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Manistee River Steelhead Report

Manistee River Steelhead Report below Tippy Dam

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Manistee River

Manistee River Steelhead Report

Spring Steelhead fishing Below Tippy Dam

Manistee River Fishing Report

What a difference a year makes! This time last year (don’t quote me), we were already in full spring steelhead mode. I remember those beautiful February days—warm afternoons melting the snow, an open river flowing strong, and the bite on fire. Fast forward to today, and it’s a completely different story. Portions of the river are frozen solid, water temps are hovering at a bone-chilling 33 degrees, and nearly two feet of snow blankets the banks. But when the sun breaks through, you can feel its strength—spring is on the way. Every guide I know is itching to get back on the water. If you haven’t booked your Spring Steelhead trip yet, now’s the time! Give us a call or shoot us an email to book your Spring Steelhead Trip.

Water Levels 

Water levels are good right now.  We are in the 1400’s range, hopefully we will get a slow snow melt and not one big flood.  Currently most of the river is open except the lowest section.  Lots of shelf ice especially down by Bear Creek and Rainbow Bend.  If you own your own boat and run the river, have an understanding what shelf ice can do to other anglers around you.

Manistee River is defiantly green right now, one of my favorite colors for the river.  Not like this fall when she was gin clear.  So we have some color, running bigger stuff lately has been best.  Get their attention.  

Book Your Winter or Spring Trip

Our guides are available, and now is the time to seize this fantastic late winter / early spring fishing opportunity. If you’re interested in booking a trip, feel free to email or text us to secure your date. Looking ahead to Spring, we recommend booking early this year. With such a strong fish population already present, it’s shaping up to be a great season you won’t want to miss.

Open Spring Steelhead Guide Dates

Steelhead Open Dates

Jon Ray – Feb 27 and March 4,7,9,11,16-21,25-27

Ed McCoy – March 2,6,7,11-14,,16-21,27, 28,30,31 and April 1,6,9-11

Early Spring Steelhead Fishing

As we transition from winter to spring fishing, adopting an understanding of the fishes behavior will help lead you to more success.  Steelhead will start to move again, after a long hard winter the transition to spring runs/slots will start.  But besides the water types you should be keying in on, also notice the amount of bug life present.

During the fall it’s all about the egg bite, but with spring we get other food sources that will play a big role.  One tiny black winter stones, which we have already seen moving about.  Have a good black stone imitation in size 12-16 is important.  Also the Salmon Alevin stage is a big player on all western rivers in the State of Michigan.  

With the huge salmon run we had in 2024 we will have a plenty of Alevin’s to match the hatch, also with the big fall steelhead run we currently have good numbers of steelhead around to play with.  So before the crowds show up this spring book your trip now.

Booking a Trip

Manistee River below Tippy Dam is one of the best west side rivers in the state of Michigan.  Mangled Fly guides are available all winter fishing trips so give us a call soon to join in the fun at (231-631-5701) you can also shoot us an email.  Also it’s not too early to get your Spring Steelhead trips on the books. 

Check out our [recommended winter clothing guide] for tips on staying warm and comfortable. Keeping your hands warm is key—investing in quality gear (this [electronic hand warmer] is a game-changer) will make your experience much more enjoyable.

One new item that I’ve been testing out this winter is a wool glove with exposed finger tips.  Allowing me to still tie up bead rigs but keep warmth to the rest of the fingers, still in the test phase but the limited days so far I’ve been liking the warmth. 

Jon Ray

Upper Manistee Trout Fishing

Upper Manistee River Trout Fishing

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Manistee River Trout Report

Upper Manistee Trout Fishing

The Upper Manistee River Trout Fishing report for the third week of October has our fish starting to spawn.  As water temps continue to cool the spawning activity will accelerate.  With some unseasonably warm weather still hanging around the fishing has been for our entire season.  We have had a few rainy days, but we could use inches upon inches at this point.  

Streamer fishing has been good on the cloudy days and you have to grind in the sun.  Make sure to keep a dry fly rod on deck as there have been some BWOs on the cooler cloudy days.  Look for the streamer fishing to pick up after the fall spawn is completed.  Some timely rains, a bump in flow, and some cooler weather could provide some excellent post spawn opportunities on streamers.   

Water conditions currently are very low and clear as we haven’t had much rain over the past few months.  The river has been dropping and clearing  with the current warm weather and lack of rain.  The water temperatures have been warmer but mostly stable with temps ranging 48-55.  The forecast shows another warming period heading our way for next week

Streamer Fishing

The Streamer bite on the Upper Manistee River has been decent to good in the low light.  Cooler Mornings have been the best for us.  Smaller streamers have been getting the most attention, but you have to play the game of “lighting dictates color”.  Black has been good for us during the low light periods.  Tan and olive based combinations have been better during the brighter sunny conditions.   Play with size and color throughout the day and from one day to the next.  Grinding through the slow periods and keeping the faith is still key for success.

With the current water conditions you will need a couple of different setups to fish effectively.  You will need to consider the water type, depth, and retrieval speed you are fishing and match the proper line to the situation.  In deeper sections you can still get away with a 200-250 grain line, but as temps drop you will need to slow down your presentation.  I would consider carrying a floating line and/or an intermediate line as well.  This will allow you to fish slower and maintain your flies in the strike zone longer.  

Cooler, cloudy days are always the best streamer days, but the current heat has made it challenging at times.  This time of year I look for cold fronts with rain to provide a bump in flows to offer anglers the best streamer fishing opportunities.  With all the recent heat our water temps have been pretty stable, but the clarity and sun have been the biggest limiting factor.  As we head into late October the forecast remains unseasonably warm which means the spawning period will likely get stretched out until some cooler weather sets in. 

Didymo

Upper Manistee Trout Fishing

Didymo on the Upper Manistee continues to be a problem with a high level of concern.  I would consider the whole Upper Manistee River System to be contaminated with this Diatom. There was new Didymo growth above CCC bridge and it has been documented as far upstream as Yellow Trees Landing.  The Didymo mats in sections below CCC are still breaking down and to my knowledge there isn’t any blooming like we saw in the 2022 season.  Didymo is considered a very resilient invasive species so you need to educate yourself on safe cleaning techniques.  River Users will need to clean their gear or anything that touches the water.  Didymo can easily be spread between watersheds and can be detrimental to our trout streams.

I would consider the ENTIRE RIVER TO BE CONTAMINATED and treat it as such. Clean, Drain, Dry your gear before entering another Body of Water.  Currently, there are no effective methods to eradicate didymo once it is established in a river.  To prevent spreading Didymo and other aquatic invasive species to new locations, it is critical for users to thoroughly Clean, Drain and Dry waders, equipment, and boats upon leaving a waterway.

  • Clean by removing mud and debris from all surfaces.
  • Use a 10% Solution of Dishwashing Soap with hot water for 10 minutes (Example 1 gallon of water is 12.8 oz of Dawn Soap). Then it must dry for 48 hours (mandatory if your fishing different water systems).

Trout Guide Trips 

We have very limited openings available during the peak hatch season, so make sure to book your dates now for 2025!  If you’re looking to book a Trout Guide Trip you can reach us at 231-631-5701 (leave a message) or shoot us an email.  We are excited for the upcoming Fall Trout Season.   Also make sure to follow along on our social pages and our online fishing report page  for more updates. 

 

Tight Lines,

Ed