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Huron weekend fly fishing trip
12 waters in the Huron watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Huron River, Silver Creek and Norton Creek. June, July and August carry the most recorded hatches, 19 insects in June, 21 insects in July and 18 insects in August. In range: 8 blocks of public land with a page of their own, 8 state-forest campgrounds and 7 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| Huron River | 129.4 | — |
| Silver Creek | 13.5 | — |
| Norton Creek | 8.2 | — |
| Port Creek | 6.7 | — |
| Vandecar Drain | 4.3 | — |
| Bancroft Noles Drain | 3.9 | — |
| Wagner and Pink Drain | 3.8 | — |
| Griggs Drain | 3.3 | — |
| Regan Drain | 3.2 | — |
| Hale Drain | 3.0 | — |
| Bunton Drain | 2.7 | — |
| McBride Drain | 2.4 | — |
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
Huron 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 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.
Norton 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 southern lower Michigan: June (19), July (21), August (18).
| 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 |
| Hendrickson | April–May | #12–14 |
| Little Black Caddis | April–May | #16–20 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
| Light Cahill | May–July | #12–16 |
| Little Sulphur | May–July | #16–20 |
Recorded from southern 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
- Maybury State Park — 4.1 mi
- Cass Benton Parkway — 5.1 mi
- Matthaei Botanical Gardens — 7.7 mi
- Lyon Oaks County Park — 9.6 mi
- Lakeshore Park — 9.7 mi
- Hines Parkway — 11.0 mi
- Island Lake State Recreation Area — 11.4 mi
- Huron Meadows Metropark — 13.1 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Maybury State Park-Youth Group Use Area (fee) | 4.0 mi | MDNR |
| Island Lake-Canoe Campground (fee) | 11.9 mi | MDNR |
| Island Lake-Rustic Cabins (fee) | 12.5 mi | MDNR |
| Island Lake-Group Use Area (fee) | 12.8 mi | MDNR |
| Proud Lake-Modern (fee) | 13.2 mi | MDNR |
| Proud Lake-Red Oaks Group Use Area (fee) | 13.2 mi | MDNR |
| Proud Lake-River Hawk Annex (fee) | 13.6 mi | MDNR |
| Proud Lake-Conference Center (fee) | 13.7 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
- Rick's Bait Shack — 11.1 mi
- The Bait Shop — 22.3 mi
- Dip Net Live Bait & Tackle — 23.1 mi, Ecorse
- Jiggerz Bait & Beer — 23.3 mi, Wyandotte
- The Bait & Tackle Box — 25.5 mi
- Sportsmen's Direct — 40.8 mi
- Fisherman's Cave — 43.6 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
- Huron watershed
- Huron River
- Silver Creek
- Norton Creek
- Port Creek
- Vandecar Drain
- Bancroft Noles Drain