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Fly fishing near Alpena, Michigan
10 waters with a page on this site lie within 30 miles of Alpena, Michigan — Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River, Wolf Creek and Little Wolf Creek among them. 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 3 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Distance | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River | 25.8 mi | 34.9 | — |
| Wolf Creek | 22.9 mi | 17.3 | — |
| Little Wolf Creek | 28.3 mi | 17.1 | — |
| McGinn Creek | 29.4 mi | 14.2 | — |
| Sucker Creek | 27.4 mi | 11.9 | — |
| Buff Creek | 30.0 mi | 8.0 | — |
| Indian Creek | 29.0 mi | 7.7 | — |
| Widner Creek | 26.5 mi | 5.9 | — |
| Vincent Creek | 28.7 mi | 5.3 | — |
| West Branch River | 29.1 mi | 3.7 | — |
Straight-line distance from the middle of town to the middle of the water. The roads are not mapped here, so this page does not give you a drive time it did not measure.
A 3-day plan
Upper South Branch Thunder Bay 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.
Wolf 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.
Little Wolf Creek
Nearest listed access: Au Sable River - Forest Road 4842 (walk in), 9.0 mi, or Au Sable River At Bear Island U.s. Forest Service Campground (walk in), 9.0 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
- Devil's Lake and River Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — 5.9 mi
- North Point Nature Preserve — 6.2 mi
- Rockport Recreation Area — 10.4 mi
- Negwegon — 14.3 mi
- Thompson's Harbor State Park — 21.2 mi
- Thompson's Harbor — 21.2 mi
- Hubbard Lake State Game Area — 22.1 mi
- Turtle Lake Club — 24.6 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay River State Forest Campground (fee) | 6.8 mi | MDNR |
| Ossineke State Forest Campground (fee) | 9.8 mi | MDNR |
| Negwegon-Backcountry Campsites (hike-in) (fee) | 14.1 mi | MDNR |
| Thompson's Harbor-Stone Path Cabin (fee) | 20.5 mi | MDNR |
| Thompson's Harbor-Cedar Haven Cabin (fee) | 21.0 mi | MDNR |
| Ess Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 27.0 mi | MDNR |
| Jewell Lake Campground (fee) | 27.7 mi | USFS |
| Harrisville-Modern (fee) | 29.2 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
- Chum Bucket Sport fishing Charters — 0.2 mi, Alpena
- Clem's Bait & Tackle — 0.7 mi, Alpena
- Bait & Tackle Shop — 21.6 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
- Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River
- Wolf Creek
- Little Wolf Creek
- McGinn Creek
- Sucker Creek
- Buff Creek