T he month of November on the Pere Marquette River is one of the best months of the year. It’s something I look forward to all season long. It’s the start of fall steelhead fishing, one of the best game fish to be taken on a fly rod and reel. Fishing for these fish is not fishing, it’s hunting. That’s what makes it so exciting. You fish hard and cover a lot of water.
The great thing about fall steelhead is they are eager to eat. You can pursue these fish with all sorts of fly fishing techniques. Fishing eggs under an indicator is the most popular method. My favorite technique though is something I have been doing now for over fifteen years, and that’s taking a more traditional approach: chasing them on the swung fly. Swinging giant streamers in front of their face in hopes of finding a real aggressive fish to slam your fly and run. With this tactic a switch or Spey rod works well with a Skagit line and sink tip. Another fun approach is to treat these fish like trout after all there just a rainbow trout. Pursue them just as you would stripping streamers in the spring. Use a heavy sink tip and hit the banks and keep the fly moving with hopes of getting the fish to chase.
For flies try to imitate what they would want in the Lake Michigan. Baitfish patterns such a goby’s and sculpin like patterns can be real effective along with leech style flies. For myself, tier movement is the key. You need to get their attention and coax them into wanting your fly. For more info and up to date fishing report check out www.outfittersnorth.com.
