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Fly fishing near Baldwin, Michigan
114 waters with a page on this site lie within 30 miles of Baldwin, Michigan — Muskegon River, Little Manistee River and Pere Marquette River 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 7 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Distance | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muskegon River | 18.2 mi | 231.0 | 71.0 |
| Little Manistee River | 16.4 mi | 68.6 | 66.1 |
| Pere Marquette River | 16.9 mi | 63.9 | — |
| South Branch White River | 22.1 mi | 59.4 | — |
| Pine River | 18.8 mi | 53.5 | — |
| Big Sable River | 23.1 mi | 52.0 | — |
| Little South Branch Pere Marquette River | 12.9 mi | 28.7 | — |
| Middle Branch Pere Marquette River | 12.3 mi | 25.3 | — |
| Mosquito Creek | 28.7 mi | 24.3 | — |
| Sanborn Creek | 9.9 mi | 21.7 | — |
| Slagle Creek | 29.5 mi | 17.7 | — |
| Freeman Creek | 10.8 mi | 17.3 | — |
| Beaver Creek | 19.1 mi | 16.5 | — |
| Pine Creek | 23.0 mi | 14.9 | — |
| Bigelow Creek | 29.7 mi | 14.7 | — |
| Baldwin River | 10.2 mi | 14.3 | — |
| Ryan Creek | 24.7 mi | 14.3 | — |
| Coe Creek | 18.8 mi | 13.8 | — |
| McDuffee Creek | 16.8 mi | 13.6 | — |
| Hersey River | 19.2 mi | 13.4 | — |
| Weldon Creek | 16.6 mi | 13.1 | — |
| South Branch Lincoln River | 23.1 mi | 13.0 | — |
| North Branch Pine River | 21.4 mi | 12.9 | — |
| Mitchell Creek | 21.0 mi | 12.2 | — |
| Stronach Creek | 21.3 mi | 11.6 | — |
| Tank Creek | 15.5 mi | 11.3 | — |
| Mena Creek | 23.6 mi | 11.3 | — |
| East Branch Hersey Creek | 16.9 mi | 10.9 | — |
| Peterson Creek | 23.2 mi | 10.6 | — |
| Fivemile Creek | 25.6 mi | 10.4 | — |
| Big Stone Creek | 24.8 mi | 9.9 | — |
| Robinson Creek | 26.3 mi | 9.2 | — |
| Poplar Creek | 20.8 mi | 9.1 | — |
| Twin Creek | 24.9 mi | 9.1 | — |
| Macks Creek | 29.6 mi | 9.1 | — |
| East Branch Pine River | 20.8 mi | 8.4 | — |
| Cushman Creek | 29.5 mi | 8.4 | — |
| Martin Creek | 23.3 mi | 8.3 | — |
| Betts Creek | 24.7 mi | 8.3 | — |
| Roundy Branch | 27.1 mi | 8.3 | — |
| Buckhorn Creek | 18.7 mi | 8.1 | — |
| Gurney Creek | 27.0 mi | 8.0 | — |
| Lincoln River | 24.9 mi | 7.8 | — |
| Swan Creek | 20.1 mi | 7.3 | — |
| Flinton Creek | 26.9 mi | 7.3 | — |
| Hersey Creek | 15.4 mi | 6.7 | — |
| Ewing Creek | 19.0 mi | 6.7 | — |
| Pease Creek | 15.7 mi | 6.6 | — |
| Muckwa Creek | 18.2 mi | 6.2 | — |
| Blodgett Creek | 24.6 mi | 6.2 | — |
| Brayton Drain | 28.4 mi | 6.2 | — |
| Bennett Creek | 26.5 mi | 5.9 | — |
| South Branch Twin Creek | 16.4 mi | 5.8 | — |
| Olson Creek | 17.6 mi | 5.7 | — |
| Cold Spring Creek | 25.0 mi | 5.7 | — |
| Rattail Creek | 29.1 mi | 5.7 | — |
| Mullen Creek | 24.2 mi | 5.6 | — |
| Carr Creek | 13.1 mi | 5.5 | — |
| Chief Creek | 28.3 mi | 5.2 | — |
| Sands Creek | 28.1 mi | 5.0 | — |
| Davis Creek | 24.0 mi | 4.9 | — |
| Lichte Creek | 21.3 mi | 4.8 | — |
| Spalding Creek | 23.5 mi | 4.8 | — |
| Claybank Creek | 26.3 mi | 4.8 | — |
| North Branch Twin Creek | 15.9 mi | 4.6 | — |
| Ladner Creek | 25.3 mi | 4.6 | — |
| Rose Edgett Creek | 20.2 mi | 4.5 | — |
| Little Sable River | 17.1 mi | 4.4 | — |
| West Michigan Creek | 21.6 mi | 4.4 | — |
| Syers Creek | 15.6 mi | 4.2 | — |
| India Creek | 19.7 mi | 4.2 | — |
| West Branch Chippewa River | 29.9 mi | 4.0 | — |
| Hoxey Creek | 20.4 mi | 3.9 | — |
| Saint Clair Creek | 22.5 mi | 3.8 | — |
| Sickle Creek | 28.1 mi | 3.7 | — |
| Blood Creek | 13.7 mi | 3.5 | — |
| Cooper Creek | 26.8 mi | 3.5 | — |
| Cool Creek | 20.3 mi | 3.4 | — |
| Chippewa Creek | 25.3 mi | 3.4 | — |
| Hewitt Creek | 18.4 mi | 3.2 | — |
| Sprague Creek | 19.3 mi | 3.2 | — |
| Anderson Bayou | 27.1 mi | 3.1 | — |
| Johnson Creek | 23.0 mi | 3.0 | — |
| Mosquito Creek | 22.6 mi | 2.8 | — |
| Swanson Creek | 22.1 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Second Cole Creek | 25.9 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Boswell Creek | 27.7 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Podunk Creek | 28.3 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Atkinson Creek | 29.8 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Burt Creek | 17.6 mi | 2.5 | — |
| South Branch Cole Creek | 12.3 mi | 2.4 | — |
| Hansen Creek | 29.8 mi | 2.4 | — |
| Hicks Creek | 23.8 mi | 2.3 | — |
| Magoon Creek | 27.5 mi | 2.3 | — |
| North Branch Cole Creek | 12.6 mi | 2.2 | — |
| Whiskey Creek | 16.6 mi | 2.2 | — |
| Bear Wallow Creek | 23.8 mi | 2.2 | — |
| Sergant Bayou | 26.2 mi | 2.2 | — |
| James Creek | 23.2 mi | 2.1 | — |
| Rattlesnake Creek | 26.7 mi | 2.0 | — |
| Olson Drain | 24.1 mi | 1.9 | — |
| Twin Creek | 15.5 mi | 1.7 | — |
| West Branch Heald Creek | 23.5 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Claybank Bayou | 26.7 mi | 1.6 | — |
| Jenkins Bayou | 27.1 mi | 1.3 | — |
| Diamond Lake Outlet Creek | 20.3 mi | 1.2 | — |
| Posted Creek | 24.7 mi | 1.2 | — |
| Bray Creek | 11.0 mi | 1.1 | — |
| Blue Lake Drain | 23.3 mi | 1.0 | — |
| Browns Bayou | 26.9 mi | 0.7 | — |
| Flies-Only Water — named stretch | 2.9 mi | — | — |
| Artificial Lures Water — named stretch | 6.5 mi | — | — |
| The Little Manistee Flies-Only — named stretch | 16.5 mi | — | — |
| Big Manistee — named stretch | 28.5 mi | — | — |
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
Muskegon River
Nearest listed access: Townline Lake (boat launch), 7.5 mi, or Bergess Lake (boat launch), 7.8 mi.
Little Manistee River
Nearest listed access: Harper Lake (boat launch), 0.9 mi, or Fox Bridge (canoe launch), 1.7 mi.
Pere Marquette River
Nearest listed access: Tallman Lake (boat launch), 2.4 mi, or Ford Lake (boat launch), 3.0 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
- Manistee National Forest — 8.6 mi
- Cadillac State Forest Area — 10.7 mi
- Bear Swamp Roadless Area — 16.1 mi
- Hungerford Lake Recreation Area — 16.7 mi
- Township of Lincoln Park — 17.5 mi
- Little Manistee, Michigan Wild And Scenic River Study Area — 17.8 mi
- Pine, Michigan Wild and Scenic River — 19.4 mi
- Manistee National Forest-White Cloud Unit — 20.1 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Leverentz Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 1.6 mi | MDNR |
| Bray Creek State Forest Campground (fee) | 1.7 mi | MDNR |
| Claybanks Campground (fee) | 2.5 mi | USFS |
| Gleason's Landing Campground and River Access (fee) | 4.0 mi | USFS |
| Bowman Bridge Campground and River Access (fee) | 4.5 mi | USFS |
| Bowman Lake Area (fee) | 4.5 mi | USFS |
| Bowman Lake Campground (fee) | 5.9 mi | USFS |
| Timber Creek Campground (fee) | 8.0 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
- Baldwin Bait & Tackle — 0.1 mi, Baldwin
- Ed's Sport Shop — 0.1 mi, Baldwin
- Johnson's Pere Marquette Lodge — 0.5 mi, Baldwin
- Pere Marquette River Lodge — 1.3 mi, Baldwin
- Schmidt Outfitters — 22.5 mi, Wellston
- Andy's Tackle Box — 29.0 mi, Brethren
- Parsley's Sport Shop — 33.3 mi, Newaygo
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 River
- Little Manistee River
- Pere Marquette River
- South Branch White River
- Pine River
- Big Sable River