Shop Hours 7am to 7pm Daily
The river is still LOW and CLEAR throughout the entire river system. The rain we received after my last report did the trick and produced our first impressive push of kings! The middle and lower river have been holding the most fish for the time being (but certainly not loaded). And with that being said, the fishing pressure has been very high in those sections!!! Please respect your fellow anglers and “ask before you cast”. There are still plenty of empty holes, so covering water and being mobile will help with the search.
The cold nights have disappeared and a heat wave rolled in. Water temps have increased and have some fish moving up river seeking colder water. Plus, the holding fish have been getting a little “stale” with the warm up. But, we are still finding plenty of players everyday; just working harder with the low water, intense fishing pressure and hot/sunny days. Needless to say, we need some serious rain…it’s long over due and unfortunately, it’s not in the extended forecast. But, you gotta deal with the “hand you are dealt” and we will make the most out of what we have to work with!
The season is progressing nicely after a slower than normal start. We have been fishing the lower river for the time being with hardware and drifting bobbers & beads. Thundersticks, larger Hot-n-Tots, spinners and beads have been finding players for our guide staff. Both hard and soft beads in 12mm – 16mm in the pink & cherry spectrum…it’s been fun fishing beads! The fish have been very HOT and hard to handle…just the way we like them! Fishing tight to the structure and lumber has been producing bites, but also sacrificing some gear…ha, ha!
The shop is loaded up with inventory for the season and we are running extended hours (7am – 7pm daily). We pride ourselves in having “the right tools for the job”. Everything you need (or might just want) to fish our area is available at the shop. If there is something you think we should carry, let us know! Plus, we can always special order products for you if we don’t have your size or it’s something you want to try. It feels good to be grinding everyday and in the thick of the season. Catching up with long time clients, meeting new ones and seeing all the familiar faces on the river, at the shop and Motel.
Our guide staff is all booked up until Mid-October, but we still have some excellent dates available at our Motel. We will most likely see an extended king season with the later then normal arrival of the fish. Plus, our fall/winter steelhead trips are starting to fill-up…it’s not too early to book your October/November steelhead trips…give us a call 231-745-3529. November is one of my favorite months to fish the Pere Marquette River…come see why!
September is here and we are fishing everyday!!! “Team BBT” is excited about another great fall! The guides are rigged and ready; the shop is loaded up; the Motel is spotless; the shop staff is “braced for impact” and ready for a long season…here we go!!!
Thank you for your continued support of our Shop, Motel and Guides!!! We appreciate the business and friendships. It’s a competitive industry and easy to shop on-line, but walking into a local shop with “boots on the ground” is one of our biggest assets! We have guides on the river everyday…a shop staff that fishes on their days off…honest and recent fishing reports…a friendly shop atmosphere that welcomes new anglers to seasoned veterans…fly fishing or spin fishing – we do it all!!! If you haven’t fished with us or stopped into the shop…please do!!!
Please catch and release our wild Pere Marquette Salmon and Steelhead….the future depends on it! We have a wild fishery and each & every fish that spawns rejuvenates the next generation. The old line “their all going to die” is true, but they do spawn before they die…think about it!!! Our runs are a fraction of what they were 20+ years ago…times have changed and so should we…protect and preserve this valuable resource. We all love catching kings, but we don’t all love eating kings…let them swim away!
Good luck and be safe out there!
John
