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Muskegon weekend fly fishing trip
64 waters in the Muskegon watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Muskegon River, Little Muskegon River and Tamarack Creek. May, June and July carry the most recorded hatches, 19 insects in May, 26 insects in June and 24 insects in July. 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
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
Muskegon River
Nearest listed access: Townline Lake (boat launch), 7.5 mi, or Bergess Lake (boat launch), 7.8 mi.
Little Muskegon River
Nearest listed access: Newaygo State Park (boat launch), 5.8 mi, or Rustford Pond (canoe launch), 7.1 mi.
Tamarack Creek
Nearest listed access: Cowden Lake (boat launch), 5.8 mi, or Rustford Pond (canoe launch), 6.5 mi.
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 northern lower Michigan: May (19), June (26), July (24).
| 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 |
| Green Rock Worm / Green Weenie | April–June and September–October | #10–14 |
| Hendrickson | April–May | #12–14 |
| Little Black Caddis | April–May | #16–20 |
| Alderfly | May–June | #10–14 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
Recorded from northern 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
- Haymarsh Lake State Game Area — 7.1 mi
- Township of Lincoln Park — 8.9 mi
- Martiny Lakes State Game Area — 13.8 mi
- Cadillac State Forest Area — 14.1 mi
- Hungerford Lake Recreation Area — 15.6 mi
- Martiny Lake State Game Area — 17.1 mi
- White Pine Trail State Park — 24.1 mi
- Winterfield Conservation Club — 26.2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 12.0 mi | MDNR |
| Mud Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 16.2 mi | MDNR |
| Carrieville State Forest Campground (fee) | 20.4 mi | MDNR |
| Brush Lake Campground (fee) | 21.0 mi | USFS |
| Leverentz Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 21.3 mi | MDNR |
| Bray Creek State Forest Campground (fee) | 21.6 mi | MDNR |
| Silver Creek State Forest Campground (fee) | 22.9 mi | MDNR |
| Shelley Lake Campground (fee) | 23.0 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
- Johnson's Pere Marquette Lodge — 22.5 mi, Baldwin
- Baldwin Bait & Tackle — 22.7 mi, Baldwin
- Ed's Sport Shop — 22.9 mi, Baldwin
- Pere Marquette River Lodge — 23.2 mi, Baldwin
- Parsley's Sport Shop — 36.5 mi, Newaygo
- Schmidt Outfitters — 37.3 mi, Wellston
- Andy's Tackle Box — 43.2 mi, Brethren
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
- Muskegon watershed
- Muskegon River
- Little Muskegon River
- Tamarack Creek
- Cedar Creek
- Mosquito Creek
- West Branch Muskegon River