With the consistent rainfall and cooler temperatures over the last few days, we are starting to see better fish so November steelhead fishing will be good.

Natural orange and yellow beads have been working, but float fishing around gravel has been the most productive.

Despite the recent rainfall, more rain is still needed to help the steelhead that are slowly trickling in to increase in volume and spread throughout the river system. Salmon are still around even though their numbers are starting to decline, but lots of their eggs continue to be found in various parts of the river.

Rainfall over the last couple of days has helped improve the water levels but impacted fishing conditions. The majority of king salmon are spawning now, so steelhead are starting to appear more frequently. There are a few kings still in holes that are biting skein and beads, but that fish activity should be done soon.

Just as there are more colorful leaves appearing on trees along the Big Manistee River shoreline, the next couple of weeks will be busy with people enjoying the adventures of salmon fishing in northwestern Michigan. The first big push has arrived and lots of salmon can be found on gravel.

Since the big spawning has begun, I will start looking for steelhead here soon. Stay tuned!

This past week, I primarily did fly fishing but was still successful with bobber fishing.

As Fall salmon season progresses, the upper Big Manistee near gravel is growing busier with more people venturing out to fish from boats, wading in the river, and along the shoreline. Although the water is low and clear due to lack of rain recently, new fish are navigating through the whole system. The majority of fish are still in holes and runs.

A few steelhead have been spotted but more should push through after it rains.

Trend continues this week with crankbait being best in the morning but skein and beads in the afternoon into the evening.

Fresh fish are continuing to come in and move throughout the whole system. We are starting to see the first few fishing moving up to spawn.

Crankbaits consistently are getting the better bite early in the morning, while skein and beads are still producing on their floats throughout the day.

Over the course of this past week, water conditions changed due to water levels dropping and clearing. There are definitely some sections of the river that could use some rain. Fishing pressure increased over the weekend from everyone coming out to enjoy time on the Big Manistee River but are still getting good fishing results.

Fresh fish are continuing to come in and move throughout the whole system. We are starting to see the first few fishing moving up to spawn.

Crankbaits consistently are getting the better bite early in the morning, while skein and beads are still producing on their floats throughout the day.

Fall salmon fishing is in full swing as cooler temps settled into northern Michigan. Salmon can be found throughout the whole Big Manistee River system. We are seeing fresh pushes of fish daily.

The skein bite has been good throughout the entire day.

The crankbait bite, on the other hand, has been producing in the early morning,

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 to see some spawning activity, but this is just the beginning as the peak spawn is probably a week or two away.

Mark and Jim fished with me today, and we found some fish in pockets by gravel and others still in deep holes.

I will be out a lot starting this week so watch for some new pictures and don't wait too long to plan your trip!

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 bout of on and off fish, we made a run down river and that paid off with steady action. Changing bead color and size were key to a good day for us.

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Day 2 - March 10th: We went out with the game plan to move a lot and change colors often on Day One. We found that fish would bite within the first 5 drifts. We stuck with that plan for the first couple of hours on Day Two; but after only 1 fish in the net, we had to adjust and work the deep slow water for 15 to 20 drifts with color changes to get our bites. I think that the 10-degree colder day had something to do with that. We stuck with it all day and landed a handful of nice fish. Over the two days, we landed several nice fish with a good mix of spring fish.

I will be out a lot starting this week so watch for some new pictures and don't wait too long to plan your trip!

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.

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A few drifts later and I was on the board too.

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We fished for about 3 more hours and hooked fish in most of our tops in the mid-upper section of the river. Float fishing took all of our fish with brighter beads being the best over jigs and waxies.