We are definitely in winter fishing mode here in West Michigan. The January thaw has been nice and has opened up our area rivers for fishing. The steelhead bite has been pretty consistent. Floatfishing has been productive in the darker water with structure.

After a few weeks of some brutally cold weather, a little warm-up has allowed us to get back on the water. Float-fishing with spawn bags or jigs has been productive in the slow dark holes.

December steelhead fishing was up and down. We had some stretches of good fishing and periods where it was pretty tough. The weather was up and down as well. As far as the run of fish that came into the river this fall, while the size of the fish was impressive, the number of fish seemed to be on the lighter side. As we close out the month of December, a polar air mass is setting in for awhile. I’ve seen it before, when the weather breaks and the rivers open up, the fish should be ready to play.