BirdTrout
Open the map
Fly fishing near Cadillac, Michigan
97 waters with a page on this site lie within 30 miles of Cadillac, Michigan — Manistee River, Little Manistee River and Pine 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 6 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Distance | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee River | 25.0 mi | 190.1 | — |
| Little Manistee River | 28.5 mi | 68.6 | 66.1 |
| Pine River | 17.2 mi | 53.5 | — |
| Boardman River | 25.1 mi | 28.2 | — |
| West Branch Muskegon River | 26.9 mi | 23.8 | — |
| Sanborn Creek | 23.6 mi | 21.7 | — |
| Silver Creek | 16.1 mi | 17.9 | — |
| Slagle Creek | 18.4 mi | 17.7 | — |
| Beaver Creek | 14.0 mi | 16.5 | — |
| Hopkins Creek | 13.3 mi | 15.2 | — |
| Pine Creek | 29.2 mi | 14.9 | — |
| Baldwin River | 24.4 mi | 14.3 | — |
| Manton Creek | 14.4 mi | 14.0 | — |
| Coe Creek | 15.2 mi | 13.8 | — |
| North Branch Pine River | 12.2 mi | 12.9 | — |
| Cedar Creek | 27.4 mi | 12.5 | — |
| Fletcher Creek | 22.3 mi | 12.1 | — |
| Stronach Creek | 26.9 mi | 11.6 | — |
| East Branch Hersey Creek | 16.2 mi | 10.9 | — |
| Peterson Creek | 20.1 mi | 10.6 | — |
| Ham Creek | 15.7 mi | 10.2 | — |
| Morrisy Creek | 13.4 mi | 9.7 | — |
| Poplar Creek | 15.0 mi | 9.1 | — |
| Twin Creek | 29.8 mi | 9.1 | — |
| Adams Creek | 15.7 mi | 9.0 | — |
| Lemon Creek | 28.2 mi | 9.0 | — |
| Jackson Creek | 20.9 mi | 8.6 | — |
| East Branch Pine River | 12.6 mi | 8.4 | — |
| Fife Lake Outlet | 18.1 mi | 8.4 | — |
| Jaxon Creek | 23.0 mi | 8.0 | — |
| Little Betsie River | 26.8 mi | 8.0 | — |
| First Creek | 26.7 mi | 7.5 | — |
| Smail Creek | 18.5 mi | 7.2 | — |
| Dutchman Creek | 27.8 mi | 7.2 | — |
| Cole Creek | 16.5 mi | 6.8 | — |
| Hersey Creek | 17.6 mi | 6.7 | — |
| Wheeler Creek | 21.2 mi | 6.6 | — |
| Filer Creek | 16.9 mi | 6.4 | — |
| Mason Creek | 23.9 mi | 6.3 | — |
| Buttermilk Creek | 17.0 mi | 6.1 | — |
| Carpenter Creek | 21.0 mi | 5.9 | — |
| South Branch Twin Creek | 18.9 mi | 5.8 | — |
| Olson Creek | 15.4 mi | 5.7 | — |
| Swainston Creek | 22.3 mi | 5.7 | — |
| Carter Creek | 29.6 mi | 5.6 | — |
| Soper Creek | 16.8 mi | 5.3 | — |
| Parker Creek | 20.1 mi | 5.2 | — |
| Seaton Creek | 20.1 mi | 5.1 | — |
| Sands Creek | 20.8 mi | 5.0 | — |
| Twentytwo Creek | 20.8 mi | 4.9 | — |
| Spalding Creek | 11.8 mi | 4.8 | — |
| North Branch Anderson Creek | 20.1 mi | 4.8 | — |
| Mitchel Creek | 26.1 mi | 4.7 | — |
| North Branch Twin Creek | 20.5 mi | 4.6 | — |
| West Branch Anderson Creek | 21.3 mi | 4.6 | — |
| Third Creek | 26.5 mi | 4.6 | — |
| Rose Edgett Creek | 13.2 mi | 4.5 | — |
| Kids Creek | 27.3 mi | 4.4 | — |
| Kinney Creek | 28.6 mi | 4.3 | — |
| East Creek | 21.7 mi | 4.2 | — |
| Syers Creek | 22.0 mi | 4.2 | — |
| Second Creek | 26.2 mi | 4.2 | — |
| Pickerel Creek | 25.7 mi | 4.1 | — |
| Chase Creek | 15.6 mi | 3.9 | — |
| Hoxey Creek | 16.9 mi | 3.9 | — |
| Acme Creek | 26.2 mi | 3.5 | — |
| Vandarli Creek | 25.5 mi | 3.4 | — |
| Stanley Creek | 29.0 mi | 3.4 | — |
| Golden Creek | 14.4 mi | 3.3 | — |
| Sprague Creek | 14.2 mi | 3.2 | — |
| Brundage Creek | 29.1 mi | 3.1 | — |
| Johnson Creek | 17.1 mi | 3.0 | — |
| East Arm Acme Creek | 25.4 mi | 2.9 | — |
| East Branch Wheeler Creek | 20.3 mi | 2.8 | — |
| Apple Creek | 17.6 mi | 2.7 | — |
| Blind Creek | 17.6 mi | 2.7 | — |
| Walton Outlet | 17.4 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Boswell Creek | 29.3 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Podunk Creek | 29.3 mi | 2.6 | — |
| South Branch Cole Creek | 21.7 mi | 2.4 | — |
| Hicks Creek | 26.6 mi | 2.3 | — |
| North Branch Cole Creek | 21.6 mi | 2.2 | — |
| Bear Wallow Creek | 27.6 mi | 2.2 | — |
| Greens Creek | 28.8 mi | 2.1 | — |
| Bakers Creek | 25.5 mi | 2.0 | — |
| Perkins Creek | 15.8 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Bourne Creek | 16.7 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Cripple Creek | 20.7 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Twin Creek | 21.0 mi | 1.7 | — |
| East Branch Mitchell Creek | 25.9 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Fourmile Creek | 25.4 mi | 1.4 | — |
| Diamond Lake Outlet Creek | 13.2 mi | 1.2 | — |
| Spring Creek | 16.8 mi | 1.2 | — |
| Bray Creek | 24.0 mi | 1.1 | — |
| Kingsley Creek | 21.0 mi | 0.8 | — |
| The Forks — named stretch | 28.4 mi | — | — |
| The Little Manistee Flies-Only — named stretch | 28.8 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
Manistee River
Nearest listed access: Shumsky Road (canoe launch), 4.2 mi, or Fish Lake (boat launch), 5.8 mi.
Little Manistee River
Nearest listed access: Harper Lake (boat launch), 0.9 mi, or Fox Bridge (canoe launch), 1.7 mi.
Pine River
Nearest listed access: Lincoln Bridge State Forest Campground (canoe launch), 2.0 mi, or Silver Creek State Forest Campground (canoe launch), 3.3 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
- White Pine Trail State Park — 3.4 mi
- Osceola Missaukee Grasslands State Game Area — 9.7 mi
- Manistee National Forest - Cadillac Ranger District — 13.7 mi
- McKenzie Trail — 16.6 mi
- Lower Peninsula Experimental Forest — 18.8 mi
- Winterfield Conservation Club — 18.9 mi
- Headquarters Lake Impoundment State Wildlife Management Area — 20.1 mi
- Pine, Michigan Wild and Scenic River — 20.4 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Mitchell-Camper Cabin (fee) | 2.6 mi | MDNR |
| Mitchell-Mini Cabin (fee) | 2.6 mi | MDNR |
| Mitchell-Modern (fee) | 2.7 mi | MDNR |
| Hemlock Campground and Boat Launch (fee) | 5.2 mi | USFS |
| Long Lake State Forest Campground (Wexford) (fee) | 5.7 mi | MDNR |
| Long Lake State Forest Campground (Missaukee) (fee) | 10.2 mi | MDNR |
| Goose Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 10.7 mi | MDNR |
| Sunrise Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 16.0 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
- Schmidt Outfitters — 27.8 mi, Wellston
- Andy's Tackle Box — 30.3 mi, Brethren
- Johnson's Pere Marquette Lodge — 32.5 mi, Baldwin
- Baldwin Bait & Tackle — 33.1 mi, Baldwin
- Ed's Sport Shop — 33.1 mi, Baldwin
- Pere Marquette River Lodge — 34.2 mi, Baldwin
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
- Manistee River
- Little Manistee River
- Pine River
- Boardman River
- West Branch Muskegon River
- Sanborn Creek