2021 Winter Steelhead Fishing Michigan / Manistee River Fishing / Fishing Northern Michigan

In this video we are fishing Northern Michigan at Tippy Dam on The Manistee River and we manage to get our first Coho Salmon, Steelhead and Brown Trout of 2021! Manistee river fishing has the reputation of being some of the best salmon, trout and steelhead waters in Michigan. Fishing Northern Michigan is something people all over the state and all over the USA dream of! We managed to pick up our first Manistee River Coho Salmon and we landed Our first Manistee River Steelhead on this trip! We fished many different baits including beads, spawn bags, jigs, wax worms, minnows and spinners. The only thing we had no luck on was spinners. We were mostly centerpin fishing for steelhead but also used spinning gear. Float fishing for salmon steelhead and brown trout is a super cool fun and productive way to target salmanoids. At tippy dam we like to use the longest possible fishing rod and a spinning reel makes it easier to make longer casts so we used both set ups. I prefer to float fish with a centerpin as apposed to the spinning reel but both have their pros and cons.

In The Manistee River Salmon, Steelhead & Brown Trout fishing possibilities are all above average when compared to other Michigan fishing destinations. Manistee River salmon fishing is the stuff of legends and People flock from around the world to enjoy some tippy dam salmon fishing. Manistee River trout fishing may be somewhat under rated but those who are into trout fishing know that Manistee River brown trout are plentiful and agresive. Again not as many people talk about Manistee River Steelhead fishing but there is no doubt that The Manistee River gets an impressive run of Lake Michigan Steelhead! So if you are interested in fishing Northern Michigan for Salmon, Steelhead and Brown Trout then you should definitely try fishing The Manistee River at Tippy Dam.

2021 Winter Steelhead Fishing Michigan just began and we are just getting warmed up so stay tuned for more steelhead fishing videos! In fact I have 2 more Steelhead fishing videos in the works and due to be released in the next few weeks!

I am new to Michigan steelhead fishing and have only begun steelhead fishing michigan or anywhere for a few years but michigan steelhead have sucked me in and after a few years with little to no success fishing for steelhead I am beginning to get the hang of float fishing, centerpin fishing bait choices and seasonality of the steelhead run.

Tippy Dam or Tippy Hydro was built 1918 and is a hydroelectric dam operated by Consumers Energy. The original name of the dam was Junction Hydro, but it was renamed to honor a Consumers board of directors member, Charles W. Tippy. The dam spans the Manistee River about 170 miles from its headwaters which include Manistee Lake, on the river's way to Lake Michigan.

Tippy Dam State Recreation Area is managed and operated by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as a state park. Just below Tippy Dam is one of the finest trout, steelhead, and salmon fishing areas in Michigan. During the fall salmon run anglers line the banks shoulder to shoulder trying to catch king salmon that can weigh well over 20 pounds.

The Manistee River in the U.S. state of Michigan, runs 190 miles (310 km)[2] through the northwestern Lower Peninsula; it now passes through the contemporary villages of Sharon, Smithville, and Mesick, entering Lake Michigan at Manistee. It is considered, like the nearby Au Sable River, to be one of the best trout fisheries east of the Rockies.

The river rises in the sand hills in southeastern Antrim County, on the border with Otsego County, about 6 miles (10 km) southeast of the town of Alba. These deep glacial sands provide it with a remarkably stable flow of clean cold water year round, making it a popular river for fishing as well as canoeing. Over the course of its length, it drops in elevation from around 1,250 to 579 feet (381 to 176 m), with an average stream gradient of about 2.9 feet per mile

The name "Manistee" is from an Ojibwe word whose derivation is uncertain.[4] However, it may be from ministigweyaa, "river with islands at its mouth".[5][6] The Ojibwe (Chippewa in the United States) and Ottawa peoples lived along the river, with the Ottawa having a reservation on the river from 1836. The federally recognized Little River Band of Ottawa Indians continues to occupy its reservation in Manistee County, as well as lands in Mason County.

Historically, the upper river was renowned for its outstanding grayling fishery, among the finest in the world. Catches in excess of 1000 fish per weekend outing were commonly reported up until the 1880s, when extensive logging in the area ruined the streams and habitat. Logging in the area commenced in earnest by European-American settlers between 1880 and 1910, with peak production occurring in the 1890s. Logging denuded habitat areas, with silt runoff and logging debris degrading the water quality of the river.