BirdTrout
Black River, Michigan
81 mapped river miles, draining 698 square miles across Saint Clair, Sanilac counties, in the St. Clair subbasin watershed. A USGS gauge stands in it, but its record is too short for a measured July mean, so what this page knows about its temperature is today's reading and 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, 0.0 miles away at Black River Near Jeddo, Mi, 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
The Black River of the St. Clair subbasin runs 81.3 mapped miles across Saint Clair and Sanilac counties, a median 46.3 feet wide, draining 698.43 square miles at Strahler order 6. Mill Creek enters at river mile 19.0, Elk Creek at 57.3, Black Creek at 38.1, and Plum Creek at 28.6. MDNR types 45.7 miles, 56 percent of the length, as Warm, a medium-gradient warm stream from river mile 81.3 down to 2.6; the class describes the valley segment, not measured water; a gauge sits on the river near Jeddo. Type 3 rules cover 19.2 miles, open January 1st through December 31st, artificial lures and all types of natural bait, five fish with no more than three trout 15" or greater. Brown trout were stocked at Pas in Saint Clair County from 1981 through 2018 at 4,588.3 per mile; catfish, pike, bass, and walleye plantings at four other sites ended in 2009. Twenty-one public units total 13,896 acres, led by the Port Huron State Game Area at 6,914.
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 81.3–2.6 | 45.7 | warm | Warm stream · medium gradient |
MDNR has classified 45.7 of the 81 miles NHD carries for this stream — 56% of it. Every typed reach carries the same class, warm. 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 brown trout?
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 19.2 of the 81.3 mapped miles; 62.1 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 3 19.2 mi |
RM 19.6–0.2 | January 1st–December 31st | Brook trout 15", Brown trout 15", 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
17 units of public or open-access land touch this river, 13,148 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Port Huron State Game Area | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | 6,914 |
| Minden City State Game Area | — | 5,943 |
| Park No. 1 And 2 | City | 60 |
| Bakers Field Park | Port Huron Township | 59 |
| Port Huron Township Memorial Park | Port Huron Twp | 55 |
| Woodsong County Park | St Clair County | 38 |
| Future Port Huron Township Park | Port Huron Twp | 32 |
| Riverbend Park | City of Croswell | 18 |
| Lions Club Park | Port Huron Twp | 10 |
| Graham Park | City of Croswell | 7 |
Species
- Brown trout stocked only
- Channel catfish stocked only
- Northern pike stocked only
- Smallmouth bass stocked only
- Walleye stocked only
Stocked, per the MDNR record: Brown trout, Channel catfish, Northern pike, Smallmouth bass, Walleye. The most recent plants are Brown trout at Pas (Saint Clair Co., through 2018); Channel catfish, Northern pike, Smallmouth bass at Fisher Road (Sanilac Co., through 2009); Channel catfish, Northern pike at Comstock Road (Saint Clair Co., through 2009).
Hatches on this water
47 insects are recorded from southern 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 |
| Hendrickson Ephemerella subvaria |
April–May | 45–58°F | #12–14 |
| Little Black Caddis Chimarra atterima |
April–May | 46–58°F | #16–20 |
| Caterpillar Lepidoptera larvae |
May–September | 55–75°F | #8–14 |
| Crayfish Orconectes spp. |
May–October | 55–78°F | #4–8 |
| Light Cahill Maccaffertium ithaca |
May–July | 55–68°F | #12–16 |
| Little Sulphur Ephemerella dorothea |
May–July | 50–62°F | #16–20 |
And 33 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
35 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- Mill Creek 33.7 mi · RM 19.0
- Elk Creek 28.2 mi · RM 57.3
- Black Creek 16.1 mi · RM 38.1
- Smith Drain 9.0 mi · RM 67.4
- Plum Creek 8.7 mi · RM 28.6
- McDonald Drain 7.6 mi · RM 60.5
- Berry Drain 6.6 mi · RM 62.8
- Mills Creek 6.0 mi · RM 43.4
- Silver Creek 6.0 mi · RM 32.6
- Arnot Creek 5.4 mi · RM 45.3
- Thompson Drain 5.3 mi · RM 69.2
- McPherson Drain 4.5 mi · RM 59.5
Black River sits in HUC 8 04090001, the St. Clair subbasin, and drains 698 square miles, Strahler order 6 at the mouth. 140 NHD reaches carry the name for 81.2 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 1 river on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.