Things Are Getting Better….

After a slow start to the spring smallmouth and pike season, fishing is improving on the Grand River and its tributaries.    

Water temps are now consistently in the low to mid-sixties and should only get warmer with the near term forecast.  The Grand is currently at it’s mid-summer level and is slightly stained.  This can provide for some excellent fishing opportunities as the spawn winds down and the fish start to move into the deeper holes and stretches.  

In order to get fish to net, we’ve been having to mix things up on a daily basis.  It seems one day they want bait, while next day they want an in-line spinner and we are definitely maximizing the bite windows.

For those of you that follow our adventures, “The Old Man” dropped “The Kid” off at the airport last week for his annual pilgrimage to Alaska.  Each year he guides on the Naknek River for Naknek River Camp and Katmai Trophy Lodge.  Max will back November 1, just in time for the start of the fall steelhead season.   If steelhead is your game, book early as we tend to fill up fast.

Hey, summer is a great time to get on all the smallie and northern pike action.  Warm weather, no crowds and we have the river pretty much to ourselves.  Give us a call, book a trip and get on our calendar.  Come and enjoy all that a Michigan summer has to offer.

- Tom "The Old Man" Werkman

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Grand River Fishing Report

Grand River northern pike

Spring has definitely arrived in West Michigan and it almost feels like summer.  With said, the steelhead fishing is quickly subsiding on the Grand and the other rivers we fish. 

We find ourselves quickly transitioning to smallmouth and northern pike.  For me, this is the best time of year to fish, no crowds, warmer temps and a lot of actively feeding fish.  

Water temps are in the upper 50’s to low 60’s on the Grand.  This means that whatever steelhead are left the system, they’ll quickly spawn and beeline it back out to Lake Michigan. Both Max and I would like to thank all those that booked with us for the spring run.  Here are just a few highlights.

With the current water temps, we are starting the see both the smallmouth and pike activity picking up.  Many of the fish we have brought to net have been found on the shallower flats, where they are actively feeding.  Try using inline spinners in #4 and #5 blades in the colors of resident baitfish.  It’s a little too early for creature baits, although you can’t rule out a bite or two.  

From here on out, the warm water bite will only continue to get better.  The pre-spawn smallmouth bite will soon be in full force so give us a call to get on our spring, summer and early fall calendar.  

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Captain Tom Werkman

Fishing for Grand River Steelhead

Grand River Steelhead

The Grand River near Grand Rapids, Michigan has many opportunities to fish. Anglers can target anything from bluegills in the lower river bayous to smallmouth bass and pike in the upper sections of the Grand. However, its fishing for Grand River steelhead that gets many anglers excited.

Life Cycle:

Steelhead will spend around one year in the Grand River after hatching from an egg and return to Lake Michigan as smolt to grow. While in Lake Michigan, they will spend up to three years continuing to mature and eventually coming back to their natal river the Grand to spawn. Unlike salmon, once they spawn, they will then return back to Lake Michigan. These steelhead will continue to return and spawn in the Grand River for up to six years before dying. This gives these fish lots of opportunity to grow to huge sizes, sometimes exceeding 35 inches and 15 pounds.

The Fall Run:

Fishing for Grand River steelhead will depend on many things in the fall. Depending on water levels and conditions, steelhead start their push into the river during the middle of October and continue through December. Typically, we need good amounts of rain to bring these fish into the Grand and up into Grand Rapids. The fall run starts my favorite time of year to fish. There is nothing like watching your bobber float down river and seeing it disappear in the blink of an eye. Before you can even comprehend what happened, you are hooked up on a big dime bright and angry steelhead. You cannot tame these fish. More times than not, they find their way off the hook. With that said, sometimes you win the wrestling match and get to hold onto one of these Grand River steelhead.

Grand River Steelhead
Grand River Steelhead

Winter Holding:

As the season progresses and we move into winter, this is when we start seeing less and less people in the river. This is solitude season. Bite windows are small and inconsistent but fishing can still be good. Temperatures are cold, equipment gets frozen, and hands go numb. Steelhead start to hold in deep, slow winter time water. Float fishing these spots can be painful, as a result of how slow the current can be, but this is where they live when the water is 35 degrees or colder. The fights aren’t as epic, as the fish are lethargic, in the cold water but they can still pull pretty dang hard. When the days start getting longer and the temperature starts to get warmer, the spring push is on everyones mind.

Fishing for steelhead in Grand Rapids
Fishing for steelhead in Grand Rapids

Spring Push:

Starting in March, we see more pushes of fresh chrome. The spring steelhead coming in are mixed with the more colored up fish from the fall and winter. Grand Rapids sees tons of fish from mid March to mid April. This is the ‘peak’ of our steelhead run but it is also when there is the most pressure on the river. Nothing really beats catching steelhead in a t-shirt with the warm spring sun out in downtown Grand Rapids. Once we start to transition into early summer, the steelhead season is about over. In the early weeks of May steelhead start to return to Lake Michigan. These are what we call “drop backs”. Steelhead that are beat up and exhausted from spawning in the upper section and tributaries of the Grand River. This typically marks the end of steelhead season and the anticipation for the up coming fall run begins.

Man holding steelhead
Man holding Steelhead

With Grand Rapids being located so close to the Grand River, this gives many people and anglers lots of fishing opportunity to experience the fight and witness how awesome steelhead truly are through out each season.

Captain Max Werkman

Putting On The Pounds….

The Grand River continues to be in fantastic shape for this time of year. Many of its sections are low and gin clear. The gage in Ada has been hovering at 7 feet and the water temps are in the mid to uppers 50’s. As the temps have dropped, so have our tactics as the fish are adding the pounds this time of year.

This time of year the smallmouth are transitioning from their summer water are on the move to their winter water. Along the way, they’re searching for the baitfish to gain weight. You’ll need to cover a lot of water to find them and once you do, you’ll usually find others. When you do, switch to jigs and tubes.

If you’re going to fly fish, use floating line as the river is really shallow and the fish are on the flats looking for bait. We’ve been finding success on articulated flies in natural colors and white. Again, fish the shallow flats, cover a lot of water and don’t over look bucket water, colored bottom and structure.

The pike bite continues to be strong strong on both conventional tackle and flies. As the water temps have dropped, their attitude has become even more nasty and it can go from silence to violence in a nano-second. Expect the unexpected. You can use the same search baits with the pike as you do the smallmouth. In my opinion, if you know how to fly fish, do that as I feel you get a better reaction strike from the pike with a streamer.

Some steelhead are starting to show up in the lower sections of the Grand but it is still early. We need more rain to get the stain and flow rates up to get these fish into the river from the big lake.

We still have some dates open for the end of October and the first part of November for steelhead, pike and smallmouth bass. Give us a shout and enjoy a great day of fishing on the Grand in all the color of fall.

Grand River Fishing Report

Condition Of The Grand River

The Grand River, in downtown Grand Rapids, is starting to see the beginning of the fall steelhead run and is in great shape. Right now the river is flowing at 5,000 cfs with a water temp in the upper 40’s to low 50’s depending on the day. With the recent rain and cold coming, this will only drive more steelhead into the system.

Grand River fishing report for Steelhead Grand Rapids Michigan
Grand River Grand Rapids Michigan
Grand River fishing report for Steelhead Grand Rapids Michigan

Steelhead Update:

The steelhead that are coming in are dime bright and fresh from Lake Michigan. The majority of the fish are moving up the river and on into the tributaries. They are not holding as of yet. With that said, we are fishing the choke points and tradition zones to get on them versus the deeper winter holes.

These early steelhead pack a punch and as we’ve said before, they can move at speeds of up to 26 feet per second. As a result of this, we are using 12 lbs mono main line to 12 lbs leader. Anything less and you’ll lose them. Anything more and they’ll shy away as a result of seeing the leader. We been using 10 mm and 8 mm beads with number #4 wide gap hooks. Try using Mottledbeads in Glow Roe and Peach Roe. The water is somewhat stained so If you’re going to run two beads, add a Chartreuse to get their attention.

If you want to hook into these silver bullets under the skyscrapers of downtown Grand Rapids the rest of October, November and into the first part of December are a great time to fish. So give us call today.

Captain Tom Werkman

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