Fly Fishing Tactics The Muskegon River is an excellent place for the novice to the most advanced fly-fisherman to target lake run Rainbows. The great widths of the river and lack of overhanging brush allow for extremely easy casting. Also, outside of large boulders and rocks there are not many obstructions in which a fly-fisherman would donate great numbers of flies to. Many fly-fishing techniques are applied at the Muskegon River. On any given day you will see individuals toting 13’6” spey rods swinging flies across the river from great distances, or individuals using an indicator rig to individuals utilizing the chuck and duck method. All techniques exercised while fishing the Muskegon can be very effective. With that in mind, I feel it would be more beneficial to discuss the three types of water that I prefer to target when in pursuit of Muskegon River Steelhead. Look for breaks in the water. Large boulders are scattered throughout the entire reach from Croton Dam to Newaygo. These large boulders provide excellent breaks in water flows for fish to rest behind. It is not uncommon to spot more than a dozen fish lying behind these natural breaks in the river. These make for excellent spots to intrude steelhead lies with bright streamers or hair wing flies that have an erratic movement in the current. The second thing I look for while targeting steelhead is any kind of logs and fallen trees that would provide structure for steelhead congregate near. There are two great challenges in targeting these particular types of structures. First of all, they tend to be on the opposite side of the river from where you are. Second of all, when a steelhead is enticed to come out of the logs, they usually very quickly, turn and go right back from where they came from, taking your flies and often times a good chunk of leader material with them.  Putting forth the effort to wade across to these areas can result in great rewards. To me there is nothing more exhilarating than witnessing a steelhead shoot out from under a fallen tree to seize your offering. The types of areas I prefer to target the most are deep runs behind shallow gravel shelves. I routinely swing streamers and small nymphs through the runs. In clear water conditions, often times numerous steelhead will be spotted holding throughout these runs. The best part about fishing these runs is due to their lengths, not a great deal of weight is required for your fly to be delivered into the “strike zone." Steelhead will very aggressively and violently snatch your offering as it swings in front of them. Hold on, get ready to chase and enjoy the acrobatic aerial display the bright chromer will put on! Due to the great size of the river and the relatively high velocity of water flow, playing a fish can at times become quite a chore. I have found myself on many occasions running down river as quickly as possible giving chase to a torpedo I have no chance of stopping and can only hope to slow it down. I remember one time a fish had me well into my backing before I could even mutter the words, “fish on”. I have found that if played properly, fish tire out relatively quickly as they are not only fighting the pressure applied by the angler, but also an extremely strong current. Fly Patterns I feel that a fairly sizeable amount of my success on the Muskegon River can be attributed to using fly patterns that are not heavily fished. It seems as if everybody and their brother fishes with an egg or glo-bug pattern as well as the more traditional Stonefly Nymphs and Wooly Bugger patterns.  You will also see a lot of fly-fishermen using a Caddis Fly dressed with green dubbing. Although I do not overlook these patterns, I tend to create other variations of them or use something different altogether. I have included my most successful patterns when targeting steelhead in the Muskegon River. Egg Sucking Leach (Zonker Strip) Hook: Tiemco 5262 Sizes 4-8 Tail: Marabou (Purple, Olive, Black, Grey) Body: Zonker Strip (Purple, Olive, Black, Grey) Egg: Chenille (Pink, Chartreuse, Orange).       Bead Head Pheasant Tail Nymph Hook: Tiemco 3769 sizes 8-14 Bead: 1/8” (Gold, Copper, Silver, Black) Tail: Pheasant Tail fibers Ribbing: Fine Copper wire Abdomen: Pheasant Tail fibers (between 3-6 twisted together and wrapped forward) Thorax: Peacock Herl Wing Case: Pheasant tail fibers pulled over peacock herl, divide equally, tie in on sides. Green Butt Purple Skunk Hook: Mustad 36890 Salmon Hook sizes 4-8 Tail: Grey Squirrel Tail fibers Rear ¼: Fluorescent green chenille/dubbing Rib: Silver craft wire Body: Purple Chenille Wing: Grey Squirrel Tail extending roughly the length of the hook shank Collar: Purple Saddle hackle   Nuclear Caddis Hook: Dai-Riki #135 Scud Hook sizes 8-14 Body: Diamond Braid (Chartreuse, Purple, Peach, Black, White) Collar: Estaz wrapped 2-3 times around shank (Match color of body) Head: Peacock Black Ice Dubbing Viagra Caddis Hook: Dai-Riki #135 Scud Hook sizes 8-14 Body: Ultra Chenille (Olive, Tan, Cream, Chartreuse, White) Collar: Soft Grizzly Hackle Head: Peacock Black Ice Dubbing Caddis Larva Hook: Dai-Riki #135 Scud Hook sizes 8-14 Body: Larva Lace (Natural Caddis green) Head: Peacock Black Ice Dubbing Purple Peril   Hook: Mustad 36890 Salmon Hook sizes 4-8 Tail: Purple Hackle Fibers Rib: Silver Craft Wire Body: Purple chenille Wing:  Squirrel Tail extending roughly the length of the hook Collar: Purple Hackle       Latex Wiggler Hook: Mustad 31760 sizes 4-10 Tail: Brown or Cream Hackle fibers Body: Strip of narrow latex (cream, olive, grey) Hackle: Brown or Cream Hackle fibers palmered along the edge of the latex strips Back: Trim hackle off back and sides of fly, color back with permanent marker (Black or Brown) * Apply a generous amount of Sally’s clear nail polish in order to protect latex as well as give nice glossy finish.   Purple Conehead Bugger Hook: Mustad 9672 Streamer Hook size 2-8 Cone Head: gold/copper/black (medium size) Tail: Purple Marabou Hackle: Purple Saddle Hackle Body: Purple Crystal Chenille       Estaz Stone Hook: Mustad 31760 size 4-10 Tail: 2 Black goose biot fibers Rib: Craft wire (purple/black) Shell Back: Swiss Straw Abdomen: Black Peacock Ice Dub Wing Case: Black Swiss Straw Thorax: Estaz (Purple, black, orange)       Hatches Magazine Subscription Price: $6.95 for each issue The Premiere issue is ready for shipping & the Fall 2008 issue will be available September 1st.