# To increase the chance of catching a fall-run steelhead and lake-run brown trout



## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

During the past 10 years, I caught only one fall-run steelhead and one lake-run brown trout, while I caught 20-30 kings, cohos and spring-run steelheads. I want to know how I can increase the chance of catching a fall-run steelhead or lake-run brown trout. Which of the followings would be your suggestion to me?

(1) Time is important. Fish in November and December rather than September or October.
(2) Place is important. Fish in Betsie or Little Manistee rather than Platte.
(3) Water current condition is important. Fish after big rain. 
(4) All of the above.
(5) None of the above.

I most frequently have fished in Platte, much less frequently in L & B Manistee, PM, or Betsie. Silver coho and dark king are shown in the photos. They were caught last September.


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## JB85 (Nov 2, 2010)

You pretty much have it covered.

Although you can catch fall steelies anytime from September on, peak is usually in November or December. 

This said, water levels have an awful lot to do with it. No rain and low rivers = slow for steelies. 

Some rivers are better than others but you can catch steelies in most west side rivers. Conditions and timing, imo are more important than the river.

I have never tried to target browns they have always been a bonus when fishing for steelies and few and far between at that.


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

The Platte is probably the toughest river to fish for steel, water is gin clear therefore you'd have to fish it low light conditions and drop way down on the leader poundage.

As for the other rivers, lots of water to cover just need to keep working at it. You may even be missing some fish and don't know it. What I do is is have the line just above the reel rest on my finger, in that way I can feel everything going on, and don't miss many hits. Remember, steel don't hit like a ton of bricks most of the time, just a little tap tap is all you'll feel. I guess all I can really say is keep trying til you figure out what works for you.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

After October, just go fishing for them as much as you can. There will be Steelhead in most rivers and streams that dump into lake Michigan by November.


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

1) Yes
2) Best choice in area- Big M.
3) Relative, but yes. Best when water starts dropping after big rain.
Bonus- If you really want to catch a LRB, fish WI (or NY). Or hit the piers/shores more often.


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

Thanks for your quick reply. 
This year, I will fish in Nov and Dec 3-4 times.
But will stay at home until I perceive the current condition becomes ideal.



JB85 said:


> You pretty much have it covered.
> 
> Although you can catch fall steelies anytime from September on, peak is usually in November or December.
> 
> ...


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

I see. 
Then, I might hit the familiar section in the Platte early morning and get somewhere else in the afternoon. 



toto said:


> The Platte is probably the toughest river to fish for steel, water is gin clear therefore you'd have to fish it low light conditions and drop way down on the leader poundage.
> 
> As for the other rivers, lots of water to cover just need to keep working at it. You may even be missing some fish and don't know it. What I do is is have the line just above the reel rest on my finger, in that way I can feel everything going on, and don't miss many hits. Remember, steel don't hit like a ton of bricks most of the time, just a little tap tap is all you'll feel. I guess all I can really say is keep trying til you figure out what works for you.


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

I see.
My next trip would be in November, and I woudl save the gas for this month.



Fishndude said:


> After October, just go fishing for them as much as you can. There will be Steelhead in most rivers and streams that dump into lake Michigan by November.


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

I wich I could flyfish in surf or pier for LRB, while I don't have a boat.
Do you happen to know any place to do it?



REG said:


> 1) Yes
> 2) Best choice in area- Big M.
> 3) Relative, but yes. Best when water starts dropping after big rain.
> Bonus- If you really want to catch a LRB, fish WI (or NY). Or hit the piers/shores more often.


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

Piers in Manistee or Frankfort. Beaches most anywhere there is public access, but near some type of outflow helps. Best to to go fish is when you can.


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## FishKilla419 (Feb 22, 2008)

Big Man

Here fishy fishy..


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## llpof (Mar 31, 2012)

PET said:


> I wich I could flyfish in surf or pier for LRB, while I don't have a boat.
> Do you happen to know any place to do it?


are you only flyfishing?


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

REG said:


> Piers in Manistee or Frankfort. Beaches most anywhere there is public access, but near some type of outflow helps. Best to to go fish is when you can.


Yes, i am willing to spend the longest time at NW Michigan rivers this November and december. It would be wonderful if I happen to find a school of lake run browns across a shore just close to a small creek.


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

FishKilla419 said:


> Big Man
> 
> Here fishy fishy..


How fishy fishy?


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

llpof said:


> are you only flyfishing?


Yes in NW Michigan. So I am wondering if fly fishing is feasible in Lake Michigan without a boat. In SE Michigan, I enjoy lure fishing for bass. I also did in the Harbor Beach pier.


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## Waz_51 (Jan 10, 2010)

PET said:


> How fishy fishy?


Lol, here fishy fishy, is Nick's signature line


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

Oh, I didn't know that. 
I thought he meant 'B Man is a fishy fishy river', and 
I was not sure what exactly he inferred by "fishy".



Waz_51 said:


> Lol, here fishy fishy, is Nick's signature line


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## FishMichv2 (Oct 18, 2004)

fishing the betsie, big man, or pere marquette would be my suggestion. i can almost guarantee if you go to the PM and fish behind some spawning kings right now you will get into some nice trout and a steelie or two. the platte is a tough river to fish for fall steelhead, the low clear water really lowers your odds of success. maybe try fishing out at the mouth if you decide you must fish the platte. 

also i see you are from troy so i have to bring up the fact that the clinton gets a run of steelhead in the fall. i know it pales in comparison to the beauty and solitude of the northwest part of the state but its still steelhead fishing. its a nice way to tide you over until the next up north trip and its a good way to hone some of the steelhead skills.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Get out on a pier or surf fish in the dark with spawn bags on the bottom. When I started doing this I was completely surprised at how many steelhead that I had caught. Moonlit nights are best as the fish are more active.


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

I liked PM a lot, since trouts behind spawming fishes were quite healthy looking. 

The Platte discouraged me last Saturday. I fished the lower section close to the mouth. What I caught were all kings as all other fishermen I talked to, while I expected a mixed bag inclduing at least cohos. Three-four years ago, cohos were abandunt at the lower section in October and November. I heard the Platte gets some late-run cohos, but I failed to spot ones last Saturday. I most frequently have fished the Platte lately, since I like fishing riffles close to the mouth, like Saugeen river and St. Mary Rapids in Ontario.

I like Clinton River very much, especially because I perceive I know the best current condition to fish. I hope this river can suppress my hornyness in the meantime.




FishMichv2 said:


> fishing the betsie, big man, or pere marquette would be my suggestion. i can almost guarantee if you go to the PM and fish behind some spawning kings right now you will get into some nice trout and a steelie or two. the platte is a tough river to fish for fall steelhead, the low clear water really lowers your odds of success. maybe try fishing out at the mouth if you decide you must fish the platte.
> 
> also i see you are from troy so i have to bring up the fact that the clinton gets a run of steelhead in the fall. i know it pales in comparison to the beauty and solitude of the northwest part of the state but its still steelhead fishing. its a nice way to tide you over until the next up north trip and its a good way to hone some of the steelhead skills.


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## broad1kj (Jan 14, 2011)

fish as often as you can where you can. Thereare alot of steelhead to be had right now.


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## FishMichv2 (Oct 18, 2004)

PET said:


> This time, I will again focus on the hole behind the spawning bed.
> Will hit Platte, BM, LM, and/or PM between 6:30AM until 6:30PM,
> but the order has not been decided.


are you hitting all these rivers in one day? i would think that lowers your odds of hooking up. id pick a river(either the BM or PM) and spend the day covering water. in my experience a day spent on the PM fishing behind some kings in late october gives you a pretty good shot at steel. if i fished the big man id be swingin some big streamers, casting spinners, fishing under a bobber.


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

Yes, I will be on an NW river or two next week!



broad1kj said:


> fish as often as you can where you can. Thereare alot of steelhead to be had right now.


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

I was in NW regions for about 13 hours last Saturday. 
6-7 hour in PM, 1-2 hour in LM, and 1-2 hour in BM.
Retrospectively speaking, I should have been in PM longer... 



FishMichv2 said:


> are you hitting all these rivers in one day? i would think that lowers your odds of hooking up. id pick a river(either the BM or PM) and spend the day covering water. in my experience a day spent on the PM fishing behind some kings in late october gives you a pretty good shot at steel. if i fished the big man id be swingin some big streamers, casting spinners, fishing under a bobber.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Pick a small section of river that you would bet your life holds some fish. It only needs to be 100 to 200 yards. Fish it hard with spawn bags on the bottom in the early am. As the sun comes up have one pole on the bottom and fish one pole with a float. When daylight breaks good start working the area with spinners, cleos, and cranks. If that fails start wading and working all of the holes and runs with large mepps spinners. If you still don't have fish go back to the original spot and fish spawn again. In the fall steelhead usually get more active when the water warms up a couple of degrees.


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## PET (Aug 23, 2002)

In short, I failed to catch steelhead or lake-run brown last Saturday. 

(1) PM (early morning to early afternoon; 6-7 hours)
The weather was perfect. Light rain and dense crowds. Fisher there about 6-7 hours. Each gravel bed had 0 to >10 kings. I casted 30-70 times in each dark hole behind each bed. No definite signals from any hole. I talked to 5-10 fishermen including guides. None caught steelheads at that time. It seemed that some guides rather had their clients fish salmons (at first). I caught one 10-lb coho, which resembled a winter steelhead. 

(2) LM (afternoon; 1-2 hours without a single cast)
The access point was the DNR weir. I walked upstream, and found none. I even found no bird. I felt I was the only adult-form of vertebrate. Two weeks ago, there were large schools of suckers intermixed with an adult salmonid or two, but they were gone to somewhere either up- or down-stream. I found LM of this section has no deep/dark hole, and decided to go to Tippy without a single cast. Probably I wasted about 700 kcal as the result of walking. This section of LM will be off my list in the meantime. I might try 3-4 miles upstream in the future, though.

(3) BM (late afternoon; 1-2 hours)
The access point was Tippy dam. I found about 30 fishermen. Less crowded compared to two weeks ago. I found 5 fishermen in the middle of river above the small (coffer?) dam. I tried to wade across it, but felt scary and decided to fish the tail water. I caught none, but found a guy caught a skamania-type steelhead just below the coffer dam. 

I will be back until I catch my rtarget fish.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

A bad day of fishing is still a day of fishing. If I wanted to quit after each day I got nothing, I would have quit altogether many years ago. 

I hate to say it, but if you aren't just dead-set on catching a Steelhead using flies, get some loose eggs, tie up some spawnbags, and try chuck-n-duck with spawn. Especially on the Big River, where many thousands of Kings just spawned. Those fish are keyed on eggs big-time. Once you get your Jones on, you can revert to feathers and fur. Or tie up yarn patters to resemble eggs. Water is super clear all the time anymore, and the fish can often tell the difference. They are very familiar with real eggs by now. Match the hatch. 4 feet of flourocarbon leader is a real good idea, too. I don't like to go too light (8 lb is light enough for me), because there are some bruisers in the rivers this year.


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## Mitch (Jan 10, 2003)

Go to Tippy Dam and stay there. Pay attention to what others are doing and ask questions. It's a huge learning curve to try to figure it out on your own after reading a bunch of junk online. On the river most people will be more than happy to help you along if you are sincere.

In my opinion, don't even think about the Platte or the Little Manistee, even the PM for that matter. You need to spend some time on water that is a little more "forgiving". Then you can take that knowledge to more challanging waters.

Good luck.


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## riverman (Jan 9, 2002)

Mitch said:


> Go to Tippy Dam and stay there. Pay attention to what others are doing and ask questions. It's a huge learning curve to try to figure it out on your own after reading a bunch of junk online. On the river most people will be more than happy to help you along if you are sincere.
> 
> In my opinion, don't even think about the Platte or the Little Manistee, even the PM for that matter. You need to spend some time on water that is a little more "forgiving". Then you can take that knowledge to more challanging waters.
> 
> Good luck.


That is some sound advice. I have seen more than one "good" steelheader humbled by the PM.


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## jerrob (Aug 6, 2011)

riverman said:


> That is some sound advice. I have seen more than one "good" steelheader humbled by the PM.


That could be the title of my autobiography, "Humbled by the PM" 
She can be very stingy with her fish. Great advise in the posts above.


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## AMA732 (Apr 11, 2002)

You and me both, Jerrob !!


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## Benz (Sep 25, 2010)

jerrob said:


> That could be the title of my autobiography, "Humbled by the PM"
> She can be very stingy with her fish. Great advise in the posts above.


So true. But finding those fish makes it all worth it.


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## jerrob (Aug 6, 2011)

Benz said:


> So true. But finding those fish makes it all worth it.


Well OK.............there's that. Maybe that's why I keep going back.


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## pinhead (Oct 4, 2008)

PET said:


> In short, I failed to catch steelhead or lake-run brown last Saturday.
> 
> 
> (2) LM (afternoon; 1-2 hours without a single cast)
> ...


Walking down stream was not an option of course. Going up river there would have never crossed my mind to do (Way more work than I want to put in as you found out). Personally I only fish that section when I Kayak down in the winter.


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