My niece Megan is an adventurous soul who really enjoys the outdoors and especially hiking mountainous trails in rugged territories of Alaska and the Appalachian Trail.

This past summer, she took a guiding job with tourists traveling from Anchorage to Denali National Park on the rail system. On her free days, she explored Alaska and found that she enjoyed fishing the rivers for salmon and the bays for halibut.

During her days in Alaska, she made an acquaintance with a young fishing guide who spent the summer on Alaskan waters and the fall season on the Manistee River in Michigan guiding for steelhead fishermen.

I was kind of surprised when she called me and declared that we were heading for Michigan to fish on the Manistee River with her friend Kyle McCleeland and his guide services. The trip would fall right into the middle of early black powder season and I was conflicted about the timing. However, family time ruled out over personal choices and I agreed to accompany her and her father.

Once I found out where we were headed, my interests started to peak up. We were headed for Cadillac, Mich., on the lower peninsula. The Manistee National Forest that was Franklin Roosevelt’s CCC project was being featured and the North Country Trail winded itself through our fishing target.

We would enter the forest of red pines towering 75 feet above us and see over 540,000 acres of plantation forests planted during the Great Depression. The North Country Trail connected with the 11-mile Manistee River Trail for a 23-mile loop of beautiful forest and river scenery.

We would meet Kyle at the launch just below the Tippy Dam, which is a small hydroelectric project. We would then travel downstream in a Stealth craft drift boat with a jet motor which uses only water propulsion.

We entered the river in the pre-dawn darkness and settled in for a chilly and foggy ride down to some lower stretches of the river. Logs, rocks and tangles had to be piloted around and Kyle seemed to know the river and its obstacles very well.

Finally, we made it to our first fishing spot and I saw fins of fish breaking a riffle. We were told to ignore the fish as they were salmon making their final runs on the Manistee and not the quality of fish that we were after.

Kyle broke out some noodle rods that were long and limber. Attached to the rods were spinning reels, split shot and an indicator bobber. A barrel swivel tied on to the line with a 5-foot section of lighter leader material was our terminal tackle. We would use freshly made egg sacs filled with 5-6 salmon eggs. The mesh netting was available in different colors from orange to pink to white, depending on the day’s preference.

I put the challenge out to my brother Jim and Megan that first fish was $5! No response came from them as we watched a Bald Eagle settle into a crag of a red pine on the river’s edge. Just like that, we had our first bite and the fish made a small run and was gone.

We all just started to learn how fast the lake run rainbows could be on a hit of the egg sacs. We kept drifting our baits through the edges of runs and swirls in the hope of a prime fish hitting us hard.

Kyle took the long oars and put the boat into a better drift for us; in a few minutes we had non-stop action as the trout had made their minds up to take our offerings. We just couldn’t set a solid hook on them as they trashed our eggs. That was about to change as I saw the slightest twitch on my indicator.

With a swift sweep. I pulled back the rod and set the hook on a Manistee River Steelhead trout. The fish took off and then reversed course right back at me. Kyle started to coach me with reel…reel…reel faster!

The trout streaked past the boat and the net remained empty as the battle continued. My brother was worried about me landing the trout and hoped for a shake off, lest he had to come up with five bucks! I felt confident that we could land the trout if I kept the rod even with the water and didn’t put upward pressure on the fish.

The plan worked and we were able to put the fish to net. Just about that time the dark skies opened up and we headed back up the river, Jim called foul due to a rain delay and welched on our $5 wager.

Our guide Kyle McCleeland claims the fishing only gets better through the months of November to February. The daily catch limit is three fish with most anglers releasing the fish for conservation.

The area is wonderful for snowmobiles, cross country skiing, hiking, fishing and all winter sports. In the summer kayaking, canoeing and camping are favorite activities. Head up to the Manistee and find out for yourself what Franklin Roosevelt envisioned for the future and check out more of our North Country Trail.

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle