Hey guys, we are officially in the thick of it now! Some odd and/or cold weather spells have put a damper on the bite a few of the days since last report, but there are plenty of new ones pushing up thru the lower regions and on a good day all sections are fishing well. As you might imagine there are fish actively spawning now in the usual select areas and that is gaining momentum while expanding, but if you’re like me and “prefer” the dark water there’s plenty in there as well.
I think Jake and I had the worst report I heard from today, but that was only because we were “fun fishing”, and I purposely avoided the “good water” to help out the guides that were working in our same lower river stretch. That being said, we still did some battle with a few of those new arrivals and got the net wet!
We had four of our guide boats out of BBT in the upper river that all did very well today, and I spoke with another couple of guides who did the “mid-river” and did well also. The guys down low by us had a great day also, but by all accounts, it was even better down that way yesterday when a much bigger push came thru. (The new fish are still moving up in waves and it is very helpful to know a few spots they like to rest in at least a little! ;^)
FYI – For those of you that haven’t been reading my reports ever since the internet became a thing in the early to mid 90’s… I consider the “upper river” to be everything above Rainbow Rapids, (Special regs water.) the “mid river” to be Rainbow Rapids to Indian Bridge (Covering a lot of ground there.) and the “lower river” to be everything from Indian Bridge all the way out to Twin Bridges where it dumps into Pere Marquette Lake. (Again, a lot of water, but basically everywhere in the river that motors are allowed on a no wake basis.)
I usually try not to be too specific on locations in my reports outside of those “Upper, Mid and Lower River” descriptions, but I also don’t try to hide the backgrounds of my photos very often so if you know the water you probably at least know where I was right then! 🤣😎
The water is back in great shape from top to bottom at the moment (Maybe even a little on the low side again way up top.) and most of the river is holding a nice light stain that progresses to a heavier tea down in the lower river, but still quite nice! The water temps have had fluctuations from the mid to low 30’s right on up to 45.1 degrees as the highest I’ve seen yet, but with this weather we’re having the next few days I’m sure that’ll get beat.
I’ve been fairly active on Baldwin Bait & Tackle’s social media pages lately if you keep up with those and you’ll frequently find even more content on my personal pages if you care to follow those. (BBT’s Instagram Here & BBT’s Facebook Here. Then there’s My Instagram Here & My Facebook Here.) Outside of that between John and I both you “should” be able to find at least one or two weekly river reports like this one right here on our site. Don’t forget you can actually sign up to get these reports via email and we also offer a cool BBT icon for your phone screen to take you to our site lickity split! You can set those up here!
Below here is an “example” of some content from my personal social media pages. In this post (That’s about beads.) I’m basically laughing at myself while pointing out what a hypocrite of sorts I’ve been at times when I was still fighting a losing battle…
“Oh my how times have changed… 🙄😳🤣 I just saw a Facebook memory the other day from just four short years ago when I was still naïvely resisting the bead becoming a really popular method here in Michigan.
This was partly due to how effective and easy it is and partly the lack of profit margin compared to some other product lines, but in reality it was too late by a long shot already and I well knew it as I watched all the wet behind the ears YouTube heroes and new guides absolutely crushing fish using a method I actually helped to develop along with many other guides on the scene in late 80s / early 90s Alaska.
I’m sure it just bugged me that most of these guys weren’t even a gleam in their father’s eye yet when it started and here I was back on the home water struggling to hook a few pre-sore mouthed fish behind them using much more challenging methods. (Petty, childish, whatever, I know…)
Obviously, I got over it! 🤣 Fast forward to today and I laughed out loud as I not only grabbed just a small fraction of my beading arsenal to bring into the kitchen table and pre-rig a few, but we are also carrying a full line of bead/float fishing gear, center-pins, bait-casters and spinning reels as well as the rods to match for the method and much, much more in our store.
(I hope you’ll stop in and check it out if you’re looking to get started or, just need a few more goodies! 😎)
When in Rome as the old saying goes I guess, but I still have, and appreciate, those clients that prefer a little more challenge and both put a smile on my face for different reasons making for some fun days on the water.
Please remember that bead rigs are not legal in the fly water but pretty much everywhere else around here you can have at it! In the end, as long as it’s legal, you gotta do what makes you happy and is the best use of your time in your mind!! 👊🎣
Good luck this spring! Please be safe out there, be well, above all have some fun and we do hope to see everyone soon around the shop, motel, barn or on the river! 🇺🇸🦅
-Steve-“
It’s late and I’ve got to get some sleep to do it again tomorrow! Be safe, be nice and have fun out there!!
Steve
P.S. New shop hours are 8am to 6pm daily and we are pretty well loaded with everything you’ll need and more! Please stop by if you get a chance and we do appreciate your business!!
P.S.S.
