Grind To Shine?

June 16, 2026

Depending on where you're fishing, it can either be good or not so good. We'll just say it, as of right now, The Grand continues to not fish well, which is keeping us on either its tributaries or the Muskegon.

Topwater continues to be the game, with boogle bugs and terrestrials bringing the most fish to net. With the low water on the tribs, you don't need to be aggressive with the pops, as a matter fact, the more you can dead drift it, the better. Pay attend to the flow rates, when there's bump, switch to streamers and swimflies, as that rise in flow gets the smallmouth feeding

On the trout side, we have been seeing some Hex's going off. It has been night by night for the amount of Hex spinning out. One night may have no bug activity, when the next night could be the best hatch of your life. Lately, we've seen the most amount of bugs flying around right at sunset, with the best fishing from around 1am until sunrise. Hex Duns have been most productive right at sunset and switching to Hex Spinner patterns at night. Leader builds have been consisting of 5-6 feet in total length and running heavy lines. Generally our leaders are either 12 or 15 pound monofilament.

No items found.
Get out on the river
Our mission is connecting people to the rivers we fish, while teaching them the value of our fisheries, one trip, one river and one cast at a time.
Book Now
We have been a client of Werkman Outfitters for several years now. Tom and Max are friendly, personable, easy to talk with & encouraging. Their knowledge of the Grand River is second to none. We have targeted smallies & pike, steelhead and salmon. Each species has it's unique habitat, habits, lure selection and challenges. We use them exclusively for West Michigan river fishing and do so several times each year.
Book Your Trip