F ishing has been good on the Manistee so far this winter. Water flows have been pretty stable and not much ice to deal with this winter. Air temps haven’t been too much of a problem. It has been in the mid 20’s to low 30’s which makes for a pretty nice day of winter steelhead fishing. Seems to be a good number of steelhead around and trout have been a nice bonus when we are fishing in the upper river. Most of our steelhead in the upper sections have been colored up winter fish with a few chrome ones mixed in. When we are in the mid-lower sections of the river we have been catching mostly chrome new arrivals.
New fish are showing up every day and as February goes on it should only get better as we get closer to our spring migration. We use float-fishing techniques through the winter months, whether it’s with a centerpin float rod, switch rod and floating line, or spinning gear. All of these systems can be productive in the type of water we fish in the winter months. We look for water that is typically 5-7 feet in depth with slower currents and are usually a little on the woody side. The steelhead’s metabolism slows down, and they like to lie in the slower currents, so they don’t have to exert much energy. Fishing a float enables you to control your depth and speed of your drift to get your offering to these fish in that type of water. Typical baits are trout beads, yarn eggs, nymphs, spawn, and jigs tipped with wax worms. These are all things winter steelhead junkies should have in their arsenal. Keep an eye on the weather, plan your fishing around warm ups, and fish the warmest times of the day. Give us a shout if you would like to get out and try some float fishing for winter steelhead. We fish out of enclosed and heated boats to make for a more comfortable and enjoyable day on the Big Manistee. Tight lines and high fives!!