S pring has sprung in West Michigan and a bit stronger than most anglers would have preferred. Rivers blew up; docks, decks, and boats got blown out, mayhem in West Michigan for a while there! That said, Mother Nature finds a way to put all the pieces back together and we’re looking forward to the weeks ahead, as rivers and lakes come alive with aquatic life and fish activity.
The spring steelhead run on the Muskegon River near Newaygo started out pretty good, only to have winter return and as water temperatures dropped a couple 2-3 degrees and put those fish in the system, back into winter mode. Things have turned around though and we should see the rest of our steelhead run go well into May. With water temperatures having been rather cold for the onset of spring, the best technique was bottom bouncing, a.k.a. chuck-n-duck. This method slows down your offering, whether it’s egg yarn, beads, or nymphs. For those looking to suspend flies off the bottom in slower current runs, floating line and indicator rigs work well where water is less than six feet deep.
Standard gear for fly fishing this time of spring is with a 9 or 10′ long, 7 or 8 weight rod and for those bottom bouncing, running or shooting line works best, with a 10+’ “butt section” (versus a tapered leader) of straight 15+ # line going down to weight system, which is above the flies/beads. For the most part, 8 or 10# test tippet is the norm.
For spin gear setups, rods can vary from 9 – 12′ in length, med action and reels spooled with a 12+# main line, using 8 or 10# tippet as well. Longer rods are better for fishing floats and for some it’s simply a matter of personal preference, based on what kinds of runs you’re looking to fish.
Resident trout will be posted up close to spawning steelhead throughout their annual run, feasting on eggs for the next month and beyond. Trout are looking healthy, great signs for the coming trout season and what may be some of the best dry fly fishing we’ve seen in MANY years.
Access points to the river depend on the water levels. Normal, access points for the walk in angler include (going downstream from Croton dam), the walk in path right below Croton, 72nd St. access off Pine St., up and downstream from the Thornapple Road launch, 72nd St. access off Thornapple, the couple 2-300 yards downstream from Henning park, in the town of Newaygo just down from the train bridge, as well as upstream from Newbridge boat ramp, down from Henning off River Road.
The forecast for the coming weeks is a tricky one to write up. With river conditions that included near all-time record flooding, with water temperatures that stayed below 40 longer than I can recall in near two decades of guiding, we are surely in uncharted waters….literally! Once river levels stabilize and presuming we follow our “averages” for air temperatures – high in mid/upper 60’s and low in the mid to upper 40’s, we should see May providing better than average steelhead fishing through the month, along with early dry fly fishing with the last of our spring stone flies hatching.
Either way, it’s going to be a cooler than normal mid-to-late spring. The lakes and rivers are in great shape with the consistent rains we got following the big thaw of our record snowfall. As a result, we’re in for a great onset to our best fishing time of the year for cold water species such as our magnificent migratory steelhead, as well as heavy shouldered rainbow and brown trout that call the Muskegon River home.