Shop Hours 9 am – 6 pm
It has been a minute since my last report, but Steve has been keeping you posted since his return. I have been busy getting the shop in shape for the season, my gear and wrapping up some trout trips. The shop is getting filled up with inventory and we have more on the way. Please stop in to say hello, get some info and maybe make a purchase! We should be extending our shop hours here in the near future…stay tuned for more details and frequently updated reports.
My fall guide schedule is pretty full, however I have a couple open dates if you are interested in jumping in my boat for a day? Current available dates are – September 2, 3, 7 & 8 October 11, 13 – 16…please call the shop to reserve a date (231-745-3529). John Robinson and Kam have some great early dates still available, so give us a call to inquire and/or book a guide and Lodging! We are also getting calls and making reservations for fall steelhead fishing. We will start looking for steelhead in Mid-October through December; give it a try…you might get hooked!
I have been all over the river lately…tossing hoppers and twitch bugs in the upper river for trout and casting crackbaits for kings down low. The trout action has been pretty good on foam dries, twitch bugs and small streamers. The king action is off to a very slow start, but starting to show some signs of improvement the last two days. The lower river has seen a couple decent waves of kings the last two mornings. The fish have been swimming hard up-stream…almost like they know they are late. If this continues we should see the river have fishing able numbers in the near future. PM Lake is full of fish and we are in a full moon period the next couple days. So keep your fingers crossed and lets go fishing!
The river is in great shape from top to bottom. The upper river is slightly stained and almost back to normal levels, while the middle and lower sections are holding a perfect stain and level. There have been some good reports of finding pods of kings in some of the good early holes, but here today and gone tomorrow. Covering water and searching will be your best bet to finding fishable numbers. As we begin another fall salmon season, please respect your fellow anglers and have fun out there!!!
I have one more trout trip and then I am on salmon duty. I have been out a handful of times king fishing over the last week with limited results casting crackbaits, but the last two days we saw good numbers of kings pushing through the lower river. And today Steve sent me a text saying “they are pouring through this morning”. However, sometimes moving fish are hard to catch and/or don’t sit still long enough to bite. Things are starting to develop and it looks like a promising season with some impressive sized kings!
Some trees in the lower river are starting to color up and the extended forecast is calling for below average temperatures. Fall is in the air and big fish are swimming upstream! It’s going to be a fun couple months fishing for wild migratory fish in the Pere Marquette River!!!
Later,
John Karakashian
