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Dead-Kelsey weekend fly fishing trip
46 waters in the Dead-Kelsey watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Dead River, Yellow Dog River and Silver 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Dead River | 45.4 | — |
| Yellow Dog River | 32.4 | — |
| Silver River | 24.9 | — |
| Carp River | 23.6 | — |
| Salmon Trout River | 20.7 | — |
| Ravine River | 16.2 | — |
| Mulligan Creek | 14.5 | — |
| West Branch Huron River | 14.5 | — |
| Carp Creek | 13.3 | — |
| East Branch Huron River | 12.4 | — |
| Little Garlic River | 10.6 | — |
| Ogemaw Creek | 10.6 | — |
| Wilson Creek | 10.1 | — |
| Daults Creek | 9.4 | — |
| Barnhardt Creek | 9.3 | — |
| Bismark Creek | 9.2 | — |
| Sixmile Creek | 8.4 | — |
| Little Huron River | 8.0 | — |
| Huron River | 7.5 | — |
| Morgan Creek | 7.5 | — |
| Taylor Creek | 7.3 | — |
| Fossom Creek | 7.0 | — |
| Cliff River | 6.5 | — |
| Nash Creek | 6.3 | — |
| Johnson Creek | 5.6 | — |
| Lost Creek | 5.5 | — |
| Iron River | 5.2 | — |
| Falls River | 5.1 | — |
| Pine River | 5.0 | — |
| Harlow Creek | 4.8 | — |
| Little Pup Creek | 4.6 | — |
| Menge Creek | 4.4 | — |
| Burns Creek | 4.2 | — |
| Little East Branch Huron River | 4.2 | — |
| Black Creek | 3.3 | — |
| Deer Creek | 3.2 | — |
| Nesters Creek | 3.1 | — |
| Midway Creek | 3.0 | — |
| Whetstone Brook | 2.4 | — |
| Orianna Brook | 2.2 | — |
| Mink Run | 2.1 | — |
| Westren Brook | 1.9 | — |
| Hazel Creek | 1.8 | — |
| Mountain Stream | 1.8 | — |
| Conway Creek | 1.5 | — |
| Rush Creek | 1.1 | — |
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
Dead 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.
Yellow Dog 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.
Silver 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
- McCormick Wilderness — 0.6 mi
- Michigamme Highlands — 6.9 mi
- Craig Lake State Park — 9.5 mi
- Rocking Chair Lakes Natural Area — 9.5 mi
- Van Riper State Park — 10.8 mi
- Cliff Lake Club — 11.2 mi
- Anne and Cameron Waterman Preserve — 11.7 mi
- Slate River Forest — 11.7 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 |
|---|---|---|
| McCormick Wilderness | 4.4 mi | USFS |
| Craig Lake-Keewaydin Lake Yurt (fee) | 9.1 mi | MDNR |
| Craig Lake-Rustic Cabins (fee) | 10.8 mi | MDNR |
| Van Riper-Rustic Cabin (fee) | 11.1 mi | MDNR |
| Craig Lake-Rustic (fee) | 11.5 mi | MDNR |
| Van Riper-Camper Cabin (fee) | 11.7 mi | MDNR |
| Van Riper-Mini Cabin (fee) | 11.7 mi | MDNR |
| Van Riper-Modern (fee) | 11.8 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 Bay Outfitters — 15.0 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
- Dead-Kelsey watershed
- Dead River
- Yellow Dog River
- Silver River
- Carp River
- Salmon Trout River
- Ravine River