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Michigamme weekend fly fishing trip
21 waters in the Michigamme watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Michigamme River, Peshekee River and West Branch Peshekee 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Michigamme River | 66.9 | — |
| Peshekee River | 31.1 | — |
| West Branch Peshekee River | 23.1 | — |
| East Branch Fence River | 18.9 | — |
| Fence River | 17.4 | — |
| Trout Falls Creek | 13.9 | — |
| Mitchigan River | 12.8 | — |
| West Branch Fence River | 12.3 | — |
| Wilson Creek | 12.2 | — |
| Smith Creek | 7.6 | — |
| Baraga Creek | 7.3 | — |
| Margeson Creek | 6.5 | — |
| Gambles Creek | 5.5 | — |
| Caps Creek | 5.2 | — |
| Twenty Six Creek | 4.7 | — |
| Fribley Creek | 4.4 | — |
| Camp Creek | 3.8 | — |
| Nolenchec Creek | 2.7 | — |
| Threemile Creek | 2.3 | — |
| Hickman Creek | 2.1 | — |
| Jones Camp Creek | 1.5 | — |
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
Michigamme 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.
Peshekee 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 Peshekee 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
- Van Riper State Park — 12.8 mi
- Craig Lake State Park — 16.5 mi
- Crystal Falls State Forest Area — 19.2 mi
- Slate River Forest — 22.4 mi
- McCormick Wilderness — 22.6 mi
- Genes Pond Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — 24.3 mi
- Rocking Chair Lakes Natural Area — 25.3 mi
- Lake-36 Floodings State Wildlife Management Area — 27.1 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Ski-kwe zaag’igan State Forest Campground (fee) | 5.9 mi | MDNR |
| Deer Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 10.3 mi | MDNR |
| Van Riper-Camper Cabin (fee) | 12.0 mi | MDNR |
| Van Riper-Rustic (fee) | 12.0 mi | MDNR |
| Van Riper-Mini Cabin (fee) | 12.1 mi | MDNR |
| Van Riper-Modern (fee) | 12.1 mi | MDNR |
| Van Riper-Rustic Cabin (fee) | 12.4 mi | MDNR |
| Beaufort Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 12.9 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 — 36.1 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
- Michigamme watershed
- Michigamme River
- Peshekee River
- West Branch Peshekee River
- East Branch Fence River
- Fence River
- Trout Falls Creek