Premier Angling Guide Service

The Big Manistee is the main water, worked alongside Bear Creek, the Little Manistee and the Pere Marquette, with Tippy Dam named for trout and smallmouth. Steelhead run late February through April and again from late September into December, and the operation reckons them catchable eight months of the year. King salmon come through from mid August to mid October, running fifteen to twenty pounds and thirty two to forty inches. Trout hold from late April through September and smallmouth fish best in June, July and August. Techniques run to bottom bouncing with fly and spinning gear, swinging wet flies, float and centerpin fishing, streamers, dry fly and topwater on light spin tackle. A full day is seven to eight hours at $500 for one or two anglers and a half day four to five hours at $400, with a third angler $50. Rods, reels, flies, tackle and instruction are included; anglers bring waders, licence and their own food.