Steelhead fishing has still been steady on the Big Manistee despite recent rain and cooler temperatures. The water is still high, but it is starting to clear up and temperature is on the rise. There is a lot of fresh fish in the top few miles but plenty of people fishing too. We are starting […]

Day 1 - March 9th: Steve and Dave came with me for a couple of days of filming. We got off to a good start hooking up in our first spot but lost that fish right away. After a few little moves, we had our first fish of the day in the net. Following another […]

In between trips to Minnesota to ice fish, Mitch and I went out fishing in hopes of finding some late winter steelhead. It did not take us long before Mitch had our first fish in the boat. A few drifts later and I was on the board too. We fished for about 3 more hours […]

Cold wet weather and a big crowd did not slow Eric and his dad, Steve, down today. We bounced around wherever we could and hooked a steelhead or two in almost every spot. Steve got us started right away with a 13 pound chrome male that put up a great fight! It ended up being […]

Fishing is getting better near Tippy Dam every day. While most of the fish are still in the middle to lower parts of the river, there are groups of fish every day showing up in the normal holes on their way to the dam. Most days we are fishing the middle sections of the river […]

As a result of being unable to guide or fish out of a motorized boat due to COVID-19 pandemic, I have not been on the Big Manistee River since April 8th when I had my son out for a few hours. The colder weather that we have been having has the river temps in the mid-40s. […]

The Big Manistee River is running warm just like the Muskegon River is currently. If we get a little cold spell, we might be able to get out after some trout; but if not, there are smallmouth bass around and biting. King Salmon season is just around the corner starting next month so don't wait […]

Water temperatures are on the rise and water levels are coming back down to normal. This is a fun time to be on the river as there are fishing staging near spawning flats and fish in the holes with new fish moving up. The cold mornings have been a little slow; however, after it warms […]

With the warm weather that we have been having, I took a break from ice fishing and spent the day with good friend, Mitch, on the Big Manistee chasing steelhead. Being 50 degrees out and a Sunday, there were a few other boats and shore fishermen out. We fished around a little bit up by […]

Fishing has been good for both steelhead and salmon, with steelhead on the up-swing and kings on the down-swing but still a lot around. The best steelhead fishing seems to be the middle section of the river (Rainbow to High Bridge) with some fishing moving in behind the spawning salmon. Bob and Jim fished with […]