On the upper Grand River, concentrations of steelhead can be found below the Lyons, Webber, Portland, Grand Ledge and two Lansing dams. Photo courtesy of Jim Bedford.

Michigan has many fine steelhead streams, and about this time of year, it seems like spring will never arrive. Luckily, many of our rivers have good numbers of steelies in them right now.

For this article, we will concentrate on streams that get good summer and fall runs of steelhead, and thus, usually offer the best winter fishing. But we will also give you tips on rivers and creeks to try when the days get warmer toward spring.

THE SOUTHEAST
Starting in southeast Michigan, both the Huron and Clinton rivers are good winter steelhead streams. The focal point for steelhead on the Huron is in the town of Flat Rock. There is a lowhead dam here that temporarily concentrates the fish. You can do some wading and bank-fishing near the dam, but downstream the water becomes slow and deep, so a boat is a better plan. A ladder allows steelhead upstream as far as Belleville Lake, and there is plenty of public park land for access along this part of the river. Steelhead will be scattered, but you are likely to have the river to yourself.

A lowhead dam also focuses the steelhead action on the Clinton River just upstream from Dequindre Road on the western edge of Macomb County. There is a public access here. This river moves right along and is wadeable all the way down to the town of Utica. Like the Huron, park lands along with road crossings provide good access to the river. Ice can be a problem when we have cold spells, but the river will be open at normal to mild temperatures.

For the latest on the run or river conditions in southeast Michigan, contact the Department of Natural Resources at (248) 359-9040.

ON THE WEST SIDE
On the west side of southern Michigan, all three of the large tributary rivers provide fine winter steelhead fisheries.

The St. Joseph River is definitely one of the best winter steelhead streams in Michigan. Not only is it stocked with Great Lakes-strain steelhead by both Michigan and Indiana, but the Hoosier State also plants big numbers of summer steelhead in the St. Joe. While some of these fish hustle back to Indiana in the summer, many linger in the lower river in Michigan. The area of the river below the Berrien Springs Dam is a prime one for winter fishing because the river never freezes here. The weather will dictate how far you can fish below Berrien Springs before there is too much ice. While you can wade some areas below the dam, the river is best fished from a boat. There is a public launch at Shamrock Park in Berrien Springs and several more ramps downstream that may or may not be open depending on river ice.

Farther upstream, the dams at Buchanan and Niles keep the water open below them and concentrate the steelhead. Just like Berrien Springs, you can wade some below each, but a boat is better. During some winters -- especially those that follow a wet fall -- there will be good numbers of steelhead in the Dowagiac River near Niles. This is a good-sized but wadeable tributary to the St. Joe and there is a dam on it that concentrates the fish in the lower three miles of the stream.

Not as many steelhead are stocked in the Kalamazoo River, but it provides dependable winter steelheading. Allegan Dam, just west of the town of the same name, blocks the upstream movement of these silver fish and keeps the river ice-free for several miles in the winter. There is bank access at the dam, but wading is difficult below the dam. Fishing from a boat is the better way to go here, and you can launch just below the dam.