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Muskegon River Lake Run — Salmon, Steelhead, Brown Trout
Peak run · Chinook salmon as of 1 October 2026
52.0 miles of run water on the Muskegon River, from Lake Michigan up to Croton Dam. 5 species run it, on windows curated from MDNR guidance.
- 52.0corridor miles
- 64NHD reaches
- 5species that run
- Lake Michiganthe lake they come from
Croton Dam closes the Muskegon 52.02 river miles above Lake Michigan, and the corridor below it — 64 NHD reaches, split into pierheads to 2.13, river mouth to 6.37, lower river to 38.47, and an upstream reach to the dam — is long enough to hold four run species. Chinook run 15 Aug – 31 Oct, coho 1 Sep – 30 Nov, steelhead 1 Oct – 31 Dec with a second spring run peaking March through April, and lake-run browns 20 Oct – 31 Jan, later than most of the neighbouring water.
What separates the Muskegon from the White, Grand, Pentwater and Pere Marquette is lake sturgeon. They spawn on the gravel immediately below Croton, April through June with a May peak, and the trigger is temperature rather than the calendar: the run starts around 55°F and is finished above about 64°F. The species is state-threatened, possession is closed here, and a fish should not be lifted out of the river. The ceiling record is curated — FERC hydro, absent from the EGLE inventory.
The questions about this river
One page each, answered from the same records as this one.
What runs the Muskegon River
Each window is calendar guidance curated from the state's own run-timing prose, not a regulation and not an observation. The stage beside it is this site's reading of that window against 1 October 2026. This river is one of the sixteen the staging estimator models, so the window is shown in the estimator's dated form. Those dates are one statewide set, the same on all sixteen rivers, and no more river-specific than the months they restate — what the estimator adds here is the daily staging read, not a sharper calendar.
- Chinook salmon — 15 Aug – 31 Oct peak 15 Aug – 15 Oct Peak run. Fish stage off the harbour through August and enter as the river cools; the run peaks in October.
- Coho salmon — 1 Sep – 30 Nov peak 15 Sep – 15 Nov Peak run. Overlaps the chinook run and holds later; peak October and November.
- Steelhead — 1 Oct – 31 Dec peak 15 Oct – 15 Dec Staging, 1 day out. Two runs on one calendar — a fall push from October that winters in the river, and the spring run that peaks March through April.
- Lake-run brown trout — 20 Oct – 31 Jan peak 1 Nov – 15 Jan Off-season. Runs with the salmon and stays after them; peak October.
- Lake sturgeon — Apr–June peak May55–64°F Off-season. Spawns on the gravel immediately below Croton Dam, which is as far up as the fish can get. Peak is May, and the trigger is temperature rather than the date — the run starts around 55°F and is finished above about 64°F. One of the larger remaining Lake Michigan runs, and the subject of a streamside rearing programme. Catch-and-release only — lake sturgeon is a Michigan state-threatened species and the possession season is closed on this water. Do not lift a fish out of the river.
The ceiling
Croton Dam is where the run stops. Everything above it is upstream of the fishery — a fish cannot pass it, so the water above holds resident trout and not run fish, whatever the calendar says.
curated here; FERC hydro, absent from the EGLE inventory
The run water, mouth to ceiling
| Zone | What it is | River miles |
|---|---|---|
| Pier | the pierheads and the harbour mouth | 0.0–2.1 |
| Mouth | the river mouth | 2.1–6.4 |
| Lower | the lower river | 6.4–38.5 |
| Upstream | above the first holding water, up to the ceiling | 38.5–52.0 |
River miles from the harbour mouth, walked up the NHDPlus HR mainstem. Fish arrive at the bottom of this table and work up it as the river cools and rises.
Access
State boating access sites inside the corridor's box, from the MDNR Boating Access Sites record. A ramp is not a wade-in — these are where a boat and a car go, and the bank between them is a question for the public land layer on the live map.
- Muskegon State Park - Snug Harbor boat launch · Muskegon Lake · 82 parking spaces · restroom · fee · Dnr-Prd
- Hartshorn boat launch · Muskegon Lake · 79 parking spaces · restroom · fee · Municipal
- High Rollway Thornapple boat launch · Muskegon River · 70 parking spaces · restroom · fee · Dnr-Prd
- Grand Trunk boat launch · Muskegon Lake · 62 parking spaces · restroom · fee · Municipal
- Henning Park boat launch · Muskegon River · 62 parking spaces · restroom · fee · County
- Pine Street boat launch · Muskegon River · 60 parking spaces · restroom · fee · Dnr-Prd
- Montague Roesler Park boat launch · White Lake · 49 parking spaces · restroom · fee · Municipal
- Maple Island boat launch · Muskegon River · 45 parking spaces · restroom · fee · Municipal
Open the Muskegon River on the live map →
The Muskegon River river page — gauges, temperature and regulations by reach →
Regulations
Great Lakes tributary rules are their own rules: seasons, gear and possession on run water differ from the inland trout regulations, and they differ by river and often by reach. Michigan's regulation summary is here, and the state's own guide is the regulation.
Lake sturgeon is a Michigan state-threatened species. Possession is closed on this water and the fishery is catch-and-release. The MDNR rehabilitation strategy and the Fishing Guide are the rules; this page is not.
Tackle
General guidance by species, not by river — there is no record of what a given river fishes best with, and a page that invented one would be worse than a page that says so.
- Chinook salmon Spinning: a medium-heavy 8'6"–9' rod, 15–20 lb line, heavy spoons and crankbaits off the pier, skein or spawn under a float in the river.
- Coho salmon Spinning: a medium 7'–8'6" rod, 10–14 lb line, small spoons and spinners. Coho chase, and a moving bait outfishes a still one.
- Steelhead Float fishing: a long 10'6"–13' rod, 8–12 lb main line, spawn bags, beads or jigs under a slip float — the method that covers a run without wading it.
- Lake-run brown trout 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.
- Lake sturgeon Catch and release only, and this is the one species on this surface where the tackle note is a handling note. Do not lift a sturgeon out of the water, do not hold it vertically, and support it fully if it must be moved.
Nearby run rivers
The next corridors up and down this shore, nearest first.
- White RiverLake Michigan · 36.6 corridor miles →
- Grand RiverLake Michigan · 42.2 corridor miles →
- Pentwater RiverLake Michigan · 10.4 corridor miles →
- Pere Marquette RiverLake Michigan · 59.5 corridor miles →
- Kalamazoo RiverLake Michigan · 36.4 corridor miles →
- Rogue RiverLake Michigan · 5.6 corridor miles →