Welcome to Manistee Salmon! Our passion is being out on the water. Whether it's fishing, sightseeing, or simply just taking the family for a spin, we love it all. We are fully licensed by the US Coast Guard and offer two different kinds of guided trips. The first trip offered is a guided fishing trip on the Big Manistee River. The second is an eco-sightseeing trip, taking you to see the beauty of the river and much of the surrounding wildlife.
Most importantly, this is your trip. We will do everything that we can to accommodate you, and make a trip as much fun as possible. A guided fishing trip on the beautiful Manistee River will last approximately 6 hours. This will give us plenty of time to try to boat a limit of the river's King Salmon or Steelhead and have lots of fun doing it. Or, we can certainly practice catch and release. An Eco-sightseeing trip will last approximately 4 hours.
There are many opportunities for several fish species in the Manistee River. This river is known for its awesome run of King salmon in late summer and early fall and a fantastic Steelhead run in the late fall through spring. The Manistee River is also home to an excellent population of walleye, smallmouth bass and trout.
Salmon: We will often cast plugs for King salmon in the Manistee River. Salmon are a territorial fish, and this is a very productive technique, associated with vicious and memorable strikes, coupled with their explosive pulling power. This technique rarely results in a foul-hooked or snagged fish. We also use salmon roe as a top producing technique. Backbounced or under a float, we have the best egg cures available. Ever since the late 1960's when salmon made their first run up the Platte River in Northwest Michigan, they have been peeling line off of anglers' reels, and delighting them in the process. And of course, salmon make excellent table fare.
Steelhead: Steelhead are known for their drag-burning runs and acrobatic leaps. These fish can be targeted in several manners--spinners, small jigs and spawn sacs or on fly to name a few. Probably the most common technique on the Manistee River is the use of spawn sacs either under a float or backbounced into the holes and current seams. Another common technique is the use of a centerpin rod and reel. These are beautiful fish-especially when they are bright chrome or deeply ruby colored in the spring. The Manistee River is home to a large population of naturally reproducing fish, meaning that while their origins may not be truly wild, they are helping to sustain themselves.
Multispecies: There are many ways to target each species of fish in the Manistee River, but casting artificial lures for these fish is our specialty-whether those lures are plugs, soft plastics or flies cast with a fly rod. The fish in a river system are opportunistic predators, and will readily take these artificial offerings-lure or fly. This is oftentimes some of the most rewarding type of fishing that can be offered.
In addition to fishing trips on the Big Manistee River, we also offer eco-sightseeing trips. The river itself is incredibly beautiful, and there is nothing like watching a sunrise light up the sky and surroundings. Of course, sunsets from the water are tough to beat as well! Fall colors along the river can be truly spectacular.
It is not uncommon to see several of our great nation's iconic Bald Eagles soaring overhead or perched in a nearby tree overlooking the river. Kingfishers abound, as do Muskrat, Whitetail deer, Great Blue Herons, Egrets and Sandhill Cranes just to name a few. |
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