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Lake-run brown trout Run in Michigan
Salmo trutta, coaster brown, on Superior — 38 Michigan rivers on this map carry a run of it, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. 25 of them are inside a window as of 1 October 2026.
Salmo trutta is the one lake-run fish on this map that Michigan carries out of all three lakes — Huron, Michigan and Superior — and 38 rivers in the state carry it. The calendar is written out as dates and it is the same calendar everywhere: 20 October to 31 January, with the peak from 1 November to 15 January, one statewide figure rather than a per-river reading. What changes between rivers is only the length of the corridor, from 59.5 miles on the Pere Marquette and 57.3 on the Little Manistee down to 17.3 on the Platte; the Rifle, at 55.0 miles, is the long one on the Huron side.
At the net the fish is buttery-flanked with black and red spots, and no spotting on the tail worth the name — the mark that separates it from everything else in the run. Three to fifteen pounds. It runs with the autumn steelhead and behind the salmon, is the most nocturnal fish in the corridor, and many hold over into February and March. On Superior it is called a coaster brown.
Where these rivers are
46 run rivers on 3 shores, drawn one shore at a time and each river in the colour of its own run stage today. One frame over all of them would be mostly open water.
Drawn 1 October 2026. The ground is the subbasin mesh the app scores in, so the coastline is where the mesh stops rather than a separate shoreline; the mark at each river is its mouth, drawn for every river including the handful whose whole run corridor is under a mile and has no line to show.
Where it runs, and when
Ranked by the rivers the staging estimator models first — the sixteen systems with a USGS temperature gauge behind them — then by corridor miles. Neither is a measure of fishing, and nothing on this page ranks a fishery.
| River | Lake | Window | Peak | Miles | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pere Marquette River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 59.5 | Off-season |
| Little Manistee River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 57.3 | Off-season |
| Rifle River | Huron | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 55.0 | Off-season |
| Muskegon River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 52.0 | Off-season |
| Grand River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 42.2 | Off-season |
| White River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 36.6 | Off-season |
| Kalamazoo River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 36.4 | Off-season |
| Manistee River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 29.9 | Off-season |
| St. Joseph River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 24.3 | Off-season |
| Platte River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 17.3 | Off-season |
| Black River (South Haven) | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 13.1 | Off-season |
| Betsie River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 12.5 | Off-season |
| Boardman River | Michigan | 20 Oct – 31 Jan | 1 Nov – 15 Jan | 1.1 | Off-season |
| Ford River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 107.3 | First runners |
| Cedar River (Menominee County) | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 66.2 | First runners |
| Sturgeon River (Baraga County) | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 41.3 | First runners |
| Days River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 28.1 | First runners |
| Big Iron River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 24.6 | First runners |
| Ontonagon River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 23.7 | First runners |
| Jordan River | Michigan | Oct–Nov | Oct | 23.2 | Staging |
| Two Hearted River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 22.6 | First runners |
| Chocolay River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 20.5 | First runners |
| Trap Rock River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 19.2 | First runners |
| Salmon Trout River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 18.4 | First runners |
| Firesteel River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 16.4 | First runners |
| Tahquamenon River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 16.4 | First runners |
| Whitefish River (Delta County) | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 11.7 | First runners |
| Pentwater River | Michigan | Oct–Nov | Oct | 10.4 | Staging |
| Anna River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 7.6 | First runners |
| Rogue River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 5.6 | First runners |
| Brevoort River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 5.5 | First runners |
| Falls River | Superior | Sept–Nov | Oct | 5.0 | First runners |
| Boyne River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 4.0 | First runners |
| Menominee River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 2.3 | First runners |
| Manistique River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 1.5 | First runners |
| Escanaba River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 1.4 | First runners |
| Big Sable River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 1.1 | First runners |
| Bear River | Michigan | Sept–Nov | Oct | 0.1 | First runners |
Stage as of 1 October 2026. It moves every day and this page does not — current conditions are here.
Identification
Buttery flanks with black and red spots, and no spotting on the tail worth the name — the mark that separates it from everything else in the run at the net.
Size
Three to fifteen pounds.
Behaviour in the river
Runs with the autumn steelhead and behind the salmon, and is the most nocturnal fish in the corridor. Many hold over into February and March.
Tackle and tactics
- Spinning: a medium 7'–8' rod, 8–12 lb line, minnow plugs and spoons fished at dusk and after dark, which is when these fish move.
- Fly: 7–8 weight, large articulated streamers on a sink tip, 10–12 lb tippet.
Regulations
Great Lakes tributary rules are not the inland trout rules, and they differ by river and often by reach. Michigan's regulation summary is here; the state's own guide is the regulation.
The rest of the run
- Lake Michigan runs
- Lake Superior runs
- Lake Huron runs
- Lake-run brown trout in Minnesota
- Lake-run brown trout in New York
- Lake-run brown trout in Wisconsin
- The run calendar
- What is running right now