Book a trip call
(231) 884-2198 or e-mail a question
All Dates listed are morning dates, call or e-mail for open evening dates, red indicates weekend.
Open Dates July: 5,8,9,10,12,13,15,16,18,21,23,25,28,29
Open Dates August: 4,5,6,13,14,18,19,20,21,25,28,29,31
Open Dates September River: 7,8,9,12,13,14,17,19,22,23,24,25,26
Open Dates October River: 2,3,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15,16,17,18,19,28,29,30,
For More Pictures
Offshore Steelhead
Specials
Call for open dates
(231) 884-2198
April & May Lake Michigan Brown Trout and King Salmon Southern Lake Michigan is known for it's Coho fishing. But Northern Lake Michigan is known for is Spring Brown Trout fishing and King Salmon fishing. May has to be the best month in the spring to do battle with fresh Spring Salmon (Springer's). Get ready for some awesome salmon action with fish averaging 5 - 15 pounds.
June is the month for Steelhead Offshore as well as King Salmon and Lake trout. Our Steelhead are the acrobats of Lake Michigan making spectacular leaps and reel smoking runs. This is some of the funniest fishing of the year don't miss out.
July and August we are not fishing for Salmon we are slaughtering the Salmon. Limits are the norm not the exception and it's common to have multiple fish on at one time.
We still have many open dates
Call Today Fish Tomorrow!
(231) 884-2198
Reservations not required, but they are a good idea to insure your fishing trip.
Check out the Works in progress page for:
Salmon Recipes
Spawn Cures
Preparing Whole Cut-bait
June Special extended to 7-4-08
7-2-08 Lake was just plain too rough to fish today, and tomorrow isn't looking any better. Saturday, Sunday and Monday are looking really nice. Waves less than 2 feet and gentle winds, the lake should set up nicely for some excellent fishing. Bigger Kings are moving into the area, along with Really nice steelhead in the 10 - 14 pound class. 6 - 12 colors of lead and Mag Divers have been working the best. e-chips and flies, spoons in the sister sledge, carmel dophin and hey babe working well. We still have Saturday morning open and Sunday Evening, as well as Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday open next week.
7-1-08 Salmon fishing has taken a major turn for the better with limits now being taken at first light in 100 -150 fow, on e-chips and flies. Steelhead fishing also continues to be strong, in the deeper water.
ADDED FISHING CLASS: This is the last Fishing Class of this year we have 3 open spots right now. Topics covered: Downrigger fishing, Directional Divers, Lead Core, Copper Wire, Planner boards, Tackle, Fishing Cut-Bait, Weather, Water Temps. This is just a short list. You will also receive a 30 page handout that covers everything from attaching a downrigger weight to the downrigger cable to how to Snell a hook. This is the most informative fishing class on the Great Lakes.
Cost is $150.00 per person, call today to reserve your spot in this class space is limited. (231) 884-2198
6-30-08 Salmon action is getting good with bait moving in on the shelf, first light is the best action right now. Working the bank at first light and then as action slows either moving deeper for Steelhead or working the 80 - 90 fow for Lake Trout. Both are producing, reel screaming Steelhead 10-14 pounds are real common this year out in the deeper water. Steelie Stompers continue to work the best for Steelhead.
6-27-08 Salmon and Steelhead action very good, to the south 10's to the point Salmon in 80 - 200 fow 55 to the bottom on riggers and divers. Steelhead are coming from 370 - 500 fow working the top 40 fow. Green and Blues for Salmon orange for Steelhead. Lake Michigan is setting up very nicely with temp breaks and Thermo-clines. Some of our four year old salmon are even starting to show up.
6-24-08 Second Fishing report, Just got back from an offshore trip in the 21' Skiff, had to try it out on a long trip the water was beautiful ran 18 miles out at 40 mph. I found a 6 degree temp break, and started trolling found out that I could on get the boat down to 3.1 mph. But the steelhead loved it fast end up hooking 7 steelhead and 5 kings in a matter of about 3 hours. Everything was on leadcore or dipsey divers as this boat does not have downriggers. Orange wiggly thin fins and steelie stomper spoons. Next time, I will take some along to net, then again next time I will remember to bring the net. Yep, forget the net. It happens to everyone.....
6-24-08 The really hot fishing right now is Saginaw Bay, Best it's been years Limits of walleye running 18 - 24 inches, pulling meat, warts, hot-n-tots or spoons. The past couple of days have been spent setting up the 21' Carolina Skiff for running on Saginaw Bay, the boat will handle the water nicely our problem was the motor is set-up with a Jet pump. These jet motors do not like to run in more than a 6" chop. Problem solved good used lower unit, a gear case extension, new 25" drive shaft and we now also have a stand motor on the back of the 21' Carolina Skiff. The entire lower unit swap takes about 3 hours, with a little practice I think I can get it down to about 1.5 hours. A water test on Lake Cadillac and Mitchell are on call for today. If everything goes well then we will head over to Saginaw Bay in the morning to run a shake down cruise on the big water. We have been running the 21' on Lake Michigan this spring with the Jet motor and it did surprisingly well. I still remember my first ride on a 21 Skiff down in Florida, we went 18 miles offshore in the gulf and I was really impressed with how that boat handled the water.
Jet Outboard
Long Shaft Prop
6-22-08 Offshore temp Breaks are really setting up nicely, the fish have finally found them and are concentrated to within 50 yards of the breaks, 3-4 color leads are working very well, lots of Steelhead right now. The bank has been good at first light for 2-3 year old kings action is slowing by 9:00 am. The steelhead have been extremely active, rocketing from the water almost immediately after being hooked.
6-21-08 Fishing continues to be good with fish coming 100 - 150 down from the shelf out to 400' feet of water. Lake Trout are coming in a bit shallower fishing close to the bottom. The really hot action is coming for the 29 and 30 west lines for Offshore Steelhead Action is really good with over 20 fish hooked up the other day. It sure is nice to have buddies with small boats that don't burn a ton of gas when running 10-15 miles. Colors working the best for Kings are blues and green (Hey Baby, Blue Dolphin, Green Dolphin, Sister Sledge) and for Steelhead any thing orange (Double Orange Crush, Steelie Stomper, Mixed Veggies, SOG) Trout have been coming on Greens and Chartreuse We still have openings for June and the Steelhead Action is Fantastic take Advantage of our June Special.
6-20-08 My Web hosting service changed my server which closed my access to the website for the past few days. Plus I have been busy putting a roof on my house. We found seven layer of shingles when we started peeling the old roof. That is just way to many for my taste. Fishing continues to be good in Manistee for Salmon and Trout, Steelhead action is starting to pick up out in the deeper water. Walleye action is also really good on Saginaw bay. I picked up a lower unit for the 21' foot boat. We will be starting to run Saginaw bay in May and June for Walleye next year.
6-15-08 Yesterdays, fishing class went great, We where able to cover everything from attaching a downrigger ball to the cable to fishing over 200' feet deep, running and setting up lead cores and Copper wire rods and even how to bring a twin engine boat to the dock on one engine. We even managed to land 6 fish, 2 steelhead, 1 Lake Trout and 3 Kings, Not bad since we weren't really trying to catch fish. On this trip is was more important that the guys learn to run the back of the boat. The Strom on Friday which has made Manistee and Ludington a disaster area managed to mix up the water on Lake Michigan, fish where a little more scattered than they had been. Should be a couple of days before fishing gets back to being as good as it was.
We still have next week end open if you want to go fishing 1-4 people $350.00 5-6 people $450.00 Less than $100.00 per person.
The simplest things can cause major issues on a boat. The reason for our engine failure, a bad ignition switch, $24.99 ordered two yesterday am going to replace both of them. If I would have thought to check this on the water we could have hot wired the switch. the next couple of days will be spent putting a roof on my house
Cool, Clean Idea Clean crawler fishing, To me pulling crawlers has always been a mess on the boat and on my hands. Fishing with Bill and Donna, I was shocked when I went to get a Crawler and had to reach into ice cold water to get them. That's right, water... Night Crawlers, not leeches.
Bill told me that it keeps his hands clean, and his boat clean. I also noticed that the crawlers where extremely lively and fully stretched out. The key according to Bill is to keep the water cool to cold, Bill kept the crawlers in a small soft sided cooler and the Crawlers in a small container. When not using the crawlers they are stored in dirt or bedding.
Thanks Bill, I think I might start using crawlers again thanks to you!
6-13-08 Friday the 13th "The Nightmare" 10" of rain fell overnight. The wind blew, tree where uprooted, Bridges washed out, and monstrous sections of roads washed away. I myself just had power return to the house, we have been without power for approximately 18 hours. So what does a guy do when the power is out ? Well, since Manistee was declared a disaster area, I left Cadillac and went east until I hit water. It was a wonderful day to be fishing out on Saginaw Bay, and it was great to be a guest on Bill and Donna's, 23' Striper. We fished 26-30 feet of water pulling Crawlers. The only downside to the whole trip was we only where able to fish about 2 1/2 hours since we only had 4 people on the boat. 20 walleye 2 1/2 hours 3 oz, BB with Blue & Silver or Purple & Silver working the best. What a great time! Tomorrow, we will be back on Lake Michigan. The Lake should be settled down by then and I am looking forward to have and great day with a great crew. (Walleye Photo tomorrow)
I also learned a clean way to fish crawlers, I will share this tomorrow really really cool..... New to me anyway!
6-12-08 Headed over to Manistee yesterday morning to test a couple of new ideas to get my Downriggers to run deeper. Managed to Catch my five fish limit in 30 minutes. This was fishing by myself, even had to net my own fish took a 14 pound King at 425' feet of cable out. Ended up boating three Kings, a Steelhead and a Lake Trout. Only ran two rods, the Kings all came of the deep rigger that I was playing with the Lake Trout came on a Dipsey 180 back, and the Steelhead hit the Dipsey while it was back about 50 feet. I was letting it out when the other rod went off, so I just stuck it in the holder. As I was trying to get the deep King Salmon to the boat, this 8 pound steelhead kept jumping behind the boat with my Dipsey in tow. This is the fishing we should have a three weeks ago. Now I wish I would have asked a couple of buddies to go, but I really was just going out to check a prototype out.
Absolutely Phenomenal !!!!!!!!!
6-11-08 It's been a long slow start to this years fishing, but it's here and it's now. The water temps are almost perfect, surface breaks are almost perfect and we are finally heading into a stable weather pattern. Look for awesome fishing for the next two weeks maybe longer. Kings have been running between 8 - 15 pounds, Lake Trout 5 -8 pounds and Steelhead 5 - 12 pounds. This is mixed bag fishing and When we fish we will be looking to land a five fish per person limit. Most fish are being taken from the surface down to about 80 feet. Bigger Kings have been coming 225 or better down. We still have many weekends and weekdays open in June.
6-10-08 The winds of change blew all weekend and that was a good thing. Between the south winds, the severe thunderstorms and the huge amount of warm rain we have received. The water temps have finally warmed to where they should be for this time of year and guess what.... Limits of King Salmon are now the norm along with Lake Trout and Steelhead. The Kings are also above average for this time of year, 8 -15 pounds. This is really good news for our July, August on Lake Michigan and September, October on the river. We will have some really nice fish swimming around maybe even a few more in the 30 pound class. This is a great time to be fishing because you never know what will be on the end of your line. Check out our June Special $350.00 1-4 people.
This Friday I will be heading over to Saginaw Bay to go Walleye fishing three Captains are going to gang up on the poor little Saginaw Bay walleye. They may not put up the fight of the Lake Michigan salmon, but they sure are good in the pan.... I will report in after the weekend with our fishing report from the bay with photo's.
6-6-08 Weekend weather look terrible high winds and small craft warning have already been posted with severe weather forecasted for the afternoon's. This caused us to cancel both Saturday and Sunday and rebook both days. Waves today 4-6 foot on the shelf and building at 11:00 am. This is not conducive to a quality fishing trip and besides it's just not fun.....
6-5-08 Fishing has really picked up the past couple of days, with south winds finally warming our waters, fishing should be very good for the next couple of weeks. Heavy south winds for the next couple of days may mix the water up a bit but once things stabilize for a couple of day look out. Offshore Steelhead fishing should really take off, along with our King Salmon fishing. Fish in the 15 - 20 pound range are already being taken on a routine basis. This is really good news for our summer July-August fishing. Looks like I better put the heavy duty gear back on the boat.
I don't know what I am going to do with the Big Monster Salmon that are going to be running this September and October in the river. I guess we will figure it out together.
6-1-08 It's about time things started heating up in Manistee and I'm not just talking about the weather. It has been just unseasonable cold this spring. The fishing is starting to get better with mixed bag fishing. Kings, Lake Trout, Steelhead and Coho are all showing up. Fishing is talking place from the shelf out to 700' fow and from 20 - 400 feet down. Steelhead and Coho are hitting Leadcore 3-7 colors Double Orange crush & Mixed Veggies spoons. Kings are coming 70 - Bottom on E-chips and Meat rigs, White / Green, Black/Red, White/Aqua Gold, Trout are coming on Tin Flashers and Cow bells close to bottom 50 - 120 Fow. Steelhead and Coho out deep in the 13's to 16's Kings from the 12's south to the point and Trout 15's to 17's. Now you know what's biting, where they are biting, and what they are biting on, Go gett'm. Good Luck and Tight Lines.
5-28-08 North wind brought cold water down for the weekend which slammed the door on our fishing earlier in the week had been awesome. Look for fishing to improve with south winds and warmer water. The fish are there and more are coming right now they are just swimming with the wind, once this weather straightens out and temps get back to normal look out it's gonna be great fishing. The weather guys are predicting more normal temps from here on out. this morning however was a record breaker coldest night on record.
5-23-08 Fish are everywhere right now, from the Harbor out to 300' plus feet of water. The Bait moved in yesterday in to the shallows and the Kings where right behind them. Spoons and Rotators and Fly's are working best. Cut-bait is impossible to find in Manistee right now. Looks like the next 2-3 weeks are going to be awesome for Salmon and Trout.
Net Situation has gotten out of hand.... This will really make you wonder if the Little River Band of Indians (LRB) have any common sense. While a third party hired by the LRB tribe has been out removing commercial nets that have been abandon by the Stone's (Manistee Commercial Fisherman). The Stone's have been out placing new nets. I have also been told that it appears from the nets that have been pulled that the Stone's went out and cut the buoys and let the nets collapse instead of pulling them for the winter. Rumor has it this is what they got in trouble for in 2002.
How can the LRB stand by and allow a third party to clean up a mess created by the Stone's and allow them (The Stone's) to go out and create more of a mess. Do you really think that they will pull these nets in the fall? They have already shown (twice, 2002 & 2007) that they will just cut the buoys and leave them in the bottom of the lake. My note to the Little River Band and to the Stone's Please pick up your own trash, don't leave it in the Lake. This includes nets and boats, since you can't seem to keep your boats floating either.
5-21-08 Weather forecast 70's for the weekend,
5-21-08 After looking at the Weather Forecast along with the Surface Temp Maps, it is easy to see that this is going to be an awesome weekend to be fishing. My prediction is that most boats fishing this weekend will either limit out or be very close to limiting out. We have a surface temp break from 60 - 48 degrees in less than one mile. The fish where already here, the full moon phase is just about over. This is it, this is going to be the week end....... We still have Saturday Morning and Evening available, Sunday morning has not been confirmed yet.. Monday morning is still available, evening is booked.
5-19-08 Fished today for a short 3 hour trip with Andy and Scott, more of a search mission than anything else since information is hard to come by this week with a Tournament this week end, everyone is very tight lipped. We started setting rods about 7:15 am out in 170 feet of water working 50 - 100 feet down. Fished for about an hour before hitting our first fish on a 10 color lead, Perch Yeck spoon, then it was pretty steady fishing working east to west from 170 to 250 feet of water 50 - 165 feet down. No one color was better than another. We managed to boat 6 fish in a matter of about 3 hours and had a couple of our fish that didn't hook up. Fishing should really take off over the next couple of days with nice stable weather and warm temps moving in. Believe it or not it was 30 degree when we left the dock this morning.
5-16-08 The time is here, Spring Kings 10-20 lbs have arrived, Brown Trout are still being caught along with 6-10 lbs Lake Trout. Bait is also starting to be marked and just about all the fish caught are full of Alewives (baitfish). The next 3-4 weeks are going to be some awesome fishing as these spring fish really know how to fight. These are also the best eating fish of the year. We still have many dates open over the next few week.
5-15-08 TopSecret information, why because of the Tournament next week end in Manistee. There are a decent number of King Salmon in the 10 - 14 pound class coming from the deeper water. 150 - 180 fow. It's still not the main group of fish and more are coming but there is a decent number of fish in this deeper water. Just be careful as this is on the outside edge of the net mess. Visit the net information link from my home page and print off the lat / long of the nets and avoid them right now.
5-11-08 I was asked the other day how many rods do I really need to fish Lake Michigan, So I took stock of what I usually run. 3-4 Downriggers, 4 - 6 planner boards and 4 divers. As for how many rods I need to accomplish this well, I have 7 Downrigger rods ready to go, 10 lead cores and/or Copper line rods, and 6 diver rods, (monofilament / Braid / Wire) and then we carry an addition 6 surface rods for Planer boards for Shallow fishing (No weight or Rubber core). Since you never really know what the conditions will be you have to be ready for anything. I have been fishing in 400' (Fow) one day catching fish 300 feet down and then next day be trolling the beach catching fish in 12 feet of water. It all depends on which way the wind blows.
More Kings are showing up everyday, the action is still a little on the slow side. But it won't be long now.
5-10-08 Lilacs are out in full bloom this has been an indicator for our spring fishing for as long as I can remember. Learned this from growing up from some of the best Charter Captains fishing from St. Joseph and it holds true regardless of where you are on Lake Michigan North or South. When the lilac's get into full bloom the Kings will be right behind them.
If your fishing right now from Muskegon to Arcadia please be aware that many commercial nets where left out over the winter and the markers have been crushed and the ice has moved the nets. Many agencies are working to identify these nets and get them removed. The goal is to have them removed by 6-1-08.
I have tried to stay neutral on the net issue, but one thing I won't stay neutral on is negligence. One netting group from the port of Manistee is responsible for most of the netting issues / problems on Lake Michigan including the sinking of two boats one in Ludington and one in Manistee. Both boats sank at the dock as a result of negligence. Enough is enough, I would like everyone to ask the Little River Band of Indians (LRB)to revoke the fishing permits from this group of problem children and give it to a responsible group of people. I make no mention of any names on this matter out of respect for the LRB, they are well aware of the problem people. I also believe that the LRB is a group of people that we the sport fisherman of Michigan can work with. I can't believe that the LRB would condone the abandonment / littering of our Great Lakes with these lost nets, or the contamination of our water with diesel fuel by the sinking of boats. The boat in Manistee was winterized, and contamination was minimal, but in Ludington a significant amount of Diesel fuel was spilled.
The nets are a fact of life and we need to learn to live with them and fish around them as they do hold fish like any other type of structure. In this case one bad apple has spoiled the whole apple cart.
5-9-08 The request was made for more Manistee Fishing information to be placed on the website, so I have added more links for more information. Wave reports, surface temps, forecast. I am trying to build a one stop website for all fisherman whether you have your own boat or your looking for a captain. You can find the info you need here.
Looking at the Surface maps and you can see a defined temp break starting to form. If you look at a total lake map you can see the temp break running from the southern lake to almost Ludington right now. The good news is all the warm water is on our side of the Lake unlike last year when east wind piled the warm water on the west side of the Lake. Everything looks good and I expect the fish to be here sometime next week or by next week end.
5-08-08 The DNR has inspected our boat and found nothing to be wrong, nor did they find any missing safety equipment. Today we also got boarded by the Coast Guard and they also checked everything and found nothing. Overall we spent about an an hour and a half between the Coast Guard and the Michigan DNR checking over our boat. I knew about the DNR the Coast Guard was a little bit of a surprise, but we are ready all the time, our biggest problem was just getting the boat cleaned up from the winter storage.
Fishing is starting to pick up a little in Manistee, spring fishing is a lot like mushroom hunting. One day they just show up and they will be everywhere. I look for this to happen sometime next week if the weather holds out. The temps breaks are just starting to set up. Plus my allergies kicked in yesterday and it's usually about a week after they kick in the fishing get hot.
5-7-08 Today was spent at the Cadillac hospital with Chase my 2 1/2 year old son, he had to have minor surgery, but it let him in pain most of the day. So the day was spent with him attempting to comfort him as much as possible. Tomorrow he will be with Great Grandma, while I run the Lake boat to our scheduled Safety inspection. This is no big deal as we go through this every other year. We will start running Lake Michigan fishing trip for Brown Trout, Lake Trout and King Salmon starting on May 12. We are still picking up a few browns and Kings in the double digits are already showing up. A good south wind will speed the kings up the lake shore. Look for the fishing to get really good around the 20th of May.
5-5-08 Today was spent getting the Lake Michigan boat in the water and double checking all of the packing. The engines fired right up as always and everything appears to be in good shape just very dirty. Thursday is the DNR inspection day for me in Manistee. Some Kings are showing up in the double digits and Brown Trout are still being caught along with Lake Trout and Steelhead right out in front. Look for the fishing to really kick off in about 10 days we just need a little more sun to warm up the water just a few more degrees then look out. It's gonna be really from the middle of May into summer for Kings, & Lake Trout.
Lets not forget our great offshore steelhead they will be taking off the middle of June or as soon as the thermo's set up in the deep water it won't be long.
5-1-08 Yesterday was spent at the Marina working on the Lake Michigan boat, but I got the fever after a buddy came in with four nice Brown Trout two of them were 10+ pounds, they released a small king and several Lake Trout and even lost a walleye at the back of the boat. All fish were taken on Sm. spoons or body baits. It was just the incentive I needed to get to work on the lake boat. All I really need to do now is some major cleaning and we will be ready to go into the water. Today will be spent rigging the new river boat for fishing, I hope to have it on the water trolling the shallows of Lake Michigan over the weekend weather permitting. Since the Lake boat won't be in the water until Monday and I have the fever.
4-30-08 Today will be spent in Manistee getting the Lake boat ready for the water. Yesterday the old river boat was dropped off at Camp & Cruise and the River boat was water test. I was very happy with the performance of then river boat, we maybe lost about 3-4 mph top end and the stability of this boat is incredible. Considering the size difference of the new boat losing a couple of mph is well worth it, and we will be able to take up to four people on the river for Salmon fishing. Tonight and tomorrow we will start installing fishing equipment and hope to take the river boat on Lake Michigan over the weekend for it's first fishing trip. Yes the river boat is big enough to fish Lake Michigan this opens up a whole new early spring and late fall fishery for us.
Have a great day it's time to hit the water, I can hear the fish call...
4-25-08 This week has been nuts, trying to get two boats ready to go into the water. Our Lake boat is scheduled to go in the water on 5-5-08 which won't be a minute to soon. The Brown trout fishing which has been for the most part non-existent for past 5 years appear to be making a come back. We have very good King Salmon action with fish in the 10-25 pound range already this year. This is very early for the Salmon so look for this to get better with time. It time to hit the big water again. Remember that end of May / June fishing is awesome with mixed bag fishing Kings, Coho, Lake Trout and Brown Trout will all be swimming around the waters of Manistee.
4-20-08 Wow, Did the weather man miss the forecast for the past several days, his prediction overcast weather with temps in the low 60's and rain everyday. Actual weather, CLEAR AND EXTREMELY WARM! Water temps have went from 44 degrees on 4-17-08 to 54 degrees today. Most fish have spawned over the weekend and are now headed down river in a hurry. The forecast for the next 5 days is mid 60 - 70's and now rain. As much as I hate to say it, folks the fat steelhead is singing it's over until fall. Now for the good news
BROWN TROUT are being caught on Lake Michigan in decent number along with a few Kings, not small I have heard of several honest 17 pound Kings already being taken. Look for the King fishing to only get better and be really good by the middle of May and into the second week of June. We will be getting our Lake boat ready over the next week and will be in the water by the first week of May.
4-17-08 Fishing continues to be very good, we even have some fresh fish moving up in the system from Manistee Lake. Fish are being caught in the deeper runs and on the gravel or spawning areas. Water clarity is dirty but not bad as we can see the gravel now in the shallower areas and water temps are just now 45 degrees so the fish are going to be very feisty. Look for next week to be the peak of the spawn.
4-14-08 Fishing and condition really improved overnight, We were able to see the gravel today and I am happy to say that it was not polished up. This means that the spawn is not yet in full swing. The good news is the fish are on the move we hit fish in every spot that we fished today, We boat four fish had several other on and I lost count of the number of rod rattle hits that we had. Look for fishing to continue to be good for a couple of weeks for sure since the spawn is not yet going strong. It won't be long before it is though.
4-13-08 The peak of our Spring Steelhead spawn should occur during this week or next. The high water has remained, but the water clarity should great improvement. There are fish moving look for the bite to really take off with the water clearing up a little. We still have four open dates for April the 22, 23, 24, 25.
4-9-08 Despite the high and dirty water fishing has remained decent, the good news is that the weather picture looks good with cool temps for the next two weeks which will prolong our steelhead fishing. The incredible news is that after talking to a couple of fisherman who fished lake Michigan over the weekend for Brown, they reported taking Steelhead while trolling the beach. So we have more steelhead coming the run is not even close to being over. Should last at least another two weeks maybe more my guess 3-4 more weeks of Steelhead in our river.
4-5-08 The Spring Steelhead run is just starting fish have moved unto the gravel to start the spawn, but fish are still being caught in Manistee Lake at the mouth. Saw lots of fish movement in the river over the weekend. But the water was high, a little cold 39 degrees and a little muddy not terrible, most boats reported only a hit or two, we managed to have four fish hooked up, two shake rods in the holders and one over the side. Not bad considering the conditions, visibility was about 6-8 inches, water to the top of the bank, and lots of grass floating. Look for the next two weeks to be very good as long as we don't get a lot of rain. Most steelhead spawn in water temps between 40 - 45 degrees so you can see the best is yet to come, it's just taking it's time getting here this year.
3-31-08 Had a cancellation last night for today, one of the guys blew out his knee. Get well soon Greg and we will see you in a few weeks. Fish was tough for most over the week end with the fish holding and not moving. Heavy boat traffic on Saturday also didn't help the situation. This rain is exactly what we needed to get our spring fishing moving in the right direction. A few fish have moved up on the gravel and started the spawning process, but most of the fish in the river are still holding tight. Plus we have fish staging at the mouth of the river. I'll bet money that those fish pushed up the river with the rain sometime last night. We still have 3-4 weeks of Steelhead fishing left.
3-27-08 Fishing is still a little on the slow side with water temps still well below normal for this time of year. Good news is that it looks like spring will arrive next week with temps in the 40's almost everyday. Bad News is the weather guy is predicting a heavy rain for Sunday night. This will warm the water up and put some color in the water. Let's just hope that it's not to much rain, and floods the river
3-25-08 This morning was spent on the road driving in a snow storm to Camp and Cruise Marina in Marne Michigan to pick up the new boat. The parts final arrived and I was able to pick it up and bring it back to Cadillac to start rigging the boat.
Looking from Stern to Bow the red oars are 10' and the console is 30" high. More Pictures tomorrow.
The good news on the fishing front is fishing has picked up from the week end when it was really slow, slowest of the year. All we need is a little warmth and a little rain (Not a Lot). Then look out, we will have some great fishing. This could happen tomorrow or next week we are that close. We just need to get past WINTER!
3-24-08 Old Man Winter and Mother Nature must be feuding again, because it is just down right cold and the fish are telling us that it is still winter even if the calendar says it's spring. The fish are trickling in and are holding in the slow water with wood cover. This is not normal for this time of year, but this has not been a normal year. Look for the fishing to bust loose when the weather breaks. Looks like we will have fish for the whole month of April at least. Look for the first pictures of the new boat tomorrow as we are going to pick it up to start rigging it.
3-23-08 Fish have been in a weird mood the past couple of days, turning up their nose at, plugs, spawn, flies pretty much everything we put in the water. Had a few short hits on plugs and a few hits on wax worms. Most of the boats I spoke with reported the same action with most people scratching their heads. One factor could be the big storm that went south of us, but did dump a lot of snow on lower Michigan. The birds and animals weren't even moving the past couple of days. This shouldn't last long, fishing will pick up in a couple of days maybe even today.
3-20-08 Back from Georgia with the new boat, this boat won't be ready to fish until the middle of May for Smallmouth on the river. The new boat is considerably bigger than my current boat which is 18 feet. We actually brought a second 19 foot boat back to Michigan inside of my boat. Lets call the new boat the ultimate fishing machine. More on the rigging later as we are still waiting for the front deck and driving console to arrive in Michigan. Photo's of new boat posted next week as the boat is currently still in Grand Rapids.
Fishing on the big river has improved and looks to be going really good, the next 3-4 weeks should be peak season with good fishing lasting until the end of April. This is going to be a normal Steelhead season something we have not had in about 6 years.
3-16-08 Fishing is really starting to take off and I really had planned on a Scouting trip to the river tomorrow, but that's not going happen now. Friday we got the word that the new boat was completed and ready to be picked up. Monday I leave for Georgia and will be back on Wednesday. The specials will be available until Thursday. Please call and leave a message with your name, phone number and date you would like to fish. I will take these in order and return your calls on Thursday. The new boat will not be ready for the Spring season but will be ready for fall.
3-12-08 Last report until Monday, headed to the Grand Rapids fishing show this weekend. I would really rather be fishing as the weather is perfect for Spring Steelhead. I still have open dates for next week call if you would like to fish. Don't miss out on this great fishery. Things are really coming together nicely and it looks like great fishing for March and look for good Downer fishing the first week of May.
Downer = A Steelhead that has spawned and head down the river back to Lake Michigan, or the true end of our spring Steelhead season as the last of the steelhead head toward Lake Michigan a real Downer. Which ever you like it's still last chance fishing and it looks like it will last until May this year.
3-11-08 The plan was to set up Thursday for the Grand Rapids show which starts on Thursday, but that was thrown out the window with a phone call and set up will be Wednesday instead. The warm up this week should get our Spring Steelhead Run moving and into high gear. This is my last show of the year and then it back to fishing everyday. I am ready for another great season and this one looks to be shaping up very nicely so far.
3-10-08 Fishing over the past couple of days has been some of the coldest that I have fished all year. Yesterday morning I watched the water turn to slush as it drifted past our boat. That means that the water temp was at 32 degrees. I know that Sunday morning the air temp was 8 below zero when we put the boat in the water. I am ready for Spring and it looks like it will be here tomorrow with 40 degrees as the predicted high. Last year at this time we where catching steelhead staging behind gravel getting ready to spawn. Not this year, it's gonna be good for a while.
3-6-08 Just had a chance to look at the extended forecast for the next 15 days, Next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday look awesome with highs near 40 degrees and then it looks like a return to winter until the middle of the month. Normally we pull our winter top of the boat by the middle of March, don't worry as long as it stays cold the top will stay up. The good news is the longer it stays cold the better our April fishing will be, the past couple of years the warm up has been in March and the fish where spawning by the end of March and done by the middle of April. I doesn't look like that will happen this year. It's going to be great right to the end of April and possibly into May this year, as water temps are still in the low 30's right now.
3-5-08 Posted this last night, Had a chance to compare notes with some of my fellow fisherman and the conclusion is that the fish are on the move. We have new fish coming in from the Lake and Fish moving in the river system it's self. Look for next week to send fishing into high gear with the warmer temps. Almost looks like Spring is here.....
3-4-08 Fished yesterday for just a couple of hours check a different area of the river. Launched the boat in a pouring rain, and by the time we fished our first hole it was a sleet storm and then pulled off the river in a snow storm with winds 15 - 20 mph. Not what you would call a pleasant day on the river. Still managed to go 1 for 3 in just a couple of very short hours. Looks like the fish are on the move right now as the water level was rising.
3-2-08 The fish are getting aggressive, As Yvonne and Randy can tell you. Yesterday we had three fish jump clear out of the water immediately after just exploding all over the lure. While this is really cool to watch it has it's draw back like have the lure sling shotted back to the boat in a hurry. Randy also had a beautiful double red striped male that hit and ripped off 30 feet of line before he could get the rod out of the rod holder. The fish made a spectacular leap and dove into the depths of the river finding a stump or log jam. We worked for about 5 minutes trying to get the line free, but ended up breaking the line. I think the fish know that spring is just around the corner.
2-29-08 Good Bye February and Hello March, the official start of our Spring Steelhead. The past week has been crazy, trying to figure out everything we need for the new boat. The new boat is just a hull and trailer. Everything must be built into it from the driving console to the running lights. This is a true project boat, but it's the only way to get the ultimate fishing platform 21' almost 8 feet wide. This boat will be awesome.... The plan is to film the entire build and then air the build on the National School of Fishing airing on NBC & Fox check local listing for time. Usually Saturday morning. Look for our TV commercial tomorrow morning, I haven't even seen it yet.
2-26-08 It's hard to believe that we are less than a week away from the official start of Spring Steelhead Season, this winter has been awesome for our cold water friends. As the weather warms and we get a little run off and rain look for even more fish to enter the river making this quite possibly one of the best springs ever. As long as we don't get too much rain that blows out the river.
2-25-08 Fishing was really good up until Saturday, There was a little tournament on the river Saturday and man did it chew up the river, Ice flowing down the river all day and everyone running right through the middle of the wintering holes. The fishing went from great to extremely tough overnight. The fish are still spooked! It's going to take a couple of days for everything to settle down. But, it will settle down we still have lots of fish in the river, actually saw a fish jump yesterday which is a little odd with the water temps in the low 30's. Water temps have finally bottomed out this usually happens in January. This is really good news since we won't have to worry about a February spawn. Looks like we are going to have a great Spring Season in March and April. The last two years by the end of February we have seen fish staging behind gravel or even on the gravel starting to spawn. Not this year, it's looking like a normal spring. Look out for March and April it could be really exciting....
2-22-08 Fishing had slowed just a little bit for a couple of days, subzero temps will do that. But fishing rebounded today nicely with good action all day including a 9 1/2 pound double red striped male.
2-19-08 Today, I will be ordering a new river boat the Rivermaster has been a great fishing platform. But I am looking to move to a bigger boat something that will fish up to four people on the river for Salmon and Steelhead. The Rivermaster is perfect for myself and two people and will be up for sale at the end of the Spring Steelhead Season. I am removing the motor, controls, steering system and electric winch to use on the new boat. To replace the steering & a winch system you are looking at about $500.00. If you are interest in buy the Rivermaster please send me an e-mail, but it will not be ready for sale until about May 1 st.
The Matt H. Story: I met Matt while loading the boat on Saturday Matt was fishing right next to the boat ramp fishing. The area he was fishing is not what I would consider real productive water from the surface it looks good, but under the water it's not. I talked to Matt for a moment and directed him down stream about 1000 yds. It's an area that is accessible from shore but it is quite a walk in the snow. I suggest that Matt switch from what he was using to a Crank bait, well you can see the proof, Matt landed a 7 pound Steelhead on a Rattlin Rap. Great Job Matt and I can tell Matt is a dedicated angler fishing in February in Waders. I used to do this for years, but I much prefer to fish from a heated boat now. Great Job, Matt glad I could help you out.
2-18-08 Fishing finally slowed a little bit, Sunday it down poured most of the day which brought the river up, by yesterday afternoon the fish where acting a little more aggressive once the water leveled off. After today we should be back to exceptional fishing with waters stable or dropping a bit.
The real highlight of the weekend was Sunday when everything was coated with ICE. I made a quick trip to the river. Now what you need to know is, High Bridge boat ramp is about 60 feet long from the top of the ramp to the river and it is quite steep. But, that didn't stop me really it didn't stop me, I tried to stop.... As I was backing the boat up, the boat started down the ramp, I hit my breaks and the boat pulled the truck over the lip of the ramp and as they say it was all down hill from there. Slid the entire way picking up speed as we went, I managed to keep the truck and boat straight, hit the water with a big splash, and the truck finally came to a stop. The truck was in the water right to the back gate, but water did not come in the truck. What a rush.... Hope it never happens again...But it will.. Like I said a quick trip to the river!
2-16-08 I thought that the fishing might slow a bit with the fridge temps that we had all week. If it slowed it wasn't by much Phil and Ed managed to boat 4 fish out of 8 hits. It was a great day and a lot of fun to be back on the water with these two great fisherman. Phil and Ed have been fishing with me for 5 years now and have there own boat, but in the middle of winter it's nice to have a boat with heat. Back at it tomorrow and Monday should be great fishing again.
2-15-08 Weather man was right on the money, 6 inches of new snow last night and very cold temps in the morning, but it has warmed up nicely in the mid-20, Looking at next week we have a couple of cool days. But, a big warm up is predicted by the week end with Rain. This is going to make the last week of Feb. Very interesting my bet is we are going to have some really good fishing. We still have a few dates left open in February and the special is still good.
2-14-08 Happy Valentines Day! In my neck of the woods today we are supposed to get up to 6 inches of new snow starting late afternoon into tomorrow, with a cold front for Friday supposed to be around -5 degrees Friday morning. I presented this to the guys for Friday and we decided to reschedule. "Fishing is supposed to be fun" with those temps only a true die hard nut case Steelheader would be on the river. I called three other buddies to see if they wanted to go, I guess I am the only nut case around right now. It's not a good idea to fish alone out of a boat in the winter. I have done it for years, if something bad happens its good to have help.
Let me list a few bad things that have happen to me over the years. 1. Got wet (Really Bad) 2. Batteries died down stream 3. Boat got stuck on big ice flow 4. Steering froze 5. Ice jam formed between myself and boat ramp 6. Got stuck on boat ramp. Most of the time it's uneventful and nothing happen except we catch fish. Remember I have been fishing in the dead of winter for almost 30 years, in that amount of time you are bound to have something bad happen, and of course do something stupid. Like use your boat as an ice break to get to the best walleye hole. It was only 100 feet, and I caught some really nice walleye. The welder only charged me $150 to fix the hole in the hull. Have a Happy Valentines Day see you on the river.
2-13-08 Will be spending most of today trying to get the final quote on the new river boat and getting it ordered in the next couple of weeks. It will take 4-6 week to get to Michigan and the 4-6 weeks of rigging. We will have it ready for June Smallmouth and Fall Salmon, but not Spring Steelhead. Only a couple more weeks of hardcore winter. March is the turning point and we are only a couple of short weeks away. March is also the usual start of our Spring Steelhead Season. (16 days till March)
2-11-08 Back from the fishing show, and I was greeted with a message from a buddy telling that he was fishing the river and it was as good as he had ever seen it. This is amazing since he has been fishing the river for over 35 years. I can't wait to get back on the river this week, but it's going to have to wait a couple of days. I was shocked to see how blown out the rivers are down state. The Manistee river is up, but it is almost prefect for fishing with visibility at 1 -2 feet. Most of the rivers I saw over the week end where over the banks and looked like chocolate milk. The Manistee is in great shape...
I picked up some cool new equipment to try out on Lake Michigan while at the show. We will be talking more about this later on. Look for a river update after Wednesday.
2-8-08 Heading out in a few minutes for Monroe to be at the Monroe Steelheaders show at the MB&T Expo Center. Come on out and enjoy the show.
2-7-08 What can I say just more of the same excellent Steelhead fishing....
I will be down at the Michigan-Ohio Sport Fishing Show Set up is tomorrow, the show runs Saturday and Sunday at the Monroe Bank and Trust Expo center in Monroe Michigan (Not to far from Cabela's). I know a stop at Cabela's is on my list since I have to go right past it. I will be giving two seminars one on Deep water Trolling (Sat) and Catching River Salmon and Steelhead (Sun). Then it's back for more Steelhead fishing next week and only one more show for the year. Grand Rapids next month. I can't wait to get back on the river next week, Come on down to the show. I have a Great Spring Lake Michigan special that includes a Hotel room.
2-6-8 Woke up this morning at 4:00 am, beautiful morning. Then by 10:00 am we had about 3 inches on the ground and the road where a sheet of ice. I was planning a mid-afternoon trip to the river. But decided that I better get something's done around home. We are looking at setting up another May Class and will have two available spots in that class. The date as not been determined yet but will be after the 17th. If interested please e-mail or call, apparently Net zero is having some difficulties and my e-mail may not been working. Please try if it doesn't work please call me.
2-5-08 It's hard to believe that the fishing is this good right now. This is normally a slow time of year for our steelhead fishing. But, not right now. This is some of the best steelhead fishing, most trips we are having at least our limit on with 3-6 fish boat on most trips, and the size is starting to get bigger. Look for this fishing to continue for at least a couple of more weeks.
2-4-08 Spent most of today on the road driving from Cadillac to Grand Rapids and back, the trip down was fine the trip back was a little slippery. the good news is that the fuel leak was so minor that it took a whopping 30 seconds to fix. That's ok, I needed to get a quote on new River Boat anyway. The Rivermaster is great but a little more room would be a lot nicer. The rest of the week will be spent getting ready for the up coming show and completing the paperwork to renew my Captains license for the Coast Guard, and maybe a short trip to the river for a fun fishing trip for myself. I do like to occasional reel in a steelhead and with fishing this easy I like to take advantage of it.
2-3-08 This weather is nuts, it has been almost pleasant in Northern Michigan. It seems like we get two or three days of winter and then two or three days of spring. It's keeping great Steelhead conditions on the river, we are getting some run off that is keeping our river a little higher than normal and the water has about 1.5 - 2.5 feet of visibility (Perfect for Plug fishing) Water temps are bouncing between 33.5 and 35 degrees so the fish are still active. This week is looking like more of the same, I'm lovin this! The rest of this week will be getting ready for the Steelheaders Show in Monroe, Mi. this Saturday and Sunday. I have two presentations Deep water trolling (Saturday) and Catching River Salmon and Steelhead (Sunday), and running the boat to Grand Rapids to have a mystery gas leak found and fixed, should be an easy fix as the leak is minor. I also need to talk to the marina about order a new riverboat, the 18' is just a little small it's time to move to a 21'.
2-2-03 Fished with two great guys yesterday Greg and Jerry what a pleasure they where to have on the boat. Jerry missed the first fish of the day at our very first hole but redeemed himself at the next hole landing a nice 6 pound Steelhead. The guys then told me that they where satisfied and the trip was worth it. (Not to Me) But the pressure was off. Jerry ended up landing two more Steelhead including a Beautiful 11 pound on the nose male. Greg land two fish a skipper Steelhead and a Sucker both where released to fight another day. We also missed a few other hits that just doubled the rods and let go... We tried to get Greg an upgrade but it just didn't happen. Maybe next time, Well get you a upgrade this summer on the Big Lake.
1-31-08 The blizzard of 2008 has passed and temps are getting ready to rebound nicely. A couple of days of cold weather shouldn't have bothered our Steelhead to much since we had 50 degree weather for 2 days prior to the deep freeze. For the most part temps for the next 15 days still look to be above normal. We should have a great March and April Spring Steelhead run.
1-29-08 Fishing as been exceptionally good over the past month, the past two days have brought weather that is unseasonable warm and rain, this has warmed our water temps up a bit and the steelhead are extremely active right now. While we do have some more cold weather coming. The warming of the water should keep our fishing good for a couple of more weeks. It seem like we are getting just enough warmth to keep our winter fishery going strong.
1-26-08 It was another amazing January day on the river, Jason and Tom managed to boat five scrappy Steelhead in 6 hours and they had at least 3 or 4 hits that where missed. This is good Steelhead fishing regardless of what time of the year it is... The water is looking very good with a little color and above average water temps for this time of year. Plugs of gold base and white base are producing at the end of the lines. This is one of the best January bites I have seen in quite awhile, according to the extended forecast this fishing should stay good for a couple of more weeks.
1-24-08 With above normal temps predicted for the next ten days, look for fishing to be above average. We even have a day of light rain predicted next week. This should really help with water levels and stimulating a little feeding action.
1-22-08 It's hard to believe but the extended forecast is showing temps in the 30's for most of next week. This is going to make for some great Steelhead fishing weather, and with some sun the water will warm a bit and get our fish active. Take advantage of this warmer weather because it may not last. We still have many weekdays available and some weekends.
1-20-08 An Artic blast is bringing in our coldest weather of the season. This morning our actual temp was -5 degrees and our wind chill was between -27 and -31 degrees this is cold. The river is a flowing slushy right now. The good news is this is only temporary, The rest of the week will improve everyday with temps Friday back into the 20's and next week several days are supposed to be in the 30's. With a little sun these fish will get moving again. Look for fishing to be decent by Monday of next week and good by the end of the week if the weather predictions are correct.
1-16-08 Finally got the boat back yesterday and hit the river with good friend Capt. Dick This was going to be a short day just wanted to check out the new motor and make sure everything was running right. Everything was great with the new motor. So we decided to do a little fishing, set up in the first hole and nothing not even a nibble. So we dropped to our second hole an Bam the inside rod exploded with a small hen attached to our lure. To make a long story short over the next two hours Dick managed to land his limit and miss four other fish. One of which I am sure was a big walleye as the hit was not aggressive. The rest of the strikes were Devastating. I love watching Steelhead explode on a plug..... The weather is sure to slow this bite down a little but there are plenty of fish in the river right now...
1-14-08 Belated Happy New Year...... Since the last report I have moved and just returned from the Novi Sports show. The recent warm up has brought a push of Steelhead up the Manistee river and fishing has been very good. Look for this to continue for another week or so before cold temps slows the fishing. Fishing should remain decent but will slow a bit. The past week as been some of the best January fishing in years.