Manistee River Steelhead Report below Tippy Dam

Spring Steelhead

Spring Steelhead Below Tippy Dam

The Manistee River fishing report below Tippy Dam for the last part of April, has us thanking everyone for a pretty darn good steelhead season.  We are wrapping up our Steelhead Season. Steelhead is a 6 month season and I would give 5/6 of this season as a darn good grade.  My observations about our steelhead run coincides with my plea for anglers for fish more in February and basically really is the same what National Geo is saying .

Now I’m not saying you can’t find steelhead in April, but from what I see in February there is no comparison.   Boat traffic and fish behavior.  No February doesn’t have us fishing in sun shirts (not yet) but even in April anglers get really cold hands.

Manistee River

Currently the Manistee Water Water Levels are about perfect with temps just below 50.  We will be transitioning to Smallmouth waters and Trout Waters over the next few months.  Still using the Manistee River for both but updates and reports can be found for the most part on different report pages. 

Yes there are some steelhead still spawning, but for the most part the best fishing is for drop-backs.  These fish will take a Swung Fly really well bright attractor patterns with bright heads are normally your best option.

The DNR has planted a few truck loads of trout below Tippy Dam on the Manistee River.  So that options is available .  Small fry patterns and any sparkly streamer will get attention.

Booking a Trip

Manistee River below Tippy Dam for the rest of the season will be a great place to take kids to introduce them to fishing.  Both fly-fishing and light tackle, with so many trout planted by the DNR this gives us a special opportunity to hook countless numbers of trout and get kids interested in fishing  give us a call at (231-631-5701) or shoot us an email .  

We just added a few new sun shirts to the online store, have 4 New Colors on the Center Fly Sun Shirt. Check them out sizes range from Medium to XXL.