Tag Archive for: fall steelhead

Manistee River Steelhead Report

New Steelhead Bag Limits

New Steelhead Bag Limits

On November 9th, 2023 the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) passed a fisheries amendment regarding Steelhead bag limits. A list of specified rivers and streams were changed from the current 3 fish bag limit to a one fish bag limit for steelhead on a year round basis. The NRC adopted the changes with a 7-0 vote to pass the fisheries order amendment. The new regulations will go into effect on April 1, 2024.

The following backyard rivers were included in the new Regulations taking effect on April 1, 2024:
– Betsie River
– Bear Creek
– Big Manistee River
– Little Manistee River
– Pere Marquette River

Here is the updated amendment with legal descriptions of streams to be included in the new Steelhead Regulations:
 

 

Drone image of the Big Manistee River

Birds Eye View Fall Steelhead

Taking a look from above down on the Big Manistee River  while we step thru a run looking for a steelhead.  Fall colors are about done, as heavy winds have really blown away our fall colors.  Water levels continue to be low and clear this 2023 Fall Steelhead season.  But we keep grind out most days finding a few steelhead to play.

Pic of the Day – 2018 Fall Steelhead Run

The 2018 Fall Steelhead run has begun, so far size of the fish is very impressive.  Looking forward to the next 2 months.  Make sure to check out the fishing reports for the Manistee River and the Muskegon River for more pictures and updated information.  Hope to see you out there, have a great fall.

Biggest so far on the Swing (this year)

Nice part about battling the big boyz of the 2013 fall steelhead with the streamer rod, is that you can battling them with 12-15 pound test tippet.  Pictured below is Robert from OK with the largest steelhead landed so far with a streamer.  Great fish Robert. Would guess the fish to be 14-15 pounds.

 

Picture of the Day – Hoodie and Steel

Dan C. with a super silver fall steelhead from the Manistee River.  Dan also sporting a Mangled Fly Hoodie.  (MFM green can barely be seen, but it’s there) With the forecast of 40’s and mix (rain/snow) the down puffs and hoodie will be a staple the rest of the year.  Steelhead fishing is pretty darn good right now.  Thank you Dan for a great day.

IMG_9971

 

Big this Year

Better get ready to rumble this year, as fish are bigger than normal on the West side.  Pictured is Jon with a big boy from the Manistee River from this Friday, Oct 11th.  Two-Handed rods are start to come out, as heavy angling pressure is pushing the fish off of the gravy train and into the spots I call home.

 

Fireman pants and chrome

The contrast of the bright orange pants with the green tree line, and the pure beauty of a Michigan fall run steelhead.  I love taking pictures of these fish.

Fall Colors

Colors seem to explode yesterday morning (once the rain stopped), this bank along the Manistee River always has great color and is a wonderful back drop for anglers as we search for chrome.

As the sun rises, the colors explode along the Manistee River.

Underwater Steelhead – Pic of the Day

Erik Rambo shot a video of a cool release shot of a steelhead swimming away along the sand in the lower river.  This video was shot this week in the high sun so we had good light and low clear water provides for a perfect effect. Took the video and converted it to a jpeg and found this shot that is hard to get with just a camera.  Thank you Erik.

Keep on trying – season is almost over

So I know in my hearts of hearts that as the water temps cool, I’ll only have a couple more chances at the leaping, cartwheeling, summersaulting, jumping, kicking your butt steelhead leaps that I try to burn into the images of film (DSLR).  But here is one from the week that turned out okay.  Had a chance at true glory but had the wrong ISO and AF for the moment, and all I captured was blur.