Fishing Report – May 1st, 2019

Manistee river below Tippy Dam.

Spring fishing is well under way on the Big Manistee river, and it’s been a great spring so far. We had very good numbers of steelhead in the system.  Lots of good trips, good fishing, and good times!  With every good thing comes a end. I’m still seeing decent numbers of steelhead around but I’m starting to switch gears to brown trout fishing.  With the water temps around 50 degrees on the big river, the trout have really started to hone in on the bite.  There are ample opportunities for anglers fly or traditional spin gear fisherman.  The minnow bite is what’s going on now so I’m throwing crank baits or streamers with a fly rod and it’s been great.  With some warmer days on the dry fly fishing will pick up as well.
I’ve been guiding and fishing on some of are smaller local streams like the Pine and Little Manistee as well and have had some great success.  I like targeting large browns right now because they are on the feed after this long winter. I have openings this month for trout fishing floats.  Options for all anglers and experience levels. It’s time to enjoy a good day on the water!