Grand River Fishing Report: August 2016

greg knapp_John and Nick
Summer time smallmouth bass fishing is in full swing.August is a great month to get out and beat up on some bronze backs, they are aggressive and can be caught on sub surface and top water presentations. These fish fight as hard as most fish twice their size. I have a lot of parents bring out their kids on guide trips for these fish. Smallmouth bass keeps them busy and having a great time throughout the day. If you are wondering where to go, we have excellent fishing throughout the river from upstream of Lansing to downstream of Grand Rapids. There is some good action for largemouth bass as well, there are some areas above the 6th Street Dam, but most of the action for these guys is down in the lower river.

Walleye are biting all summer long and can be caught regularly while trolling or casting crankbaits. Try trolling the deeper stretches or drifting crawlers along the bottom or drifted under floats. Northern pike are biting and there are some good-sized ones in the Grand River. The pike can be caught on just about anything; we usually catch them on crankbaits, spinnerbaits, or jigs while fishing for the bass. Although Michigan does not stock skamania anywhere near the Grand River, we still get a few strays from Indiana, and they can be found in the main river as well as some of the tributaries. The mouth of the Grand River down in Grand Haven is a good spot to catch the skamania steelhead when we have cooler water along the shoreline.