River fishing on the Lake Michigan tributaries has been decent for steelhead, but far from stellar. The run is just beginning in earnest on the smaller rivers that host a run of steelhead. Larger rivers like the Big Manistee have better numbers of fresh steelhead, with the bulk of the run still yet to come. The size of the steelhead this year is impressive, and anglers targeting these powerful fish will be pleased with their catches, even if numbers overall aren’t high. A recent trip out saw a near 18 pounder come to net for a few photos with an ecstatic customer before happily swimming away after release.

The slow thaw has many anglers breathing a sigh of relief, with water levels slowly rising, as opposed to the quick thaw and flood stage scenario that many feared. This is setting up for another great spring of steelhead fishing, that will likely last into late April as it did last year. Planter brown trout have also been caught recently, mostly on spawn. River waters are still very cold, with ice chunks banging into fishing lines.

As we look forward to the remainder of spring, expect a great push of steelhead into the Lake Michigan tributaries. While light lines are the norm for steelhead, they seem to be running large and angry, so a slight beefing up in line size might not be a bad thing.