T he Muskegon River has ice free flowing water for great distances giving us guides open water to fish in the winter. On top of that, its rich aquatic base gives the fish options throughout the winter months. It’s a great river to fish. Where else in the Midwest can you find rainbow and brown trout rising to dry flies in the middle of winter?
In March, some of the best fishing can be found 10-15 miles below Croton Dam, which is plenty of water to fish for both resident trout and migratory steelhead that are wintering in the river. For winter conditions, fishing is still good, as long as we can identify a boat ramp to launch from that’s not snowed in or iced over.
Both fly fishing and light spin tackle approaches will produce steelhead, more on the fly fishing front for resident trout because of the very small nymphs being fished with light tippet, on 3-5 weight rods in the 8-10’+ lengths. Flies to have on hand include #16-18 hares ears, soft hackles, pheasant tails, tan and amber scuds, as well as #18-20 brassie and black midge larva imitations. On that outside chance one does come across rising trout, put on a #18 black adult midge or similar pattern, tied on with 7x tippet, grease the leader with floatant right next to the eye of the fly and cast away!
The light spin tackle angler in pursuit of steelhead will want to focus on slow-to-medium current pools and runs, with depths ranging from 5-10+ feet and optimally with cover relatively close by. Although slowly retrieved lures such as Rapala’s, Thundersticks and so forth will get the attention of some fish, best bet may be to tip a small jig head with a wax worm or spawn bag. Rods of choice would be something in the 10’+ length, in medium-to-medium fast action, with reels spooled with #10-12 test line and leader material ranging from #4-8.
March is a magical month on the Muskegon River. We’ll see our first warm air temps of early spring and it usually comes with some snow melt and runoff, bringing water levels up and new steelhead into the river fresh out of Lake Michigan. March steelhead can be some of the most acrobatic fish of the spring season, many rivaling the ballistic fish of fall!
Walk-in access is always an issue in the winter and it can change a bit with the always changing West Michigan weather. Your safest bet is to stick close to boat ramps that have had some snow plow work done by the county. Good water can also be found within walking distance of primary launch sites, such as Croton Dam, Pine St., Thornapple Rd., and Henning County Park. Happy Fishing!