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Cedar-Ford weekend fly fishing trip
25 waters in the Cedar-Ford watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Ford River, Cedar River and North Branch Ford 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 1 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| Ford River | 107.8 | 73.4 |
| Cedar River | 67.1 | — |
| North Branch Ford River | 35.1 | — |
| Tenmile Creek | 30.2 | — |
| Bark River | 23.7 | — |
| Big Brook | 21.8 | — |
| Fortyseven Mile Creek | 20.2 | — |
| Crooked Creek | 15.4 | — |
| West Branch Ford River | 14.5 | — |
| Twomile Creek | 12.8 | — |
| Walton River | 12.2 | — |
| Devils Creek | 11.8 | — |
| Elwood Creek | 11.5 | — |
| Depas Creek | 8.0 | — |
| Degraves Creek | 4.5 | — |
| Elie Creek | 4.5 | — |
| Weber Creek | 4.5 | — |
| Dry Creek | 4.4 | — |
| West Elwood Creek | 4.1 | — |
| Turner Creek | 3.8 | — |
| Camp H Creek | 3.6 | — |
| Tom Doe Creek | 3.5 | — |
| Bear Creek | 3.3 | — |
| Collard Creek | 1.9 | — |
| Brill Brook | 0.8 | — |
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
Ford 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.
Cedar 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.
North Branch Ford 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
- Hancock Creek Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — 5.4 mi
- Hardwood Reservoir Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — 7.3 mi
- Blomgren's Marsh Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — 8.3 mi
- Sturgeon River Scenic Park — 9.7 mi
- Felch Mountain Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — 13.3 mi
- Escanaba River State Forest - Escanaba Unit — 15.3 mi
- Genes Pond Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — 15.3 mi
- Delta County Forest — 15.8 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Carney Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 14.8 mi | MDNR |
| Gene's Pond State Forest Campground (fee) | 15.8 mi | MDNR |
| Anderson Lake West State Forest Campground (fee) | 22.7 mi | MDNR |
| Bass Lake State Forest Campground (Marquette) (fee) | 24.5 mi | MDNR |
| Little Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 29.5 mi | MDNR |
| Cedar River North Equestrian State Forest Campground and Trail Camp (fee) | 30.3 mi | MDNR |
| Glidden Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 31.0 mi | MDNR |
| Little Bay De Noc Campground (fee) | 32.0 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
- Caddis Shack Fly Fishing — 29.8 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
- Cedar-Ford watershed
- Ford River
- Cedar River
- North Branch Ford River
- Tenmile Creek
- Bark River
- Big Brook