West Mich rivers

[Butch]

I hadn't fished in almost 2 weeks, due to high water and other commitments, so I was eager to get out. I had an errand to run up north a ways, so I while I was in the neighborhood I worked in a trip to 1 of my favorite streams on Weds afternoon. Got in the river and soon got a somewhat discouraging report from the guys in a drift boat. It turned out to be pretty accurate, I caught 2 beat-up winter fish(both about 9-9.5) and didn't see any fresh steelheads. The water conditions seemed very good, it had dropped back to a good level and had a nice stain but very adequate visibility(2.5-3'). I would have prefered if the water had warmed up a bit as the afternoon went on, but 'can't have everything' as they say. The fish seemed pretty lethargic, I caught fish only after I switched from my standard #4 spinners to #5's.

On Friday afternoon, I tried another stream closer to home. I got in the river and my 2nd cast caught a nice fish, which turned out to be a 21.5" brown. I'd rather catch a good stream brown than a steelhead, so I was off to a good start. It snowed pretty hard for the first hour or two, and after the first fish I had no action for 2-3 hours except for a 13-14" brown that fell off and a dandy redhorse;) foulhooked on the snout. I was soggy from the snow that stuck to me, then melted (forgot my rain jacket:rolleyes: ), and I was about ready to quit when I caught a couple nice looking steelheads about 10 minutes apart, a male about 11 and a hen about 9. That kept me going for another half hour, but no more action. As on Wednesday, the water level and stain were good for spinner fishing but it would have been nice if the water had warmed up a bit during the afternoon.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed that the recent warmer runoff/high water didn't seem to bring many fresh fish to the streams I fished.

[GLF]

Thanks for the report.

[Catfishhoge]

Good deal Matt, at least you did find some action for your interest!

[Sixshooter]

haha....geesh Matt...if only I had your problems....hehe...

Good catch non the less and "beats Cuttin Grass."