BirdTrout
Johnson Creek, Michigan
16.1 mapped river miles, draining 50 square miles, in the Au Gres-Rifle subbasin watershed. No gauge stands in it; the nearest is 11.8 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 19.7 miles away, at Au Sable River — not a reading of this water, but of what the region is doing today. A closer gauge has stopped reporting — it has sent no water temperature for 720 days, since 8 October 2024, so no number here comes from it.
The character of the water
Sixteen and one-tenth miles of Johnson Creek are mapped in the Au Gres-Rifle subbasin, matching 16.09 miles in the NHD, a medium stream of 12.2 feet median width draining 49.56 square miles at Strahler order 4. Type 1 regulations cover 11.4 miles: open from the last Saturday in April through September 30th, artificial lures and all types of natural bait permitted, and a creel of 5 fish with no more than 3 trout 15" or greater and zero Arctic Grayling. MDNR types 5.9 miles, 37 percent of the length, from river mile 16.1 down to 8.6 as Cool, a warm transitional stream on medium gradient. That class describes the valley segment, not the water, and no measured temperature exists; the nearest gauge, Rifle River near Sterling, lies 11.8 miles off. Three public land units total 33,263 acres, led by the Au Sable State Forest Gladwin Unit at 33,124. No access sites, walk-in access, or launches 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 16.1–8.6 | 5.9 | cool | Warm transitional stream · medium gradient |
MDNR has classified 5.9 of the 16.1 miles NHD carries for this stream — 37% of it. Every typed reach carries the same class, 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
- Johnson Creek fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish Johnson Creek — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to Johnson Creek — access, parking and public land
- Johnson Creek fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 11.4 of the 16.1 mapped miles; 4.7 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 11.4 mi |
RM 16.1–3.8 | 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
2 units of public or open-access land touch this river, 33,141 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 | 33,124 |
| Prescott Village Park | Village of Prescott | 17 |
Species
No species records for this water in the files this site reads.
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
5 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- Au Gres River 46.7 mi · RM 0.0
- Whitney Creek 15.7 mi · RM 8.3
- Crainer Creek 7.3 mi · RM 8.6
- Mongo Creek 5.6 mi · RM 0.0
- Buchanan Creek 2.1 mi · RM 6.5
Johnson Creek sits in HUC 8 04080101, the Au Gres-Rifle subbasin, and drains 50 square miles, Strahler order 4 at the mouth. 16 NHD reaches carry the name for 16.1 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.