Muskegon River Fishing Report – February 27, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river fishing report for the last days of February are about the mild winter, good river conditions and the seasons ahead chasing migratory steelhead in the spring and salmon in the fall, along with resident trout and smallmouth bass during the summer.

It won’t be long and we’ll all be gearing up for the annual steelhead spawning run on the Muskegon river. This historically gets going once river temperatures warm up a bit and this is usually around mid March. That said, this has been a VERY odd winter of weather and the Farmers Almanac was WAAAAYYY off this year.

Not to be overlooked, are the resident Brown and Rainbow trout that can be fished for year round in and around the Newaygo area, north of Grand Rapids. The better trout fishing is typically in the first 10-12 miles below Croton hydroelectric dam, as this is where we have both cooler water and habitat for the insects that trout key in on as their primary food source throughout the year.

With both fly fishing and light spin tackle, we can target all species of fish that migrate up river for spawning purposes or call the Muskegon river home year round.

With a very mild winter overall, the rivers in west Michigan are in great shape and we can only hope that these good conditions now, translate into good fishing this spring, summer and fall.

For any considering a guided outing in 2023, it may be best to touch base soon, as prime time dates in steelhead, trout, smallmouth and salmon “seasons” are filling up fast.

Good fishing….!

Jeff