Muskegon River Fishing Report – February 16, 2015

Muskegon River….actually, Mexico !

A VERY close Stingray, off the coast of Playa del Carmen, swimming by in less than 2′ of water !

I took a break from the chilly confines of west Michigan for some R & R in the sun and sand of SE Mexico with my wife and a group of friends…..the 70 degree change in air temperature was nice for a week !

Pictured on the left is a Stingray that my wife Mary and I walked, LITERALLY, right by while getting out the water from some off shore snorkeling.  Below are several Bermuda Chub fish that were in the shallows as well.  We were only a few feet from the shoreline and without camera in hand, so Mary grabbed hers from her on shore gear bag, I put my polarized sunglasses over the camera from an I Phone and got these 2 pictures.

Several Bermuda Chub fish swimming next to me off the coast of Play del Carmen

Muskegon River Fishing Report

The Muskegon river near Newaygo, MI is still running low, clear and cold, with flows in the 1500 cfs range and temperature in the 33.5-34.5 range.

With this most recent arctic blast, most all Midwest rivers will be seeing the most significant ice forming, from both the shoreline and river bottom.  Both “shelf ice” (shoreline) and “anchor ice” (formed from the rivers bottom) accumulate rather quickly once we get to the point where day time temperatures are in single digits and night temperatures dip well below that, into negative numbers.

As a result, this will be the time of the winter where the fish are the most lethargic, but at the same time, present river conditions make it quite simple to ID where the fish are at.

Spring will be here soon enough and if you have interest in getting out for a guided trip this coming spring, summer or next fall, please contact me as soon as possible….spring dates are going fast and I have over 3/4 of my spring schedule booked.

We do have some relief in sight,  I will be out on the water again next week and have some new pic’s to share at that time.

Captain Jeff Bacon