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Betsy-Chocolay weekend fly fishing trip
33 waters in the Betsy-Chocolay watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Au Train River, Rock River and Slapneck Creek. June, July and September carry the most recorded hatches, 22 insects in June, 19 insects in July and 15 insects in September. In range: 8 blocks of public land with a page of their own, 8 state-forest campgrounds and 2 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| Au Train River | 19.4 | — |
| Rock River | 17.5 | — |
| Slapneck Creek | 13.8 | — |
| Johnson Creek | 13.7 | — |
| Miners River | 12.4 | — |
| Black Creek | 9.9 | — |
| Hanson Creek | 8.1 | — |
| Anna River | 7.9 | — |
| Cedar Creek | 7.2 | — |
| Mosquito River | 6.6 | — |
| Hurricane River | 6.4 | — |
| Cherry Creek | 6.1 | — |
| Cole Creek | 5.8 | — |
| Peterson Creek | 5.7 | — |
| Chapel Creek | 5.4 | — |
| Spray Creek | 4.7 | — |
| Gongeau Creek | 4.4 | — |
| Sullivan Creek | 4.4 | — |
| Sevenmile Creek | 4.0 | — |
| Joel Creek | 3.7 | — |
| Bohemian Creek | 3.5 | — |
| Rhody Creek | 2.8 | — |
| Valley Spur Creek | 2.5 | — |
| Norby Creek | 2.4 | — |
| Little Beaver Creek | 2.0 | — |
| Lowney Creek | 1.8 | — |
| Munising Falls Creek | 1.6 | — |
| Section Thirtyfour Creek | 1.5 | — |
| Wagner Creek | 1.5 | — |
| Arsenault Creek | 1.4 | — |
| De Mull Creek | 1.3 | — |
| Black Mosquite Creek | 1.1 | — |
| Beaver Creek | 0.6 | — |
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
Au Train River
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.
Rock River
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.
Slapneck 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 the Upper Peninsula: June (22), July (19), September (15).
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Alderfly | May–June | #10–14 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
| Giant Black Stonefly (Salmonfly) | May–June | #4–6 |
| Green Sedge | May–August | #12–16 |
Recorded from the Upper Peninsula, earliest first. The year-round records sit at the bottom because they are true and they are not news.
Public land in range
- Rock River Canyon Wilderness — 4.8 mi
- Laughing Whitefish Lake Preserve — 4.9 mi
- Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park — 7.9 mi
- Natural Area Laughing Whitefish Falls Scenic Site — 8.2 mi
- Sand River / Jeske Flooding State Wildlife Area — 8.6 mi
- Lake LaVasseur Flooding State Wildlife Area — 12.0 mi
- Dukes Experimental Forest — 12.7 mi
- Grand Island National Recreation Area — 14.1 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Au Train Lake Campground (fee) | 7.7 mi | USFS |
| Bay Furnace Campground (fee) | 11.8 mi | USFS |
| Forest Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 12.0 mi | MDNR |
| Juniper Flats Group Campsite on Grand Island (fee) | 12.7 mi | USFS |
| Hardwood Campsite on Grand Island (fee) | 12.8 mi | USFS |
| Gamefence Campsite on Grand Island (fee) | 12.9 mi | USFS |
| Hemlock Campsite on Grand Island (fee) | 12.9 mi | USFS |
| Channel Marker Campsite on Grand Island (fee) | 13.0 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
- South Bay Outfitters — 14.7 mi, Munising
- Big Bay Outfitters — 43.9 mi
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
- Betsy-Chocolay watershed
- Au Train River
- Rock River
- Slapneck Creek
- Johnson Creek
- Miners River
- Black Creek