River Report:  The Big Manistee is starting to loosen up some of its icy grip, and this has both anglers and steelhead moving about.    A recent trip saw several nice adult steelhead come boat side, including some bright fresh fish.    Several nice brown trout were also caught, mixed in with some skipper steelhead.   With the gradual warmup, the snow and ice is melting at a nice pace, without blowing out the river, as was the concern with all of the snow we’ve had this winter.    The sun is out, the temperatures are warming, and spirits are high.    There is a little stain to the water, with the snow and ice melt, but visibility is near perfect for good steelhead conditions on the Manistee.

Other area rivers are beginning to thaw out as well, and anglers are starting to see some decent steelhead action on those rivers as well.