BirdTrout
West Branch Ontonagon River, Michigan
50 mapped river miles, draining 638 square miles, in the Ontonagon subbasin watershed. No gauge stands in it; the nearest is 12.9 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 15.3 miles away, at Mineral River Ds Of Native Ck Nr Silver City, Mi — not a reading of this water, but of what the region is doing today. A closer gauge has stopped reporting — USGS carries no water-temperature series for it at all, so no number here comes from it.
The character of the water
A seventh-order river draining 637.97 square miles over 49.8 mapped miles, with a median width of 35.3 feet, this branch changes character along its length. MDNR types 22.0 miles, 44 percent of it: 18.7 miles Cool from river mile 48.8 to 10.5, described as Warm transitional small river with very low gradient; 2.3 miles Warm from 9.7 to 5.8; then 1.0 mile Cool again from 5.6 to 1.5, high gradient. Those classes describe the valley segment rather than the water, and there is no gauge here — the nearest is 12.9 miles away. Regulation is thin: 0.3 mile of Type 1, closed to fishing April 1 through June 10 from the tailrace canal confluence upstream to Victoria Dam, and 1.7 miles of Type 3 open year round. Six public land units total 35,644 acres. The South Branch enters at river mile 10.3 and Mill Creek at 19.1. No access sites or launches are mapped.
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 48.8–10.5 | 18.7 | cool | Warm transitional small river · very low gradient |
| RM 9.7–5.8 | 2.3 | warm | Warm large river · low gradient |
| RM 5.6–1.5 | 1.0 | cool | Warm transitional large river · high gradient |
MDNR has classified 22.0 of the 50 miles NHD carries for this stream — 44% of it. The typed water splits 19.7 mi cool, 2.3 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
- West Branch Ontonagon River fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish the West Branch Ontonagon River — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to the West Branch Ontonagon River — access, parking and public land
- West Branch Ontonagon River fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 2.0 of the 49.8 mapped miles; 47.8 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 0.3 mi |
RM 2.0–1.7 | 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 3 1.7 mi |
RM 1.7–0.0 | 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 1: Closed to fishing April 1 - June 10: Confluence with tailrace canal upstream to Victoria Dam, including tailrace canal.
Public land on the river
6 units of public or open-access land touch this river, 35,644 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Ottawa National Forest - Bergland Ranger District | United States Forest Service | 22,225 |
| Ontonagon Wild And Scenic River | United States Forest Service | 5,253 |
| Norwich Plains Revised Roadless Area Roadless Area | DESG | 4,361 |
| Ontonagon, Michigan Wild And Scenic River Study Area | DESG | 2,093 |
| Military Hill Purchase Unit | U.S. Forest Service | 1,619 |
| Gogebic County Park | — | 93 |
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
14 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
- South Branch Ontonagon River 33.2 mi · RM 10.3
- Ontonagon River 32.9 mi · RM 0.0
- Mill Creek 24.2 mi · RM 19.1
- Cascade Creek 12.0 mi · RM 22.2
- Slate River 9.3 mi · RM 49.8
- Woodpecker Creek 5.6 mi · RM 16.1
- Johnson Creek 5.4 mi · RM 8.4
- Schaat Creek 3.8 mi · RM 6.6
- Stindt Creek 3.0 mi · RM 32.7
- Whisky Hollow Creek 1.9 mi · RM 14.0
- Trestle Creek 1.6 mi · RM 32.6
- Russell Creek 1.5 mi · RM 28.3
West Branch Ontonagon River sits in HUC 8 04020102, the Ontonagon subbasin, and drains 638 square miles, Strahler order 7 at the mouth. 177 NHD reaches carry the name for 49.8 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.