Muskegon River Fishing Report – July 25, 2021 – Newaygo, Michigan

Muskegon River Fishing Report – July 25, 2021 – Newaygo, Michigan

Greg with a nice Muskegon river Smallmouth Bass from our recent trip.

The Muskegon river fishing report for July 25, 2021 in the Newaygo, Michigan area is focused on the heart of our summer season for warm water species such as Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike and Walleye.

After way too many weeks with river levels well below average, we did get some rain in the middle and upper portions of the Muskegon river watershed, which brought levels up and kept river temperatures down for a number of weeks.  River levels have since dropped to “normal” flows for this time of late July and temperatures have settled around or slightly below, the 70 degree mark.  Click HERE for current Muskegon river water flow data.

With both fly fishing and light spin tackle equipment, we’re fishing sections of the river in and around Newaygo, as well as further down stream, targeting likely holding spots for all of these fish.  The primary food for fish at this time of summer is crayfish and baitfish, which we’re fishing imitations of in varying sizes and shades of color.

Not to be left out of the “summer fishing” conversation this year is the Grand river in and around the Grand Rapids area.   After nearly a month of consistent rains that came into Michigan and put water over most of the 200+ mile Grand river watershed, it had been running a bit high and off color for a few weeks.  This has begun to change and the Grand should fish good in the weeks ahead.   With sporadic weather patterns coming through with some short lived but heavy rains, the Grand rivers conditions can change quickly though.  Click HERE for current and forecasted weather for the general west Michigan region.

With another 3-4 weeks of time left to capitalize on what is historically the best summer time fishing for Smallmouth, Pike and Walleye, I will seeking out the best fishing for the remaining weeks, before fall run Chinook Salmon begin their annual spawning run.

On that note, I will begin the fall Salmon run on the Pere Marquette river for September, followed by the Manistee river end of September and early October, then switch to the Muskegon river for the rest of the October Salmon run, then fall Steelhead from late October through mid to late December.  I AM running out of open dates, so if any are considering fall fishing for such great lakes big game fish, it may be best to touch base sooner than later.

Good fishing !

Jeff