BirdTrout
Indian River, Michigan
60 mapped river miles, draining 281 square miles, in the Manistique River 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 gauge, and why there is no reading from it
The nearest gauge, 22.9 miles away at Miners River Nr Munising, Mi, is not reporting water temperature: its water-temperature series is empty, and was last stamped 11 June 2026. 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 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: 04044755.
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 59.7–53.3 | 0.6 | cool | Warm transitional stream · low gradient |
| RM 47.4–16.0 | 6.4 | cold-transitional | Cold transitional small river · low gradient |
| RM 15.9–15.2 | 0.7 | cool | Warm transitional small river · very low gradient |
| RM 4.8–0.8 | 4.0 | warm | Warm small river · very low gradient |
MDNR has classified 11.7 of the 60 miles NHD carries for this stream — 20% of it. The typed water splits 6.4 mi cold-transitional, 4.0 mi warm, 1.3 mi cool. 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
- Indian River fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish the Indian River — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to the Indian River — access, parking and public land
- Indian River fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 49.0 of the 60.0 mapped miles; 11.0 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 49.0 mi |
RM 60.0–8.7 | 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
11 units of public or open-access land touch this river, 248,312 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Shingleton Management Unit | Michigan DNR | 236,064 |
| Cusino | Michigan DNR | 4,783 |
| Big Island Lake Wilderness | United States Forest Service | 3,886 |
| Indian, Michigan Wild and Scenic River | DESG | 2,750 |
| Palms Book State Park | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | 378 |
| Public Water Access Site | Michigan DNR | 208 |
| Wyman Nursery | State Dept. of Natural Resources | 125 |
| Hiawatha National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 91 |
| Riverbank Sanctuary | Michigan Audubon Society | 18 |
| Thissel Dew Park | — | 8 |
Species
Trout water by MDNR's classification, which types it cold-transitional — a statement about the water's temperature, not a fish record. No MDNR survey or stocking record for this river is 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
13 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- Manistique River 78.9 mi · RM 0.0
- Smith Creek 15.8 mi · RM 7.2
- Little Indian River 13.2 mi · RM 38.3
- Delias Run 7.9 mi · RM 30.9
- Deer Creek 7.5 mi · RM 39.8
- Iron Creek 6.6 mi · RM 11.6
- Big Murphy Creek 6.6 mi · RM 16.0
- Silver Creek 5.0 mi · RM 5.5
- Little Murphy Creek 3.7 mi · RM 19.0
- Gray Duck Creek 2.7 mi · RM 7.8
- North Mino-kwe Creek 1.5 mi · RM 51.1
- Little Star Creek 1.0 mi · RM 17.5
Indian River sits in HUC 8 04030113, the Manistique River subbasin, and drains 281 square miles, Strahler order 5 at the mouth. 147 NHD reaches carry the name for 59.9 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.