BirdTrout
Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River, Michigan
35 mapped river miles, draining 164 square miles across Alpena county, in the Thunder Bay subbasin watershed. No gauge stands in it; the nearest is 18.2 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 live reading
The nearest gauge is 18.2 miles away, at Au Sable River — not a reading of this water, but of what the region is doing today.
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: 04136900.
The character of the water
Thirty-four and nine-tenths mapped miles in Alpena County, a medium stream 24.5 feet wide at the median draining 164.47 square miles at Strahler order 4. MDNR types 21.3 miles, 61 percent of the length, and the classed water is mostly one long cold reach: 18.1 typed miles of low-gradient cold small river from river mile 30.7 to 12.5, above which 3.2 miles between 33.9 and 30.7 are cool water typed as warm transitional stream at medium gradient. The classes describe the valley segment, not the water; no measured temperature exists here, and the nearest gauge, on the Au Sable River, lies 18.2 miles away. Type 1 regulations cover 19.4 miles, open from the last Saturday in April through September 30th, artificial lures and all types of natural bait, five fish with no more than three trout 15 inches or greater. Brook trout, rainbow trout and walleye were stocked at one site from 2006 through 2011. Public land totals 78,670 acres in three units.
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 33.9–30.7 | 3.2 | cool | Warm transitional stream · medium gradient |
| RM 30.7–12.5 | 18.1 | cold | Cold small river · low gradient |
MDNR has classified 21.3 of the 35 miles NHD carries for this stream — 61% of it. The typed water splits 18.1 mi cold, 3.2 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
- Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish the Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to the Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River — access, parking and public land
- Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
- Is the Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River good for brook trout?
- Is the Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River good for rainbow trout?
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 19.4 of the 34.9 mapped miles; 15.5 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 19.4 mi |
RM 34.9–14.9 | 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, 78,608 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Mackinac State Forest - Atlanta Unit | Michigan Department of Natural Resources | 69,120 |
| Turtle Lake Club | — | 9,488 |
Species
- Brook trout stocked only
- Rainbow trout stocked only
- Walleye stocked only
Stocked, per the MDNR record: Brook trout, Rainbow trout, Walleye. The most recent plants are Brook trout, Rainbow trout, Walleye at Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River (Alpena Co., through 2011).
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.
- Thunder Bay River 76.0 mi · RM 0.0
- Marsh Creek 8.4 mi · RM 30.7
- Weber Creek 8.1 mi · RM 14.9
- Cole Creek 6.3 mi · RM 18.0
- Turtle Creek 4.9 mi · RM 13.2
- Pike Creek 4.3 mi · RM 24.5
- Bullock Creek 2.6 mi · RM 20.1
Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River sits in HUC 8 04070006, the Thunder Bay subbasin, and drains 164 square miles, Strahler order 4 at the mouth. 37 NHD reaches carry the name for 34.9 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.