REPORT

Muskegon River Fishing Report:

March 2, 2025

Muskegon River Fishing Report:

The Muskegon is up a bit and is at a normal winter level.   The water is clear and it is cold, so steelhead can be challenging to approach.     Use natural patterns, such as sculpins or shiners, if you are swinging flies.    Brighter flies with some blue flue can also work.     Trout fishing is a viable option.    Though no stoneflies are hatching as yet, there are quite a few nymphs along the edges of the river.  Other small nymphs, imitating scuds and midge larvae, are always on the winter menu.   Streamers, either swung or stripped slowly, can also be productive on a day to day basis throughout the winter.    Please read exciting news below: 

NOW SHIPPING!  Kevin’s New Book!    After the completion of the first Matching Baitfish book a few years ago, I started collecting photos and information for the next book, called Matching Warmwater Baitfish.     This new book is a must have for all warm water fishing enthusiasts!    Here is the book with summary below: 

Matching Warmwater Baitfish is 248 pages in length and contains over 300 images.    It is written to cover the different warm water predators and prey.    The baitfish section includes  shiners, chubs, shad, and many others.  This book also contains a chapter on other food sources as well, such as hellgrammites, frogs, etc.     There is chapters on equipment, reading the water, technique, and fly tying materials.   Following is a section of the book including step by step images of fly patterns by the author.   The book continues with a section dedicated to flies of some top guides and anglers.     These include Jeff Liskay, Mike Schultz, Matt Zudweg, and several others.   In addition to the flies, these experts share their knowledge at points throughout the book. 

The book is available now, and can be preordered here.   For a more detailed post with additional images, check it out here. 

 

Spring is around the Corner! 

We are in the midst of a true winter, and it looks like cold weather through much of February.   Spring is coming.    Springtime fish activity in the river doesn’t rely on a particular date, it is dependent on water temperatures.     When the snow melts, and water temperatures rise, this is when we see signs of life.   As that happens, great fishing opportunities really begin to shine.

Through the remaining winter, fish feed on the same foods from day to day as there isn’t much biological change.  However, when water temps reach 36-42 degrees, stoneflies will work to move toward the shore.   As they crawl to  shore and rest, their skin splits, and they emerge as adults.    Unlike mayflies, they don’t die directly after hatching.    They remain in the trees and grasses, and they blow into the water on windy days.  Also, female stoneflies will take to flight and lay their eggs on the surface of the water.   This infusion of insect life alerts the fish below the surface, and much of the fish food chain gorges on them.     When they are on the surface, the trout will eat stones.   Because they do not emerge directly from the water, if you fish with dry flies, you never be fishing with emergers.  You will always fish with adult stonefly imitations or perhaps a crippled stonefly pattern.

While the stoneflies are active, the king salmon fry also begin to hatch.   King salmon lay their eggs in the fall.   They hatch in roughly the same water temps as the stoneflies do.    Salmon fry will be a pivotal bait fish this year, as we had a tremendous run of king salmon last fall.    Studies have been conducted that salmon fry can compose a large percentage of the diet of predators such as brown trout.  Salmon fry pop out of the gravel, and are very vulnerable.   When they are very small, they seek refuge along the edges of the river, often in vegetation and debris.   As they grow, they continue to live along the edges of the river, forming significant schools.     The higher that a river is, the more of these fry move to the edges, as they cannot fight the main current.     This moves the predators closer to the edges, and it should also move your fly there as well.   

These food sources are the bread and butter parts of the food chain for quite a while.   Stoneflies play a part until early May, depending on the year.   On warm years, they may finish earlier, on cool years, later.  The salmon are a big factor until well into May and early June.   As suckers and steelhead begin to spawn, eggs also work their way into the diet of predators.  

 

In March and April, steelhead are the stars of the show, as the heaviest concentration of these fish occurs in the spring.    A portion of the fish that arrived in the fall meet with a new run of spring fish during these months.    They provide great fishing and the steelhead linger well into May.   Initially, steelhead are most easily caught with nymph fishing patterns such as fry, eggs, and nymphs.  As the water warms further, the steelhead can be caught with swung flies and are often caught incidentally with other methods. 

By mid May, trout become the main draw, and we have some of the first hatches of caddis flies, as well as mayflies such as March Browns and eventually sulphur.    May is a very fun month to fish, as trout can often be taken with dry flies, nymphs, wet flies, or streamers.    

Enjoy the river and let us know if you would ever like to fish! 

To book a trip, or to get more information, please email us at info@feenstraguideservice.com.    You can also text or call Kevin at 231.652.3528.  For books, DVDs, fly selections and more, visit http://swingabigfly.com.

If you are interested in seeing our team at fly tying events or presentations, here is a list of upcoming events in winter 2025.

To learn more about our guides, visit our guides page.   For booking information, click here.

To see a previous program I did with Anchored Outdoors: visit https://anchoredoutdoors.com/live-with-kevin-feenstra-matching-baitfish-patterns-and-techniques/.

Kevin’s Original Baitfish Book, Now Shipping!:

Several years ago, after the last DVD launch, I started working on a book project.    The book is now complete, and is shipping.     This book is about fishing baitfish patterns for migratory fish, steelhead and lake run browns.   It contains a lot of information about the minnows, reading the water, fishing various types of structure, and some good fly patterns.     It also features a lot of beautiful photography of our minnows and fish.  The book is called “Matching Baitfish:  Patterns and Techniques for Great Lakes Steelhead and Lake Run Browns“.      To order through my retail site, go to matching-baitfish-by-kevin-feenstra.    I am happy to sign each copy per your request.

I purchased the remaining inventory of my fly patterns, which were tied by Aqua Flies, from the Muskegon River Fly Shop.    These are great, well tied flies and I am selling them individually.  They can be purchased on this page http://www.swingabigfly.com/individual-flies.   Because I carry an inventory of these, they will ship quickly when ordered and include free shipping.

Thanks for visiting the Muskegon River Fishing Report!    Interested in seeing more photography?  Check out Kevin’s  instagram feed.    

For bookings, please contact us at info@feenstraguideservice.com.