Muskegon River Fishing Report – July 19, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river continues to fish well in and around the Newaygo area, for both resident Brown and Rainbow trout, as well as Smallmouth bass.

With both fly fishing and light spin tackle, we’re getting into “smally’s” throughout the river system from Newaygo down stream towards Muskegon itself, along with trout from Croton dam down to Newaygo.

After a brutal June with next to no precipitation – driest June in recorded history – mother nature came around and provided some long overdue rains over the last few weeks, to salvage what was looking like, a very challenging summer of Muskegon river fishing.

There are still some insect hatches going on that are getting the trout to “look up”, but those may be coming to an end here shortly. The Smallmouth bass have been receptive to topwater flies and lures at times, but the better fishing overall has been subsurface, with baitfish, crayfish and attractor fly patterns and lures.

As we approach August, the trout fishing will likely drop off, but Smallmouth fishing should remain good through the rest of summer.

We’re not far off from seeing the first sightings of early run Chinook salmon and following them in October will be the Grand Prize of great lakes big game fish….steelhead !

Muskegon River Fishing Report – June 20, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river continues to hold decent enough water temperatures to keep some insect hatches going and trout “looking up” for dry flies.

Smallmouth bass fishing has picked up as well and we should have good fishing for both resident Brown and Rainbow trout, as well as Smallmouth bass and the occasional Walleye, Northern Pike or even recently sighted Muskie, which have worked they way up from down river.

With both fly fishing and conventional equipment, we’ll be fishing for all species of fish this coming week+ and we may then see a small shift in river conditions, as river temperatures will surely rise with the hot days and warm nights ahead.

We are long overdue for some rain in west Michigan, as the short run of cooler weather and very light rains last week, did nothing to help with river levels, which are running at near mid July low levels.

I have been doing a mix of first time fly fishing instructional lessons, as well as trips with intermediate-advanced fly casters and all have gotten into fish over the last couple weeks……all experience levels are welcome and it has been fun watching first time fly casters, pick up the various “nuances” and mechanics of fly fishing.

It won’t be long before we see the first trickle of early run Chinook salmon coming into some of the smaller, colder spring fed river systems like the Little Manistee river. The first good push of fall run salmon should find their way into other west Michigan rivers such as the Pere Marquette and Betsie rivers, come late August.

For any looking to do battle with either fall salmon or fall steelhead, it would be best to touch base soon about open dates, as they are running out and I only have a few openings in October and November of this fall.

Muskegon River Fishing Report – May 31, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river is currently running below average levels for this time of late spring and could really use a drink from Mother Nature !

With very yo-yo like weather over the last near 2 months, river levels and temperatures have bounced around a bit, temperatures more so than levels, but both have gone up, down, up, down…and this is not the normal “behavior” of the Muskegon river. Once a BIG river system like the Muskegon, begins it rise in water temperature starting in in mid to late spring, it’s not common for it to reverse that course, but it has several times since April. All that said, the river IS in pretty good shape, considering the erratic fluctuations.

We are amidst a grab bag of fishing right now, with hatches taking place each day to provide dry fly fishing opportunities for the fly fisher, as well as Smallmouth bass movement/migration that has picked up recently. Some Smallmouth spawning activity is present, we’ll see how long that lasts with the hot weather coming through now.

With both fly fishing and conventional equipment, we can catch resident Brown and Rainbow trout, along with Smallmouth bass, possibly a Walleye here or there and once water temperatures come up, shots at Northern pike will increase as well.

Current river temperatures in the low 60’s and flows around 1300 cfs, which is about 3-400 less than normal for this time.

Muskegon River Fishing Report – May 11, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river spring steelhead run of 2023 is coming to an end and in general, has been a pretty good run overall. It was better than many feared after having a fair fall steelhead last year, with the first of the fish coming in from lake Michigan in early March and the last ones either in the river now or on their way up river.

It’s now time to focus on trout, bugs and the best dry fly fishing opportunities of the year, which are just around the corner. With 4-6 weight fly rods, we’ll be casting imitations of tan caddis to start, followed by sulphurs, then gray drakes and isonychias following. Can’t count out the blue wing olives on cloudy days and we never know when a random march brown will show up early in the spring season.

Not far behind the trout dry fly fishing, we will see more smallmouth bass make their way up river for their annual spawn, which has grown in fish numbers in the last handful of years.

With both fly fishing and light spin tackle, we’ll fish for both “smally’s” and resident Brown and Rainbow trout, up to the end of June and after that, smallmouth will be the primary species, but can’t count out the occasional pike or walleye.

Muskegon river water levels are a bit over 2,000 cfs and river temperatures are climbing with each nice, warm, sunny day and are currently in the 53-54 degree range.

For now,

Jeff

Muskegon River Fishing Report – May 2, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

After a good start to the spring season on the Muskegon river back in late March, we’ve seen all kinds of odd things happen with the weather and river. We had record breaking temperatures, followed by snow storms and really strong winds and then went through a weeks long drought of sorts that only found light snow as precipitation and now we’re back to cool, late fall like weather…..hmmmm?

All of this had an impact on the rivers of Michigan, with many reaching very high temperatures in mid April, only to have a bout of winter return and have them drop several degrees in a matter of less than a week.

Many saw their spring steelhead run come to an end early, the Muskegon river is either on the verge of that now, or done altogether. The rains we got yesterday and last night did bring the river levels up, which “historically” is the trigger of sorts to bring in our last good batch of steelhead from lake Michigan. We may have already seen them come, only the days ahead will truly answer that question.

It was a good run in general, better than many feared, not as good as others had seen in years past of hoped for, but we have to bear in mind that our overall steelhead population in the great lakes is down a bit.

Soon we’ll be focusing our efforts on resident Brown and Rainbow trout, as they will be seeing insects emerge in a few weeks and this kicks off our best dry fly fishing opportunities of the year on the Muskegon and other Michigan rivers.

With 5 & 6 weight fly rods, well cast our caddis, sulphur, blue wing olive, gray drake and other fly patterns, to “rising” trout in the 10+ miles down from Croton dam. With any sudden change in river levels, we’ll pull out streamer rods and cast 2-300 grain sinking lines on 6 & 7 wieght fly rods for trout, maybe smallmouth and the occasional Walleye.

Not but a few weeks or so after bugs and trout, smallmouth bass fishing will pick up and provide great action for both the fly fisher and conventional equipment angler, through the end of June, July and August.

Looking ahead to fall, we’ll get into the fall salmon run in September on the Pere Marquette, followed by the Manistee river out of the Wellston area late September/early October, then switch to the Muskegon river mid October and switch to fall steelhead the end of the month and fish them through the rest of 2023.

Availability for fall is limited and dates are running out, best to touch base sooner than later if you’re interested….my September 2023 is already completely booked.

For now….

Jeff

Muskegon River Fishing Report – April 21, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

Jack strikes again !!!

The Muskegon river spring steelhead run is in full swing and we’ll continue to see new steelhead come in from lake Michigan over the next couple weeks+. How long we have “fishable” numbers of spring steelhead will depend on river levels and temperatures. If we can keep some cool river temperatures through the end of next week, we will likely see our last good push of steelhead come out of lake Michigan over a week-10 day time period. If things warm quickly and/or we have big rise in river levels, we may see a lot of our “last batch” come all at once. This is how it has gone historically, but we’ll have to see what Mother Nature has in store for us this spring.

With both fly fishing and conventional equipment setups, we’ve been catching not only nice steelhead, but also some real fat and healthy Rainbow and Brown trout. The trout are eager to cash in on the easy meals of high protein steelhead eggs and based on the size of their stomachs, they’re finding enough of them !

It won’t be long and we will put the big game equipment away and pull out the trout rods for our best dry fly fishing of the year. This “typically” goes from late May – mid to late June on the Muskegon river. Hatches will include tan caddis, sulphurs, gray drakes, blue winged olives and isonychias for the most part.

Not far beyond prime trout dry fly time, we’ll see some great smallmouth bass show up and provide really good fishing through late spring and most of the summer.

Current rivers temperatures are a bit below 50 and river levels are running a little above average for this time of April.

Considering a guided outing this summer for trout or smallmouth bass ?…it may be best to touch base about open dates as I’m filling them every week of the summer at this time, Same goes for fall salmon and steelhead trips, but know that those are filling up fast !….my entire September schedule is already full.

More to follow in the days ahead…

Jeff

Muskegon River Fishing Report – April 9, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river is still running high due to the rains over the last week+ and with off color water, so it finds a LOT of recreational anglers and even some “new guides” driving all over, anchoring in very odd places and fishing in even more suspect spots, trying to find steelhead. A bit comical to begin with, now it has just become a problem of sorts, but this should taper off soon…I hope !

There are spring steelhead in the Muskegon river and more will come for several weeks, how long the run lasts will depend on river conditions to some degree, we’ll see what Mother Nature has in store for us.

With both fly fishing and conventional equipment, we’re covering all kinds of water to put our “offerings” in front of these spring run steelhead. Fishing has been tougher than we’re accustomed to for this time in early April, but should come as no surprise due to the fact that our great lakes steelhead population in general, is down from recent years.

All that said, there are some good fish to be caught and it’s simply a matter of covering water and fishing “smarter, not harder”. As river levels drop, the river will clear a bit and fish should be present in the pre-spawn, spawn and post spawn locations, we’re accustomed to finding them in.

More to follow…

Jeff

Muskegon River Fishing Report – April 3, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river spring steelhead run is in full swing now and we’re going to be pursuing them and resident Rainbow and Brown trout, through most of May, then we’ll be switching to PRIME DRY FLY fishing for trout, come the end of May.

The recent weather that brought heavy rains, also brought river levels up again, which is great, now we just need water temperatures to come up a few degrees this week. Levels are currently in the 5,000 cfs range, which means “bring more anchor” if you’re using a boat and river temperatures still hovering around the 40 degree mark.

With bothg fly fishing and light spin tackle, we’re going after pre-spawn steelhead and finding them in certain pools and runs not far from spawning grounds.

One thing for ALL to be aware of if going out on their own or getting in their boat, a friends or a guides, is the safety factor being brought into question at times, with people operating their boat terribly …..I can’t find a better word ! We were passed at high speed yesterday and within 20 yards of our anchored boat, which is illegal. Worse part was that we were parked within about 40 yards of shore and the river at that point, is almost 200 yards wide….hmmm.

Lastly, if any are considering getting out for some walk in-wade fishing on their own and would like some feedback on locations, rigging, etc., feel free to call or email me – 616-560-3195.
Not much for open steelhead dates until mid May, touch base if you would like to talk about a steelhead – trout combo trip for that time of spring…..can be fun targeting steelhead in the morning and then fishing trout for a couple 2-3 hours after lunch.

For now,

Jeff

Muskegon River Fishing Report – March 30, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river has started to drop in level in recent days, after having come up due the weather and heavy rains of nearly 2 weeks ago. Not much for sustained precipitation in the upper reaches of the watershed since then, hopefully rains tomorrow morning hit the “right spot” in mid Michigan, to bring level up below Croton dam.

The spring steelhead run continues and will for a while. These cold nights as of late aren’t helping with river temperatures, as they’re still hovering right at or just below the 40 degree mark.

There are some spawning steelhead in certain areas, but we’re focusing on the pre-spawn fish in the deeper pools and runs, using both fly fishing and conventional equipment.

Looks like some nicer weather is coming in next week and with warmer day and night air temps, we should see river temps begin to climb.

Resident brown and rainbow trout are being caught as well, most not far from steelhead spawning grounds, where they can get an easy meal of loose steelhead eggs !

Until next report, good fishing !

Jeff

Muskegon River Fishing Report – March 28, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river’s annual spring steelhead run is in full swing right now and we’ll see these migratory great lakes “silver bullets” arriving through the month of May. The first good push of fish came up a bit earlier than most years, with fresh fish showing up the first week+ of March. We’ll typically see some new ones come in from lake Michigan around then, but this year we saw a much better first batch.

With both fly fishing and conventional equipment, we’re targeting per-spawn fish, which will be in the deeper pools and runs, waiting for their biological clock to tell them, “time to spawn”. The spawning process will continue through April and May, river conditions will often dictate how long into May we have good enough numbers of fish, to make a day out of pursuing them.

Winter returned a couple of times over the last 3 weeks, which finds river temperatures still chilly, I got 39 degrees yesterday on my trip and with some pretty cold nights and not real warm air temperatures over the next week, we’ll likely see water slowly warm up….it IS still March, but we got spoiled with some great, short sleeve shirt weather over the last month or so.

Also showing up are stone flies that are hatching and fluttering all over the surface on certain days. It’s a bit cold for resident Brown and Rainbow trout to key in on them, but I did see a few fish sipping bugs as of late and I have my box of black stone fly, dry flies and a 5 weight fly rod on board in case !

For those considering a guided outing before the end of the spring steelhead season, know that I only have a few open dates in mid May. I will fill those, so if there is any interest, send me an email, text of give me a call – 616-560-3195. Email information on the “contact” link on this site.

For others who may just want to walk in on any of the handful of west Michigan rivers that get a spring steelhead run, feel free to touch base if you have questions about locations, rigging, flies/similar…happy to help!

Good fishing…………

Jeff