NORTHERN MICHIGAN FISHING REPORT NOVEMBER 13, 2026

Boardman-Ottoway River

In downtown, the lower Boardman has a mixture of steelhead and lake trout. Fish will move in and out of the lower river based on weather patterns and precipitation.  This is a great river to float fish or swing.  Easy to access downtown and spend a couple of hours exploring the winter water.  

Just a reminder, the river above Beitner Road is closed to all fishing until the last Saturday in April as all the tributaries to the Boardman-Ottoway River.  

Manistee River

Fall steelhead action has been mixed over the past 10 days with some great days and some days where you are just hoping for a bite.  There are fresh fish moving in the lower parts of the river and some coho showing up and starting to spawn.  This is the transition we see every year.  Some of the early fall fish are starting to drop out of the system and fresh winter fish are showing up daily.  

November is a great time to swing for steelhead as they lay up in the slower, woody runs. The water temps are in the lower 50’s and upper 40’s, which is warm for this time of year and the fish are really hard to handle once you hook them, so hang on!!  

Egg patterns, beads in washed out colors, nymphs and steelhead buggers are working well.  Float fishing will continue to improve over drift fishing in the next few weeks as the fish transition to softer seams as water temperatures drop.

Upper Manistee

The post spawn trout bite on the Upper Manistee should really start to kick off as the temperatures start to drop and fish move into their winter mode.  Water temperatures are still good and use smaller, natural streamers with a slow and deliberate retrieve to get the fish to react.  

Fall Early Winter Guide Trips Available

We still have guide dates available in November and December for both trout and steelhead. If this fall turns out anything like last year, it’s going to be a season you won’t want to miss.