BirdTrout
Open the map
Keweenaw Peninsula weekend fly fishing trip
45 waters in the Keweenaw Peninsula watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Flintsteel River, Misery River and East Branch Firesteel 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 and 8 state-forest campgrounds. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| Flintsteel River | 28.3 | — |
| Misery River | 24.1 | — |
| East Branch Firesteel River | 22.4 | — |
| East Sleeping River | 21.3 | — |
| West Branch Firesteel River | 20.5 | — |
| Trap Rock River | 19.7 | — |
| Black Creek | 18.8 | — |
| Firesteel River | 18.3 | — |
| Elm River | 15.9 | — |
| Silver Creek | 15.2 | — |
| Gratiot River | 14.6 | — |
| Salmon Trout River | 14.6 | — |
| Tobacco River | 14.0 | — |
| Keweenaw Waterway | 13.3 | — |
| Pilgrim River | 12.8 | — |
| Traverse River | 11.9 | — |
| Little Elm River | 10.1 | — |
| Hills Creek | 9.3 | — |
| West Sleeping River | 8.4 | — |
| Boston Creek | 7.5 | — |
| Holland Creek | 7.2 | — |
| Bruneau Creek | 7.0 | — |
| Snake Creek | 7.0 | — |
| Little Misery River | 6.8 | — |
| Dishinaw Creek | 6.7 | — |
| Slaughterhouse Creek | 5.5 | — |
| Sleepy Creek | 5.5 | — |
| Dover Creek | 4.6 | — |
| Hammell Creek | 4.4 | — |
| Clear Creek | 4.3 | — |
| Senecal Creek | 4.2 | — |
| Swedetown Creek | 4.0 | — |
| McCallum Creek | 3.7 | — |
| Scales Creek | 3.6 | — |
| West Branch Eagle River | 3.6 | — |
| Fulton Creek | 3.4 | — |
| Finns Creek | 3.0 | — |
| Shawmut Creek | 2.9 | — |
| Sawmill Creek | 2.8 | — |
| Eagle River | 2.6 | — |
| Camp Creek | 2.4 | — |
| Gardeners Creek | 2.1 | — |
| Le Chance Creek | 2.1 | — |
| Red Creek | 1.8 | — |
| Ahola Creek | 1.7 | — |
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
Flintsteel 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.
Misery 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.
East Branch Firesteel 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
- Sturgeon River Sloughs State Wildlife Area — 17.8 mi
- County of Houghton Park — 23.5 mi
- Baraga State Forest Area — 25.5 mi
- Sturgeon, Michigan (Ottawa Nf) Wild and Scenic River — 29.0 mi
- Military Hill Purchase Unit — 29.4 mi
- Huron Bay Field Station — 31.0 mi
- Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness — 32.3 mi
- Baraga Plains State Wildlife Management Area — 32.4 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Twin Lakes-Modern (fee) | 12.2 mi | MDNR |
| Twin Lakes-Mini Cabin (fee) | 12.3 mi | MDNR |
| Twin Lakes-Lodge (fee) | 12.4 mi | MDNR |
| Emily Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 14.4 mi | MDNR |
| McLain-Modern (fee) | 16.4 mi | MDNR |
| McLain-Rustic Cabin (fee) | 16.8 mi | MDNR |
| Courtney Lake Campground (fee) | 22.1 mi | USFS |
| Baraga Mini-Cabin-Antlers (fee) | 26.5 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
No fly shop within range is on our list. That list covers all five states on this site, so an empty result here means no shop near this water is on it — not that the state is missing.
Before you go
- Michigan regulations
- Michigan fishing report
- Keweenaw Peninsula watershed
- Flintsteel River
- Misery River
- East Branch Firesteel River
- East Sleeping River
- West Branch Firesteel River
- Trap Rock River