Muskegon River Fishing Report – June 20, 2023 – Newaygo, Michigan

The Muskegon river continues to hold decent enough water temperatures to keep some insect hatches going and trout “looking up” for dry flies.

Smallmouth bass fishing has picked up as well and we should have good fishing for both resident Brown and Rainbow trout, as well as Smallmouth bass and the occasional Walleye, Northern Pike or even recently sighted Muskie, which have worked they way up from down river.

With both fly fishing and conventional equipment, we’ll be fishing for all species of fish this coming week+ and we may then see a small shift in river conditions, as river temperatures will surely rise with the hot days and warm nights ahead.

We are long overdue for some rain in west Michigan, as the short run of cooler weather and very light rains last week, did nothing to help with river levels, which are running at near mid July low levels.

I have been doing a mix of first time fly fishing instructional lessons, as well as trips with intermediate-advanced fly casters and all have gotten into fish over the last couple weeks……all experience levels are welcome and it has been fun watching first time fly casters, pick up the various “nuances” and mechanics of fly fishing.

It won’t be long before we see the first trickle of early run Chinook salmon coming into some of the smaller, colder spring fed river systems like the Little Manistee river. The first good push of fall run salmon should find their way into other west Michigan rivers such as the Pere Marquette and Betsie rivers, come late August.

For any looking to do battle with either fall salmon or fall steelhead, it would be best to touch base soon about open dates, as they are running out and I only have a few openings in October and November of this fall.