Pere Marquette River Steelhead Guided Trips
Steelhead – A steelhead has been described as the perfect river fish. They are big, powerful, diverse, aggressive, challenging, and beautiful. I'd agree that they are likely the ideal river fish.
We switch from salmon to steelhead in mid-October. Our rivers will have steelhead from October all the way to May. The spawn begins in March and runs through April and is the most popular time for steelhead as the weather warms and fish numbers are at their highest.
We switch from salmon to steelhead in mid-October. Our rivers will have steelhead from October all the way to May. The spawn begins in March and runs through April and is the most popular time for steelhead as the weather warms and fish numbers are at their highest.
Most guide's favorite time for steelhead is mid-October into November. This is when water temps are warmer, and the steelhead are feeding heavily before the oncoming winter. These fall fish are spectacular. Drifting eggs is always a good option for steelhead as they are known to be egg crazy and especially so if there are spawning salmon in the area.
Swinging streamers is another popular technique for fall and winter steelhead. There is nothing like having a big silver steelhead crush a streamer, feeling everything with the line in the palm of your hand. They say, "the tug is the drug."
Non-Fly Fishing – We offer trips with spin gear where we cast slow-moving crankbaits or spinners. You can also bottom bounce or bobber fish egg flies and beads.
Reminder: All fishing gear is provided on all of our trips at no additional charge. This includes leaders, flies, and lures. Only bring gear if it will add something to your trip.
Gearing Up: An 8 weight is about as light as we go for steelhead, though I've seen many people get by with a 7. Like with salmon, we use the heaviest leader possible, up to a 12 pound. This allows us to fight the fish hard, land it quickly and release them as unstressed as possible. A 12 pound leader creates a lot of pressure for an 8 weight and especially a 7.
For swinging streamers, you're going to want a sink-tip, the length and weight will depend on the river and even the area of the river you're going to fish.
The rest of the gear is the same for salmon or steelhead. So take a look at the gearing-up section for salmon for the rest of the list.
Swinging streamers is another popular technique for fall and winter steelhead. There is nothing like having a big silver steelhead crush a streamer, feeling everything with the line in the palm of your hand. They say, "the tug is the drug."
Non-Fly Fishing – We offer trips with spin gear where we cast slow-moving crankbaits or spinners. You can also bottom bounce or bobber fish egg flies and beads.
Reminder: All fishing gear is provided on all of our trips at no additional charge. This includes leaders, flies, and lures. Only bring gear if it will add something to your trip.
Gearing Up: An 8 weight is about as light as we go for steelhead, though I've seen many people get by with a 7. Like with salmon, we use the heaviest leader possible, up to a 12 pound. This allows us to fight the fish hard, land it quickly and release them as unstressed as possible. A 12 pound leader creates a lot of pressure for an 8 weight and especially a 7.
For swinging streamers, you're going to want a sink-tip, the length and weight will depend on the river and even the area of the river you're going to fish.
The rest of the gear is the same for salmon or steelhead. So take a look at the gearing-up section for salmon for the rest of the list.
