As water temps warm in the spring, pocket water fishing for Steelhead in smaller rivers, such as the Pere Marquette River, can be really effective.  The Pere Marquette River, as most of us know, gets an immeasurable amount of Angling pressure, regardless of what stretch you go to.  Many of these Anglers tend to hit the same popular runs on a consistent basis. I’m sure they kick out fish and can be productive. But as the water temps warm, those little pockets and dumps as I like to call them, can be a game changer when everyone else is fishing the normal spots.  When you figure out something new and have success, it can be a real confidence booster.  I have been fishing and guiding this river for twenty-five years now. I still try to force myself to fish different water – even if I’m in a stretch of river I see on on a daily basis during the grind of guiding season. I have learned those little spots can be very rewarding! If you get a fish out of one of those spots, it’s almost more rewarding than hooking one out of the same ‘ol spots.

Look for pockets that are deep enough to hide the bottom of the river. These pockets should have gravel above and below. In the Spring as water temps warm, I’ll see Steelhead enter their Pre-Spawning mode when they begin moving closer to the spawning gravel.  These fish will hide out in these pockets. When the river is seeing heavy traffic of foot and boat anglers, these spots can be ideal as fish get kicked out of the more well-known pools.  Steelhead will spook and take cover below the pools in these pockets and dumps.  These spots are ideal for Nymph and Egg fishing. I usually run an Egg on top for my point fly and pattern representing an Alevin, Fry, or Leech pattern. I like to use something with a little more movement to it.  This allows me to swing the fly out at the end of the drift with the hope of coaxing a fish’s strike response.  Pocket fishing can be a lot of fun and allows you to cover a lot of water at a faster pace.  Using a strike indicator or float is a great way to fish this type of water. If you choose to use a swing setup, lighten up the sink tip and tippet weight and run smaller Fry and Leech imitations.