BirdTrout
Chippewa River, Michigan
92 mapped river miles, draining 1,008 square miles across Isabella, Midland counties, in the Pine subbasin watershed. No gauge stands in it; the nearest is 16.7 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 16.7 miles away, at Wolf Creek At Pine Grove Road Near Vestaburg, Mi — not a reading of this water, but of what the region is doing today.
The pills above go to USGS. These are this site's pages for the same gauges — a thirty-day chart, the monthly means, the record, and today's reading against the five-year normal for today: 04154612.
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 80.7–28.3 | 20.0 | warm | Warm small river · low gradient |
MDNR has classified 20.0 of the 92 miles NHD carries for this stream — 22% 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
- Chippewa River fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish the Chippewa River — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to the Chippewa River — access, parking and public land
- Chippewa River fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
- Is the Chippewa River good for rainbow trout?
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 69.3 of the 91.9 mapped miles; 22.6 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 69.3 mi |
RM 71.1–0.0 | 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
29 units of public or open-access land touch this river, 11,115 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Au Sable State Forest - Gladwin Unit | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | 8,224 |
| Chippewa Nature Center | — | 991 |
| Gladwin Management Unit | Michigan DNR | 418 |
| Deerfield Nature Park | Isabella County | 379 |
| Meridian Park | County | 152 |
| Local Forest | County | 120 |
| Meridian County Park | Isabella County | 98 |
| Mill Pond Park | — | 96 |
| Sylvan Solace Preserve | Chippewa Watershed Conservancy | 91 |
| Indian Pines Park | City of Mount Pleasant | 80 |
Species
MDNR's most recent survey on this river ran in 2019 at Chippewa River, Isabella County, in a channel averaging 65.05 feet: smallmouth bass. MDNR strata: medium, smallmouth bass; regulation at the station, general regulation.The station has been surveyed in 6 years since 2011.
- Smallmouth bass surveyed
- Rainbow trout stocked only
- Walleye stocked only
Stocked, per the MDNR record: Rainbow trout, Walleye. The most recent plants are Rainbow trout at Winn Rd. (Isabella Co., through 2026); Rainbow trout at Meridian Park (Isabella Co., through 2006); Rainbow trout, Walleye at Deerfield Park (Isabella Co., through 1995).
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
14 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- Pine River 104.2 mi · RM 2.9
- North Branch Chippewa River 50.3 mi · RM 91.9
- Salt Creek 36.9 mi · RM 14.8
- Little Salt Creek 21.6 mi · RM 11.5
- Coldwater River 13.3 mi · RM 67.2
- Tanner Creek 5.3 mi · RM 83.8
- Cedar Creek 4.2 mi · RM 59.9
- West Branch Chippewa River 4.0 mi · RM 91.9
- Johnson Creek 3.5 mi · RM 52.9
- Baker Drain 3.1 mi · RM 8.3
- Stony Brook 2.8 mi · RM 62.0
- Mission Creek 2.5 mi · RM 45.0
Chippewa River sits in HUC 8 04080202, the Pine subbasin, and drains 1,008 square miles, Strahler order 6 at the mouth. 79 NHD reaches carry the name for 91.8 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.