Winter Archives - Werkman Outfitters

Grand River Fishing Report

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.

Captain Tom Werkman

Grand River Fishing Report

We have now reached what most consider the coldest time of year, air temps have been in the 20s-30s and water temps have been in the low to mid 30s.

With these cold temperatures, this means the steelhead will be very lethargic and in their winter water. Target deeper water anywhere from 5-10 feet. One helpful tip is to adjust your float every few drift to get close to the fish. They don’t want to move very far for food in colder water.

These fish could be eating a variety of presentations this time of year so mix up your drift by changing out beads frequently. Use 8mm and 10mm bead in peachy, orange, and yellow colors and smaller spawn bags with 4-8 eggs in white, chartreuse, and pink colored bags. Jigs tipped with 2-3 wax worms in pink colors as well will work. Don’t be afraid to mix and match with a bead on top and a spawn bag on the bottom.

Winter is a time of year to enjoy the solitude and how pretty the river can look. High numbers of steelhead aren’t common with cold water temps but it’s hard to beat having the river to yourself most days.

We are starting to full up our prime time dates for the spring steelhead run in March and April, so give us a call to get on the calendar.

Captain Max Werkman “The Kid”

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Fishing for 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.

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.

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.

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

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Grand River Fishing Report

With above freezing temperatures for most of December the area rivers have opened up to fishing. Over the past few weeks steelhead fishing has been decent. Here is the Grand River Fishing Report as of January 1, 2020.

A few fish have been hooked and landed throughout the day. We’ve been catching a mixed bag of dark hold-over steelhead with fresh chrome.

We continue to use beads but have been mixing it up with spawn for the best action. Try running nickel to quarter size bags with pink and chartreuse netting. As far as beads go, try the more pale and milked out colors to entice the fish. Mottled peachy king and peach fuzz in 8 and 10 millimeters have been working best.

Water temps have been between 32-34 degrees. We’ve been targeting slightly deeper and slower runs where the fish will lay this time of year. Rain, wind, sleet and snow, it’s all in the future forecast,which will hopefully bring in new fish before it gets too cold to river fish.

On the flip side, colder temps in the future will help with our ice growth. As of now, very few if any of the area lakes have ice. Because of that, we have moved our ice trips into February.

While the rivers are open, get out and enjoy some steelhead fishing before the the ice takes over, or start thinking of spending the day on the hard water and give us call to book a trip in February.

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Steelhead Fishing Report for the Grand River 12/18

This is the Grand River fishing report as of December 2018. Colder than normal temperatures were the story for the first half of December. As a result this has put the steelhead into their winter mode on the Grand River. The steelhead numbers are somewhat down from previous years but the fish seem bigger.

The water temperature has been cold, mid 30’s and somewhat stained. Slow things down to get the best response to your presentation. Remember, look for the slow water and the deeper runs and holes. You’ll need to float your drift numerous times through, as the fish are sluggish right now.

Set Up:

Currently, the only method we’ve been using right now is float. Our main line has been 12 lbs mono dropping to an 8 lbs leader and in some instances 6 lbs. The reel has been a Daiwa 4000 series with a 10’ 6” Okuma SST rod.

Try using beads in various orange colors along with chartreuse and mix it up between the 12 mills and the 10 mills. Remember, if your using 12 mills you should use a #4 hook. Use a Raven 11 gram bobber. If the steelhead feel any resistance when they grab, they’ll let it go.

However, if the runs are short try the chuck and duck method. This will get your rig down quicker to where the fish are than a float rig normally would.

If you’re going to use flies, use larger egg patters with some color along with larger stoneflies.

Weather Shift:

A warmer than normal weather pattern is setting up for the rest of the month, along with some rain this week. As a results, the water temp will warm up a bit and this should send some fresh fish up. With that said, keep using the same techniques.

Don’t be afraid of the cold, this is a great time of year to fish. Low pressure and if you put in your time you’ll be rewarded with big fish.