Muskegon River Fishing Report – July 8, 2020 – Newaygo, Michigan

Muskegon River Fishing Report – July 8, 2020 – Newaygo, Michigan

Greg, from SE Michigan holds a VERY chunky Muskegon river Smallmouth Bass from our recent outing.

The Muskegon river fishing report for July 8, 2020 for the Newaygo, Michigan area is focused on the heat wave that has taken over the Midwest and much of the country, which has in turn affected the lakes and rivers and related fishing.  With such an extended run of hot weather, many guides and outfitters in Michigan have taken on a self imposed ban on guiding for trout.  Cold water fish need just that….colder water and if they’re too stressed out from being caught, they will die.  I applaud those who are putting the health of the resoursc/fishery, over the all-mighty dollar.

As river temperatures warm up to the point of taking trout out of the picture, the smallmouth bass fishing is going STRONG !  With multiple stretches, of multiple rivers in west Michigan, I will be in pursuit of smallmouth bass and pike over the next month+.  With both fly fishing and light spin tackle equipment, we’re fishing with a combination of flies and lures, both topwater and subsurface, to get into some NICE smally’s !

With little to no rain over the last month+, all rivers in Michigan are at or near their normal low levels for this time of summer.  The Muskegon has finally come down to “normal” early to mid July levels and may dip below that in the days ahead.  River temperatures have risen quickly, with my last readings of 3 days ago at 72 degrees.

With more warm weather in the forecast, we’re hoping for some of the projected rains as well…but we’ll see how that all pans out.

Present flows around 1200 cfs, temps around 72.