River Fishing Spring 2016
Big Manistee River Fishing Report: “Below Tippy Dam”
Spring river fishing is here!!!! The Big Manistee river is the place to be!! Spring steelhead are in the river and the action is heating up. There is a good mix of winter fish and bright fish from the lake in the river. Fishing has been very consistent the last few weeks. Some days have been very good. The fish have been holding in a variety of areas, I’m finding them in the runs and holding water near gravel, seems like some have started spawning on gravel as well.
With the water temperature on the rise I would expect a lot more spawning activity to continue. I have been targeting fish with a variety of different baits, beads, egg flies and nymphs have been the ticket. With the water with a nice Stain, brighter colored beads and eggs have been working well. Steelhead orange, chartreuse, gold roe and clown eggs have been my best colors. Steelhead buggers, stone flies and salmon fly patterns in varies sizes have also worked well, if you have fresh steelhead spawn or wax worms you also will see good results.
The early spring run off, warming temps and rain in the forecast leads me to believe some of the best fishing is yet to come. I also have been using various crank baits to target brown trout lately. Shad raps in natural colors like rainbow, and black and silver have produced a few good brown’s and the occasional steelhead as well. It’s a nice way to break up the day.
The river flow is 2460 CFS and the water temperature is 42 degrees. I have some great dates available to fish the next month. If you are interested in a fun day on the river give me a shout and we can get after them. God bless and tight lines!
Chris
