Shop Hours – 8am to 6pm Monday thru Thursday & 7am to 6pm Friday, Saturday & Sunday
March-Madness is in full swing!!! Chasing steelhead on the Pere Marquette River from Baldwin to Ludington!!! We have been extremely busy on and off the river….Thank you!!! The shop is loaded up with flies, beads, lures, rods/reels and everything in between. We are still looking for some additional shop employees, so if you or someone you know might be interested give us a call…231-745-3529.
There are fish throughout the system, but not as many as there should be for this time of year. We have been bouncing up and down the river with mixed results. It was a grind last week with water temps dropping all week. We had to work for bites and cover water. Very tough weather last week…cold, windy and wrapped up with some snow! It has been a mixed bag of fresh new fish and drop-backs in the pools/runs.
Water levels are back to normal and pretty clear up and down the river corridor. There is some rain forecasted for early this week which would help give us a little color in the river. Traffic is increasing, so please remember to respect your fellow anglers. Try keeping a low profile when floating past fishermen and please don’t cast thru areas people are fishing! Common curtesy goes a long way!!!
Nothing new with recommended patterns…Stoneflies, fry patterns and egg flies have been producing the most consistently for my boat. Pale pinks, lighter oranges and chartreuse egg flies in a size #8 or #10 in normal water levels and #6’s in higher water. Bead fishing the lower river has been up and down. 8mm to 12mm have been the size range and natural to bright “attention grabbers” in dirty water. (Just a friendly reminder….Beads are NOT LEGAL in the Flies Only Section).
Thank you for all the support and business…we really, really appreciate it!!! Our guide schedules are pretty full until Mid-April, but there are a couple random dates open still. Plus, we have availability for Lodging at our Motel. Spring steelhead season is the beginning of our fishing year, so please don’t wait too long to book your spring and summer trout fishing trips.
We are on the front edge of another great year of fishing on the Wild & Scenic Pere Marquette River. Making memories, strengthening friendships, telling stories from previous years and spending quality time on the river!!! Good luck out there and looking forward to seeing everyone on the water, in our boats and/or around the shop/Motel.
Got a lot going on, so I am going to keep it brief!
Fish-On!!!
John Karakashian