BirdTrout
Baltimore River, Michigan
33 mapped river miles, draining 77 square miles, in the Ontonagon subbasin watershed. No gauge stands in it; the nearest is 11.9 miles away, and what this page knows about its temperature is MDNR's classification of the water itself.
50°F and colder is cold, through cold-transitional and cool, to warm above 70°F — the same four bands, breaking at 58, 64 and 70°F, that the app paints. Grey is water nobody has measured.
The nearest gauge, and why there is no reading from it
The nearest gauge, 11.9 miles away at Ontonagon River, is not reporting water temperature: USGS carries no water-temperature series for it at all. A stopped gauge repeats its last value in silence, so there is no live temperature here. Nor is there a model to put in its place: that gauge has too little record to fit one, and this site does not print a temperature it cannot stand behind.
The character of the water
A medium stream in the Ontonagon subbasin, 32.6 mapped miles at sixth order, draining 77.14 square miles at a median width of 16.6 feet. MDNR types 1.6 miles, 5 percent coverage: 0.2 typed miles of Cold, cold stream, at the top between river miles 31.4 and 31.1, and 1.4 typed miles of Cool from river mile 24.9 down to 2.0, both at high gradient. MDNR classes the valley segment, not the water: no measured temperature exists; the nearest gauge, on the Ontonagon River, is 11.9 miles away. Type 1 regulation covers 31.4 miles, last Saturday in April through September 30th, artificial lures and all types of natural bait permitted, five fish with no more than three trout 15 inches or greater. The Middle Branch Ontonagon River is the water it enters at river mile 0.0; Clear Creek comes in at 17.4, Pine Creek at 25.8. Five public land units total 73,875 acres. No access sites, no stocking, no survey.
Thermal classification
MDNR types this water from its valley, not from a thermometer in it. A class, not a temperature — no July mean, because none was measured here.
| Reach | Typed miles | Band | MDNR type |
|---|---|---|---|
| RM 31.4–31.1 | 0.2 | cold | Cold stream · high gradient |
| RM 24.9–2.0 | 1.4 | cool | Warm transitional stream · high gradient |
MDNR has classified 1.6 of the 33 miles NHD carries for this stream — 5% of it. The typed water splits 1.4 mi cool, 0.2 mi cold. The untyped reaches are not warm water — they are water MDNR's inventory does not reach, and the mile ranges above span only the reaches it does.
Questions about this river
- Baltimore River fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish the Baltimore River — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to the Baltimore River — access, parking and public land
- Baltimore River fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 31.4 of the 32.6 mapped miles; 1.2 miles carry no type in this dataset. Always check the current Michigan Fishing Guide before you fish — this is a copy, and the Guide is the rule.
| Type | Where | Season | Minimum sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Type 1 31.4 mi |
RM 32.6–0.0 | Last Saturday in April–September 30th | Brook trout 7", Brown trout 8", Rainbow trout / steelhead 10", Lake trout 10", Chinook salmon 10", Coho salmon 10", Pink salmon 10", Atlantic salmon 10" |
Creel across all types: 5 fish, with no more than 3 trout 15“ or greater. Zero (0) Arctic Grayling. Tackle: Artificial lures and all types of natural bait may be used.
Public land on the river
5 units of public or open-access land touch this river, 73,875 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Ontonagon, Michigan Wild and Scenic River | DESG | 34,412 |
| Ottawa National Forest | United States Forest Service | 18,899 |
| Ottawa National Forest | United States Forest Service | 18,578 |
| Local Forest | County | 1,982 |
| Bergland To Sidnaw Rail Trail | Michigan DNR | 4 |
Species
No species records for this water in the files this site reads.
Hatches on this water
42 insects are recorded from the Upper Peninsula, which is the region this river sits in. That is a claim about the region and not a survey of this stream: nobody has recorded which of them has been caught here. Open the river in the app and the hatch panel will narrow it to the ones whose temperature window today's reading is inside.
| Insect | Peak | Water | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fish Eggs Other |
October–January and April | 33–60°F | #10–16 |
| Little Black Stonefly Allocapnia / Capnia spp. |
January–April | 34–46°F | #16–18 |
| Little Brown Stonefly Taeniopteryx / Strophopteryx spp. |
February–April | 38–50°F | #12–16 |
| Blue-Winged Olive Baetis spp. |
March–May and September–November | 38–58°F | #16–22 |
| Blackfly Simulium spp. |
April–June | 40–65°F | #18–22 |
| Cranefly Tipula spp. |
April–June and September–October | 40–65°F | #6–10 |
| Grannom Brachycentrus spp. |
April–May | 48–58°F | #14–16 |
| Green Rock Worm / Green Weenie Rhyacophila spp. |
April–June and September–October | 45–68°F | #10–14 |
| Hendrickson Ephemerella subvaria |
April–May | 45–58°F | #12–14 |
| Alderfly Sialis spp. |
May–June | 52–66°F | #10–14 |
| Caterpillar Lepidoptera larvae |
May–September | 55–75°F | #8–14 |
| Crayfish Orconectes spp. |
May–October | 55–78°F | #4–8 |
| Giant Black Stonefly (Salmonfly) Pteronarcys dorsata |
May–June | 50–62°F | #4–6 |
| Green Sedge Rhyacophila spp. |
May–August | 48–64°F | #12–16 |
And 28 more — the year-round records, mostly: midges, scuds and sculpins, which are in the water every day and are therefore never the news.
Tributaries and watershed
7 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- Middle Branch Ontonagon River 70.7 mi · RM 0.0
- Clear Creek 10.4 mi · RM 17.4
- Pine Creek 5.2 mi · RM 25.8
- Hide Creek 4.8 mi · RM 9.8
- Inkala Creek 4.0 mi · RM 12.1
- Lathrop Creek 3.7 mi · RM 3.1
- Pietila Creek 2.7 mi · RM 19.3
Baltimore River sits in HUC 8 04020102, the Ontonagon subbasin, and drains 77 square miles, Strahler order 6 at the mouth. 92 NHD reaches carry the name for 32.6 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.