Muskegon River Fishing Report – January 8, 2019 – Newaygo, Michigan

Muskegon River Fishing Report – January 8, 2019 – Newaygo, Michigan

I’ve been tying a few “bugs” that aren’t meant to be fished in this part of the country, so I’ll have to go to where I can !

The Muskegon river in the Newaygo, Michigan area has been settling into “winter mode” over the last near month and will stay as such for the better part of the next 2 months.

With early winter having arrived in November, river temperatures dropped quickly and have remained  in the 35-37 degree range for the last month or so.

We have a mix of migratory winter steelhead, resident Brown and Rainbow trout, as well as Walleye to fish for with different types of equipment, based on personal preference and what works for each type of fishing and fish we’re pursuing.

Fly fishing setups include bottom bouncing – aka “chuck and duck”,  indicator nymphing or even stripping or swinging streamers, all are viable options, however the streamer bite can be suspect when water temperatures get cold.

Conventional tackle rigs “present” your offering in a similar manner, but with longer rods and bobbers to replicate nymphing. Similar rods are rigged to bottom bounce, but not much on the lure front, as fish don’t really chase down much in the lines of lures an flies, when water temperatures get THIS cold….brrr.

With the rise in water levels and warmer air temperatures in recent days, we “may” see some change in conditions aside from the bump up in levels that occurred today.

Present water temperature in the 35-36 degree range.