Shop Hours are 8am to 6pm Daily
We are hosting our “Spring River Clean-Up” this Saturday (May 3rd). We are planning on meeting at the shop around 9am to sort out the details (boat assignments and float plans). We will be providing garbage bags and cover all car spots for those participating in this awesome event! All are welcome!!! Bring a boat or just hop in with someone who has space in their boat…or just stop by to walk around a couple access sites if you can’t dedicate the whole day. Every little bit counts and makes a HUGE difference!!! After the Clean-Up activities we will be hosting an appreciation BBQ and Steve’s Pole Barn next to the shop at 6pm. We hope you can join us and help protect and preserve the amazing Pere Marquette River…it’s great river karma!!! She will pay you back many times over. Please reach out to to shop if you are planning on joining us 231-745-3529…just trying to get a head-count for the BBQ. Thanks and see you Saturday morning!!!!
Sorry for the big lapse in fishing reports, but I was crazy busy and time flew by way too fast. We had a great spring steelhead season and I would like to thank everyone who guided with us, stayed at our Motel and/or stopped into the shop…we truly appreciate it and thank you for your support!!! If you don’t have your date set for next year, please sort that out sooner than later as dates are booking for next fall and spring already.
I am going to jump into a trout report now and conclude the report with a wrap-up of the steelhead season….
We have switch gears and are targeting trout now! There are still “a few” steelhead around, but not enough to make a day out of…but, I will keep a couple steelhead rods in the boat “just in case”?!?! The river is low and clear right now, but a large system is soaking the entire watershed as I type. It looks like a 1/2 a day “soaker”. We should see a bump in flows and get some color back in the water (at least for a couple days?). I love low & clear water for the hatch season, but right now we could use this shot of water to get the streamer action fired back-up. We had some great conditions about 10 days ago and it was great streamer fishing while the river was up. Stay tuned for updates on water levels.
Trout season is officially here as last Saturday we celebrated the “2025 Trout Opener”!!! It’s always a great feeling to celebrate to Opener with fishing buddies. Swapping stories, sharing patterns and developing plans for uncharted waters. The time is upon us and I can’t wait!!! We have guide trips available and Lodging at out Motel throughout the trout season, so give us a call to book a trip and/or a Room…231-745-3529. Streamers, dry flies & nighttime mousing are all on the menu…Full and Half Day trips are available.
There have been some sporadic bugs hatching, but nothing with any consistency. However, that will all change once the weather warms and the evenings start holding some warmth (next week is looking good). We have been seeing some black stones, BWO’s, caddis and a few hennies on warmer afternoon/evenings. My guess is we will start seeing sulphur by Mothers day weekend and Grey Drakes not too far after that…typically, we have good sulphurs and drakes happening mid to late May.
The river is starting to transition back into a trout stream. The grass is greening up and growing fast! The trees are budding and blooming. There are song birds in the branches and some trout are looking up!!! It’s about to “snow-ball” into full throttle trout season and I can’t wait…I am not sure my schedule is ready, but it will only take a few late nights to get re-acclimated. My boat and gear are ready to roll, so give us a call to get out there.
Our last good colored water the streamer fishing was great. Typical mid-sized patterns in natural colors worked best. But some brighter patterns with flash picked up some scraps when the dull tones were not working. Don’t be afraid to switch patterns, sizes and/or strip speeds. There are still tons of fry in the soft water, so tossing a small “smolt-ish” pattern to the bank, soft water and structure should get some looks.
Hopefully by next week, we will be sitting on the river in the evenings and seeing what type of spinner fall is happening. Plus, I have even heard of several after dark reports already happening and being successful!!! Here we go!!!
Spring 2025 Steelhead Re-Cap
Once again a huge THANK YOU to all our guests and customers!!! We had a very successful guide season and made lots of new memories. We bonded with long time clients and developed new relationships with new clients. The weather was a “roller-coaster” all of March and April, but it kept the fish in the system longer then the last few years. Overall, I think we had a strong run considering the awesome fishing we had early last fall (late October and through November). Late February and March were solid and April had a few challenging points, but we finished very strong! Last week, I wrapped up my steelhead schedule and it was very good fishing to finish off the season.
It’s always “bitter sweet” ending a steelhead season. It’s nice to turn the page to trout fishing, but now we have to wait 6 months to start targeting them again! Just another reason to love the storied waters of the Pere Marquette River…it’s always evolving and changing opportunities for anglers. I am sure we will have another shot or two at some steelies over the next couple weeks, but the chapter of the spring 2025 book is written! It was good one for sure!!! Here are some pictures from the 4th quarter of the season…Thanks again everyone!!!
Good luck out there and enjoy the resource! Do what you can to protect and preserve it…you never know how long it will be available???
Later!
John
