Capt. Bob Is Running Winter Steelhead Now!
Give him a Call:
(231) 920-7593
Fish in Style and Comfort on the Big Manistee River
Capt. Bob's Custom 20' Fish Rite River Boat with cabin
Click Here For: Fishing Report Rates Where We Fish
Fishing Report
(231) 884-2198 or email captjay@netzero.net
Welcome to the Strike Zone Fishing Report information provided by Capt. Jay, Capt. Bob and you. Email your fishing report and picture's to captjay@netzero.net
Include: (name, body of water, date and any other information you wish)
Rates
River
Call For Open Dates
Manistee River
Fall / Winter
Rates / 8 hours Trips
1-2 People $350.00
3 People $400.00
4 People $450.00
Lake Michigan
Call For Open Dates
6 hours or Limit
1-4 People $450.00
5 People $500.00
6 People $550.00
Links to our Friends
Manistee wave / weather Forecast
Manistee River Fly Fishing Guide
Heart of the Forest Campground
2-1-12 The Manistee River has been fishing decent according to Capt. Bob, this has to be one of the mildest winters, I can ever remember. Steelhead are holding in most wintering holes and taking spawn and plugs when working slow.
The "Strike Zone" Luhrs 290, is going up for sale... Right now it is sitting tarped at my house, it currently needs some canvas work the zippers need to be re-sewn and the clear windows need to be replaced, I am also going to be replacing both Tach's as the glass is cracked on one. Downriggers, Autopilot, fish finders all go with the boat. If your interested e-mail me price before canvas work and tach's replacement is going to be $15,000, if purchased be for May 1, 2012... After May first the boat will most likely be going to Linwood Beach Marina to be brokered and the price will be going up considerably.
1-18-12 Fishing on the river is extremely slow right now, Capt. Bob has been getting out when the weather permits, but winter has arrived and fishing has been . Look for days that are stable to be best for fishing
1-12-12 Capt. Bob is reporting that fishiing has been alittle slow the past couple of days, but should pick up as the weather starts to stabilize. Capt. Bob is running trips all winter and provides a very comfortable heat boat, and all the fishing equipment.
-2-11 Happy New Year..... The new year has finally brought winter... Winter weather started yesterday, strong winds, blowing snow, winter weather adviosry and today a blizzard warning was issued for an area just north of Wellston. Its been a great run of nice weather so far, but it looks like winter has finally arrived. Capt. Bob canceled his trip for today, winds gusting to over 40 mph is not a fun day on the river.
12-30-11 It hard to believe that 2012 is almost over, its even harder to believe that I won"t be fishing for the next four months. It does look like I might be able to fish a few week ends, but it's going to be on a short notice. I just want to thank everyone for their support over the past year, I never thought that this website would get 100,000 visitors in one year. All of you have amazed me and I hope you have gained valuable fishing information. If you have a question about fishing or rigging please send an email, I will get back to you with an answer.
Fishing has been very good, Tuesday was the slowest day in quite a while, the bite was really soft. We still managed one steelhead and one Fresh King that would have spawned in the spring. We followed that up with Wednesday were we landed 5 and had a bunch of other hits.
Capt. Bob is going to be fishing the next four months, Capt. Bob has also been experiencing great action this winter. Capt. Bob does not have a website, but has agree to feed me his fishing reports to this website will stay current with fresh fishing information. Strike Zone Charters is not going out of business as some have rumored. We have a lot of things in the works and may be expanding the business to new waters and new fishing experiences.
12-21-11 Finallly got new lures in the mail today from Lindy Tackle, really want to head out and give them a try. But it looks like we will have to wait a couple days. But these look really really good and should be just the ticket for the Manistee River.
12-20-11 Had a chance today to get out and fish for fun with Capt. Bob on his boat. It was relaxing not to have to run the boat, the true test though was trying to fight a fish and video tape the fight at the same time. As you can see the video is a little jumpy, sorry
12-18-11 Fishing yesterday started off really good, and then seemed to really slow down as the day progressed. We had our first fish within minutes of setting up our plugs. The next fish would come on spawn, then one on plugs, thats how the day went. Could not get a pattern going and the fish seemed to be spread out everywhere.
12-14-11 This has to be one of the mildest falls in a long, long time, still no snow on the ground and rain today. The river is getting a little shot of water and the river is coming up a little this should actually make the fishing alittle better. Still waiting for lures to come in from Lindy, hopefully today.
Guys for Friday had to cancel so I have this Friday open, if your interest in a last minute fishing trip give me a call (231) 884-2198.
12-13-11 Things are running on autopilot right now, it's amazing NO SNOW on the ground in Northern Michigan right now and looking at the 15 day forecast the only chance for snow is this Thursday, then only supposed to get about an inches. This is amazing, I have been stuck on the boat ramp many times in December because of snow and ice. Still waiting for new lures coming from LINDY hoping to get them today, I guess the Fed Ex guys are a little busy this time of year. Fishing continues to be good as water temps are holding the same right around the 36-38 degree marks. We should have great fishing well into January with this kind of weather.
12-12-11 Fishing continues to be good when the weather is stable and a little tough when the cold fronts are pushing through. The mild temps are keeping the fish a little extra active, but the fish have finally moved into winter holding water, even though water temps are about 2-4 degrees higher than normal. We still have a few days left open between now and the New Year.
12-8-11 Spent today solving a little problem that I have had for years. The problem when the top is up on the boat, I need just under 9' of clearance, and my garage door is 8'. So the problem how do you get 9' of boat through a 8' door.
The solution make the opening bigger!
Now the boat fits nice into the building with 2" of clearance. A big thanks to Capt. Bob and Jordan for helping with this project. It important to have a place to thaw out your boat in the winter.
12-7-11 Just got an e-mail that I have some brand new fishing lures coming to try out on the river, normally I don't get overly excited about trying new lures on the river. After over 20 years, I have my old faithful lures that I know work. But the other day, I was asked to try out the new "River Rockers" from Lindy. I was just looking at these while I was a Jay's Sporting Goods. I believe these are going to work very well and expect to be reporting success with them starting next week. I will post pictures of the "River Rockers" as soon as the Fed Ex guys brings them to me.
12-6-11 This fall/winter has been exceptional mild this year and it looks to continue with the exception of a few cold mornings, winter gear is going into the truck tomorrow. Fishing conintues to be very good with water temps hovering around the 40 degree mark. Looks like fishing will remain good well into January. If your looking for a January fishing trip give Capt. Bob a call at the above number, as I will not be fishing from December 25th to May. I will be back on the water in May..
12-4-11 Fish have been alittle strained by the weather and suprisingly heavy boat pressure. But look for everything to change. Looks likw winter is getting ready to make an appearance this week. By next weekend, high temps are supposed to be in the mid 20's. This should actually make fishing alittle easier as it will push the steelhead into their winter holding water, deep water, slow current, and wood.
Julie's Spinner Steelhead "The one that got away"
Henry with a Manistee Steelhead
12-1-11 Last month of the 2011 fishing season and for me, the last month to do any steelhead fishing until next fall. I have 22 days of river fishing left before I am taking off until the middle of May. There is one week left to book the mid week special, to get in on some fantastic steelhead fishing. This fall has been one of the best fall steelhead runs we have had in a long time, the river is full of fish, and they seem to be running a bit larger than in past years. Plugs, and spawn have been working very well.
11-29-11 Fishing was tough on Sunday a major cold front, put a sever case of lock jaw on our steelhead, but we still managed to catch a couple and get a couple others to bite. Yesterday was a whole different program though, the fish cooperated with violent plug crushing hits, that doubled over rods and made the reels sing. Lost more than one mean steelhead that lept into the air and spit the plug back at the boat. It was definatley a steelhead show on the river yesterday, cartwheels and rockets. Henry and Julie did a great job, on some very difficult steelhead, and we covered alot of river yesterday, fishing approximately 9 miles of the river. But it was a great day. We still have some great fishing left and the weather looks to be holding with no major snow or bitter cold forecasted for Northern Michigan.
11-25-11 Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, Fishing continues to just great, with fishing extremely active and eager to crush plugs and pick up spawn. The weather has been very mild, we are getting just enough rain to keep the water levels up and put color in the river, this causing the fish to remain very aggresive. It looks like December is going to be a very good month for fishing.
11-22-11 Yesterday was absolutely beautiful on the river, almost no wind water conditions were perfect and the fish really cooperated. Plugs, Spawn everything was working, it looks a new group of fish has his the river and fishing just seems to keep getting better and better. December is shaping up to be a fantastic month to hit the river. Don't let the cold scare you, the boat is heated. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, be safe and enjoy your holiday. Reports will resume after Thanksgiving.
11-20-11 Steelhead have filled the river and fishing is good through out the entire river system right now, fish were in a bit of a mood yesterday and we really had to work to get them to hit. But, Joe, JT and Jason capitalized on every opportunity and managed to put together a limit of steelhead, back bouncing skein spawn. Back bouncing skein spawn is a tried and true tactic that is a staple in Southwest Michigan rivers, but no used by most guides in Northern Michigan. It does take a bit of getting use to, but once you get the hang of it, its a lot of fun. We probably had over 20 hits yesterday, alot of the hits were just not Aggresive and very light. But what a great day to be on the river with a great group of guys. We did manage to get a little bit of video, enjoy...
Joe's Steelhead
11-20-11 9 Steelhead Limit
11-18-11 Another Windy day on the river, Windy was not the word... Actually watched a tree get blown over and fall into the river, and had waves almost a foot high in some sections of the river with white caps. Wind gust to 45 mph were recorded in Manistee. We ended up calling the trip early and headed for the ramp at 1:00 pm as it was just getting worse. Trying to feel a bite was next to impossible. But the guys did manage to land two smaller steelhead earlier in the day and we missed quite a few bites. The fish really didn't act aggressive today, and the bites on spwan seemed very timid. Could have been the weather. I have the same group tomorrow and I'm sure tomorrow will be better, since the wind is supposed to ease up a bit.
11-17-11 Fishing has been very good, but the weather hasn't been strong winds and cold wind chills have made boat control tough. This morning roads were nothing short of dangerous, around 5:30 am northern Michigan got hit with lake effect snow that covered the roads and created Icey conditions.
If you have noticed, I have not listed any open dates after January 1, 2012. The reason for this is because I will not be fishing January, February, March, or April of 2012. I have made another commitment that will not allow me to fish our fantastic spring steelhead. However, I am not leaving you without other options. Capt. Bob Marr will be running the Manistee river. Capt. Bob is full licensed (United States Coast Guard) his boat is fully inspected, covered and has heat. Capt. Bob spent most of last winter fishing with me on the Manistee learning the nuances of fishing the Manistee River in Winter. Capt. Bob has years of experience on the river and I strongly recommend him as an alternative. I will miss our spring steelhead fishing, but this commitment is something that must be done. But, I am fishing the rest of this month and the entire month of December and fishing has been great with lots of big steelhead. So lets get one last trip in before January 1st. I am not going out of business, I am only taking four months off.
Capt. Bob Marr can be reacheded at (231) 920 7593
11-15-11 Good Luck to all the hunters in the woods, I came down with a little cold about three weeks ago, that was finally diagnosed as acute bronchitis on Saturday. Finally just now starting to feel alittle better. We have still been fishing though and fishing has been good. But the fish have been bigger than normal and meaner than normal. We have been averaging 10+ fish on per trip landing about half of hook ups. The plug bit is fired up right now.
11-6-11 Boat traffic was incredible for November, but it was a beautiful day to be on the river. Fishing was a bit slower than it has been the past few days. We still managed to land 4 of our ten hits, and lost two really nice fish that rocketed out of the water. Plugs have been working in gold patterns and silver patterns, water temps are falling in to the mid 40's so things are almost perfect. Dan was able to shoot a short video of one of our steelhead coming to the net. I up dated my open dates and add open all the open December dates.
11-2-11 Fishing has continued to be consistently good, plug bite is on and spawn is still working well. Flu has pretty much knocked me out for the past week. The major news I had planned is going to have to wait alittle longer, I need to confirm just a couple of more things.
But we are fishing right now, and fishing is good. We still have quite a few open dates and so far this has been a season full of action. We have had more double this year than I can ever remember and the fish seem to be bigger and meaner than in the past few years. This Fall Season (November / December) will be one to remember. Video has been somewhat hard to come by, I need a person on the boat dedicated to just running the video. Its hard to run everything by yourself.
10-27-11 Rain and snow are driving Steelhead up the river, boat continues to be running very well. I do have this Saturday and Sunday off the weekend, but will be hitting the water with Capt. Bob on his boat. Many of you know Capt. Bob, he spent most of last winter fishing with me on the river, learning the finer points of fishing the river in winter and spring. I have to say that he really already new what he was doing and didn't learn a whole lot from me, maybe a few new holes and a couple of little tricks. Anyway have some major news planned for next week regarding Spring Steelhead Season. So keep checking back....
10-25-11 Steelhead fishing was decent we had a lot of missed opportunities both Saturday and Sunday, with 10+ fish on each day, plus a few rod rattlers that never got a hook in them. But in the end, the fish won the war. Joe and Blake did nothing wrong the fish are just plain mean right now, and running much bigger than average. Blake lost a hugh fish, 15+ lbs right at the back of the boat, because the fish was just a little meaner than Blake. Look for fishing to continue to improve as rain the past two days is driving more fish up the river. The plug bite is on now, and all plugs are working Hot-n-tots, Wiggle Warts and Flat fish color didn't seem to matter just get it in front of them.
Yesterday, The boat when through its transformation from Fall to Winter, in other words the tops is up and we are ready for cold weather.
Boat Transformation 10-24-11
10-20-11 Still waiting for a phone call on the boat, Really wish I could get it back and get fishing, word coming from guys fishing is Steelhead fishing is very good with all tactics taking fish. Im ready to hit the river and tie into some mean steel.
10-19-11 Did not get to pick up the boat today, hopefully I get a call tomorrow and I can pick up the boat. Really need to get on the river, but it would be nice to also get back to the ramp.
10-18-11 Well it looks like the brand new optical sensor from Johnson/Evinrude (Bombardier) was bad right out of the box. Here's the best part, since it is an electrical part once you open the package you own it. No warranty / no replacement. All I can say is please remember how well Johnson / Evinrude stands behind their parts and products, when its time for you to purchase a new outboard. You buy it, You open it, You Own it..... Now the bad news, Yamaha is having some logistical problems since the earthquake and dealer are having problems getting parts and motors into this country.
On the fishing front its been pretty quite the past few days, salmon fishing is winding down quickly and fall is definately in the air. With the salmon almost done spawning, look for the plug bite to start taking off, eggs will still work but plugs will also take a few fish. It's been windy the past few days, and tomorrow is another gusty day, but it looks like a break after that at least for a few days.
New Buffalo Michigan
Berrien Co. Sheriffs 25' Safe BoatThank god, both officers on board made it to shore safely, but were treated for hypothermia and released from the hospital. The operator of this vessel is someone I have known a very long time and is a seasoned mariner on the great lakes. It just goes to show you that Lake Michigan can get even the best most seasoned veterans. Get better soon Marty
10-15-11 The boat test didn't go quite as well as planned. We managed to get out and ran up river, boat performed perfectly, picked up ran down stream about 4 miles, shut down and fished one spot for a few minutes and when we went to move. No Spark to the motor. Ended up floating down a bit after about 20 minutes, I decided to try and start the motor and it fired right up. My guess is I have a power pack getting ready to go out now. Anyway ran back to the boat ramp and dropped the boat back off to Charlie to try and figure out this new problem. It will be tough though because its not acting up right now. Capt. Bob Marr did manage to hook up on a big male king that was still spawning and Jordan managed a small steelhead. I got a little bit of Bob's King on video and video of running the river.
10-14-11 Spent today running around town doing some errands, and fixing a wiring problem on my front bow light. I will be hitting the river tomorrow for a few hours, checking to make sure everything is right with the motor, and playing with the new video camera. So look for some video of the river tomorrow. The above video was shot while running errands around Lake Cadillac.
10-12-11 Just got back from Wellston with the boat, fishing is very good right now with lots of steelhead, the King Salmon fishing has slowed as most fish are on the gravel spawning and only have one thing on their minds "Spawning". But there are a lot of hungry steelhead in the river, that are devouring all the salmon eggs being dropped by the spawning kings. Skein Spawn fishing is the ticket right now, once the Kings are done spawning plugs will start producing a few more fish. But for right now, spawn is the ticket.
10-11-11 Update on boat, just got a call the boat can be picked up tomorrow and will be fixed. Thank you "Charlie"
10-11-11 Still waiting on word about my boat hoping to hear something today, Been doing alot of readying about BRP / Evinrude & Johnson online. None of it has been good. Lots of quality control issues and the company is just not standing behind there products. It's really ashame, for years Johnson and Evinrudes were known as work horses that never gave up. If you are thinking about purchasing a new e-Tec please google e-Tec reviews and complaints. I am going to be upgrading next year to a newer outboard, so I am doing a lot of research right now on who has the best quality, most reliable motor and who has the best reputation for customer service.
This is killing me not being able to get out on the river, fishing has been great weather is great. Rain moving in on Thursday and cooler temps to kick off the weekend. There are a pile of Coho in Lake Michigan sitting in about 100 feet of water getting ready to run the river along with a bunch of Steelhead. I think this is going to be one of the best fall steelhead runs we have seen in years. We already have a bunch of Steelhead in the river and we will be getting more with the cooler weather and rain this weekend.
10-8-11 Dropped the boat off at Charlie Lotts yesterday, hopefully he can get to it quickly, Charlie is an ace mechanic and most locals take there motors to him. The leaf drop has started and the river is starting to fill with leaves, which always makes fishing difficult. You end up spending more time taking leaves off your lines than fishing. It usually is extremely bad for about a week. But it may not be that long this year. We are predicted to have winds in excess of 40 mph today. Hopefully, the wind will knock the leaves off the trees. Steelhead action is very good, and is only going to get better. November and December should be fantastic!
10-06-11 Here we go again, fished yesterday and had a slow start then things really picked up for us mid morning, and by 1:00 pm, we had 4 steelhead and 1 king salmon in the boat and had lost a few other fish. Then we went to move, fired up the motor went about twenty feet and the motor shut off. That was it.... No spark going to the motor... I still do not know what happen, tomorrow the boat will be dropped of to Charlie Lott in Wellston. Charlie will get it going again I am sure, but I will be off the water for a couple of days. I can assure you that Camp and Cruise will never see my boat or motor again. This nice weather is sure to have slowed fishing down alittle bit, but the steelhead are in the river, and the guys fishing the big water are tearing up the steelhead and coho when they can get out. 110 -140 feet of water have been really good. This is good news, it means more fish to come for our fall river and a big blow is expected for Saturday. My guess is I will have boat back by Tuesday or Wednesday, I will keep everyone posted. In the mean time tight lines and smooth drags, to our bow hunters good luck in the woods.
10-4-11 Early to Bed, Early to Rise, Fish all Day, cause Steelhead are on the Rise.... That pretty much sum's it up for me right now, up at 4:30-5:00am and in bed by 7 or 8 pm. But Steelhead fishing is really takin
g off it's been along time since I have seen this many nice Steelhead in the river this early in the year. The really nice part about Steelhead is they are not short lived like Salmon. These Steelhead will be in the river now until next spring. They will winter in the river and not die off like King Salmon. I continue to be fishing in area's of the river that do not offer cellphone coverage to please leave a message or text me, texting seems to work even with almost no service. October and November Dates are filling faster than I can update the computer. We have some really nice weather for the next 10 days which may slow the fishing down a little, but it should still be very good from here on out.
10-3-11 September is over and Salmon fishing is on the down hill slide, but steelhead fishing is taking off. 8 steelhead and two kings on Saturday and Sunday we Landed 5 steelhead and 1 king. I have no idea how many bites we had on Saturday and Sunday, but everything came on skein spawn. We really had to work for the fish and covered alot of water. I do love fall steelhead and the fish have been really nice this year. November Steelhead dates are booking really quickly, I am waiting to confirm 7 dates right now for November. I will try and get open November dates posted by the middle of October. But for now my open dates for October are listed. But for now the Steelhead Run has started and we do still have King Salmon in the river right now and they should be around till the end of the month.
9-30-11 Woke up this Moring to hollowing winds, first ve of winds hit the Lake Michigan shore line at over 40 mph. Most of Manistee is without power and lots of trees have been up rooted. This is not a good day to be on the river. Forget about not being able to cast, or feel a spawn bit, forget about all the leaves that are going to be blown and fouling up your hook. What you should be worried about is all of those trees along the river bank, which one could come down and fall into the river or into your boat.
The good news, Steelhead are showing up in good numbers and are staging up in all the early staging spots. Salmon are moving up unto the gravel and are gettting really moody, they are into spawning mode pretty good right now. But we still have a good number of kings holding in the deeper water ready to attack spawn or a crankbait cast to the right location. Forecast for the next couple of days is cool weather and rain, which should keep these fish active and push more and more steelhead up the river.
The rain finally came and a huge push of fresh fish have made it up the river, Chrome Kings and Chrome Steelhead are moving up the river. It seems a little early for the Steelhead, but they are in the river and feeding on the eggs being dropped by the king salmon. I love this time of year. Fresh Steelhead are really fun at the end of your line. Spaqwn is really startring to take off as the kings are looking to spawn and the steelhead are looking for a quick easy meal.
9-20-11 Rain all day yesterday is really good news for the river, fish pushed up from Manistee lake and more fish will be coming up today as the river finally has some flow. Yesterday for me was spent on winterizing the lake boat and putting it away for the winter. I still have a couple of dates left in September for King Salmon fishing and a few open dates for October. We are going to have King Salmon in the river until the end of October this year. Low water has kept the fish from running, but we are getting a fresh group right now. Still casting sticks has been out producing spawn, but that could change anytime.
9-19-11 Sorry for the website interuptions, not real happy with godaddy, picturtes are up loading correctly, there is a delay in updating. I will mostly be looking to a new hosting site in the very near future. Fishing has really been improving the past few days as cooler nights have been getting the fish a little more active. The rain last night is sure to push a few more fish up the river. Stick and spawn are both producing, you just have to find the fish and work them.
My cell phone service on the river is terrible so please leave a message or text. Texting works on t he river.
9-13-11 River fishing is going strong with lots of fish in the river and more to come, things have been nuts and we have been extremely busy. My cell phone does not have a strong signal where I have been fishing but texting does work. We still have a few dates left open for king salmon fishing, and dates for November and December Steelhead are starting to book. The fish this year have been bigger than in past years. Skien Spawn has been working best, put casting plugs is also taking quite a few fish. On the weekends be ready for lots of boat trarrfic, boats boats and more boats, weekends have been nuts. Weekdays are better but the word is out that salmon fishing is going strong. Starting tonight look for fall like weather, the next weeks forecast is for highs in the 50's low 60's and we are supposed to be getting rain off and on for the next week. This means that Salmon fishing is going to bust wide open and the next two three weeks will be the peak of the season. We may even get a early run of steelhead toward the middle of October if this weather stays like this.
9-5-11 Fall has arrived finally and water temps are going to start falling like a rock this week. This is good news as the fish that are in the river should get much more active and even more fish should be heading up the river the next few days. Tonights lows in the Wellston area are going to be getting close to the freezing mark. Heavy Frost advisorys have been posted for the areas. Yes, this should be the start of our Salmon Season. We still have this Saturday open.
9-3-11 Got on the river yesterday for a couple of hours, before a major Thunderstorm chased us off for the day. You don't mess with lightening. I have been on three boat in lifetime that have been hit by lightening. Luckily no one has even been injured, but your boat is ruined, every bit of electrical on the boat is fried including the motor. Fishing was a bit slow, most likely because of water temps warming because of heat the past couple of days. We still managed to get a couple hooked up and had about 5 other bits that we didn't get. Not bad for being early in the season. Major cool down is expected starting tonight and this should be the start of a major push of fish up the river.
9-1-11 Well after almost three weeks of fighting with godaddy.com, I finally have a website again. Initially it was just a password reset that they couldn't get reset, then it was the program I was using to build my website, then it was my computer, then they didn't know what was wrong. Really Really fed up right now. But the website is back on line. River fishing it really going on strong, lots of fish in the river and they seem to be very active and eager to cooperate. We do have heat coming in for today (9-1) and tomorrow. Which may make the fish a little less cooperative, but monday its supposed to cool down again.
8-29-11 Fishing was very good and then the lake rolled over and even more fish shot up the river. There are alot of fish in the river and action is very good already. The Lake Michigan boat was pulled out of water this afternoon and we are done fishing the big water. Its time to hit the river for some King Salmon, next open date for the river is 9-11-11. We still have a few dates left open the last two weeks of September, October still has quite a few openings also. Don't forget November and December for Steelhead. This year should be very good.
8-9-11 Had several things that had to get done today, which involved running all over this state, and now I am heading over to Manistee until? I'm really not sure when I will be back home to update the fishing reports page. But, I will be updating the facebook page from my phone. Current report is that fish are still showing up, and break is high which have the fish scattered all over the place. A lot of fish have pushed up the river, so this is looking like a good river year. We still have a few opening for river fishing in September and October, both weekends and weekdays. Tight lines and smooth drags, and we will see you on the water.
8-8-11 Weather people missed this forecast big time... But we do have South and Southwest winds which will sink the thermo cline and push more fish to the north. Which will mean much better action than we have seen the past couple of days. Lake Michigan morning trips are just about book solid now, we still have River trip available in September and October, but to wait to long.
8-7-11 The big winds last week pushed the temp break way up at some points the break was less than 15 feet down from the surface. Fish where scattered all over the place and many ran up the river. If you didn't set down right on top of fish for the morning bite. It was going to be a tough day for you. Most boats including us, report 3-4 fish per trip over the week end. The good news it all changes again starting tonight, tonight and tomorrow's forecast gale force winds to 40 knots and seas (waves) 7-11 feet. This is going to change what we have right now, and should bring more fish into the area. I have not had a chance to get up the river to check things out, but after what I saw yesterday at the river mouth. I'm confident that a pretty good number of King Salmon ran the river over the weekend.
8-4-11 Heading over to Manistee this morning, yesterdays north winds are sure to have done something to the water. If the thermo-cline came up, things could be very different. Fish could be scattered all over the place, if it stayed deeper below 50 feet we will still be in good shape and fish will be stacked up on the shelf. If not we could have fish all the way to the Harbor. It is August and it is possible to have fish heading up the river also. I will be in Manistee until until Sunday so I won't be able to update this report. But look on Facebook (Jay Frolenko) for update on hot fishing lures and action.
The River Fishing Trips in September are booking very quickly, so call today to reserve your date.
8-3-11 Only have a few August morning dates left, fishing is really taking off fish are setting up on the shelf with a few steelhead in the mix just of the shelf. Won't be long and these monster will be invading the Manistee River, if you want to experience a real thrill try hooking into a monster salmon with a 9' med action rod, while he does whatever he wants to you. But you will have to wait until September first, that when the run really starts in the river. Until then here has been the hot lures so far. Regular spoons have been out producing the magnums this year, mainly because the bait is still very small for this time of year and the stand size spoons match the size of the bait better. I will tell you that these spoons are stingers and are extremely hard to find in local bait shops. They are not new! They have been out for years, these are called Dr. Hook, I just removed the tape. The model without the tape is SH88. Go to www.mistinger.com, you might want to get more than one as the paint comes off on these very easily, but they are working very well.
8-2-11 Thunderstorms today have given me a chance to get the website back up and running. All the links are working again. Fishing is really taken off. Big fish are invading the Manistee area and stacking up on the shelf, and I mean big fish. Fish over 25 are common and most are people are having encounters with 30 pound fish. This river season should be one of the best we have had in a while size wise. The river temps are still above average right now so don't expect a run in the next couple of weeks. But when it happens its going to be very good.
8-1-11 Fishing has been good to very good and seems to be getting better everyday. Lots of fish right now and a very good mix of Salmon and Steelhead. Lots of Fish both South and North fishing from 70 - 250 and 330 - 450 feet of water. Spoons have been working best in the green and blue patterns, but Saturday night the flasher fly combination started to take off. Everything came down 50 -100 feet. The really good news is the size some of the biggest fish we have seen in the past few years. Had one close to 30 lbs to the back of the boat but the line broke and he swam away. We still have a few Sunday mornings available.
7-27-11 All sorts of problems with my DSL the past three days, they have been working on the line. But one minute it works the next it doesn't. I am heading to Manistee this morning and will not b back until Sunday. Looks like its going to be a good weekend. It's not to late to get on board, just call (231) 884-2198. We still have a couple of trips open for the weekend, and a some dates still open in August. Best fishing is still happening in the deep water, but rough water has kept most boats from getting there.
7-25-11 Boat went in the water this morning, Lake Michigan was a bit bumpy this morning, and fishing was a bit tough most boat saw only a couple fish come to the back of the boat. The best fishing is out deep, real deep and its a long run in rough water to that fishery. Look for this to move closer any day, the fish are moving ever closer. The really good news is fish in the 20lbs plus range have been very common so far this year. You just have to key into bait size this year, smaller stuff has been working better as bait fish are 2-4 inches right now. We still have morning trip available this weekend and a few other through out the month call today before they are gone.
7-24-11 Salmon fishing continues to be strong, but the recent hot weather has made the mid day bite a little tough. The temp break is dropping and you are having to go deeper and deeper to catch fish. This is actually normal for this time of year. Look for the first run of river fish as soon as the water rolls over again and we have cold water back on top. My boat goes back in the water on Tuesday morning. We still have Friday and Sunday open this coming weekend.
7-20-11 The Lake boat is in the process of getting re-outfitted for salmon and will be in route to Manistee on Friday. Salmon trips begin next week and fishing should be awesome. We still have a few open weekends and some weekdays left open so call soon before they are all gone. Salmon fishing is really going to take off, the shelf has been on fire with great morning action and evening trips are also producing great action as well. The best action has been 55 - 100 down, but look for the fish to start going deeper as the heat wave continues.
Walleye season is officially over and it ended with a bang. We averaged 10 keepers per hour over our last four trips off the dock and had a 3 pound average over the weekend. Some of the best fishing we saw all year. But it's time for Salmon and the salmon have shown up in Manistee, double digit catches and near limits are the norm now and fishing should remain great until the end of August. So, goodbye walleye here are a couple of photos from the weekend to say goodbye.
7-13-11 Walleye fishing has gotten it's second wind and fishing is better than its been all year. The average has been 18-30 keepers per trip the past few days and things are really looking good. Wish I could stay a little longer, but the salmon are also starting to show up on the shelf in Manistee. We do still have a few days left open for Walleye and this is really a last chance for them. I will be moving the boat next week to Manistee. Salmon trips are booking up very quickly also and we will be starting to fish the river 9/1/11 this year. Water temps are down from last year and the salmon run is going to start early on the river. Take advantage of our special rates for Salmon now, they may end without notice if gas prices continue to rise.
