Visit our Michigan Fishing Reports page for our most recent reports.

Click here for a good looking single page pdf version of this west Michigan guide report… perfect for a counter top or bulletin board.

For a more detailed report on the Pere Marquette River visit the Pere Marquette River Fishing Report site and our blog Third Coast Fly.
Pere Marquette River          Water Conditions – above average, stained
>>> We got a lot of rain three days ago and the river is just coming down.  Big rubber leg stonefly nymphs produced in the fly water on the 28th and the streamer bite should be good for a few days.  The night mouse bite was excellent in the upper river before the rain and we’re heading out tonight to see how it has held up.  Matt Dunn
USGS Real-Time Data for the Pere Marquette River at Scottville, Michigan

Big Manistee River           Water Conditions – above average
>>> Hex have been cropping up here and there with some good nights and some not so good.
USGS Real-Time Data for the Manistee River near Wellston, Michigan

Muskegon River          Water Conditions – above average
>>> Summer patterns continue to hold sway with nymph fishing still the best option.  Phil Cusey
USGS Real-Time Data for the Muskegon River near Croton, Michigan

Beaver Island >>> The weather on Beaver Island has been up and down, but average fish size continues to be several pounds over last year.  Combinations of yellow, orange and brown have been most productive.  Kevin Morlock

Click here for a good looking single page pdf version of this west Michigan guide report… perfect for a counter top or bulletin board.

For a more detailed report on the Pere Marquette River visit the Pere Marquette River Fishing Report site.
Pere Marquette River          Water Conditions – bit high, stained
>>> We finally got some needed rain and the trout fishing has been good.  There was lots of bug activity when the weather was warm but the last week has been cold, wet and windy.  Lots of baby fish around, alevin and fry patterns have been producing.  Kevin Morlock
USGS Real-Time Data for the Pere Marquette River at Scottville, Michigan

Big Manistee River           Water Conditions – average and clearing
>>> The trout fishing in the upper Manistee has been good with hatches of sulphurs and other bugs on warm days.  Like anywhere, switch to streamers when the weather is cooler.
USGS Real-Time Data for the Manistee River near Wellston, Michigan

Muskegon River          Water Conditions – average and clearing
>>> Nice hatches on the warm days with lots of action, though the bulk of the action will be small planters.  Alevin and fry patterns have produced well fished behind a larger streamer.  Phil Cusey
USGS Real-Time Data for the Muskegon River near Croton, Michigan

Open Waters >>> Stripping big streamers has been hot at the river mouths for pike, walleye and you always have a shot at something big, fast and silver.

Alevin Martinez and other alevin/fry patterns have been top producers.

Click here for a good looking single page pdf version of this west Michigan guide report… perfect for a counter top or bulletin board.

For a more detailed report on the Pere Marquette River visit the Pere Marquette River Fishing Report site.
Pere Marquette River
Temps – around 50          Water Conditions – bit high, stained
>>> The Pere Marquette steelhead fishing is hanging in there.  Enough new fish are moving up to keep the net wet.  The salmon fry are “hatching” in big numbers.  Kevin Morlock
USGS Real-Time Data for the Pere Marquette River at Scottville, Michigan

Big Manistee River
Temps – 50          Water Conditions – average and clearing
>>> There are enough steelhead on the Manistee to spice up a day but fish numbers are only fair.  Everyone is interested in what next week will bring.
USGS Real-Time Data for the Manistee River near Wellston, Michigan

Muskegon River
Temps – 50          Water Conditions – average and clearing
>>> The steelhead have slowed down over the last week but there are still enough to have some fun.  The standard egg and nymph combinations are producing best. Phil Cusey
USGS Real-Time Data for the Muskegon River near Croton, Michigan

A bright male steelhead from last week.

An interesting underwater steelhead pic.

SS Bugger (Steelhead/Salmon Bugger)… click here for tying directions.

Click here for a good looking single page pdf version of this west Michigan guide report… perfect for a counter top or bulletin board.

For a more detailed report on the Pere Marquette River visit the Pere Marquette River Fishing Report site.
Pere Marquette River
Temps – mid 40’s          Water Conditions – bit high, stained
>>> The PM River is fishing ok.  Flocks of people hit the river on Saturday and I think many went away disappointed.  With the perfect water temps the trout fishing has been great.  Kevin Morlock
USGS Real-Time Data for the Pere Marquette River at Scottville, Michigan

Big Manistee River
Temps – 42          Water Conditions – average clearing
>>> The Manistee River has ok steelhead numbers, it will be interesting to see what next week brings.  The typical egg and nymph combinations have been the best bet.
USGS Real-Time Data for the Manistee River near Wellston, Michigan

Muskegon River
Temps – 39          Water Conditions – average, stained
>>> The steelhead are doing well on the Muskegon and with the warm water temps so are the trout.  Look for the trout behind spawning steelhead or in areas with stonefly activity.  Phil Cusey
USGS Real-Time Data for the Muskegon River near Croton, Michigan

Chris with a nice PM River Steelhead, Chris did a nice job getting into a tough spot to hook-up with this fish.

Ten year old Gavin taking the chill off the morning with a warm cinnamon roll.

SCOTTVILLE — Attempting to stop sea lamprey with an electric barrier has become a thing of the past on the Pere Marquette River, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials. The federal agency recently announced it no longer will operate its electric weir there and will resume treating the river only with chemical lampricides.

Officials said the aging barrier didn’t work well and would be too costly to replace. So its river-bottom electrodes won’t be powered up this March as they have been since the 1980s.

“We’ve reduced the larval populations (sea lamprey) in the river to 10 to 20 percent of what the average is without the barrier, but that is still thousands of larvae that still require treatment,” said Greg Klingler a biologist with the FWS Marquette Biological Station.

“We get some benefits from the (electric) weir, but it’s not cost-effective.”

Critics are pleased with the decision. Some claim the electric field hinders the upstream steelhead migration. Others say its presence spoils the river.

No one is happy about the need to continue chemical treatment of the river with TFM, (3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol), a lampricide used to kill lamprey in their larval stage. It is applied every three to four years and has no toxic effects on other fish, although it can affect certain aquatic insects.

The electric barrier was to have made chemical treatment obsolete.

“Having the electric weir and chemical treatment is a double insult to the river,” said Paul Bigford of Branch, president of the Pere Marquette Watershed Council. “Neither seems to eliminate the lamprey, and even though they have had the electric weir running at quite an expense, it has not made a single TFM treatment unnecessary.”

Bigford said his group agrees with the FWS decision to turn the device off.

So does Kevin Morlock, owner of Indigo Guide Service in Walhalla. Morlock, a fishing guide, said he plans to advertise that the electric barrier is kaput.

The Pere Marquette is his company’s “home” river. Winter steelhead fishing, he said, has suffered since the barrier went in. He and other anglers have challenged the FWS to improve fish passage around the barrier.

When the barrier was built in the late 1980s, there was no way for migrating fish to get by it. It was modified twice during the ensuing years to make it easier for migrating fish to get upstream. It will pass from 2,000 to 7,000 steelhead annually, according to Klingler, who estimates 50 percent to 70 percent of the run gets upstream.

“I’m 100 percent in favor of its removal,” Morlock said. “It’s had a significant effect on the upstream migration of steelhead and the downstream migration of young salmon.

“We were originally assured that the fish barrier was going to allow unrestricted fish passage. They made it sound like the bugs were worked out and we would get rid of the evil chemicals. I believed it, and I am embarrassed that I supported it.”

Electric lamprey barriers have been in use on three Michigan rivers, including the Jordan and Ocqueoc rivers. They are among the various methods the FWS uses to control lamprey in an effort to meet a Great Lakes Fishery Commission goal of reducing TFM use by 20 percent this year.

The agency also uses trapping, sterile male releases and low-head dams where appropriate.

The Jordan River electric barrier was turned off four to five years ago and removed last year for similar reasons. The Ocqueoc River barrier continues to operate effectively, Klingler said. But electricity is turned on only when water levels rise to a point that lamprey might swim over the low-head dam that was built to stop them.

Building a similar dam on the Pere Marquette would likely be infeasible, Klingler said. Replacement of the barrier was estimated at $500,000, plus another $60,000 to $70,000 a year to operate. TFM treatments cost $500,000 every three to four years.

It is uncertain whether lamprey migrated upstream before during or after the electric barrier was turned, but they managed to get upstream. TFM is more of sure thing, Klingler said. It kills several lamprey year classes at once.

Lamprey trapping will continue at the electric barrier site. The animals caught there are used in the FWS sterile-male program. But the site will be less productive without the electricity, Klingler said. It typically contributes 250 to 300 male lamprey to the 1,500 to 2,000 collected from Michigan rivers for the program.

“I’ve got no qualms about treating the river with TFM in the future,” said Jim Dexter, the Lake Michigan basin fisheries coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. “It’s a good decision with regard to the FWS and fish commission business model, too.

“That barrier was expensive to operate and maintain. It was time consuming and it didn’t work the way everyone had hoped. The river still needed to be treated with TFM.”

E-mail Howard Meyerson at hmeyerson@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/HMeyerson

Photo Credits and Captions:
1st photo – Courtesy Photo | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  The electric lamprey barrier facility on the Pere Marquette River in Scottville was deemed ineffective, so U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials turned it off.
2nd photo – Courtesy Photo | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  A close-up of an eel-like sea lamprey, considered an invasive species.
3rd photo – Press Graphic
4th Photo – Howard Meyerson | The Grand Rapids Press.  Anglers drift in search of salmon on the lower Pere Marquette River in the fall.

Click here for a good looking single page pdf version of this west Michigan guide report… perfect for a counter top or bulletin board.

For a more detailed report on the Pere Marquette River visit the Pere Marquette River Fishing Report site.
Pere Marquette River
Temps – mid 40’s          Water Conditions – average level, clear
>>> It looks like the new shipment of steelhead are starting to arrive and just in time.  Trout fishing has been good, they are acting like it is late April or May.  Our four steelhead yesterday all came off from a bunny hex.  The stone hatches have been light. Kevin Morlock
USGS Real-Time Data for the Pere Marquette River at Scottville, Michigan

Big Manistee River
Temps – 42          Water Conditions – average clearing
>>> Water temps are about perfect on the Manistee and the fishing is good.  The water has cleared enough that fly fishing is effective again.
USGS Real-Time Data for the Manistee River near Wellston, Michigan

Muskegon River
Temps – 39          Water Conditions – average
>>> Good steelhead numbers following the recent rain and high water.  Water temps are warming to a point where the steelhead and trout activity is increasing.  Phil Cusey
USGS Real-Time Data for the Muskegon River near Croton, Michigan

One of the four steelhead from yesterday, they all wanted the Bunny Hex.

Bunny Hex… Click here for the Bunny Hex tying directions and recipe.

Click here for a good looking single page pdf version of this west Michigan guide report… perfect for a counter top or bulletin board.

For a more detailed report on the Pere Marquette River visit the Pere Marquette River Fishing Report site.
Pere Marquette River
Temps – mid 40’s          Water Conditions – up & dirty/perfect
>>> The upper half of the Pere Marquette River is perfect after the recent rain and snow melt.  The steelhead are spawning with hopefully new fish on the way from Lake Michigan.  Big stonefly hatch today.  Kevin Morlock
USGS Real-Time Data for the Pere Marquette River at Scottville, Michigan

Big Manistee River
Temps – 40          Water Conditions – high & muddy
>>> Warmer temps and rain have brought mud and high water to the Manistee River.  The fly bite is tough with the dirty water conditions, go big and bright to get noticed.
USGS Real-Time Data for the Manistee River near Wellston, Michigan

Muskegon River
Temps – 36          Water Conditions – above average & stained
>>> Water levels have risen dramatically due to snow melt and rain.  Consequently, steelhead have begun to enter the Muskegon River in large numbers.  Bottom bounce with stones, wiggle hex’s and black leaches for the best results.  The afternoon bite has been best.  Phil Cusey
USGS Real-Time Data for the Muskegon River near Croton, Michigan

Morlock’s Steelhead Ammo — Click here for the recipe and tying directions…

Two of several Pere Marquette steelhead and browns caught and released on this perfect spring day.

Click here for a good looking single page pdf version of this west Michigan guide report… perfect for a counter top or bulletin board.

For a more detailed report on the Pere Marquette River visit the Pere Marquette River Fishing Report site.
Pere Marquette River
Temps – high 30’s          Water Conditions – up & dirty
>>> The PM River has been rising the past few days with warm weather and snowmelt, today it was perfect.  It has been raining steady for the last few hours and it could be up considerably by morning.   The lower river went flat but fishing is good up-stream.  Kevin Morlock
USGS Real-Time Data for the Pere Marquette River at Scottville, Michigan

Big Manistee River
Temps – 37          Water Conditions – coming up
>>> Warmer weather and rain has added a little stain to the Manistee River.  Steelhead are starting to move out of winter water toward the gravel.  It looks like spring.
USGS Real-Time Data for the Manistee River near Wellston, Michigan

Muskegon River
Temps – 37          Water Conditions – slight stain
>>> Recent warmer temps have brought the foreshadowing of spring to western Michigan.  Nymphing for trout is still producing the best results.  Steelhead are still in the deeper water, with the best bite during late afternoon when the water is warmest.  Phil Cusey
USGS Real-Time Data for the Muskegon River near Croton, Michigan

FlyMasters of Indianapolis will be hosting a spring steelhead outing at Barothy Lodge on April 26th-27th.  Ian Anderson will be running the event for FlyMasters.  For the last couple years Ian has hosted a number of outings at Barothy Lodge and Beaver Island with Indigo and they are always a success.  Ian has a great attention to detail and puts together a great outing.

Ian has put together a nice page about this outing on the FlyMastyers site, click here for more…

Many guides used to work as much, or more in March as in April, with March being the time of peak steelhead numbers.  Most of the PM steelhead do not spawn and leave the river until April, with fish numbers naturally building from summer, fall, winter and early spring… reaching a peak in March.  This is almost entirely pre-spawn fishing in holes and runs, pre-spawn steelhead are great, they are silver hot rockets.

We are so excited about having our great March fishing back that we are offering a special to show everyone how great March can be.  There is also no other time that our guides would rather be on the water.

Special for any remaining March dates (two options):
– take 2 days and get the second for half price.
– or take 3 days and get the third for free.