As we move into the tail end of the winter season here in Michigan, most anglers are either attending annual trade shows looking at all the new gear out for 2016 and tying flies stocking up for the spring and summer seasons ahead. For us year-round anglers, the Muskegon River near Newaygo is still fishing pretty good for both resident rainbow and brown trout, as well as steelhead that are wintering over in the river.
With both fly fishing and light spin tackle gear, we’re catching fish each outing, and it’s simply been a matter of covering water to find the “biters.” For the better part of the last couple months, we’ve had above average flows on the Muskegon River and even the occasional 1-2 degree jump in water temperature, which is all it takes to turn the bite on at this time of the year.
As we close in on the end of the real winter season here in West Michigan, we’ll soon see the first wave of new steelhead come in from Lake Michigan as the spring steelhead run begins on the Muskegon River.
Despite varying steelhead fishing reports from fall and early winter, I’m anticipating a solid spring run which will kick off in March and pending any really odd curve balls from mother nature, will go well in May as it has done for the better part of the last two decades.
Get out and wet a line if time permits before spring arrives, it’s a great time to be on the river before river traffic picks up and we’re into the heart of our annual spring steelhead run on the “Mighty Mo”!
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