BirdTrout
Open the map
Au Gres-Rifle weekend fly fishing trip
62 waters in the Au Gres-Rifle watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Rifle River, Au Gres River and Silver Creek. May, June and July carry the most recorded hatches, 19 insects in May, 26 insects in June and 24 insects in July. In range: 8 blocks of public land with a page of their own, 8 state-forest campgrounds and 8 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
Ordered by mapped length. July mean is measured at the USGS gauges standing in each river; a dash means no gauge on it reports temperature.
A 3-day plan
Rifle River
Nearest listed access: Hardwood Lake (boat launch), 3.1 mi, or Little Long Lake (walk in), 3.2 mi.
Au Gres River
Nearest listed access: Londo Lake (boat launch), 7.8 mi, or Sage Lake (boat launch), 8.8 mi.
Silver Creek
No site in the state's access file falls within twelve miles of this water's centre, so the way in is public ground and road crossings.
Assembled, not written: the days are the largest waters in range, longest first, and each one carries the nearest site in Michigan's own access file — measured from the middle of the water, so it is a place to start looking rather than a landing on that river. Fish them in whatever order the weather gives you.
Hatches to hit
The months with the most recorded hatches in northern lower Michigan: May (19), June (26), July (24).
| Insect | Months | Hook |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Eggs | October–January and April | #10–16 |
| Little Black Stonefly | January–April | #16–18 |
| Little Brown Stonefly | February–April | #12–16 |
| Blue-Winged Olive | March–May and September–November | #16–22 |
| Blackfly | April–June | #18–22 |
| Blue Quill | April–May | #16–18 |
| Cranefly | April–June and September–October | #6–10 |
| Grannom | April–May | #14–16 |
| Green Rock Worm / Green Weenie | April–June and September–October | #10–14 |
| Hendrickson | April–May | #12–14 |
| Little Black Caddis | April–May | #16–20 |
| Alderfly | May–June | #10–14 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
Recorded from northern lower Michigan, earliest first. The year-round records sit at the bottom because they are true and they are not news.
Public land in range
- Rifle River State Recreation Area — 6.2 mi
- Huron National Forest — 15.4 mi
- Alcona Park — 18.6 mi
- Kirtland Warbler Unit Damon — 18.6 mi
- Au Sable National Scenic River — 21.4 mi
- Au Sable State Forest - Roscommon Unit — 21.7 mi
- Molasses River Flooding No.1 State Wildlife Management Area — 21.9 mi
- Marsh Creek / Beaver Lake Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — 22.5 mi
Blocks of ground with a page of their own, nearest first. Ownership from PAD-US as Michigan publishes it.
Camping and lodging
| Campground | Distance | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| Rifle River-Spruce Rustic (fee) | 6.2 mi | MDNR |
| Rifle River-Ranch Rustic (fee) | 6.5 mi | MDNR |
| Rifle River-Devoe Lake Rustic (fee) | 6.6 mi | MDNR |
| Rifle River-Rustic Cabins (fee) | 6.7 mi | MDNR |
| Rifle River-Group Use Area (fee) | 7.0 mi | MDNR |
| Rifle River Grousehaven-Modern (fee) | 7.3 mi | MDNR |
| Rollways Campground and Day Use Area (fee) | 12.2 mi | USFS |
| South Branch Trail Campground and Trailhead (fee) | 12.8 mi | USFS |
State-forest and state-park campgrounds from Michigan's own file. This site holds no hotel or motel data and does not pretend to: what it can tell you is where the public ground is.
Fly shops
- Dean's Bait & Tackle, Incorporated — 15.5 mi, Alger
- Ausable River Outfitters — 24.4 mi, Mio
- Village Outfitters — 34.3 mi, Roscommon
- Gates Au Sable Lodge — 39.0 mi, Grayling
- Frank's Great Outdoors — 40.7 mi, Linwood
- Fuller's North Branch Outing Club — 42.3 mi, Lovells
- The Fly Factory — 44.5 mi, Grayling
- Old AuSable Fly Shop — 44.6 mi, Grayling
From OpenStreetMap and a curated list, across all five states on this site. Call before you drive — a shop in a file is not a shop that is open.
Before you go
- Michigan regulations
- Michigan fishing report
- Au Gres-Rifle watershed
- Rifle River
- Au Gres River
- Silver Creek
- Big Creek
- East Branch Au Gres River
- Johnson Creek