silver, a flash of light in the cold winter murk. ​. But I think what keeps me coming back year after year is the moment just before and after the strike. Michigan’s Pere Marquette River, and the White River near Hesperia are the first to go in March and Early April. How to rig the Thunder stick is the key. Steelhead fishing is a multimillion dollar sport here in the Wolverine State. Michigan River Steelhead Program. Spey fishing increases the time your fly is on the … I'm going to focus on how to troll for these fish in the early summer through the fall time period. And I can only think of a handful of times I ever saw him lose a fish. It also pays to fish longer sink-tips that will allow you fish your fly … Fly fishing is also a better idea if you’re fishing for steelhead in colder water where the fish are likely to be closer to the bottom of the sea or river. (Non-Native Fish) Two dorsal fins including one adipose fin, mouth and gums are light, small spots along rays on entire tail, 10-12 rays in anal fin. The simple rule is this: You can’t catch fish that aren’t there. Anglers looking for less crowded banks will find good forestland access south of the hatchery (along with a campground located almost right across the street from the hatchery on US31). Make your fly reel scream louder than ever with our crash course in … It is widely sought after and Steelhead are to freshwater, what a Tarpon is to saltwater, a superlative game … Presentation is key when you are using a worm. I now know that my Spey rod has helped me catch a lot more fish. “Huron River’s fall steelhead run can be comparable to many of the rivers up north and it’s excellent – probably because it’s not … Casting Thunder Stick lures for Michigan Salmon. Skein Fishing for King Salmon on the Pere Marquette & Big Manistee River below Tippy Dam is a very effective technique. Copyright © 2008 - 2021 Prism Publications, Northern Michigan Guides & Resources, Sharpen Your Steelhead Technique with This Fly-Fishing Tactic, Howard Tanner’s Influence on Northern Michigan Fishing, Video: Gourmet Gone Wild Grills Northern Michigan Salmon, Father-Daughter Northern Michigan Fishing Trips. MyNorth.com is the online home of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine, the flagship publication of MyNorth Media, a Traverse City, Michigan company dedicated to sharing stories and photos about vacations, restaurants, wineries, the outdoors and more from Traverse City to Sleeping Bear Dunes and up to Mackinac Island. Wearing nitrile gloves while handling eggs and bait certainly helps. You won’t typically see the fish as you often can on the crystal-clear waters of the Platte. It only depends on how far you’re willing to walk. And patient. After months of winter numbness, the quiet landscape lies in contrast to the wholly electric sensation of feeling a fish on the end of the line, a fish so totally alive against the backdrop of a season so totally dead. Use a fly rod to catch steelhead in deeper or colder waters. Northern Michigan’s DNR asks a question—Will you be targeting steelhead trout this fall? So the tactics aren’t going to be exactly the same all the time. Regardless of whether or not the fish are hard-to-fool holdovers from the fall or newbies in the river prior to the spring spawn, steelhead are always on the move and never stay in one place for very long. For casting long lines and swinging flies, Spey rods are great tools. Teaching children or newbies becomes much easier when the baitcaster spool is taped. These early fish stay put, gorging themselves on freshly laid salmon eggs while getting educated by anglers as they wait for the right conditions that encourage more of their kind to make a push upstream from Lake Michigan. Steelhead seem to ignore them if they are all balled up on the hook. (1) Remove the split ring on bill, then use a cross lock snap to your main line. The longer rod also gives you the option of using the lightest line possible (anywhere from six- to 10-pound)—important when fishing line-shy steelhead in shallow, gin-clear Michigan rivers in winter. Michigan Winter Steelhead – The Muskegon River offers the best steelhead fishing in Michigan. It’s also a very quick way to change lures or colors. Skein fishing for King Salmon in Michigan. Fisherman and writer Bob Butz shares the how-to of steelhead fishing in Northern Michigan. That’s what you’ll typically find in March when the steelhead run hits its frenzied peak. There you’ll also find his regularly updated fishing blog/report that gives advice throughout the year on what rivers are producing and what lure/bait combos Wolfe and his team of guides are using to bring fish to the bank and boat. Here are some pro tips, fishing hacks, and how to tricks for better salmon fishing in Michigan. Covering human scent is a major key in catching salmon in Michigan rivers. Hot tap water is best, when the line cools, it will take the shape of the smaller spinning reel spool and make for much easier casting with less twist. Fall Steelhead typically enter the rivers in mid to late October. Wolfe Outfitters can direct you to lodging opportunities at Crystal Mountain Resort or one of his other lodging partners. These strains … In this method, you need to use a small boat and hold it steady to manipulate the movement of the boat as you drag a lure or bait behind it slowly. Members of the Salmonidae family include salmon, trout and char. Think about being a charter captain or someone on the hunt for steelhead in Lake Michigan. To start there are 5 strains of Rainbow Trout in Lake Michigan. Captain Ben Wolfe, Traverse Magazine’s “Best of 2014” winner in the Charter Captain category, is also a topnotch steelhead angler who offers fly fishing and light spin tackle trips on the Manistee, Betsie, Platte, Pere Marquette and Au Sable Rivers. The cross lock is stronger and allows the lure to swim freely. Steelhead is a name given to migratory rainbow trout that are born in rivers but … All you need to do is: REGISTER at GLanglerdiary.org or download the iOS app; RECORD every river steelhead trip taken October-May; MEASURE each and every steelhead … Hold your newly filled spool under hot tap water. The other option is to head into the fray at places like Tippy Dam on the Manistee River and Homestead Dam on the Betsie River in Benzonia. Podcast: How to Catch Michigan Steelhead, with Frank Willets Author Tom Rosenbauer Posted on November 23, 2015 November 23, 2015 Categories Fly Fishing Tags fly-fishing for steelhead, fly-fishing podcasts, fly-fishing tips, michigan fly fishing. Steelhead can be hard to identify. In other words, a deep, dark waterhole that held fish one day might be devoid of life the next. This list of top 5 steelhead flies includes patterns that have produced for me and my clients over the years – both in spring and fall. Add a cross lock snap and a single hook. You can check the stream … But if anglers are present, you can be sure the fish are there, too. Drift the float rig set up through the holes and deep water for early season salmon on the lower Pere Marquette and Manistee River. Once the bait is on the hook never let it touch the floor of your boat, where it may pick up the smell of oil or gasoline. As a general rule, the rivers in the southern portion of the Michigan warm first, getting the first migrations of Spring Steelhead. Pro Tips for Michigan Salmon Fishing… Have you ever experienced line twist when applying new monofilament line to your spinning reels? We do a lot of plug-style fishing using Fenwick Steelhead Casting rods. Bobber and Jig Rigs Another classic choice for landing steelhead is through using bobbers and jigs. Fishing eggs for salmon is very productive. (2) Double Split ring on the tail hook. Scientific Name: Oncorhynchus mykiss. Thus allowing for longer, twist free, smoother cast!!! A good guide with a riverboat brings ready-rigged tackle, can show you how to use it and can even put you right on top of holes and into steelhead, even if you come to the launch in the morning having never cast a fishing rod in your life. This is most often associated with water temperature. The green leaves turn to oranges, reds and yellows and the salmon start their annual pilgrimage into the Muskegon, Grand and White rivers as well as and other tributaries. Join us on facebook! Salmon have a keen sense of smell. The Au Sable and Beaverkill River systems are great ones to visit when looking to catch Steelhead. It’s just another tool in the toolbox. Wade deep and cast far in low, clear water During low water periods steelhead will hold in deeper lies than normal. For as long as humankind has been fishing, people have been coming up with excuses for coming home from the water skunked. I used to think Spey rods were for yuppies who were trying to be cool. Place the tape on the spool. The taped portion of the spool will be as deep as the backlash will go. Trophy Brown Trout spawn during December, offering shots and some very big … You cast them upstream and they will do their thing in the current, drawing in steelhead with their enticing wiggle. Once the bait is on the hook never let it touch the floor of your boat, where it may pick up the smell of oil or gasoline. Longer Spey rods in the 13’6 to 14’ lengths are the tools of choice when you need to huck to a distant seam. Since fly fishing tends to send a line deeper into a body of water, choose to fly fish if you’re looking for steelhead in deep lakes or rivers. Steelhead and Steelhead fishing has became one of the most sought after game fish and fishing pastimes in Michigan, rivaled by only the Chinook or King Salmon in popularity with Michigan anglers. Identifying Characteristics: Two dorsal fins, including an … So again the main thing you want to watch is the water temperature. Drift fishing for salmon, trout, and steelhead has kinda become a lost art. The best chance to see winter steelhead on the Platte is in the stretch located below “the lower weir” located off Lake Michigan Road two miles northwest of M22. never seen that before! Michigan. This is because worms will generally be washed into the rivers from the river banks when waters recede. Cut the skein into small chunks. First-timers will do well to hire a guide. The Manistee and Pere Marquette are first to receive Michigan Fall Steelhead. In The Fly Box we range from tying gel-spun backing to … Steelies or Rainbows - what ever you choose to call them - are an awesome fish. Few moments can jazz winter like seeing the chrome flash of a steelhead in a dark and frigid river. Tape your spool with an inch tab of electrical tape. Typically, the rule of thumb is to fish from South (Michigan) to North. Make the longest cast that you’re going to make, then pull out six more feet. Steelhead can be found along the entire length of the Platte River in Benzie County during the river months, from the mouth at Lake Michigan all the way inland to the Platte River State Fish Hatchery, located four miles east of Honor. Ben Wolfe guided us on our day on the river (pictured above). Be especially careful not to have strong smelling … https://www.facebook.com/theinformativefishermanThis is a step by step episode on the Steelhead fishing basics. Cold, numb hands suddenly begin to sweat. Ancient Strain of Lake Trout Discovered in Elk Lake. Now you can contribute catch info to Michigan Sea Grant to help us find out. Steelhead catch and release rates also continue to increase and range from 20 to 95% of the total catch. Because of their larger size, the Muskegon River and Big Manistee River fish much later in April and May. Search Google for directions and camping options. Catching the Challenging Michigan Steelhead with Frank Willets. In late December, Erie is usually quite cold and covered with snow. Tried putting that sucker on the hook- but they aren’t user friendly. Steelhead in Lake Michigan – What Anglers Need to Know. Above the swivel … Begin with a technique called bobber/jig fishing. In September the weather can be hot and dry. Young steelhead may stay in the river where they were born for up to three years before heading out into Lake Michigan where they can grow in five years to a weight of anywhere from eight to 20 pounds. By far the easiest way to catch a winter steelhead is floating dime-sized spawn bags with a spinning or “noodle” rod with a length of eight to 10 feet. Steelhead will run in from the Atlantic Ocean. Making back lashes much easier to get out! Too tough, and caused leader twirl- they … Michigan Fall Steelhead. Generally the St. Joseph and the Grand River kick off our Michigan Spring Steelhead. Wearing nitrile gloves while handling eggs and bait certainly helps. When fishing from the bank, the longer rod allows for longer casts and lighter presentation. Steelhead actually begin arriving in Michigan rivers during and shortly after the peak of the fall salmon run. He could reach more fishy-looking water and always hooked more fish than others on the bank using shorter, more powerful rods and heavy line. I love to come upon a gravel bar, some boulder or submerged log and see the dark shadows of tailing fish. (Quarter sized or larger) Place skein eggs on the hook using an egg loop knot. Fall is one of the best times of the year to fish the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan for salmon and steelhead. Cut a one inch piece of tape. Learn more about identifying Atlantic salmon, Chinook salmon, coho salmon, rainbow (steelhead) trout and brown trout. Makes casting a lot smoother & takes out line twist. King Salmon love to spin while hooked. But here’s the deal with winter steelhead. Description: In this podcast Stefan Woodruff, Orvis-endorsed guide with Ellensburg Anglers in Washington State, reveals (some of) his secrets to catching steelhead, plus an overview of ths steelhead opportunities in his state.Trout anglers will also enjoy his tips on fishing the Yakima River, tips that should work anywhere. Trout fishing is also excellent. Less Line Twist – Soak spool of line in hot water. Lake Michigan Steelhead Fishing 101. So you’re not afraid of a little elbow-to-elbow competition on the riverbank? How to catch steelhead in the fall. He is also the only guide permitted to fish the tailwaters of the Platte inside the boundaries of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The newest fish returning to their home waters to spawn are always easier to coax into biting than the fished-over ones that arrived in the fall, so the real magic of winter steelhead fishing happens when the number of newbies peaks. Adjust the float set up to half the depth of the water. A double split ring – Single Siwash keeps salmon from throwing the hook. This could happen anytime between January and March, the traditional peak of the season when the river temperature climbs to between 48 and 54 degrees. Take care to wash your hands in river water before touching your bait. Be especially careful not to have strong smelling scents such as sunscreen, gasoline or cigarettes on your hands when touching bait. To go a winter without experiencing the spectacle … well, there’s really no excuse for that. What these places lack in seclusion, they more than make up for in the sheer number of fish. Then reel the line back over the tape. ​Tired of back lashes in your bait casting reels? One of the best how to tips for Michigan Salmon is casting Thunder stick lures for Kings in early morning. It also works well on spinning and center pin reels. 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