Betts Guide Service

Steelhead Fly Fishing Adventures for Michigan's Great Lakes Steelhead, Spring Steelhead & Winter Steelhead. Jet Boat Fishing Guides for Muskegon River Steelhead! (231) 519-7348

~ Winter Steelhead Float- Fly Fishing Guides ~ 
During the Winter Months, ( December, January, February, March) the Muskegon River is loaded with Fall & Winter Steelhead. Unlike the Grand and Pere Marquette Rivers, the Muskegon is a tailwater fishery, this means the Muskegon River never freezes. This allows us to guide anglers throughout the winter months for Steelhead and Trout. Fly fishing during the Winter is a beautiful time to be on the water with good numbers of Steelhead and lots of wildlife along the rivers banks.

Michigan fly fishing can be at it's best during the Winter. Few anglers fish this time of year, the Steelhead are eager to feed well with little angling pressure or guides on the water. Our guides love fly fishing during the Winter months. Michigan is blessed with many great rivers that may be fished year-around.

We offer guided fly fishing adventures year around for Michigan's Winter Steelhead on the Muskegon River. March, April, and May are also great times to chase Spring Steelhead. The stone fly emergence during March produces excellent fly fishing for Steelhead in March. We have guide dates available for Spring Steelhead on the Muskegon, Pere Marquette, and Manistee River.

Techniques for Steelhead: 
Chuck -N- Duck Fly Fishing

Rods: As for Fall & Winter Steelhead fishing in November and December, I recommend a 9'6" 8wt fly rod or a 10' 8wt fly rod. These longer fly rods help for a longer drift allowing the angler feel the steelhead pick-up. They also keep the line off the water and allow for better mending and better presentation. Reels: I recommend Orvis Big Game IV or a Tibor Everglades. These reels have an excellent drag and very fast line pick up. Spool them with a running line, ex, Rio slick shooter or 25lb Suffix mono (Neon Tangerine) thinner shooting lines cut through the water and give you a very pronounced tick.. tick as your weight drifts along the bottom. 

Chuck-n-duck rig: I use a free sliding snap swivel clipped to pencil lead, a clear bead, and a barrel (crane) swivel with one end to butt (12lb) section, the other end to the tippet. For optimal drift, I recommend a 5 foot leader (8 or 10lb) from lead to end fly, with and egg fly in the middle and a dark nymph on the end. Also note: For guide trips, you will need waders and polarized sunglasses. All gear, tackle, flies (nominal cost) and a grilled, shore lunch will be provided with all guided trips!

Steehead flies: As for flies, I recommend a large selection of small egg flies in natural colors such as golden, steelhead orange, oregon cheese, peach, and cream. Tie them in size #8, and 10's tied on a Tiemco 105, Black stoneflies in 8's and 10's, small hex nymphs, and green caddis. Glo-bug egg flies in sizes #8 and #10's, natural colors such as Golden, steelhead orange, peach, Oregon cheese, baby blue, soft yellow. Hex Nymphs, nuke eggs, dark center, light halo. ......................Nymphs: Stone flies, hex nymphs, soft hackles, green caddis rock worm. I always carry a large selection of egg flies during fall, winter, and spring for Steelhead and resident Trout. Fly Patterns for Steelhead: Click Here

Techniques for Steelhead:
Floats and Spawn

Another prefered method for Fall and Winter Steelhead is fishing floats and spawn. Fishing floats and spawn is a fast-paced style of steelhead fishing. We fish quickly and cover miles of river in a day, usually producing lots of hook-ups and many steelhead landed. We prefer to fish specialized G. Loomis 11' 3" float rods. Loomis rods are available for your use on guided trips. These longer rods allow the angler a longer drift and a stronger hook set. We also use Cabela Prodigy spinning reels or center-pins reels spooled with 10 lb hi-vis monofilment. These smooth reels allow for long casts and a smooth drag system to fight big fish.. Floats for steelhead vary greatly depending on water levels and conditions. We generally use the orange/black Thill steelhead floats. They seem to work best for the Muskegon and Big Manistee Rivers. Smaller floats styles are available for the White and Pere Marquette rivers. All gear is provided for you. We have the spawn tied, cured, and ready to fish!

 
A selection of floats and spawn.