BirdTrout
Kearsley Creek, Michigan
48 mapped river miles, draining 111 square miles across Genesee, Oakland counties, in the Flint subbasin watershed. No gauge stands in it; the nearest is 11.2 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, 11.2 miles away at Shiawassee River At Fish Lake Rd At Holly, 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
A medium stream of the Flint subbasin, 47.9 mapped miles through Genesee and Oakland counties, fifth order, draining 110.88 square miles at a median width of 17.4 feet. MDNR types 3.7 miles, 8 percent coverage: a Cool reach of 2.0 typed miles between river miles 46.4 and 37.5 at medium gradient, and a Warm reach of 1.7 typed miles from river mile 3.1 to the mouth. MDNR classes the valley segment, not the water: no measured temperature exists; the nearest gauge, on the Shiawassee River at Fish Lake Rd at Holly, is 11.2 miles away. Type 1 regulation covers 9.8 miles, last Saturday in April through September 30th, five fish with no more than three trout 15 inches or greater. Brown trout stocking continues through 2026 at Oakwood Road, begun 1979, at 862.0 per mile, with two more sites running through 2021. The Flint River receives it at river mile 0.0. Thirteen public land units total 1,088 acres. No survey covers it.
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 46.4–37.5 | 2.0 | cool | Warm transitional stream · medium gradient |
| RM 3.1–0.0 | 1.7 | warm | Warm small river · very low gradient |
MDNR has classified 3.7 of the 48 miles NHD carries for this stream — 8% of it. The typed water splits 2.0 mi cool, 1.7 mi 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
- Kearsley Creek fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish Kearsley Creek — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to Kearsley Creek — access, parking and public land
- Kearsley Creek fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
- Is Kearsley Creek good for brown trout?
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 9.8 of the 47.9 mapped miles; 38.1 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 1 9.8 mi |
RM 43.9–33.0 | 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
12 units of public or open-access land touch this river, 964 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| For-Mar Nature Preserve | — | 367 |
| Kearsley Lake Golf Course | City | 227 |
| Atlas County Park | — | 163 |
| Robert Williams Nature & Historical Learning Center | — | 105 |
| Ortonville Village Park | City | 49 |
| Kearsley Creek Park | — | 25 |
| Rollingwood Park | — | 12 |
| Davison Roadside Park | — | 8 |
| Goodrich Commons Park | — | 4 |
| Narrin Village Park | — | 3 |
Species
Stocked, per the MDNR record: Brown trout. The most recent plants are Brown trout at Oakwood Road (Oakland Co., through 2026); Brown trout at Henderson Rd (Genesee Co., through 2021); Brown trout at County Line Rd/ray Road (Oakland Co., through 2021).
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
4 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- Flint River 76.3 mi · RM 0.0
- Black Creek 9.0 mi · RM 9.8
- Duck Creek 4.9 mi · RM 40.8
- Paddison Drain 3.1 mi · RM 36.2
Kearsley Creek sits in HUC 8 04080204, the Flint subbasin, and drains 111 square miles, Strahler order 5 at the mouth. 79 NHD reaches carry the name for 47.8 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 2 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.