Rogue River Michigan Fishing Report 04/26/24
Below at bottom of page
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone and tailwater
Species
Brown Trout (Wild and Stocked)
Brook Trout (Wild and Stocked)
Rainbow (Stocked)
Salmon
Steelhead
Size
Small to Medium
Location
Western Michigan
Nearest Town
Grand Rapids
Rockford
Season
Trout First Saturday of April through
February. Steelhead and salmon,
check current regulations
Access:
Good in most areas but some private property
Non-Resident License
State of Michigan
Weather
National Weather Service Link
Seasons:
The season varies with the species. Be sure to check the current regulations
Spring:
Springtime is a good time for fly fishing the Rogue River for trout due to the plentiful aquatic insect hatches.
Summer:
The water can get a little too warm in some areas of the river during the summer.
Fall:
Fall is the best time to catch steelhead with October probably being the best month.
Winter:
Steelhead remain in the river on into early Spring. Winter can be good during decent weather. The steelhead and trout can be sluggish when the water temperature is very low.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
For Steelhead and Salmon
Fly Line:
7, 8 , 9 or 10 weight for appropriate typerod, sinking, sinking tip and floating
Leaders:
10#, 12# in 9 to 15 feet lengths
Tippets:
10# and 12#
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly 7, 8, 9 and 10 ft. single hand rods
Fly Reels:
For 7 to 10 weight lines
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
KISS Strike Indicators, Lanyards, etc.
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
4, 5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 to 12 ft., 5 or 6X Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Supreme Four, Superb Five
or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 4/5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing The Rogue River Michigan
Even though it is close to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in many places the Rogue River is a beautiful stream. If you were blind folded and taken there, you may think you were fishing a remote, northern Michigan trout streams rather than one close to Grand Rapids.
The Rogue River is a major tributary of the Grand River, another world renowned steelhead and salmon fishery. The river is divided by the Rockford Dam. The upper Rogue river is considered the section above the dam and below the dam, of course, is the lower section of the Rogue. The dam prevents the salmon and steelhead from migrating further upstream.
Most of the upper part of the 42 mile long river offers some good opportunities for brown, brook and rainbow trout. The lower section has both a Spring and Fall run of Steelhead and Salmon.
The upper Rogue River is mostly fished from boats or canoes. Wading is possible in some areas but some of the water has too soft of a bottom to wade. The Rogue runs through the Rogue River State Game Area.
Its headwaters are a series of ditches that drain the old Rice Lake bed near Grant. That area of the stream has been dredged and straightened and offers very little fish habitat. The other sections of the upper river provides a good habitat for trout.
The Rogue River steelhead and salmon fishery exist in a total distance of about seven miles, the area from the dam to the confluence with the Grand River. Prairie Creek and the Flat River, both tributaries to the Rogue, also receive noteworthy steelhead runs.
The Rogue River has good wading access at West River, Packer, Jericho, and Childsdale Roads
Rogue River Michigan Fly Fishing Report:
02/18/2020 Our customers are reporting some good steelhead catches. Swinging and our Steelhead nymphs are working best.
03/21/2020 The river is in fairly good shape and steelhead are being caught in decent numbers by our customers. There is little ice to deal with.
08/12/20 The river is flowing just a little above normal level and in good shape otherwise. We are getting good reports from customers fishing for trout. There are some good hatches taking place. Now is the time to be getting ready for the salmon season.
09/20/20 Steelhead and salmon are in the river in good numbers. We expect to get some good reports very soon.
10/09/20 We are getting good reports from customers catching salmon and steelhead. Send us an email for a recommended list. sales@perfectflystore.com
10/22/20 Good reports continue to come in from our customers. Now is a good time to be fishing the river.
11/07/20 The river is turning out some nice catches of steelhead for our customers. Swinging, nymhing and egg flies are working. Shoot us an email for a recommended fly list.
11/21/20 More good reports are coming in from customers fishing for steelhead. They are using mostly our egg fly patterns and steelhead nymph patterns but some are being caught swinging.
12/13/20 Stream levels are currently a little high but it should fall back down fast. Our customers continue to send in good reports on catching steelhead.
12/24/20 More good reports from customers fishing for steelhead. Our steelhead nymphs are doing the best but swinging our streamers is also working good for some.
01/08/21 The river is still turning out some good steelhead catches for our customers. Both swinging and nymphing our Perfect Fly steelhead flies are working. Send us an email for fly and gear recommendations. sales@perfectflystore.com
01/26/21 Steelhead are still being caught. The water is cold but at a normal level. Fish deep and slow using our Perfect Fly steelhead nymphs.
02/09/21 We didn’t receive any reports of trout or steelhead being caught this past week. The water is very cold. Let us hear from you.
03/17/21 We are getting a few good reports on steelhead. Our steelhead nymphs are working best.
04/30/21 The water is getting warm and trout fishing is very good. There are some good hatches taking place. Shoot us an email or call us at 800 594 4726 and let us help you plan that next trip.
05/08/21 The river is running a little below normal level and in good shape. Lots of insects are hatching. The recent cold weather slowed thing down but this coming week should be a good one.
05/16/21 The river is in good shape and we are getting good reports from customers catching trout. Call or email us for a recommended fly and gear list.
06/07/21 We are still getting good reports on trout from customers. There are good hatches taking place. Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations.
06/20/21 The river is flowing a little below normal level with clear water. We are still getting some good reports from customers fishing for trout. Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. Please allow up to 24 hours for a response.
07/01/21 The river is flowing at a high level, too high to wade at this time. It should start falling out soon. There are good hatches taking place and it should be fine when the levels drop.
07/14/21 The stream is a little above normal and in good shape. We continue to get good reports from customers. Good hatches and terrestrials are working.
07/20/21 Conditions are good. Stream levels are okay and the water clear. We are getting good trout fishing reports from customers.
07/27/21 We are still getting good reports even though the water is a little high. There are good hatches and dry fly fishing is good.
08/03/21 The stream level in down and the river in good shape. There are good hatches and you should be able to catch plenty trout.
08/12/21 The stream level is high from recent rain but will fall back down fast. We have been getting good reports from customers.
08/20/21 The stream is back down in okay shape. Trout fishing should continue to be good. Shoot us an email or call to get flies and gear for salmon and steelhead coming in Sept.
08/28/21 We didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing for trout lately but it should still be good. Salmon will start coming in anytime now.
09/06/21 The stream is down to just a little above normal level and in good shape. Get ready for salmon and steelhead. They will be entering the very river soon.
09/17/21 Salmon are entering the river. We don’t have any catch reports yet but we expect some anytime now.
09/26/21 Still no catch reports but we know salmon are in the river. We should have some customers headed there this week. Stream conditions are good.
10/06/21 We have reports of salmon in the river but still no catch reports. Let us hear from you. Now is the time to get your flies and gear ready.
10/18/21 There are good numbers of salmon and steelhead in the river. We received a couple of reports on salmon this past week and one from a customer fishing for steelhead.
10/28/21 We are getting good reports from customers fishing for steelhead. Stream conditions are very good. Our eggs, streamers and steelhead nymphs are working good.
11/04/21 The river is still turning out some good catches of steelhead. We continue to get good reports.
11/12/21 More good reports have come in from customers catching steelhead. Our steelhead nymphs and egg sucking leeches are working good.
11/20/21 The stream is still turning out some steelhead for our customers.
11/29/21 We received some more good reports from customers catching steelhead. Conditions are good.
12/08/21 The stream is flowing near a normal level in good shape. We received two good report from customers fishing for steelhead this past week.
12/16/21 Stream levels are high. Give it a couple of days to fall.
12/24/21 The stream is down a lot and getting in good shape. You should be able to catch steelhead. We haven’t received any reports the past week.
01/01/22 Still no reports from anyone we think due to the xmas holidays. Stream levels are normal in good shape.
01/09/22 The river is in okay shape level wise but cold. We received two good reports from customer catching steelhead this past week.
01/17/22 We received another good report from a customer catching steelhead this past week.
01/25/22 No reports came in this past week. I guess the cold weather kelp everyone at home.
02/02/22 We received one good report from a customer fishing this past week for steelhead. Fish slow and deep using our Steelhead nymphs, like the Hex Nymph.
02/10/22 We received another good report from a customer fishing the river this past week. Most seem to be drop backs but the river still has some fish.
02/18/22 We didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing this past week. Conditions remain about the same.
02/26/22 We received one good report from a customer fishing this past week for steelhead. There are still some fish in the river that can be caught.
03/06/22 We didn’t receive any reports from anyone fishing this past week. Conditions remain about the same.
03/30/22 We are receiving some very good reports on steelhead catches in the river. Stream levels are okay and the water a little warmer.
04/23/22 Sorry for the missed reports. We are still getting some reports on steelhead being caught. Stream levels are down near a normal level. Trout fishing should be getting better as the water is warmer.
05/09/22 The stream is in good shape in all respects. Good hatches of Blue Quills, BWOs, Quill Gordons, Hendricksons/Red quills, little Black caddis and little Brown stoneflies are starting to take place.
05/17/22 We are getting good reports from customers fishing for trout. Good hatches are taking place and dry fly fishing beginning to be good.
05/25/22 Trout are being caught in good numbers. Dry fly fishing is getting very good thanks to a lot of insects hatching. Shoot us an email for a fly list.
06/09/22 Trout fishing remains good. We continue to get good reports from customers. There are multiple hatches taking place. Shoot us an email for an up to date fly list for your next trip.
06/17/22 Good conditions continue. The stream is flowing at a normal level with clear water. We continue to get good catch reports from customers. Good hatches are coming off.
06/24/22 Good hatches continue to take place. Stream levels continue to remain good and we continue to get good reports from customers.
07/01/22 the stream continues to be in good shape. Water levels are normal and clear. Good hatches and good catches of trout are being made.
07/15/22 We received a couple of good report from customers fishing for trout this past week. Good hatches are taking place. The stream is near a normal level and clear.
07/22/22 Conditions remain good. We are still getting some very good reports. Good hatches continue to take place.
08/05/22 The stream is still turning out some good catches for our customers fishing for trout. Good hatches continue and the water levels are in good shape.
08/19/22 The stream is in okay shape. Trout fishing should continue to be good. Shoot us an email or call to get flies and gear for salmon and steelhead coming in Sept.
09/05/22 The stream is just a little above normal level and in good shape. Get ready for salmon and steelhead. They will be entering the very river soon.
09/19/22 Steelhead normally move into the river at the end of this month so make sure you have the right flies and gear.
10/09/22 Salmon are in the river and steelhead should begin to show up anytime now.
10/31/22 Both salmon and steelhead are being caught by our customers. Conditions are good.
11/30/22 Stealhead ae still being caught in okay numbers. Swinging our egg sucking leeching, nymphing with the Hex nymph and our Extaz eggs are working.
12/31/22 We continue to receive good reports from our customers of steelhead being caught. Spey flies and sculpin patterns are working well.
02/03/23 Steelhead are being caught in decent numbers. The water is cold but at an okay level. Fish deep and slow using our Perfect Fly steelhead nymphs.
03/09/23 We haven’t received any reports recently. Steelhead are still in the river. Let us hear from you.
04/08/23 We received two good reports from customers fishing for steelhead this past week.
04/22/23 Steelhead is about done but trout is coming on strong with new Spring hatches starting to take place. Water temps are near the magic 50 degree mark.
05/01/23 Good hatches are taking place and trout are being caught by our customers. We received two good reports from the past week.
05/21/23 Conditions are good. There are very good hatches taking place and we are getting good reports from customers fishing for trout.
06/05/23 The stream is flowing near a normal level and clear. Good hatches are taking place.
06/24/23 The stream is flowing a little below normal level and clear. We received one good report from a customer this past week. Good hatches are taking place.
07/01/23 Conditions are good. We received two good reports from customers fishing for trout this past week.
07/12/23 Good stream levels continue to exist. Good hatches continue to take place. We received another good report from a customer fishing it this past week.
07/21/23 Conditions remain good. We received two good reports from customers fishing it for trout this past week.
07/31/23 The stream is still turning out some good catches of trout for our customers. Good hatches are taking place.
08/04/23 The stream is flowing at a normal level and clear. There are good hatches taking place. We received one good report this past week.
08/20/23 The stream is in good shape. Trout fishing is still good. Shoot us an email or call to get flies and gear for salmon and steelhead coming in September.
08/27/23 The stream is still in good shape with good stream levels and clear water. Get ready for some good salmon and steelhead fishing opportunity coming soon.
09/11/23 The river is flowing at a normal level and clear. Salmon should be starting to enter the river anytime if not already.
09/25/23 Salmon are coming into the river. Steelhead will soon follow them. Stream levels are normal and in good shape.
10/02/23 The stream continues to be in good shape with salmon coming in.
19/09/23 Good reports from customers catching salmon and steelhead are coming in. Send us an email for fly and/or gear recommends
10/20/23 Good river levels are bringing steelhead in and our steelhead nymph and streamer patterns are working well.
11/02/23 River levels continue to bring in steelhead.
11/09/23 More steelhead are in the river. We have yet to hear a catch report. Let us hear from you.
11/16/23 We are getting some very good catch reports of steelhead. Our Hexigenia steelhead nymphs, and swinging our egg sucking leeches are working good.
11/26/23 We are still getting good reports from customers catching steelhead. If you haven’t already done so. please check out our steelhead fly patterns.
12/09/23 More good catch reports have come in from our customers. Both swinging and nymphing methods are working.
12/29/23 Sorry for the missed reports. We are still getting good catch reports from customers fishing our Hex Nymphs and Egg Sucking leech patterns.
01/12/24 Stream levels are near normal and the water mostly clear. We are still getting good steelhead catch reports from customers.
01/21/24 The stream is still in good shape and we continue to get a few good catch reports. Our Hexigenia steelhead nymph work good here.
02/01/24 The stream is in good condition with steelhead being caught in good numbers. Our Hexigenia steelhead nymphs, Giant Black steelhead nymphs and Egg Sucking leeches are catching them.
02/12/24 The stream is still flowing at a normal level with clear water. We continue to get good steelhead catch reports from our customers.
02/23/24 The stream is still flowing near a normal level and clear. Steelhead are being caught in good numbers.
03/01/24 Conditions remain good. The stream is in good shape and we are still getting good catch reports.
03/08/24 The stream is a little above a normal level and lightly stained. We are getting good reports from customers fishing for steelhead.
03/15/24 Conditions are good. Our customers are reporting good catches of steelhead.
03/22/24 The stream is still in good shape with clear water and at a good level. We didn’t receive any catch reports but you should be able to catch steelhead.
03/29/24 Conditions are still good. The stream is flowing at a normal level with clear water. We still didn’t receive any steelhead catch reports but you should be able to catch them.
04/05/24 The stream is still in good shape level wise. Steelhead are still in the river but we didn’t receive any catch reports from the past week. Trout fishing should be getting good very soon as the water is getting warmer.
04/12/24 Conditions remain good with good stream levels. We received one report of steelhead being caught. Trout fishing is already good. There are new Spring hatches starting to take place. Blue Quills, BWOs, Quill Gordons, little Black caddis and little Brown stoneflies are starting to hatch.
04/9/24 In additions to the above insects, Hendricksons/Red Quills are hatching. Stream levels are low but okay.
04/26/24 Conditions are good. There are good hatches of Blue Quills, BWOs, Quill Gordons, Hendricksons/Red quills, little Black caddis and little Brown stoneflies are taking place.
Click Here to see our Steelhead Flies: Click Here to see our Salmon Flies:
Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations.