Muskegon River
steelhead fishing

Swung streamers and spey flies in the fall, nymphs and swung flies through winter and spring. The Muskegon is a premier steelhead river nine months of the year.

Check open dates

Call or text 231.652.3528

The backbone of our fishery

Steelhead enter West Michigan rivers as early as late September, and the fall fishing gets very strong by the third week of October. Through October, November and December, the Muskegon becomes one of the Midwest’s premier spey rivers.

This is our passion. We love swinging streamers and spey flies for these magnificent fish, and we’ve been doing it for a very long time.

Winter and spring

Steelhead stay available through the winter months on swung flies and nymphs. As spring approaches the numbers increase, and peak season is late March and April, when steelhead feed heavily on salmon fry, stoneflies and eggs. As the fish head out of the river in May, they respond very well to the swung fly again.

King salmon and lake-run browns

King salmon enter in August and September and concentrate in October, averaging 12 to 13 pounds. Lake-run brown trout are often overlooked, and many anglers catch the brown of their lifetime while fishing for steelhead.