BirdTrout
Sturgeon River, Michigan
98 mapped river miles, draining 711 square miles, in the Sturgeon subbasin watershed. A USGS gauge stands in it, but its record is too short for a measured July mean, so what this page knows about its temperature is today's reading and 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
This gauge stands in the Sturgeon River. Its record is too short for a July mean, so the class below is MDNR's — but the reading is this water.
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: 04041500.
The character of the water
Ninety-eight and five tenths of mapped miles of river in the Sturgeon subbasin, 98.35 by NHD measure, a median 45.4 feet wide, draining 711.29 square miles at Strahler order 6. Regulation changes three times along it: 42.4 miles Type 3, open January 1st through December 31st, with a closure to fishing April 1 through June 30 from Prickett Dam downstream to the mouth of Clear Creek; 37.3 miles Type 2 and 16.0 miles Type 1, both last Saturday in April through September 30th. All three allow artificial lures and all types of natural bait, creel 5 fish, no more than 3 trout 15" or greater. MDNR types 21.1 miles from river mile 91.0 to 6.7 as Cool, a warm transitional stream on high gradient — 21 percent of the length, describing the valley segment rather than the water, so no measured temperature exists here despite a gauge 5.6 miles off. Twelve public units total 169,292 acres, including the Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness at 16,768.
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 91.0–6.7 | 21.1 | cool | Warm transitional stream · high gradient |
MDNR has classified 21.1 of the 98 miles NHD carries for this stream — 21% 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.
The lake run
The Sturgeon River (Baraga County) is a Lake Superior tributary with 41.3 miles of run corridor on it — salmon, steelhead and lake-run brown trout, on their own calendar and under their own rules. Run timing, species and access on the Sturgeon River (Baraga County) →
Questions about this river
- Sturgeon River fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish the Sturgeon River — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to the Sturgeon River — access, parking and public land
- Sturgeon River fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 95.7 of the 98.5 mapped miles; 2.8 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 16.0 mi |
RM 98.5–81.7 | 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" |
|
Type 2 37.3 mi |
RM 81.7–43.4 | Last Saturday in April–September 30th | Brook trout 10", Brown trout 12", Rainbow trout / steelhead 10", Lake trout 10", Chinook salmon 10", Coho salmon 10", Pink salmon 10", Atlantic salmon 10" |
|
Type 3 42.4 mi |
RM 43.4–0.0 | 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.
Type 3: Closed to fishing April 1 - June 30: Prickett Dam downstream to mouth of Clear Creek.
Public land on the river
12 units of public or open-access land touch this river, 169,292 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Copper Country State Forest- Baraga Unit | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | 71,213 |
| Ottawa National Forest | United States Forest Service | 33,152 |
| Baraga State Forest Area | State Dept. of Natural Resources | 17,894 |
| Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness | United States Forest Service | 16,768 |
| Baraga State Forest Area | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | 12,899 |
| Sturgeon, Michigan (Ottawa Nf) Wild and Scenic River | DESG | 7,189 |
| Ottawa National Forest | United States Forest Service | 5,056 |
| Baraga Management Unit | Michigan DNR | 2,810 |
| State Forest | Other State Land | 2,148 |
| Local Forest | County | 118 |
Species
No species records for this water 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
20 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- West Branch Sturgeon River 34.0 mi · RM 30.1
- Silver River 31.4 mi · RM 31.4
- Perch River 20.8 mi · RM 64.7
- Tioga River 16.7 mi · RM 91.0
- Sidnaw Creek 14.8 mi · RM 61.8
- Otter River 12.7 mi · RM 10.6
- Lateral Creek 9.6 mi · RM 95.5
- Clear Creek 9.0 mi · RM 38.1
- Little Silver River 7.0 mi · RM 49.5
- Plumbago Creek 6.7 mi · RM 79.7
- Hickey Creek 6.2 mi · RM 86.3
- Rock River 6.1 mi · RM 74.6
Sturgeon River sits in HUC 8 04020104, the Sturgeon subbasin, and drains 711 square miles, Strahler order 6 at the mouth. 140 NHD reaches carry the name for 98.3 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.