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Manistee Steelhead


solopaddler

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Well, last Thursday as we packed our gear for our long weekend steelhead trip to Ohio, we were dismayed to find that most of the rivers down there were blown and more rain was in the forecast for Friday. Things didn't look great! Ohio stocks Manistee strain fish in their rivers, and, as mentioned before they're a particularly large, robust strain.

After checking conditions on the net we decided to switch gears and head to the actual source where these Ohio fish originate from: the Big Manistee river in Michigan's upper peninsula, a good 61/2 hour drive from home.

For veteran steelheaders around the great lakes the Big Manistee is revered, in fact it's almost considered holy water :D

The area is gorgeous having a real Muskoka flair to it, with lots of granite rock and big white pines. It's truely beautiful. The river is big and broad averaging over 200' in width in spots, clear, but with a tea stain to it, and having some powerful currents which make landing fish a big challenge!

I was last at the Big M 15 years earlier, so for me this was also a walk down memory lane, and I loved every minute of it!

The highest concentration of fish is at Tippy dam and the coffer above it. The coffer dam stops the migration of fish in the river making it a mecca for steelheaders. That's where we headed ;)

Here's me with my first fish, a spunky little hen:

 

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My buddy Dave with a nice buck and a close up shot of the same fish:

 

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Me with a small buck:

 

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Andrew fighting a nice buck, a close up pic, then the release:

 

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A decent buck that I caught:

 

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Andrew with another:

 

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Me with another buck and some nice close up shots:

 

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Paul fighting a nice one, and landing it.

 

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Me with a nice buck (when standing way out in deep water sometimes you've got to improvise with

how you hold your rod :D )

 

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Me with another, and the release

 

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Paul fighting another with Dave getting ready to help

 

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Davey with a nice steelie and a bonus brown

 

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Me with another

 

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Close-up of another of Paul's fish

 

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Andrew checking out Tippy dam

 

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A view of the coffer dam above it

 

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Davey and then me with another

 

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It was just an unbelievable trip! We shared a lot of laughs over the 21/2 days, experienced some great weather, and caught a TON of fish! The shots I posted here are just a fraction of the actual numbers

involved, it really was epic :D

 

Hope you enjoyed,

 

cheers, Mike

Edited by solopaddler
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That was another amazing road trip Mike! I have to admit, I wasn't too enthralled about the idea of a 6 hour journey but it was definitely worth it to fish one of the most famous steelhead rivers east of the Rockies. In the end, when you go with good friends the miles just melt away. I look forward to exploring the rest of Michigan's fabled waters with you guys!!!

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WOW...what an awsome fishing trip. :w00t: ..thanks for sharing all your pics ,and that detailed report..thats a trip of a lifetime and you guys caught a ton of steelhead and had a blast doing it.man those fish had great colors to them,and were all very nice sized they must have all put up a great fight with all that current as well i sure wish i was there the scenery sure looks alot nicer than the creeks and rivers we have around here,and that river looks like it had a decent flow to it,no wonder its a number 1 rated steelhead river.. :P ..great trip thanks for sharing cheers :thumbsup_anim::Gonefishing:

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Paul sent me a few pic's from his camera and I thought I'd add them.

 

Andrew with a fish on and me in the background

 

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Me with a fish on in the background and Andrew waiting patiently

 

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Looks like I'm trying to stomp on this one, but it swam back through my legs after it was released!

 

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A fish about to be beached

 

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Another close-up shot

 

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View of the river downstream from Tippy

 

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Dave with another

 

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Posing for the camera in the motel :D

 

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A picture of someone taking a picture :P

 

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Watching the float

 

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One final close-up

 

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cheers, Mike

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What a great post! Those pictures are amazing!

 

I get up that way a couple of times a year in the spring & fall (steelhead & Salmon), but I go up to the Pere Marquette (sp) in Baldwin.

 

Thanks for bringing back some great memories of my fishing trips in Michigan!

 

Thanks!

dk

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