2-22-2011

Hello Clinton River anglers!

It has been awhile since our last fishing report and now that the ice has finally left the river we can get back into the swing of things.  We fished the river last Saturday and Sunday prior to the snow storm that hit.  While it is early yet, the Clinton is starting to see signs of steel. 

On Saturday we fished most of the day.  The river was still pretty stained from the melt off but the water levels had made their way back down to normal.  Several of us worked the river pretty well and had a couple of good takes.  While this was exciting, none of us were able to bring a fish to the net.  If nothing else fishing in the middle of February during a 40 degree “heat wave” was enough to plant the steelhead bug in us all.

Sunday was a different story all together.   We fished with Kip Lowrie from Woodland Rivers for most of the morning.  After fishing several of the usual spots Kip managed to hook and land a beautiful chrome hen.  For his first fish of the year this was a great fish to hold up for a picture.

About an hour prior to the snow fall on of our buddies hit another hen in a different location on the river.  This fish was full of energy and made an impressive acrobatic display before coming to the net.

Soon after this fish was released the snow started to fall.  And fall it did!  It has been a very long time since we fished for steelhead in a blizzard but it was a very familiar feeling.  Being that Michigan weather changes so very quickly we, as steelhead anglers, are prepared for a little bit of everything.

All in all the Clinton is starting to show signs of another productive spring.    
If you are interested in learning more about fishing for Clinton River steelhead drop us a line.  We are always up for showing a novice angler how to catch fish on the amazing Clinton River.

Good luck on the river!
The Downstream Drift

Hello local steelhead anglers!

The Downstream Drift would like to apologize for our lack of fishing reports so far this spring.  Recently we have received several calls inquiring about the Clinton River.  This is a very good thing as is shows that local anglers are finally getting in the swing of things for the spring and our reports are being looked at by several local steelheaders.

Simply put, the steelhead season is here!  The ice on the lakes has finally gotten to a point that many believe it is unsafe and the steelhead have begun to make their way up the Clinton River.  Within the last week or two the action has been pretty consistent on the river.  It seems like every day there are at least four or five fish being landed and nothing gets anglers more excited than seeing fish being caught consistently.

The water levels have bounced up and down lately due to the spring rains and snow melt but this hasn’t slowed the fishing too much.  Water clarity has been fairly good with a bit of a stain to it (which always seems to produce more fish).  The water temperatures have reached the point where steelhead should be starting to locate spawning gravel.  This increase in water temperature will also trigger the annual walleye and sucker runs which means a trip to the river will never be without some rod-bending action.
Most of the successful anglers are drifting either spawn or waxies right now.  The best presentation for these baits is either bottom bouncing spawn or drifting waxies under a float.  The fly guys have struggled a bit but this will change very quickly if the water clears up just a bit more.  For the most part successful fly guys have been throwing egg-sucking leeches or small egg patterns.
Being that this is really the first report we are doing The Downstream Drift would like to remind anglers of a couple of things.

First, during the spring the Clinton River can get pretty dangerous in a high water event.  Be sure to know where you are wading and remember your limits.  It is always a good idea to fish with a buddy just in case you take an unscheduled dunk in the river.  Nothing ruins a fishing trip more than going down in the river so be certain to wade with caution.

Secondly, we always like to remind anglers of the importance of leaving the hens in the river.  While we understand that the Clinton has very limited natural reproduction, we release all hens for a different reason.  We fully believe that if there are a bunch of males in a run with one hen and that hen is pulled out the males will not stick around for long.  Having a hen in a run is probably the best fish attractor you can have.

Look for our fishing reports to be posted on a regular basis from now until the end of April.  We intend to spend plenty of time on the water in the next month and passing on information to make your time on the river more productive is our goal.

Good luck on the river and fish on!
The Downstream Drift

Today The Downstream Drift and Woodland Rivers got together and fished for most of the afternoon.  We spent some time down river with limited success.  The water levels seemed to be up slightly and there is still a pretty good stain to the water.  This stain caused reduced visibility which prevented us to spot any fish in the river.  Certain parts of the river were so stained we couldn’t even tell if the gravel bars had been worked at all yet.

During mid-afternoon we moved up river to the Yates Park area.  Much to our surprise we were able to get a parking spot.  Such is steelhead season on the Clinton.  With a very small public lot things can fill up quickly.

We made our way to a couple of our favorite spots and couldn’t buy a hit for the first couple of hours we fished.  For some reason the suckers haven’t even started to come in thick yet.  It seems like by this time last year we had trouble keeping the suckers off our lines.  There have yet to be any walleye spotted in the river yet either.  It’s seems kind of strange how the runs are working so far this year.
Eventually we managed to both hook a decent steelhead.  The first fish came on our first cast into a run.  Actually it was a very poor cast that barely made it halfway to its destination but a couple of quick stack mends made it an acceptable drift.  Close to the end of the drift the float quickly went down and the fight was on.  This fish did its aerial dance for us for some time before breaking off.  The moral of the story here is that there really is no perfect cast.  The fish can be holding anywhere in a run and if a fly is presented properly the fish will probably take.

Once again we would like to mention that the parking lot at Yates was pretty full today.  From now until the end of steelhead season this will be a regular occurrence.  The Downstream Drift would like to remind all of you that when the park gets crowded we all have to remember our fishing etiquette. Those of us that have been river fishing for awhile understand the “rules of the river” while a lot of beginners simply have not been taught the best way to handle different situations.

For those of you who are new to river fishing here are a couple of simple rules to go by:

• Don’t crowd other anglers.  There are plenty of spots on the river to fish and there is no reason to step in on a run that others are fishing.
• When an angler hooks a fish give him room to work.  Bring in your lines and refrain from casting until the fish is landed.  Steelhead can go everywhere once hook so simply assuming you are out of the way may cost another angler a fish.
• An angler hooking a fish doesn’t mean he is done fishing.  If he walks slightly down river to land a fish it does not give someone the right to take over his spot.  He will be back.
• If you must cross the river do so well above or below other anglers to avoid spooking fish.  A very courteous thing to do is to ask an angler where he would prefer you cross so you don’t ruin his fishing.

There are a lot of common sense “rules of the river”.  Too many to put in this one fishing report.  Remember though; treat other anglers as you would want to be treated.  Being polite on the river is a great way to make some good friends and possibly learn some new tips or techniques.

Good luck on the river!
The Downstream Drift