Urban Fishing Lansing Grand River VIDEO Fishing Report

[djkimmel]

Too sleepy to remember the exact day tonight but just a couple-three weeks ago cameraguy and I traipsed on down to do some urban fishing battle with downtown bass. We had a pretty fun day on the Grand River in downtown Lansing. Here's a little video fishing report.




Looked up the day - it was August 22, 2011.

[motocross269]

That is a tough fishing area...We used to fish that tournament out of Grand Pointe Marina and it was a struggle puting fish in the livewell....Is Grand Pointe Marina still around???

[Bender]

That looks like a lot of fun fishing the river, I've got to get over there soon.

[djkimmel]

That is a tough fishing area...We used to fish that tournament out of Grand Pointe Marina and it was a struggle puting fish in the livewell....Is Grand Pointe Marina still around???

Grand Pointe is still around. We are on the downtown stretch - the Lower Grand River us locals call it - this time, below the Moores River Park dam. Fished along the museum, under I-496, down along GM. I had a really nice smallmouth bass on off an old secret spot we didn't get on video. I lost it. It's a spot I keep expecting to be the next 'hot spot' because I usually get 1 or 2 quality smallies there but that's it. I have no idea why they won't pile up on this spot but that is one of the challenges of fishing - figuring this stuff out.

Nice to catch mix of largemouth, smallmouth bass and even a few pike. No walleye this time but I've caught some big ones down there a few times. A little early for the salmon and steelhead to be in in any numbers yet. It was August 22nd.

Swapped out videos to add some background music. Hope you like it. We were busy casting to all the natural and man-made objects so we didn't get a ton of video. I love fishing rivers!

[djkimmel]

That looks like a lot of fun fishing the river, I've got to get over there soon.

The downtown part is much shorter and I think I told you to be real careful. You can pretty much just fish either direction from the ramp anyway. There are some unmarked bad spots including leftovers from removed bridges. One upstream bridge is completely gone (the old River St bridge) but the middle support trash is just under the water and one side is complete unsafe. You won't make it over this one on plane or not.

Downstream there is a 'new' old train bridge - now pedestrian crossing - where the support for a much older bridge lies just under the surface in the middle of the middle opening. You might make it over this one on plane but I never even try and trimmed down you'll hit. You know, now I can't remember if that old support is under the old train bridge or under Shiawassee St bridge? Maybe Vince or someone can remind me?

Upstream has gotten real shallow much sooner now past Washington Ave. You can fish it but I wouldn't run it. There's always new stuff getting trapped. There are several man-made and current change impediments between Washington Ave and Elm St bridge. It has really shallowed up and the fishing has suffered. I wouldn't run any of that anymore even closer to Washington. Not worth it.

There is a bad bar on the right side under Elm St bridge on the right going upstream and hump on the left side. You can fish past them - they used to be good but have also suffered from bottom changes. Sometime they 'catch' dumped trash so never assume it is safe this time because it was safe last time. There are river cleanups but in between, people will dump things off the bridges or down the steep banks. We once almost hit a drive shaft that was sticking out of the hump like a spear - next to a shopping cart and a washing machine!

Between Elm St and the next train bridge is fairly safe in the middle though shallow. I would no long run that either. It is only a few hundred yards. All those trees in the water used to be awesome but have petered out mostly. The other side was 'cleaned up' when they worked on the new river walk and is very hit and miss due to being shallow, muddy with sparse cover.

From the train bridge upstream to the dam is often impassable by any large boat though you may pick your way with some scrapes. It is more like wading water and not super productive though fish do move through heading to the dam. I've been up to the Moores Dam in the old days with my little boat but it was a long, hard pain in the butt!

It is definitely urban but still has some nature appeal. The river walk follows some of it. I have seen all kinds of wildlife down there from hawks to raccoons to weasels to rats. (The bass eat the rats sometimes - honest.) About this time of year, salmon and steelhead can start appearing in this stretch because there is a fishladder at the North Lansing dam. I think this year they are working on that dam though so I'm not sure what the status of the fishladder is?

There is no fishladder at the Moores Park dam so no salmon or steelhead on the Upper Grand River, which is a much bigger, longer impoundment. Downtown is almost 3 miles long, not quite - never actually measured it? The Upper impoundment is about 9 miles long. You can fish a little of the Red Cedar River downtown too but it is shallow and treacherous. Not often that good either and it gets colder faster in the fall. It is not uncommon to have a 10 degree difference on one side of the river verses the other downstream of the Red Cedar for a ways.