AM or PM 6 hrs. Browns run 4 to 20 pounds, chinook 8 to 18, and lakers 6 to 25. June - July Prime time for lake trout. The deep water steelhead fishing peaks now also with tremendous action found on the surface in up to 800' of water. August - September Chinook and coho begin to come in for the spawning run.
Fish are larger than at any other time.
Only mature fish spawn, so there is still decent fishing in the big lake in September. Lake trout closes Labor Day. October - November October is probably the best month as far as number of fish taken per trip is concerned. Excellent numbers of 2 and 3 year old salmon and steelhead in the 4 to 8 pound range are taken now. Some of the best steelhead fishing in the world takes place in Manistee during these months.