S teelhead are usually the main draw on the Grand River in the month of December. We should have some good fishing this December with the warmer than average fall weather that we have been having. Although the overall numbers of fish are down a little so far this fall, the steelhead fishing has been pretty good for us on our trips. For those of you that like to wade or shore fish, the 6th Street Dam area should fish well if we continue to see a little bit of rain here and there to keep the fresh fish moving through. Wading around below the dam and fishing off from the quarry hole wall and post office wall are some more of the popular areas to fish and usually produce well. As the water cools down in December fish the slower water as the fish will move into their wintering areas and get into more of a holding pattern. Hardware such as plugs, spinners, and crankbaits can aggravate a steelhead into striking. Float fishing with jigs and waxworms beads or spawn is a good way to catch fish. Drifting bait along the bottom is another productive way to fish. Fly fishing with nymphs, egg patterns, or minnow imitations is a fun way to get locked into a December chromer. Don’t be surprised if you latch into a lake run brown trout while fishing the Grand River in December. Although the browns are not as common as they used to be, we still run into a handful of these beauties every year at this time.
If you are looking for some smaller water that is a little easier to wade try the Rogue and Prairie Creek, which feed into the Grand River. These rivers usually receive decent numbers of fish and can fish well throughout the winter as long as they do not get fished out. Keeping and eating fish is great but just remember the more fish you catch and release the more fish there will be to catch your next trip out.