Muskegon River Fishing Report – Newaygo, MI – November 9, 2015

Dan, from west Michigan, along with son Jack a.ka. “the Steelhead Sniper”, with some nice Muskegon river chrome.

The Muskegon river near Newaygo, MI is running around “average” flows for this time of fall and quite clear, with 15+ foot  visibility in the upper stretches between Newaygo itself and Croton dam.

We are in the middle of the annual fall Steelhead run and fishing them with both fly fishing and light spin tackle equipment.  Steelhead are in all stretches of the river, from Croton dam down to the port town of Muskegon itself on the west Michigan shoreline, but not bunched up in any given stretch.

Jack – The Steelhead Sniper – with another victim !!!

Techniques for fishing them include fly gear and bottom bouncing – a.k.a. “chuck-n-duck”, indicator nymphing and swinging streamers.   The swung fly bite has been very tough, we’re getting most of our fishing with the other 2 approaches. 

Light spin tackle setups include bottom bouncing egg imitations, nymphs and bait, as well as fishing the same offerings under bobbers/floats.

River temperatures are holding steady in the lower 50’s, but this will surely change if we continue to have the cold nights with temps dropping to near or below freezing.

Present water temperature in the 52-53 degree range.