BirdTrout
Black River, Michigan
15.5 mapped river miles, draining 61 square miles across Alcona county, in the Lone Lake-Ocqueoc subbasin watershed. No gauge stands in it; the nearest is 22.9 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 live reading
The nearest gauge is 22.9 miles away, at Au Sable River Near Au Sable — not a reading of this water, but of what the region is doing today.
The character of the water
A medium stream of 15.5 mapped miles in the Lone Lake-Ocqueoc subbasin, Alcona County, fifth order, draining 61.45 square miles at a median width of 16.8 feet; the NHD line agrees closely at 15.44 miles. MDNR coverage is unusually complete here at 82 percent, 12.6 typed miles: 10.4 miles of Cold stream at medium gradient from river mile 15.5 down to 5.1, then 2.2 miles of Cold-transitional stream at very low gradient from river mile 2.2 to the mouth. The class describes the valley segment, not the water, so no measured temperature applies; the nearest gauge, the Au Sable River near Au Sable, sits 22.9 miles off. Regulation splits: 12.7 miles Type 1, last Saturday in April through September 30th, and 2.1 miles Type 4, open year round, both allowing artificial lures and all types of natural bait. Brook and rainbow trout were stocked at the US-23 bridge from 1991 through 2014. No survey and no access sites are recorded.
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 15.5–5.1 | 10.4 | cold | Cold stream · medium gradient |
| RM 2.2–0.0 | 2.2 | cold-transitional | Cold transitional stream · very low gradient |
MDNR has classified 12.6 of the 15.4 miles NHD carries for this stream — 82% of it. The typed water splits 10.4 mi cold, 2.2 mi cold-transitional. 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
- Black River fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish the Black River — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to the Black River — access, parking and public land
- Black River fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
- Is the Black River good for brook trout?
- Is the Black River good for rainbow trout?
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 14.8 of the 15.5 mapped miles; 0.7 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 12.7 mi |
RM 15.5–2.2 | 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" |
|
Type 4 2.1 mi |
RM 2.2–0.0 | January 1st–December 31st | Brook trout 7", Brown trout 10", 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
3 units of public or open-access land touch this river, 15,772 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary | National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration;State of Michigan | 9,628 |
| Huron National Forest | United States Forest Service | 6,139 |
| Black River Beach Park And Boat Launch | Michigan Department of Natural Resources;Alcona Township | 5 |
Species
Stocked, per the MDNR record: Brook trout, Rainbow trout. The most recent plants are Brook trout, Rainbow trout at Us-23 Bridge (Alcona Co., through 2014).
Hatches on this water
53 insects are recorded from northern lower Michigan, 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 |
| Blue Quill Paraleptophlebia adoptiva |
April–May | 44–56°F | #16–18 |
| 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 |
| Little Black Caddis Chimarra atterima |
April–May | 46–58°F | #16–20 |
| 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 |
And 39 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
2 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- Silver Creek 10.9 mi · RM 3.1
- Haynes Creek 5.0 mi · RM 12.1
Black River sits in HUC 8 04070003, the Lone Lake-Ocqueoc subbasin, and drains 61 square miles, Strahler order 5 at the mouth. 12 NHD reaches carry the name for 15.4 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.