# Rifle Steelhead Help



## MattEich (Nov 9, 2020)

Hey All - Long time forum scavenger here. Started fishing last year at 35 years old. Advice on this forum has taught me how to tie knots and what steelhead were and has taken me to parts of Michigan I never would have been and to stand in rivers that are absolutely breathtaking. It's been awesome. 

I hooked into and lost a king in August after meeting a local on the little manistee. Adrenalin dump, and slept about three hours that night. 

My dad used to fish on the west coast and never really did here in Michigan. Fishing has given us a method to connect and I've been taking him on trips on the Lil Man, Big Man, AuSable, and Saginaw River and Rifle. I'm in Saginaw and he lives in Alma. 

Problem is I'm horrible at fishing. After multiple trips to those rivers and a skunked guide trip on the PM we have about a half dozen three inch trout between us. The guided trip taught me how to float fish, which I love. I did that for 8 hours on the Rifle this weekend after researching here and got skunked again. 

My dad is 65 and although its still good bonding time he cant quite keep hoofing it on our "fishing hikes" all the time. Especially in the cold. I'm trying to find some spots but am really whiffing here. I want to return a small favor and get him into some fish finally. Any tips or PM's for help would be greatly appreciated. I posted this in the Northeast area but will go anywhere.


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

MattEich said:


> Hey All - Long time forum scavenger here. Started fishing last year at 35 years old. Advice on this forum has taught me how to tie knots and what steelhead were and has taken me to parts of Michigan I never would have been and to stand in rivers that are absolutely breathtaking. It's been awesome.
> 
> I hooked into and lost a king in August after meeting a local on the little manistee. Adrenalin dump, and slept about three hours that night.
> 
> ...


All the rivers, especially the smaller ones, are in dire need of rain! Fishing is extremely tough when they get low and clear. Watch the flow charts for rises in the flow and height


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