Water temps have dropped to the lower 30’s & Steelhead have begun to adapt to their Winter attitude.  Colder water temps result in tougher fishing, now is the time of the year when the angler has to be patient & cover water thoroughly to get rewarded by the headshake of a Steelhead.  The weather across the U.P. has been much more tolerable lately, highs in the lower 30’s have made for some more seasonably fishing conditions.  Some flow ice & shelf ice is present on rivers across the U.P.- please use caution when wading in winter conditions.  Also did notice the first ice on the lakes-not much longer & then ice augers will be coming out!

Happy Thankgiving to all!

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Heavy snowfall & disgustingly cold weather has engulfed the U.P. as of lately.  To say that conditions have been challenging for fishing is a bit of an understatement-yesterday it  was 20 degrees & a 30 mph northwest wind pounded 12 plus inches of snow over some parts of the U.P.!  Water levels remain steady, but water temps have dipped into the mid 30’s-this dropping water temps will continue as the forecast isn’t looking pretty.

Jamie Clous- friend & river guide of the Manistee & AuSable Rivers joined me for a few days of Yooper chrome.  Many hours have been spent swinging streamers which has resulted in some memorable hookups, with streamer fishing you will not hook as many fish as nymphing-but the feel of the strike will leave you smiling till your next time on the river.  It is hard to explain why one will fish all day for one strike, but when the line goes tight as a guitar string & you feel the head shake- then you know why.

Steelhead-they are way more fun to catch than to eat.  Practice catch & release!!

Snow, rain, wind, sleet-to most these elements sound horrible, to the Steelheader this means game time.  Steelhead fishing remains good with lots of options to choose from-the nymphing bite has been productive & streamer fishing is providing lots of smiles.  Water temps are in the low 40’s and with the temp levels fish are both keyed in on eating a well presented nymph or a tasty looking streamer.  Lake Run Brown Trout have also started showing up in better numbers, always a exciting surprise to see one of these guys on the end of your flyline!

Forecast is calling for more wet weather-bring on da chrome, eh!

Looks like our beautiful weather is coming to an end, forecast is calling for more normal temps over the next 10 days.  Yesterday we received precip in both the form of rain & snow-this will help our water levels stay up a bit where they are currently.  Water temps bumped up form anywhere from the mid 40’s to even 50 over the course of this last warm spell.  This warm water has the Steelhead downright mean-some epic battles have occurred over this Fall.  The fall Steelhead is such an addictive fish to chase-choose your technique, swinging streamers, indy fishing with the floating line, & bottom bouncing.  There should never be a dull moment when pursuing this great fish.  Over the course of this weekend a ran into another angler astream & the angler asked me ” What is the limit on Steelhead?”  I have been dwelling over this question now for a while- yes the limit of Steelhead is 3 fish per day.  This is absolutely absurd-there is no need to keep 3 of the highest quality sport fish available in the world.  Sure maybe they taste really good?  So why not keep one & share the wealth with others?  We promote catch/release-I witness how well this technique works on a daily basis by catching Steelhead that have obvious scars on their mouths from previous years.   Here in the Upper Peninsula a large amount of our Steelhead are wild fish, not stocked.  If an angler keeps 3 Steelhead everyday for a week, a fishery can be severely impacted.  Give it a try on your river, watch how good it works!

Please release your catch so that someone else may have the great expereince that you were able to enjoy.

This Fall has had some downright bizarre weather-today it is nearly 70 degrees, this weekend they are calling for snow.  Oh well, such is life in this place they call God’s country!  I have to admit it has been quite pleasant to Steelhead fish in such warm conditions!  Water temps have risen a few degrees over the last couple days into the mid 40’s & some rivers have come up a bit.  Steelhead fishing has been very good to poor depending upon river system.  More Coho verses Steelhead have been present in the Lake Superior streams, but this will probably change as the forecast is calling for rain the next 4-5 days in a row.  A late rain like this can bring in a good amount of fish in a relatively short time.

Fall chrome-they like to eat & then jump!

Today is a very important day in U.S. history-please exercise your right as an American citizen & go vote!