Why Grand Rapids Should Be Your Next Unexpected Fly Fishing Hotspot

Grand Rapids, Steelhead, and Smallmouth Bass.

Straight to the point: Grand Rapids greatly exceeded my expectations, steelhead were in abundance, and smallmouth bass are still a favorite. This is what my week was like when I visited Grand Rapids, MI.

I knew the smallmouth bass fishing in Michigan would be good, and I was hoping for a productive steelhead bite, but Grand Rapids was the wild card. It was a city I knew nothing about. If someone had asked me, I would have thought it was a small town in middle America that was still stuck in the 1950s—boy, was I wrong about Grand Rapids.

A Small City With Big City Vibes

Grand Rapids exceeded my expectations in every category. First and foremost, it's a vibrant city with a lot going on: food, cool shops, easy walking, culture, creativity, and youthful energy that's making things happen.

A guitar player in his music shop in Grand Rapids, Michigan. — Tone Chasers' guitar collection in downtown Grand Rapids. | photo by Ken Baldwin

Midwest Friendly

Cities aren't new to me. I've lived in and visited some of the largest in the world, including New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Bogotá. I found that Grand Rapids has the best of larger cities, just on a smaller scale, where people still maintain a Midwestern kindness. That Midwestern vibe goes a long way in making a city a place you want to visit.

A Two - In - One Destination

Why am I writing about this on a fly fishing page? Because the fishing just outside of Grand Rapids is top-notch. This means Grand Rapids is one of those destinations where if you come on business or want to go on a trip with your significant "non-fly fishing" other, you can get the best of two worlds—a vibrant city and good fishing.

The City

Take a big city, remove the size, large crowds of people, the stand-still traffic, dirty streets, high crime rate, rude, aggressive behaviour, attitude, and high prices—but keep the good restaurants, interesting shops, cool coffee venues, lots of vintage clothing stores, museums, and fascinating history. Now add a river walk, Midwestern friendliness, young energy, and FLY FISHING AN HOUR AWAY. That is Grand Rapids, Michigan.

A Shinola Watch shop in downtown Grand Rapids. — There is a Shinola Watch shop in downtown Grand Rapids. Shinola watches are designed and assembled just down the street in Detroit, MI. | photo by Ken Baldwin

My Eyes Are Bigger Than My Stomach

I spent a couple of days getting to know the city. I visited a Japanese restaurant and had some excellent Ramen noodles. I love me some Ramen.

I hung out at the coffee shop Cafe Otono to edit some photos. I'm a fan of watches, so I checked out the Shinola Watch store; their home base is just down the street in Detroit. I visited the Fulton Street Market and filled up on fresh donuts and cookies. On my last day, walking down the sidewalk, I heard some great salsa music coming from a restaurant –Pochis Colombian Restaurant and Cafe. Of course, I had to eat there. I swear I put on 10 pounds every time I travel.

What About the Steelhead

It takes about forty minutes to drive from the center of Grand Rapids to where I want to go for some amazing steelhead fishing on the fly. I had a full day of swinging a streamer planned with Capt. Max Werkman of Werkman's Outfitters.

"I'm In"

It was the middle of April, and Spring was beginning to show signs...but not today. No, today was a day of snow, sleet, and rain. I was also free tomorrow, and the weather report was vastly better, so I called Max to offer him a choice: today or tomorrow? "Today" was his answer. According to my guide, this bad weather has an upside; we will have the whole river to ourselves, because the rest of the population will have enough good sense to stay home. KB

Cont. in Part 2: a banner day of steelheading.