BirdTrout
Open the map
Manistique weekend fly fishing trip
26 waters in the Manistique watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Indian River, West Branch Manistique River and Driggs 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Indian River | 59.9 | — |
| West Branch Manistique River | 41.9 | — |
| Driggs River | 36.8 | — |
| Stutts Creek | 33.5 | — |
| Hickey Creek | 29.6 | — |
| North Branch Stutts Creek | 26.4 | — |
| Creighton River | 22.8 | — |
| Pine Creek | 15.6 | — |
| Star Creek | 14.7 | — |
| Little Fox River | 11.2 | — |
| Prairie Creek | 10.3 | — |
| Stoner Creek | 10.2 | — |
| Walsh Creek | 10.1 | — |
| West Branch Fox River | 10.1 | — |
| Stony Creek | 8.2 | — |
| Delias Run | 7.9 | — |
| West Branch Hickey Creek | 6.4 | — |
| Ross Creek | 6.0 | — |
| Shotgun Creek | 5.2 | — |
| Mahoney Creek | 3.4 | — |
| Grass Creek | 3.3 | — |
| Metser Creek | 2.9 | — |
| Pelican Creek | 1.7 | — |
| North Mino-kwe Creek | 1.5 | — |
| Negro Creek | 1.4 | — |
| Loon Creek | 1.3 | — |
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
Indian 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.
West Branch Manistique 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.
Driggs 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
- Cusino State Wildlife Research Area — 4.4 mi
- Big Island Lake Wilderness — 8.5 mi
- Lake Superior State Forest - Shingleton Unit — 9.1 mi
- Deer Habitat — 10.0 mi
- Seney National Wildlife Refuge — 11.9 mi
- Seney Wilderness — 11.9 mi
- Bullock Ranch State Wildlife Management Area — 15.3 mi
- Indian, Michigan Wild and Scenic River — 15.9 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Colwell Lake Campground (fee) | 5.0 mi | USFS |
| Crooked Lake Campsites (fee) | 5.2 mi | USFS |
| Steuben Lake Campsites (fee) | 6.1 mi | USFS |
| East Lake Campsites (fee) | 6.6 mi | USFS |
| Indian River Campground (fee) | 7.8 mi | USFS |
| Little Bass Lake Campsites (fee) | 8.3 mi | USFS |
| Bass Lake Campsites (fee) | 9.4 mi | USFS |
| Triangle Lake Campsite (fee) | 9.4 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
- South Bay Outfitters — 18.0 mi, Munising
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
- Manistique watershed
- Indian River
- West Branch Manistique River
- Driggs River
- Stutts Creek
- Hickey Creek
- North Branch Stutts Creek