Steelhead in south eastern michigan?

This weekend, since the ice and weather can't seem to cooperate, me brother and I will be trying for something unusual. Steelhead in the north branch of the Clinton river. Reports are spotty as much as fishing advice. We will be ready with typical trout techniques for them but we are very unfamiliar catching trout except for accidental catches or small Brooks. If anyone has any suggestions pm me or post, we have an idea of what we'll get ourselves into though.

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Steelhead fishing can be very dependant on the watershed or river system to which you fish. Techniques can very greatly. This time of year, the steelhead are moving up river in preperations for the river system to hit the magical number it takes in order to spawn. In normal years, with lots of snow, that temp veries depending on the amount of rain/run off that goes in to the stream. Spawning really picks up during and following a warm rain system that rapidly warms the river. Run off spilling in from feeder streams and snow melt can have a negative impact.

That said, fish can be spooky and are usually found in deeper holes. Although spinner combinations can work great, this time of year they really are not in the mood to chase baits all over the place. Same holds true for casting spoons such as little cleos. Not saying they won't hit them, just saying not to expect it.

If the stream is fast enough, the most common method is to "bounce bottom". Basically, your bait on the bottom and then a foot or more up you have enough split shot in order for the bait to run down stream while "bouncing" on the bottom. There is an art to this method and sometimes takes years to adapt to the feel of the bottom, too fast or too slow, and what the bite feels like.

A more common option on alot of southern streams is the same technique as discribed above except to use a bobber. You want your bait to drag slightly on the bottom throughout the drift. The bobber will slowly go under. SET the hook EVERY time it goes under. Snags and fish look similar and both allow the bobber to go down slowly. Longer rods in the 10 to 12 foot range are necessary as most holes are deeper than 8 feet. A traditional rod will not allow you to cast this depth... You CAN or COULD utilize a slip bobber although I have never tried this. One snag up and your loosing the rig!

As for bait... this time of year the fish can be lethargic. It may take an hour or more in one hole to get one fish to bite. Smaller baits are the key. Spawn bags tied very small in different color patterns will work. A better option is a yarn fly in the Michigan wiggler pattern in several colors. These are wet flies fished in the above manner. The BEST bait that I have used for winter fishing however is Mayfly Larva or more commonly known in the bait shops as "wigglers". They burrow in the mud and below rocks on many streams and this is the go to forage this time of year for steelhead. Place several on a circle hook or spawn style hook. You can also find them in soft plastics in several colors and we have done well with them.

Another common bait (especially in the GR area) is wax worms. Guys will use a standard jig (in several weights) and load it up with a few wax worms. Jigs could be fished both in the bottom bouncing technique as well as the bobber technique with dynamite results. The area I grew up on was not conducive to this style of fishing so I do not have much experience with it. I do however know that it is the go to choice for fishing the Grand River in GR.

These fish are very line sensative. Cold clear water and great eyesight are not beneficial to the fisherman. For the novice, I recomend 8lb test mono. There are a couple of ways to run it. Either straight (like mention under bottom bouncing) or, you can get creative and run it to a three way swivel. From there, use a 6lb test leader (about 16 inches long) down to your bait. On the third eye of the 3 way, tie a small dropper in 6 or 8 lb (about 2 inches) and attach your split shot. Doing it this way allows the split shot to hit the bottom and if they become snagged (happens more than the hook snagging bottom) the split shot will slide down the dropper and off and you get your rig back (without the weight).

If however you are using a 10 foot noodle rod (common practice) I suggest 6 lbs line as the rod will make up the difference. Of course, in todays day and age, line is thinner so a 10 lb in todays standards are less in diameter than the old 6lb of yesteryear. We strickly use STREN Original. Always have, always will. I've put more steelhead in the boat or on the ground with a Sage 10 foot rod and 6 lb test before the age of 16 than most men will see in a lifetime!

Good luck and have fun. So endith the lesson!!!

Thankyou very much, we would have been slinging spoons all day. We'll put your advice to good use

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Good read Rich!

The sentence about spooky and deep reminded me about this deep, crystal clear pool of water up by Stony Lake we used to fish at, there is a stream that feeds the Lake from Lake Michigan. A little park that looks out on Lake Michigan has a nice dock/boardwalk along the stream that we would fish from. There is a deep pool right there at that boardwalk that had the fish stacked in there like cordwood, try as I might with a small hook and spawn bag those fish wanted no part of it. Now there had to be 15-20 of them in there and you would think that at least one would take the bait, I must have tried that spot for a hour or better and nothing.

I'd bet if we were tossing spoons the fish would have fled that deep pool and headed out into the Lake.

Sometimes a persons mind drifts away and begins to think "how many could I get with one swipe of a smelt net"?......

Good luck getting them, with Rich's advice you should be doing a fish report on Monday.......

One little "trick" I forgot to mention. I was thinking about this last night. This might sound slightly crazy however we actually used to use Marshmellows this time of year for steelhead. No this isn't the name of a specific bait. It is an actual marshmellow. We used to purchased the little tiny ones that kids put in hot chocholate. We purchased the mixed color bags and we would put a hand full in a ziplock. We used to let them get hard or stale (leave the bag open for a period of time). These were "secret" baits that only a select group of individuals were ever privy to knowing about on the banks of the Manistee river in January, February, and March.

I was fortunate to grow up within 15 minutes of some of the best steelhead waters in the state. My dad and his group of friends were some of the best steelhead fisherman on this river. We started way before it became a "combat" fishing sport with people lining the banks. When it started to get wall to wall, shoulder to shoulder, we all started boat fishing. Then that became so competative that many of us gave it up all together. Custom built rods and hand tied flies were the norm. My dad actually tied flies for one of the best steelhead shops in the state (Fisherman's Headquarters).

All of this was done before the "Minimum flow" restrictions the state put in to act along these rivers. It "used" to be that once per day the dam would be opened and water from the upper would flow in to the lower. A siren would sound and the water would rise. Then, they would close the dam and the water would go down. Best fishing was when the water was low or lowering as the water would become clear. Once the backwaters filled back up, the water would be let out again. In the late 80's, due to errosion issues with the water levels changing every day, the state put a minimum flow restrictions on all dams in Michigan. This returned the water flow to its more "normal state". With Tippy dam, that meant that two and 1/2 gates were open at all times. It killed the way we fished for a little while but people adapted.

Once per year (usually mid summer) they would run the water high for a couple of days to lower the backwaters. Then they would shut all the gates to perform maintenance. At this time was also the "river cleanup". It would be at it lowest point all year. Many people would go out and collect all the lead from the snagging days, hooks, sinkers, bobbers, plugs, spoons and everything else. The smart people (us included) would walk the banks and take photos of the deep pools that were not able to be seen during normal days. This put 100's of more opportunities and locations in our bag of tricks. Places we did not know had holes that would hold fish.

The bad things is that when you become good at something, people take notice. Keep in mind that this was long before social media and most guys tended to keep their mouths shut in regards to certain hot spots. Unfortunately, people recognize you, they recognize your boat, and they watch what you do and where you fish. Today you are fishing a hole that no one knew existed, tomorrow there are five boats parked there. Or, you would fish a new hole and someone would come in on top of you. No regard or care. Many of these holes are 10 to 20 feet long and cannot sustain more than a boat with two guys fishing.

There are days that I miss it and consider going back from time to time. I'm not as nimble as I used to be and the walk to some of my favorite bank spots would not be easy! For now I will be happy to pass on the knowledge I have learned over many years of fishing this great species of fish!

Trout and river fishing especially is very new to me. Slack water, trees laying down and ebbs in the river have been my traditional targets. Back when I was young I tried the bouncing technique but was not prepared to lose so much to snags. I will have a nice report this following Monday, whether we catch a fish or not.

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Remember, NOT all areas are condusive for bottom bouncing. If it is slow water, put a bobber on!

IF I was to choose however between steelhead fishing and trout fishing... I choose trout. I like throwing spinners for browns and rainbows. I also love casting floating rapalas for them but..... If I had to choose between that and creek or stream fishing, I choose that every time!

Just something about being on a small creek way back in the dark cedar swamps with a 7 or 8 foot rod, some 4lb test, a hook, and a 1/4 night crawler. Pendulum swinging your bait to the other side, playing out the line so your offering runs up under the bank, log, cut, or whatever, and having a brook trout take in your offering! Brookies are not big by any stretch, but I'll take brook trout fishing over all of them!

I agree with you there. Most of the small streams I fish it's small tackle for bluegills, bass, rockbass and Creek chubs

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