Fly Fishing for Steelhead Just Minutes Outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a great city to visit. Add to that an amazing steelhead fishery just minutes away. Now is the time to start planning a trip for the next steelhead run.

The first of three Great Lakes steelhead I caught on a rainy day just outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. | photo by Max Werkman

Cont. from Why Grand Rapids Should Be Your Next Unexpected Fly Fishing Hotspot, Part 1

Bad weather can often lead to good fishing. I crawled out of my bed in a Grand Rapids hotel and looked out the large sliding glass doors. It's mid-April in Michigan, but it looked like winter, with snow and sleet coming down. If bad weather does lead to good fishing, today was going to be an opportunity to prove that point. I had a guide waiting for me in a parking lot forty minutes outside the city.

Guide Wisdom

According to my guide, Max Werkman, there is an upside to this bad weather: we will probably have the river all to ourselves. That was good news; I'm happiest when I'm fishing uncrowded waters, so a little bad weather is worth the price of admission.

The day started in a neighborhood casting with the snow falling. | photo by Max Werkman

A Simple Plan

The game plan is to swing some streamers using a spey rod. I'm also rigging up a single-hand rod because the river isn't that wide across, and a single-hand will work fine.

I'm throwing an 11' 6" Hardy Ultralite NSX DH Spey Rod, 6/7 weight. And for the single hand, I'm using an older Sage X, 9' 6", 7 weight.

Our quiver of fly rods included Hardy, Sage, and Redington. | photo by Ken Baldwin

For the fly line on my single-hand rod, I'm using a Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan Sink 3D- I/2/3. I want the streamer to get down in the water column, but the water isn't that deep.

A Surprise at Every Turn

I didn't know what to expect. I'd been steelheading on the West coast on remote, big, clear waters. The river we were fishing in Michigan was small to medium, sometimes surrounded by houses, sometimes going through a park, and sometimes surrounded by wilderness. It was stained like copper, which was matched by the coloring of the male steelhead.

A colored up male steelhead in full blush caught near Grand Rapids, Michigan. | photo by Ken Baldwin

No Casting To Spawning Fish

Our approach was to drift boat it to certain spots on the river, then get out and wade. We agreed to leave the nesting fish alone and target the males holding in deeper water. This worked. The shallow runs were full of nesting fish, and right below the runs were deeper holes holding big male steelheads. Once we dialed in on the color streamer that triggered a strike, it was game on.

Orange, red, brown, and gold was the color combination that triggered strikes. Is it a coincidence that the colors in the streamer matched the colors of the caught male steelhead? | photo by Ken Baldwin

The steelhead spawning nests, or redds, were off limits for us. It would be too easy and not much fun, plus not good for the health of the fishery. | photo by Ken Baldwin

More Than I Had Hoped For

Streamer fishing is one of my favorite tactics for catching fish. When a big fish hits, the take is electric. You feel it all the way up the line and into your body, an instant surge of adrenaline.

After a few hours of fishing, we hooked ten fish and landed six. All of this is happening less than an hour outside of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

One more thing, Max was right, we only saw one other angler on the river all day.

Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids is quickly becoming a top destination for travelers and outdoor enthusiasts. The BBC recently recognized it as one of the best places in the United States for a family vacation. Based on my four-day stay, I agree. How many cities can you enjoy a successful day of fly fishing for steelhead, then come back to your hotel to clean up and experience a city of great restaurants, museums, and shopping?

With a Little Help From My Friends

My great day of fishing couldn't have happened if it weren't for Capt. Max Werkman of Werkman Outfitters. He's a full-time guide who has fished the area his whole life. He knows the waters and where and when the bite is happening. We fished his personally tied streamers, he was quick to dial in the color that would work, and he was very conscious about not targeting fish on the nest. Add to that his talent in making a heck of a hot meal right there in his drift boat.

Guide Max Werkman working his magic in a tight space. | photo by Ken Baldwin

A Memorable Day

I was hoping to catch a steelhead, maybe two. I didn't expect to hook six fish and land three. Between Max Werkman and me, we hooked ten fish and landed six. A cold, snowy, rainy day turned into an exceptional day of fly fishing. The fact that it's forty minutes from my hotel in Grand Rapids means I can be showered, cleaned up, and sitting in a nice restaurant in a little over an hour. Not a bad deal. KB

If you want to plan a trip to Grand Rapids and fish for steelhead, the main Steelhead runs happen during the Fall: October - December, and Spring: March - May.

My Equipment List

• Spey Rod: Hardy 11'6", 6/7 weight, Ultralite NSX DH Fly Rod
• Reel: Hardy 1921 Wide Spool Perfect Fly Reel
• Reel: Sage SPEY II 5/6/7
• Fly Line for the single hand fly rod: 7 weight Scientific Anglers Sonar Titan Sink 3D- I/2/3
• Wading Jacket: Grundéns Vector Wading Jacket
• Sunglasses: Smith Venture RX
• Fish and Float Alaska hat
  

Next up in Part 3: More Grand Rapids fly fishing, chasing fat and chunky smallmouth bass.

"The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.” - Herbert Hoover