Steelhead Fishing NW Michigan

Posted by Ted Kraimer - October 24, 2012

The water levels have come down, water clarity is pretty much ideal and water temps are perfect – it is a great time for steelhead. Fishing the last few days has been spotty – either it’s real good or it has bee slow. With the salmon numbers significantly diminishing, the steelhead are transitioning from only being directly below spawning fish to the seams and pools funneling eggs into them. Deeper holes are providing fish on the Manistee from the Tippy dam to the Lake with runs giving up fish, too. With conditions ideal, now is a good time to swinging flies with spey rods as the fish will move to eat something other than an egg.

Because eggs are still a major and primary part of the steelhead’s diet, double egg patterns have been working closer to gravel whereas an egg and nymph combo has been the go-to in the longer runs. Mix it up, cover lots of water and hold on when hooked – they are jumping, pulling and otherwise finding ways to separate themselves from the angler.

Good luck,

Ted

Fall Steelhead & Trout – Early November Available Dates: Nov. 1

Fall Steelhead: It’s time to target angler’s favorite sport-fish now through November.
Fall Trout: Fish the Upper Manistee throughout fall or Lower Manistee in late October and through November.
Booking for all 2013 Seasons and through September – reserve your place in the boat.

With Rain Comes Steelhead

Posted by Ted Kraimer - October 17, 2012

Significant rainfalls over the weekend really raised the water levels on local rivers bringing in more fresh fish under the cover of stained waters. Estimates on the total rainfall amount are approximately 3 inches and the Lower Manistee came up about 18 inches and has already “crested” and has fallen a bit since. The water below Tippy dam will be clearest as tributaries further downstream continue to contribute a stain. The weather forecast is calling for more so stay tuned and check out the flows on your favorite river (click here for the USGS water data website).

Water temps are still in the 50s and the steelhead are far from friendly when hooked – hold on tight. I have come to the conclusion that if bonefish could jump they would be called fall steelhead. Eggs are the primary food source right now for steelhead as the spawning salmon are creating a chum line. The salmon numbers are starting to decline but there are still plenty of fish around with steelhead nearby taking advantage of the protein drip. With the stained water bigger egg flies have been working better than the small, actual sized flies and when the leaves get in the river, bigger, bolder patterns help stand out. As the water clears up look for the nymph bite to improve and if the eggs aren’t working, try the typical patters – hex, buggers, caddis and stones.

Good luck,

Ted

Fall Steelhead & Trout – Early November Available Dates: Nov. 1

Fall Steelhead: It’s time to target angler’s favorite sport-fish now through November.
Fall Trout: Fish the Upper Manistee throughout fall or Lower Manistee in late October and through November.
Booking for all 2013 Seasons and through September – reserve your place in the boat.

egg patterns, steelhead, steelhead fishing the manistee

Fall Steelhead on the Manistee

Posted by Ted Kraimer - October 11, 2012

With the fall-like weather upon us, the fish are behaving appropriately. Some much needed rain has bumped up the water levels a bit on the Manistee River and with it have come additional steelhead. Fish like to be around all the salmon as their spawning activity makes for a great source of food the steelhead cash in on. Lots of egg patterns have been the trick in natural salmon color patterns and small as the water is really clear. The nymph bite has been improving in the deeper water and runs when targeting migrating fish including hex nymphs, big stoneflies and caddis. Those looking to target salmon will find a majority of them on or near spawning gravel. The coho salmon don’t seem to be around as much this year, but sometimes they run a little later; lake run browns have been showing up a little more this year as a nice added bonus.

With the winds and fall colors, there is no shortage of leaves in the water so check your flies each time you cast to make sure they are clean of debris and keep casting. When you do hook into those adult steelhead, hold on and hope as they are rambunctious in the mid-50 degree water – one little mistake and the fish are gone, but then again, a steelhead’s ability to act this way is in part why we fish them.

Good Luck,

Ted

October is the month for fall steelhead – Available Dates: October 31

Fall Steelhead: It’s time to target angler’s favorite sport-fish now through November.
Fall Trout: Fish the Upper Manistee throughout fall or Lower Manistee in late October and through November.
Booking for all 2013 Seasons and through September – reserve your place in the boat.

fall steelhead, manistee river, steelhead fly fishing

It’s October – Steelhead and Salmon Fishing

Posted by Ted Kraimer - October 3, 2012

The month has changed and so has the color of the leaves – it’s fall’s best fishing. The weather has been more than pleasant lately but the much needed rain never came however the forecast for some precipitation is promising. Actually Sunday’s forecast is threatening a rain and snow mix – its officially fall.

On the Manistee there are lots of salmon in various stages – from holding in deep pools to gravel and more fresh fish moving upstream as the calendar advances. More steelhead have been showing up and with the water temp in the upper-50’s they are hard to hold onto once hooked. With all the salmon spawning, the egg bite for skipper and adult steelhead has been good in the water near beds with nymphs like buggers and hex working in the runs targeting migrating fish. For more on fishing eggs for steelhead click here.

This time of year offers a nice mix of fish – from Chinook/King and Coho/Silver salmon, steelhead and even a rare lake run brown or two. As water and air temps cool and more water flows through our already clear waters, look for fishing to only improve, not that it isn’t good now.

Good luck,

Ted

October is the month for Steelhead! Available dates: 16, 18, 30, 31

Fall Steelhead: It’s time to target angler’s favorite sport-fish now through November.
Fall Trout: Fish the Upper Manistee throughout fall or Lower Manistee in late October and through November.
Booking for all 2013 Seasons and through September – reserve your place in the boat.

egg flies, egg patterns, fall steelhead, flies, lower manistee, manistee, salmon, steelhead

Salmon Fishing with Steelhead Beginning

Posted by Ted Kraimer - September 26, 2012

Last week’s weather was a great shot in the arm to salmon fisheries in the area. Water levels have pretty much returned to normal and with that push of water came a nice push of fish in the Betsie, Platte and Manistee Rivers. The Betsie is still plagued by low water levels at the mouth of the river making it difficult for a lot of the fish to make it up stream – another significant rainfall should help change that.

The fish in both the Manistee and Betsie can be found scattered throughout the system and in various types of water: some are on gravel, others moving upstream in both slots and inside bends and others staged and holding in the deep holes. This time of the month with the big moon you might find good numbers of fish in a specific area one day only to have them gone the next day so look to cover different sections of water as these fish migrate. A few steelhead have trickled into the Manistee making for a fun, mixed bag of fish along with king/Chinook and Coho/silver salmon but with more rain, a fresh push of all species should make their way up.

There have been no magic flies that are working better than another lately with a nymph ( caddis, hex, bugger) and egg fly combo being the go-to choice right now and as more fish hit the spawning gravel, look to the double egg rig to perform best.

With the MI-DNR significantly reducing the number of salmon stocked/planted in the Lake Michigan by 2/3rds in 2013, please practice catch and release to help promote natural reproduction and future fish populations.

Good luck,

Ted

October is the month for Steelhead! Available dates: 16, 18, 30, 31

Steelhead: The end of September means it’s time to focus on fall steelhead through November.
Fall Trout: Fish the Upper Manistee throughout fall or Lower Manistee in late October and through November.
Booking for all 2013 Seasons and through August – reserve your place in the boat.

Betsie river salmon fishing, Manistee Salmon fishing, Platte River, salmon, steelhead

Fishing Report

Steelhead Fishing NW Michigan

Fall Steelhead & Trout – Early November Available Dates: Nov. 1

With Rain Comes Steelhead

Fall Steelhead & Trout – Early November Available Dates: Nov. 1

Fall Steelhead on the Manistee

October is the month for fall steelhead – Available Dates: October 31

It’s October – Steelhead and Salmon Fishing

October is the month for Steelhead! Available dates: 16, 18, 30, 31

Salmon Fishing with Steelhead Beginning

October is the month for Steelhead! Available dates: 16, 18, 30, 31

Ted Kraimer • Current Works, LLC • PO Box 333 • Traverse City, Michigan 49685 • (231) 883-8156