BY: SHAG TRENT
In November we start to see the salmon winding down and the steelhead coming in the river to feed on the caviar, beefing up for the long winter ahead. You still can catch salmon throwing thunder stick juniors and spinners. The big browns are in and the coho are starting to make their way back to the big lake. Use small spawn sacs and light line. I use Maxima Ultra Green 4 to 6 pound test in clear water.
Float fishing in the Grand River is starting to shape up to be the way people like to fish it. You can control where you drift and utilize the seams to your advantage. Small 3 to 4 egg bags with a size 8 to 10 hook. Running beads have been very effective. Bead fishing is an art of its own. Learning to rig up the beads and pegging them just little over an inch above your hook. Run single or double bead set ups. You can float fish them or you can drift them. If you’re drifting, try sliding a swivel down your line followed by a bead. The bead will help protect your knot from the weight that you will be snapping in your snap swivel. A lot of guys are using this rig because if a fish takes you in a log jam or around a rock, the weight will slide until you can free it up to land your fish.
The pan fish in the Grand River are doing really well. Don’t forget to fish the bayous throughout the river system. Crappie and gills are putting on the feed bag. Hit with minnows, wax worms, and leaf worms and find drop offs, weed lines, and flats. The pike and musky are hitting on big spinner baits, big body baits, and floating live creek chubs and suckers.
You can walk the banks of the river tossing Husky Jerks and Rattling Rogues to catch your limit of walleye. A lot of river rats will remove that front hook so they don’t get snagged up so much. Or you can troll up streams and vertical jig down. You will see a lot of the old timers running a number 8 bait holders with just a small split shot right above it with drifting crawlers and shiners. The large and small mouth bass are doing best on black jigs tipped with a piece of pig. Tube baits are still doing good as well as casting rattle traps.
The Grand River has really changed up this year with 2 to 3 foot of sand filling in the holes below Fulton street. November is a great time to find the holes you’ll want to fish in the spring when high water hits. Good luck fishing out there and remember if you’re not out there fishing you’re not going to catch anything.
Shag Trent
TBN Outfitters
(616) 458-0922
www.fliesandtackle.com
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