Pere Marquette River Fly Fishing Guide » Pere Marquette Steelhead Tips

steelhead swing

evan — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:07:16 +0000

Swinging for steelhead here on Michigan Pere Marquette river is one of the most exiting way to fish for our wild steelhead,even when the water temps are close to freezing you can still score on some of these beutiful fish. here are a couple fly patterns that i fish here on the pere Marquette that have proven themselves time after time, I didn’t create these patterns,these pattern are flys that i have seen through the years and tie for my use and they work.Give it a try one hookup on the fish and your hooked!

Fall is the time for eggs

evan — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:03:05 +0000

Pere Marquette river steelhead can be fickle creatures,some days steelhead will crush swung streamers all day long,the next day they want it stripped in really overaggressive but day in and day out egg patterns will(in my opinion) out fish any fly in the fall. The question you want to ask yourself when looking at your egg patterns is this, are there kings or cohos spawning in or around the area your fishing ? or are they feeding on dead eggs rolling downstream?, simply look around the area and you can answer that real easy. The best rule of thumb if your not sure,natural live egg colors early in the fall and pale dead egg colors in the late fall all the way till winter when nymphs start to shine as well as eggs.

Natural live egg color trout bead

So you want to rig upfor the PM?

evan — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:30:31 +0000

I often get asked, ‘How do I rig up for the Pere Marquette?’. While it is hard to address every scenario you may come across, this is a good start that will get you going.

Step 1. Start with a 2 foot length of 20 pound butt section attached to your flyline.

Step 2. Double Nail Knot down to a 3 foot section of 15 pound ( this is the line you want your indicator on)

Step 3: Attach a barrell swivel.

Step 4: Attach 12 pound mono (Maxima ultra green) or 10 pound floro ( Maxima Florocarbon) for 3 feet to the end of your barrell swivel.

Step 5: Tie on your first fly (for me it is usually an egg pattern)

Step 6: From the eye of the first fly, tie on another 3 foot of 8 pound maxima (or 10 floro) to your next fly (nymph or small streamer)

Step 7: Put your weight at the barrel swivel (only enough to get you to tickle the bottom not rattle).

There you have it! A quick and easy set up that will have you ready to go to fish the Pere Marquette River for both steelhead and salmon.

Choosing a Steelhead Fly Rod

evan — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:02:50 +0000

Choosing the right steelhead fly rod BEFORE making a trip out to the Pere Marquette can mean the difference between a good trip and a bad one. We have many new clients that come out to fish with us with setups that they think will work, but after a half hour they are using our equipment.

Depending on the situation and what you are comfortable with- you could go with either a conventional single handed rod, or a two handed rod- I will go over my recommendation for both.

For a single handed rod, I fish a Sage VT2 8196-4. It is a 9′ 6″ 8 weight. The extra 6″ you get over a 9′ rod really helps clients with roll casting. For my line choice, depending on the situation, I like to over line the rod (sometimes up to two line weights). Remember, you need to be able to turn over big indicator rigs and streamers.

For my reel, I go with a Ross Evolution 3.5. They withstand the wear and tear I put on reels year after year and work flawlessly years after the purchase.

For a two-handed set up, I like the Sage Z-Axis 8129-4. It is a 12′ 9″ 8 weight. Match that with a Rio Skagit 550 grain line and you are set. For my reel, I match it up with a Ross Momentum 6 (or a CLA 7)- each will work fine and both are excellent reels.

Again, having the right setup will ensure that you can actually use the set up you paid for. If you have any questions about your setup, if it will work, or what you need to change on it, feel free to give me a call, I would be happy to make sure you are set up correctly to fish the Pere Marquette River.

Better yet, call Jon at FlyMasters in Indianapolis. He owns the shop, knows what you need and will take good care of you. Here’s his number 317-570-9811.

Tell him Jed sent you.