# PM REPORT



## proulxde (Jun 5, 2008)

Got to Scottville early Sunday afternoon with my brother. Floated from Custer downstream Sunday evening. We fished every hole we could switching between cranks and skein...big fat 0. Monday morning we woke up extra early to get to a hole I knew had fish in it from years past and it paid off. We landed 2 nice kings and lost a couple others on cranks One fish was landed on a chartreuse and white body flicker shad. The other was landed on a thunder stick with a brown back, cream body and an orange belly. Fished throughout the early afternoon floating skein and only had a couple of bobbers go down and losing one that was decently hooked.

Tuesday was our last day and we knew we would have to get to the hole we fished the day before extra early since we knew the guides were on to us. Got to the hole at about 5:30a.m. and about 5 minutes later a guide with 3 or 4 other clients pulls up to the bend about 10 yards upstream from us, jumps out of the boat and start telling his clients which log jam held all the fish. My brother and I are looking at each other like "REALLY?" We had our headlamps on and had pulled our boats just 10 yards downstream from where we were planning to fish, just to give other boats room to get by. I noticed the guide had a little motor trouble but decided to give him a couple of minutes thinking he would jump in and move on. Few minutes went by so I asked the guide politely "are you guys planning on fishing here?" The guide replies "yeah we are going to fish the "head" of the hole!" My brother gave him an immediate reply "we are fishing this hole sir! We politely just moved our boats downstream to give others room to get by". The guide says "ok, just let me get my boat started". When he did, they drove back upstream.

As a guide, I understand you have to put your paying clients on fish...but is there a need to not even ask others sitting at a hole and just pull up and plan on fishing the top of the hole? I cant tell you how many times we had guides in drift boats came floating by a hole we were fishing and allowed their clients to continually cast in the hole I was fishing as they went by. What ever happened to "fishing etiquette"? Granted there were a few good guides that understood the etiquette and told their clients not to cast until they get downstream....thank you! I had all I could to keep my mouth shut trying to not ruin a perfect two days of fishing!

Once daylight hit, we casted crank baits hard for about 1.5 hours, continually switching colors. My brother lost one on a jointed fire tiger shad rap that he had hooked after a few minute battle. I had multiple hits on flicker minnows, but nothing really committed. It seemed as though they were just mouthing the bait or "nipping" at it if you will. I decided to switch to bobbers and it was game on! We hooked at least 7 or 8 in row on skein and it didn't seem to matter which type of cure it had on it. The only problem was I couldn't get them beached. I had a lot of hooks just pop out and that could be my fault from not setting it hard enough.

All and all, it was a beautiful couple of days to be on the PM followed by beautiful weather. I even got to try out a couple of cool reels from my new sponsorship...Six Gill Fishing. I used their 4000 series Dreadnought reels this weekend and they worked awesome with a super smooth retrieve, 22lbs of drag, 12 ball bearings and a great drag system. Check out their website a sixgillfishing.com and if you are interested in any other their reels or rods...Private Message me and I can give you a coupon code for a decent discount!!!

It seems as though we may have been a week or two early on the good fish numbers. Only a few fish were surfacing both days and I never saw 1 fish moving upstream either day throughout that whole stretch! Hopefully the best is yet to come! Good luck to everyone chasing those river monsters!!!

I attached a few pictures from our two day outing....we had fun!


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## WorkHardFishHard (Sep 22, 2010)

The fish look great!


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## piscatorial warrior (Sep 14, 2011)

Thank You for that awesome and very detailed report!


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## abbatoys (Sep 3, 2005)

Great pics, you guys obviously had a good time...


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## Sprytle (Jan 8, 2005)

A great report...Nice fish and pics!! My favorite.....!!!!


Awesome


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## spartansfan (Nov 8, 2011)

Nice fish Derick and Andre!
-Brent


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## vanj85 (Jun 23, 2011)

I know where you were that's a great hole. Did the guy have a bigger jet sled and reek of pot. He's done that to me a time or two, the first time I let him but after all the "catching" he taught his clients to do I never let him do it again. Chuck and duck with two to four small nymphs in a deep hole with weighed line isn't exactly getting them to bite. I'm Debating on heading up friday morning and might hit that spot up it usually holds some good fish, the holes a little screwed up this year though.


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## fishdude (Jun 3, 2014)

Hey that hole looks familiar!!








Haha, good job!


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## cmueller302 (Jan 30, 2007)

Nice report great looking fish.


Sent from my iPad using Ohub Campfire


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## GrsyChickenWing (Aug 23, 2014)

I ran by you guys on monday afternoon and stopped and chatted. We were in the red jet sled with the center console. Glad to see you guys got into some action.

Side note: Jonesy, what's up my friend!


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## Jfish (Sep 22, 2010)

Good to hear the bite picked up. We went 2/4 on Sunday morning. Heading up again today.

One thing that I've found on that river is that there are a LOT of friendly guides and others that are just pissed we're on the river. 

We anchored up on a hole and are fishing it. All the jetsleds and drift boats are going behind us since we left plenty of room. Until the one guide decides he's going to go in front of us on the hole side that we are in the process of drifting. My buddy knew I was going to explode so he points to go behind us and with all of his might oared the boat to go behind us.

I thought that it was common courtesy to attempt to go behind the guy? I always try and if I'm unsure if I have enough room I ask...and then most of the time they know there's no room and I go as close to them as possible to not disturb the hole.


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## fishdude (Jun 3, 2014)

GrsyChickenWing said:


> Side note: Jonesy, what's up my friend!


Rob! Fancy seeing you on a fishing forum!! Lol


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## TROUT NINJA (Jul 31, 2015)

Awesome! I'm getting pumped been working 55hr weeks and finnaly get a day off on the 27th I was thinking of floating rainbow rapids to sulak I'm trying to get my first king on the swing this year but I'm almost thinking further downstream based on the report any opinions appreciated


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## ericzerka24 (Aug 12, 2010)

We floated a stretch of the PM this weekend and didn't see many fish. There were about 3 or 4 holes that had a decent pod of fish but there were people fishing it. Seen a lot of active gravel but very little fish on them. We managed to boat 4 but mind you we were on the river from 8am-7pm and covered a lot of water.


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## piscatorial warrior (Sep 14, 2011)

Those fish look post-spawn. Maybe it's just the camera angle?


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## ericzerka24 (Aug 12, 2010)

1 was spawned out. The others were still full of eggs but they were loose


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## METTLEFISH (Jan 31, 2009)

piscatorial warrior said:


> Those fish look post-spawn. Maybe it's just the camera angle?


 This years pre-spawn fish look like that too!...


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## plugger (Aug 8, 2001)

I walked quite a bit of the south branch of the PM yesterday while waiting for youth and veterans hunters and only saw two fish. They were both heading up stream at prime travel time and both were already in the boot stage.


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## Jfish (Sep 22, 2010)

Nasties!


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## Jfish (Sep 22, 2010)

Fished the PM again this weekend but only managed to get out later in the day. Didn't even have a dunk or bite. Unreal. Saw very little fish caught and heard that no one was really catching many at all.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I heard the same thing about the Betsie.


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## joe dirt (Jul 3, 2010)

Two of us fished hard the past three days with zero kings to show for it. Fished two different mid river access areas as we were on foot. Covered as much water as we possibly could have. Saw maybe 25 kings. Did get this this beaut and one other also which made up for lack of salmon! Floating bags took both fish. Tight lines all.


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## Clum (May 11, 2015)

piscatorial warrior said:


> Those fish look post-spawn. Maybe it's just the camera angle?


They look like theyve been in there since the end of June. eeek!


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## SteelEFever04 (Apr 9, 2010)

You heard right fishin dude, betsie/Frankfort was very slow. Unbelievable for this time of year, I was up for the weekend from Oakland County to catch a small pike, the best catch was a shiny brand spanking new thunderstick lol. Me and a buddy hit it hard, he's more of a pier guy and when he told me he's caught 25 kings off the pier in one night once upon a time I figured I'd give it a good go, 2 nights on the pier soaking fresh skein and throwing glow spoons n cranks. Nada, nobody. Fished right around the mouth a couple times for a few hrs each, floating skein, throwing the tacklebox, prime time, night and early morning. Nada. I wouldn't say there's even a trickle of fish moving, heard there's Lotta fish out in 300ft still! Water was piss warm around river mouth that's one of the problems. That big rain Friday night had me thinking it would bring a good push in but I didn't see that. Drift boats and guides were throwing out the thumbs down. Bummed out, I have chromesdisease it just got real bad


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

We're way past the excuses at this point. Warm water or not...we've had 3 good N-NW blows and several good gushes of rain the last month or so, and there simply isn't anything happening. Too much denial and empty hope on here. Back 5 years ago, these conditions would have had the rivers CHOKED with salmon...instantly.

I fish wild fisheries and even they're not getting anything. So can't use the cut plants excuse. I'm about done with salmon except for getting some loose...if that's even possible this year.

Nice skam there, Joe Dirt. They're usually good for a sure hookup this time of year.


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## JVoutdoors (Sep 23, 2013)

I concur with the Betsie reports. Fished a large stretch way up Saturday, saw 2 fish dart between holes, others fishing appeared to have nothing. Down from the dam Sunday, no fish on gravel and the few the CD crowd were fighting or the few they beached sideways all looked like the pics here. Did see one of them hook a huge brown who made a couple of great leaps and break off when it wrapped around a guy downstream who wouldn't get out of the way. LOL. Scouted and hit some rivers/launches on the way home. Didn't see any fish on gravel and didn't see many fish with the guides i saw coming in either.


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## Jfish (Sep 22, 2010)

Well I'm taking a week off starting Friday/Saturday. Heading far North but I thought that if the fishing is bad there that I'll hit some West side rivers. Sounds like this is literally the worst year ever.

I heard of more fish caught a month ago in the rivers than now. This makes no sense to me.


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## METTLEFISH (Jan 31, 2009)

Jfish said:


> Well I'm taking a week off starting Friday/Saturday. Heading far North but I thought that if the fishing is bad there that I'll hit some West side rivers. Sounds like this is literally the worst year ever.
> 
> I heard of more fish caught a month ago in the rivers than now. This makes no sense to me.


 Makes perfect sense to me. Lake Michigan IS crashing. I think the main push in the Betsie is on film going over the dam,(see thread) there will be more fish with a big rain, not many though, perhaps a good push of Coho now and then. Question is... how bad will the Steelhead runs be?...


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

METTLEFISH said:


> Makes perfect sense to me. Lake Michigan IS crashing. I think the main push in the Betsie is on film going over the dam,(see thread) there will be more fish with a big rain, not many though, perhaps a good push of Coho now and then. Question is... how bad will the Steelhead runs be?...


The only thing a little concerning to me on steelhead...is how skinny a few skamanias were. No body, just heads and tails. That wasn't what I expected after how solid they were last season. 

I hope there is a good coho run. I love them much more than kings, and they've been very sparse the last 3 years where I fish them. We'll see what the rest of fall brings...all around.


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## concentroutin (Jan 7, 2014)

It's over. Chinnies were fun while they lasted. I hope the MDNR can really get the Atlantic thing going if possible, otherwise I will find some coho.


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## METTLEFISH (Jan 31, 2009)

ausable_steelhead said:


> The only thing a little concerning to me on steelhead...is how skinny a few skamanias were. No body, just heads and tails. That wasn't what I expected after how solid they were last season.
> 
> I hope there is a good coho run. I love them much more than kings, and they've been very sparse the last 3 years where I fish them. We'll see what the rest of fall brings...all around.


I do believe that "Caloric Deficit" is also effecting the bait, when there is a sysytemic imbalance, all of the organisms are effected. Just what are the Alewives to eat?... Skinny Alewives = skinny predator fishes.


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## nighttime (Nov 25, 2007)

Sucks when their not biting, but when there not there sucks even worse. Some windows of opportunity is the pattern now.


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## Jfish (Sep 22, 2010)

ausable_steelhead said:


> The only thing a little concerning to me on steelhead...is how skinny a few skamanias were. No body, just heads and tails. That wasn't what I expected after how solid they were last season.
> 
> I hope there is a good coho run. I love them much more than kings, and they've been very sparse the last 3 years where I fish them. We'll see what the rest of fall brings...all around.


The steelies that we caught in the lake this year were well proportioned. The 15lber that hit a 10 color was a giant. Personally I haven't seen any fish, kings included, that looked deficient in the rivers or the lake.


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

Jfish said:


> The steelies that we caught in the lake this year were well proportioned. The 15lber that hit a 10 color was a giant. Personally I haven't seen any fish, kings included, that looked deficient in the rivers or the lake.


Like I said "some". Look around, pics of skinny kings and even a skam or two...exist. There's a skam right on this site that looks like an eel. I did a quick fish this morning before work, and hooked 8 kings on bobbers. Not a one was skinny. Doesn't mean nothings wrong.


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## FishKilla419 (Feb 22, 2008)

Some nw rivers got real good early pushes that I'm afraid might have been the majority of the run. My first 2 trips this year was nothing short of great. 
Hopefully a bunch of those fish got to spawn.. But yeah I could really use some loosies for this fall and winter. Might be tough to do. With the warm forecast for this winter I'm hoping to have the river boat in the water after chrome. 2 record cold winters in a row with nothing but solid ice everywhere. I'm ready for some mild winter river fishing..


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## nighttime (Nov 25, 2007)

I think their will be another small push when the weather changes.

As far as steelhead goes last two years were tuff. I get a little down time durning winter let's hope the river doesn't freeze like the last two. I like to have most of my steelhead fill in by spring....


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