December–March: River Steelhead and Off-Season Tackle Prep
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From Capt. John King's fishing logs. With the big lake mostly closed, winter is river Steelhead season and the best time to get your tackle ready for spring.
River Steelhead
- John guided the Big Manistee River from a drift boat each winter, back-trolling plugs through the holes.
- Gold plugs produced in the morning and chrome in the afternoon (3/6/00). A pearl Willie Worm took a 12 lb male (2/7/00).
- He replaced stock trebles on river plugs with #4 VMC 9649 round-bend trebles to hook and hold jumping Steelhead.
- Very cold water (33°F) puts Steelhead into a slow winter pattern; the best bite is usually 10am–2pm.
- In late March, John launched the big boat and switched to Lake Michigan Browns whenever the river was slow.
Get ready for spring
John called fly building "a great offseason project that will pay rich dividends in fish when the season rolls around."
- Build flies: 3–3.5" of Mylar, reverse-laid, wrapped on a bullet head with double-sided tape and a 1/4" clear tape overwrap. See John's fly-making instructions.
- Build meat rigs: 2-fly spacing is 12" from the bead chain to the first fly, 12" to the second fly, a swivel, then 14–15" to the meat head.
- Replace leaders: retie any fly or meat rig leader that is nicked or frayed with stiff 40–50#.
- Sharpen hooks: touch up every hook, even new ones.
- Service gear: back off reel drags for storage, check rod guides for grooves, and turn your planer board line end-for-end every few seasons.
- Stock up on bait: frozen herring stays prime about 3 years if kept hard frozen.
Recommended tackle
More: Spread Setup Guide · Trolling Cheat Sheet · All months