Fishing Report 3/26/25

Manistee Below Tippy

Fishing on the lower Manistee River has remained consistent for those willing to adapt to the significant temperature fluctuations we've experienced this March. While on the river, you can see the early signs of spring: Red-winged blackbirds are perched in the trees, and steelhead are starting to move out of their winter lies to approach their spawning areas.

Fish are being caught in the buckets and runs around shallow gravelly zones, as the steelhead wait for warmer temperatures to kickstart their annual spawning ritual. Although we haven't yet observed fish actively spawning, it is only a matter of time and warmer days before that begins on the big river.

The water clarity below Tippy is a steelhead green, with visibility ranging from 4 to 6 feet. Flies that have been effective for us include larger clown eggs and nuke eggs in orange and chartreuse. We've found that tying them to about the size of a thumbnail has been the most productive. Nymphs have also had their moments this past week. Black Woolly Buggers with added flash, stoneflies, and caddis nymphs have all caught fish.

Once the water warms up a few degrees, we can expect one of our biggest hatches on the river: the emergence of salmon alevin from the gravel. This is a key food source for all predatory fish in the river, and after experiencing a massive king run this past fall, I anticipate that alevin/fry patterns will work exceptionally well this year. We are fast approaching prime spring steelhead fishing so this is your time to grab the rod and hit the river.

 

Betsie River 

Fishing on the Betsie has been good, with steelhead located in the runs and holes around spawning areas. Like all smaller rivers, the Betsie has warmed much more quickly than the larger ones. You can see in areas fish are starting to clear gravel and pair up on redds. Water clarity as of yesterday was 2-3 feet, but I would expect it to dirty up after this fresh snow melt.

Flies that have been working are larger clown eggs and brighter-colored rag eggs. On the nymph front stoneflies, leeches, caddis nymphs, and alevin patterns have all been finding fish.