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Black-Presque Isle weekend fly fishing trip
103 waters in the Black-Presque Isle watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Presque Isle River, Black River and Big Iron River. 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 4 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
Presque Isle 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.
Black 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.
Big Iron 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.
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
- Presque Isle, Michigan Wild And Scenic River Study Area — 5.8 mi
- Black, Michigan Wild and Scenic River — 10.3 mi
- Presque Isle, Michigan Wild and Scenic River — 10.8 mi
- Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park — 12.6 mi
- Gogebic County Forest — 15.6 mi
- Lake Gogebic State Park — 15.7 mi
- Ontonagon, Michigan Wild And Scenic River Study Area — 17.7 mi
- Norwich Plains Revised Roadless Area Roadless Area — 20.6 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Porcupine Mountains Presque Isle-Rustic (fee) | 10.6 mi | MDNR |
| Black River Harbor Recreation Area (fee) | 11.1 mi | USFS |
| Porcupine Mountains-White Pine Extension Outpost (fee) | 12.7 mi | MDNR |
| Porcupine Mountains Rustic Cabins (fee) | 13.0 mi | MDNR |
| Trap Hills | 13.1 mi | USFS |
| PorcupineMountains-Lost Creek Outpost-Rustic (fee) | 14.5 mi | MDNR |
| Porcupine Mountains Backcountry Camping (fee) | 14.8 mi | MDNR |
| Lake Gogebic-Modern (fee) | 15.6 mi | MDNR |
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
- Big Sno Outfitters — 11.5 mi
- We Tie It — 33.8 mi, Boulder Junction
- Silver Doctor Fly Fishing — 33.8 mi, Boulder Junction
- Watersmeet Fish Hatchery — 41.2 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
- Black-Presque Isle watershed
- Presque Isle River
- Black River
- Big Iron River
- Jackson Creek
- West Branch Iron River
- Little Presque Isle River