T he Muskegon River between Croton Dam, north of Grand Rapids, and the port town of Muskegon on the west Michigan shoreline, goes through some mid-summer changes come the month of July. The insect hatches that provide our best dry fly fishing of the summer wind down as water temperatures warm and our new target species of fish show up in mass…SMALLMOUTH BASS! Anglers will fish this willing biter and great fighter with both fly fishing and light spin tackle gear throughout the rest of summer and with both top-water poppers and subsurface imitations of baitfish and crayfish. With several different stretches of the Muskegon River available to fish, we’ll fish in/around the Newaygo area one day and could be several miles upstream the next. Also on the list of summer species to pursue are northern pike, which are fished in the upper reaches of the river and the impoundments between each dam.
With the onset of summer, come lower water levels and rising water temperatures. This allows for some pretty good walk-in access on the Muskegon River. Typical fly fishing setups would be rods in the 9’ range, in 6 or 7 weights and paired with a floating line for topwater and easy to use, loop-to-loop sink tips for fishing subsurface. Light spin casting rigs would include medium action rods from 7-9’ length and reels spooled with 6-8# test line. Some people prefer to incorporate braided line into their spin cast setups, and I’ve found that 15# Kanzen braid from Seaguar to be a good one, tipped with a 3-4’ piece of fluorocarbon.
As we get into the last half of our short summer season here in West Michigan, many anglers’ thoughts will shift to the upcoming fall salmon and steelhead runs. We begin salmon from late August – early October, then switches to fall steelhead and fish them through the fall and even into the New Year. Summer is here, though, so let’s take advantage of the warm months we have left and go fishing!
