spring
Starting in early February most of Michigan's tributaries will start receiving large runs of Steelhead as water temperatures slowly increase and snow begins to melt off. This time of year can be especially good for catching larger Steelhead that have been in the systems over the winter. Southern rivers with stocking can offer exceptional fishing early as temperatures typically warm water quicker in the south. Many times when fishing you're the first presentation these fish have seen and they're most willing to bite!
summer
As the spring run begins fading off towards the end of April, many rivers start seeing stray Skamania Steelhead enter the rivers from Indiana fish plants. Surprisingly, despite the lack of Michigan stocking these summer-run fish, we can have fishable numbers of them in our rivers. These fish are the most acrobatic of all Steelhead strains and put your gear to the test every time! These fish quite literally fight to the death making them a good harvest. Reach out to me around June/July and maybe we can make something happen.. shhh
fall
Easily my favorite time of year to fish! The weather is cooling and large runs of Salmon, Steelhead, and even Lake Run Brown Trout begin entering the rivers. Typically, your King & Coho Salmon begin showing up in Late August/Early September and continue running all the way through October. Usually, by the first week or two in October, dependable numbers of hot chrome Steelhead are aggressively feeding on Salmon eggs. This makes spawn bags and beads irresistible to them. These fish are aggressive, bitey, and show their true colors making several hard runs when hooked! If you can somehow manage to distract yourself from them, many of Michigan's northern rivers will still have coho pushing into them through the early winter.
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Prime King Salmon - September/Ealy October
Prime Steelhead Run - October, November & December
winter
This is for the die-hard Steelheaders. Despite cold conditions, you will still find me on a river 5+ days a week! The solitude from a crazy salmon season as more outdoorsman switch their focus to hunting leaves you alone on many rivers. These are the months that really make you appreciate these fish. This time of year can often yield very large fish. A lot of my larger Steelhead have been caught this time of year in deep pools during a midday bite when the sun is the highest warming the water. Give it a shot!
