29 1/2 Inch Crawford County Brown Trout

Well this early Spring freeze up certainly slowed down the fishing.  But I did get a pic of one huge brown trout from Crawford County.

Of course it was through the ice at Lake Margerethe.  We see a couple of these huge browns out of Lake Margerethe each year.  The theory is that these fish actually move out of the Manistee River up Portage Creek and into the lake.  Once in Margerethe, they fish have lots to eat and cool fall into winter temperatures.  Every once in a while we even hear about a stray brook trout getting caught.

This coming week should fish well on the AuSable River and on the Manistee River.  Nymph fishing will likely be the best bet early in the week, but as the warm days start to stack up, I bet we have find some very nice streamer action by next weekend.  If we're lucky, we may get the early Black Stoneflies skittering around, too.  That pattern makes a great indicator for your bead-headed nymphs.

Good Luck.