# Big Trout on the Muskegon?



## OH-YEAH!!! (Jun 18, 2009)

Friday and Saturday I fished the Muskegon.

Friday I fished at High Rollaway/Thornapple. Saturday I fished Croton downstream from the bridge.

Friday it was mid day. Nothing was hatching except some very infrequent sulphur looking bugs that weren't provoking rises. I mainly threw a size 8 stimulator with a caddis worm dropper. I caught about 10 six to 8 inch fish that had the dull colors of stocker rainbows. Most were on the dry fly

Saturday I fished from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. There were caddis, small mayflies that looked like blue wing olives. I fished everything I could. A guy on the other side of the river (north side) was roping in 8" to 12" fish with a fly rod. I was fishing about 45 feet out on a downstream drift and missed a couple fish but landed two fish; 8" and 12", both had the color of washed out rainbows. Again, I am guessing they were stocked fish.

Anyway, does the Muskegon have any wild, holdover trout and do they attain any size? I am trying hard to best the biggest trout I've caught on a dry in Michigan - a 16" brown last year on the PM. However, I am mainly just getting small fish with my best fish a 14" brown on the White above White Cloud.

I thought the Muskegon would be a good bet. Is it? Dry fly season is too short! 

Saturday night was a great night on teh river. Just a little humid. A blue heron was squaking in protest although it held its ground til people were within 50 feet, lots of kingfishers.


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## Roger That (Nov 18, 2010)

I have caught some decent browns there (17") and have seen pictures of some and know people who have caught them in the 20s.


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## troutguy26 (Apr 28, 2011)

I haven't fished there in many years but have a friend who lives right by a launch you mentioned and he regulary catches nice browns outta there. Contrary to what some people say there are nice fish up high in that river.


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

Haven't fished the Muskegon since the early '90s, used to take my wife there when she was learning to fish but she thought the stockers were too easy and didn't like it. The DNR plants a ton of rainbows/steelhead and browns there and I don't think there is much natural reproduction because of the hot summer water so if you want any "wild" fish in the Mo fish for kings. As for holdovers, I'm sure there are some to be caught if you target them. Remember that big browns become piscivorous and the hatches that will draw them out are mostly over. Knowing that I would target the best big fish cover with hoppers to try to pull one out in the summer. Also remember that if the water is 70 degrees or warmer you have probably killed the fish so you might as well keep it.

The Muskegon below Croton is kind of a disaster if you think about it as a river. The only game fish that successfully reproduce in it are smallmouth, catfish and kings (which get out at the earliest opportunity). Without the constant infusion of government money to maintain the "recreational opportunities" you would hardly see anyone wetting a line there between December and September. It's a lot like Detroit, could be a great place if you could fix the structural problems but if you suddenly take away all the welfare that keeps it going it would crash and burn in no time. As it is it's a nice place for the crowds from GR to go and pretend that amusement park rides are just like climbing the Matterhorn.


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## Rasputin (Jan 13, 2009)

PM sent.


I'll be glad to show you a spot, but you have to promise to not have a heart attack if I kill a fish.:lol:


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## Bull Market (Mar 12, 2005)

kzoofisher said:


> It's a lot like Detroit, could be a great place if you could fix the structural problems but if you suddenly take away all the welfare that keeps it going it would crash and burn in no time. As it is it's a nice place for the crowds from GR to go and pretend that amusement park rides are just like climbing the Matterhorn.


Wow! Kzoo. You don't happen to have an opinion on this, do you? Chuckle, chuckle.


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## OH-YEAH!!! (Jun 18, 2009)

Bull Market said:


> Wow! Kzoo. You don't happen to have an opinion on this, do you? Chuckle, chuckle.


The Muskegon is fun because there are so many other types of fish. I saw a walleye porpoise right in front of me. There are countless suckers. I've caught a yellow perch there on a blue wing olive. 

There also were four maybe 5 lb fish that were in a three foot deep run which were staring towards the bank and seemed to be watching me to see what I would do. I threw a stimultaor on the water and twitched it like a hopper and the fish just stayed suspended about a foot above the bottom. They looked like catfish maybe? Would channel cats hang out in a group of four?

Thanks also for all the PM's offering great tips. Appreciate it very much.


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

On a nice warm summer day, if you have a couple of friends along in a chase boat, put on a mask and snorkel and just float along with the current. Good way to pick up on the cold water inputs also.:yikes:


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## migabby (Sep 8, 2009)

REG said:


> On a nice warm summer day, if you have a couple of friends along in a chase boat, put on a mask and snorkel and just float along with the current. Good way to pick up on the cold water inputs also.:yikes:


Float, did you say Float? at 68 yrs old I can't remember how too!!!!:lol:


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

Bull Market said:


> Wow! Kzoo. You don't happen to have an opinion on this, do you? Chuckle, chuckle.


I might be just a little wound up about this:lol: I had always thought that the Mo was in good shape generally for coolwater fish and the DNR put tens of thousands of dollars worth of coldwater fish in every year because stocking supported the local economies and provided the good old "recreational opportunities". Turns out that the walleye don't do any better than the browns and the river only seems healthy because the DNR planting masks the fact that it can't sustain it's historic species let alone most of the new ones. It's my opinion that hiding unhealthy rivers with stocking instead of using that same money to try to solve the problem is a waste of public money and also is not "managing for a healthy aquatic environment". These decisions come out of Lansing in response to the social goal which is so common among Michigan anglers; that license fees are paid so that fish can be planted and taken, not paid so that habitats can be restored enough to make stocking largely unnecessary and the fisheries managed at the resources actual carrying capacity. 

Does this mean that only native fish should be supported as the feds want? No, of course not. The ecosystems in Michigan have been so damaged that a return to 1700 is not even remotely possible. What is possible is restoring habitats so that wild fisheries can exist in balance and the constant burning of dollars to keep the "put and take" bonfire going can be stopped. Of the $28 I spend on a all species license $9 goes to stocking. To put that in perspective, how would you feel if 30% of the money spent on welfare went to cover bar tabs so that poor folks could have more "recreational opportunities"? No expected return on investment just spending the money on things that make the users feel good and help make some bar owners to get by for the year. I'd call it a total waste and that's what I call stocking with no plan for establishing a self-sustaining population. Yep, I'm a little wound up alright. At least this is a different rant than the usual.


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## 1mainiac (Nov 23, 2008)

My best on the MO is a 34 in Brown on a stonefly pattern in Jan hurt me bad to have to let him go was a beautifull fish and had a spot on the wall for it. That was below Thronappple I have caught several mid 20 in bows up near the dam Have not fished it this year but have a friend who guides it year round call me I'll get you his number. My best luck however has been with my pin rod working the runs with either waxies or small flies not much for dry flies they don't seem to catch big fish. And since they put in thousands of 10 in trout there every spring they are pretty much what you get on dry flies. There are big fish there but getting them to hit a dry fly is gonna be tough.


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## quest32a (Sep 25, 2001)

You are probably a little late for big trout action. Water is cooking pretty good I am sure. I know of a few guys that had fantastic early Mays on big browns. 

Water gets pretty warm, and it is really low right now from my understanding. Very poor conditions for big fish.


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## rcleofly (Feb 18, 2012)

If I'm looking for big fish on a dry fly I fish the early hendrickson hatch. Most of the time they come before opener. This year I found good size fish above the gates on the rouge with a hendrickson dry early april. I also do ok with brown drakes for about a week. The Hex hatch is said to be the best but I find I'm not able to get out that at night to fish. When the drakes and hexes are hatch I tie them as soft hackles and swing them as you would emergers. This also seems to put bigger fish on my hook. Good luck bud. And yes the muskegon does hold big fish its just a huge body of water making fish harder to find.

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## Logic5 (Apr 13, 2013)

OH-YEAH!!! said:


> Friday and Saturday I fished the Muskegon.
> 
> Friday I fished at High Rollaway/Thornapple. Saturday I fished Croton downstream from the bridge.
> 
> ...


Living and fly fishing on the Muskegon River between Croton and Newaygo I can tell you the big fish are there (18"-24"). Granted you can catch the 10"-14" trout all day but what's wrong with that. Fish a 6x/7x tippet when the water is clear and you'll catch the larger trout!


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