As the dreary grey look of winter looks upon us, December on the “Big” is sort of a continuation of November. Water and air temperatures are still dropping and the number of steelhead continue to grow on every influence of water and northwest wind we receive. The one thing that does change is the diet of our chrome friends when they enter the system.
The number of natural salmon eggs is not as abundant so it becomes more of an aquatic diet for the steelhead. Small bait fish, may flies, stoneflies, and caddis are a big part of their diet in the winter months, along with a few lingering milked out salmon eggs.
For the fly angler there are a variety of patterns that imitate these aquatic insects Hex’s, pheasant tail nymphs, green caddis, and some sort of bugger that can be fished either bottom bouncing or with a floating line and float rig. My preferred method of fly gear in December is floating lines and floats, reason being is the ease to control the depth and speed of the drift to the fish. They will lie in different types of water in the winter months and this will enable you to keep your offering over the structure and fish the slower water that they like with more ease. Same goes with spinning gear or centerpin float rigs, except there are no imitations. Wigglers, wax worms, and spawn are baits of choice here for fishing the Manistee River in December.
Anglers that are fishing either technique should keep a couple things in mind, structure and current speed because I think they are the two important things to look for in the winter months while steelheading. The outlook on the fishing for December on the “Big” in my opinion is looking good. We just received two plus inches of rain and a new push of fish to help get us started. It’s not over, December is typically not as busy and is an overlooked month for the steelhead angler but with heated and covered boats one can have a very enjoyable and comfortable day of fishing on the river. Come on up and get a fix before the true arctic air of January sets in. Tight Lines!!
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