BirdTrout
Pine River, Michigan
11.8 mapped river miles, draining 256 square miles, in the Au Sable River watershed. No gauge stands in it; the nearest is 8.1 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 8.1 miles away, at Au Sable River Near Au Sable — not a reading of this water, but of what the region is doing today.
The character of the water
The Pine River is river-sized water in the Au Sable River watershed, 11.8 mapped miles matching 11.79 in the NHD, 38.9 feet wide at the median and draining 256.43 square miles at Strahler order 5. Two regulation types apply: 4.9 miles of Type 1, open the last Saturday in April through September 30th, and 6.6 miles of Type 3, open January 1st through December 31st. Both allow artificial lures and all types of natural bait and hold to 5 fish with no more than 3 trout 15" or greater and zero Arctic Grayling. MDNR types only 2.7 miles, 23 percent, as 2.1 miles of Cool warm transitional small river from river mile 7.4 to 0.6 and 0.6 miles of Warm small river below that on very low gradient. No measured temperature exists for this water; the gauge on the Au Sable River near Au Sable is 8.1 miles off. Seven named tributaries enter, the largest Van Etten Creek at 20.8 miles.
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 7.4–0.6 | 2.1 | cool | Warm transitional small river · low gradient |
| RM 0.6–0.0 | 0.6 | warm | Warm small river · very low gradient |
MDNR has classified 2.7 of the 11.8 miles NHD carries for this stream — 23% of it. The typed water splits 2.1 mi cool, 0.6 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
- Pine River fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish the Pine River — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to the Pine River — access, parking and public land
- Pine River fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 11.5 of the 11.8 mapped miles; 0.3 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 4.9 mi |
RM 11.8–6.8 | 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" |
|
Type 3 6.6 mi |
RM 6.8–0.0 | 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
1 unit of public or open-access land touches this river, 89,732 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | 89,732 |
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
7 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- Van Etten Creek 20.8 mi · RM 5.7
- West Branch Pine River 17.4 mi · RM 11.6
- East Branch Pine River 14.9 mi · RM 11.8
- South Branch Pine River 13.2 mi · RM 9.5
- Roy Creek 11.1 mi · RM 7.4
- Duval Creek 8.3 mi · RM 5.4
- Hill Creek 4.3 mi · RM 2.2
Pine River sits in HUC 8 04070007, the Au Sable River watershed, and drains 256 square miles, Strahler order 5 at the mouth. 23 NHD reaches carry the name for 11.8 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.