BirdTrout
West Branch Pine River, Michigan
17.4 mapped river miles, draining 54 square miles across Alcona county, in the Au Sable River watershed. No gauge stands in it; the nearest is 10.5 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 10.5 miles away, at Au Sable River — not a reading of this water, but of what the region is doing today.
The character of the water
Alcona County water in the Au Sable River watershed, 17.4 mapped miles against 17.35 in the NHD, a median width of 15.6 feet, 53.75 square miles of drainage, and fourth-order Strahler ranking. MDNR types 4.4 miles, 25 percent: 4.3 miles of cold stream at medium gradient from river mile 17.1 down to 7.2, then a 0.1-mile cold-transitional segment between river miles 7.0 and 6.9. Those classes describe the valley segment, not the water, so no measured temperature exists for this stream; the nearest gauge on the Au Sable River is 10.5 miles away. Type 1 rules apply to 16.7 miles, last Saturday in April through September 30th, artificial lures and all types of natural bait allowed, creel of 5 fish with no more than 3 trout 15 inches or greater and zero Arctic grayling. Brook trout were stocked at Mikado from 1999 through 2006. Backus Creek enters at river mile 3.3, Loud Creek at 13.4. Huron National Forest supplies all 109,786 public acres.
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 17.1–7.2 | 4.3 | cold | Cold stream · medium gradient |
| RM 7.0–6.9 | 0.1 | cold-transitional | Cold transitional stream · medium gradient |
MDNR has classified 4.4 of the 17.4 miles NHD carries for this stream — 25% of it. The typed water splits 4.3 mi cold, 0.1 mi cold-transitional. 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 Pine River fishing report — what it reads right now
- When to fish the West Branch Pine River — hatches, seasons and temperature
- How to get to the West Branch Pine River — access, parking and public land
- West Branch Pine River fishing regulations — season, size and gear by reach
- Is the West Branch Pine River good for brook trout?
Regulations
MDNR trout stream types, as designated. Types on file cover 16.7 of the 17.4 mapped miles; 0.7 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 16.7 mi |
RM 17.4–0.0 | 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
1 unit of public or open-access land touches this river, 109,786 acres in total. Acreage is the whole unit, not the part beside the water.
| Unit | Owner | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Huron National Forest | United States Forest Service | 109,786 |
Species
Stocked, per the MDNR record: Brook trout. The most recent plants are Brook trout at Mikado (Alcona Co., through 2006).
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
3 named streams meet this one. Confluence miles are above the mouth; the longest twelve are listed.
West Branch Pine River sits in HUC 8 04070007, the Au Sable River watershed, and drains 54 square miles, Strahler order 4 at the mouth. 30 NHD reaches carry the name for 17.4 miles in total.
Other water nearby
The closest 6 rivers on this site, straight-line from the middle of this one — not drive time.