January 25, 2012: The river has fluctuated since the rain but is up a little since the weekend. Steelhead remain available in good numbers. Many of the fish have been around for a while, and continue to run on the large side. Nymphs and eggs are always a good bet at this time of the year. Articulated nymph patterns work well when dead drift or swung very slowly. Swung flies can produce but take some patience in these conditions.

I fished one of the smaller local rivers today, the White River. The river was high, cold, and lightning fast. It really didn't look like we were going to catch anything until this nice hen took a swung grapefruit leech. Photo: Jeff Hubbard

A sculpin pattern that continues to be effective has been added, to view it, click here. For up to date river levels, visit the USGS site for the Muskegon River at Croton, MI. To contact us or join mailing list, click here. Our steelhead video, Searching for Steelhead, continues to be available, if you are interested, you can visit the external web site, swingabigfly.com or view the trailer by clicking here.