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Fly fishing near Newaygo, Michigan
81 waters with a page on this site lie within 30 miles of Newaygo, Michigan — South Branch White River, Little Muskegon River and Tamarack Creek among them. June, July and August carry the most recorded hatches, 19 insects in June, 21 insects in July and 18 insects in August. In range: 8 blocks of public land with a page of their own, 8 state-forest campgrounds and 8 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Distance | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Branch White River | 12.3 mi | 59.4 | — |
| Little Muskegon River | 17.5 mi | 44.0 | — |
| Tamarack Creek | 20.0 mi | 39.8 | — |
| Crockery Creek | 18.1 mi | 38.5 | — |
| Little South Branch Pere Marquette River | 25.5 mi | 28.7 | — |
| Cedar Creek | 7.7 mi | 26.9 | — |
| Middle Branch Pere Marquette River | 26.6 mi | 25.3 | — |
| Mosquito Creek | 4.6 mi | 24.3 | — |
| Sand Creek | 26.4 mi | 23.1 | — |
| Brooks Creek | 3.4 mi | 21.9 | — |
| Bear Creek | 5.1 mi | 18.4 | — |
| East Branch Little Muskegon River | 28.8 mi | 17.2 | — |
| Handy Creek | 16.4 mi | 15.5 | — |
| Bigelow Creek | 5.8 mi | 14.7 | — |
| Ryan Creek | 26.9 mi | 14.3 | — |
| McDuffee Creek | 23.6 mi | 13.6 | — |
| Norris Creek | 21.9 mi | 12.6 | — |
| Mitchell Creek | 24.7 mi | 12.2 | — |
| Mena Creek | 9.8 mi | 11.3 | — |
| Tank Creek | 20.9 mi | 11.3 | — |
| Rio Grande Creek | 22.8 mi | 10.8 | — |
| Big Creek | 19.2 mi | 10.7 | — |
| Fivemile Creek | 10.6 mi | 10.4 | — |
| Sand Creek | 2.7 mi | 9.7 | — |
| Little Cedar Creek | 5.7 mi | 9.2 | — |
| Skeel Creek | 6.0 mi | 9.2 | — |
| Robinson Creek | 11.5 mi | 9.2 | — |
| Macks Creek | 21.6 mi | 9.1 | — |
| Little Black Creek | 26.2 mi | 8.5 | — |
| Cushman Creek | 5.9 mi | 8.4 | — |
| Martin Creek | 10.0 mi | 8.3 | — |
| Betts Creek | 18.6 mi | 8.3 | — |
| Buckhorn Creek | 27.6 mi | 8.1 | — |
| Fourmile Creek | 9.4 mi | 7.8 | — |
| Flinton Creek | 9.1 mi | 7.3 | — |
| Cold Creek | 6.2 mi | 7.1 | — |
| North Channel Muskegon River | 25.3 mi | 7.0 | — |
| Rice Creek | 14.2 mi | 6.9 | — |
| Robinson Bayou | 28.3 mi | 6.8 | — |
| Ewing Creek | 22.9 mi | 6.7 | — |
| Pease Creek | 24.7 mi | 6.6 | — |
| Brandy Creek | 22.8 mi | 6.3 | — |
| Sylvester Creek | 25.0 mi | 6.3 | — |
| Brayton Drain | 6.0 mi | 6.2 | — |
| Little Bear Creek | 9.0 mi | 6.2 | — |
| Blodgett Creek | 29.9 mi | 6.2 | — |
| Bennett Creek | 17.6 mi | 5.9 | — |
| Quigley Creek | 21.3 mi | 5.8 | — |
| Cold Spring Creek | 21.2 mi | 5.7 | — |
| Mullen Creek | 11.7 mi | 5.6 | — |
| Penoyer Creek | 3.7 mi | 5.2 | — |
| Cranberry Creek | 20.6 mi | 5.1 | — |
| South Mitchell Creek | 13.2 mi | 5.0 | — |
| Shinglebolt Creek | 23.4 mi | 5.0 | — |
| Wheeler Drain | 4.0 mi | 4.8 | — |
| Ladner Creek | 20.4 mi | 4.6 | — |
| Maple River | 5.2 mi | 4.4 | — |
| West Michigan Creek | 12.3 mi | 4.4 | — |
| Slater Drain | 5.0 mi | 4.2 | — |
| Butler Creek | 0.9 mi | 3.9 | — |
| Blood Creek | 26.1 mi | 3.5 | — |
| Big and Outlet Drain | 6.1 mi | 3.3 | — |
| Hewitt Creek | 29.5 mi | 3.2 | — |
| Spring Creek | 6.7 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Second Cole Creek | 8.3 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Rosy Run | 12.3 mi | 2.5 | — |
| Sweeter Creek | 5.6 mi | 2.4 | — |
| Stearns Bayou | 28.0 mi | 2.3 | — |
| Little Henna Creek | 4.9 mi | 2.2 | — |
| Porter Drain | 6.4 mi | 2.1 | — |
| James Creek | 12.1 mi | 2.1 | — |
| Muskegon Newaygo Drain | 20.5 mi | 2.1 | — |
| Rattlesnake Creek | 7.7 mi | 2.0 | — |
| Dailey Drain | 5.1 mi | 1.9 | — |
| Tidioute Drain | 21.2 mi | 1.9 | — |
| West Branch Heald Creek | 9.9 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Hall Drain | 5.2 mi | 1.6 | — |
| Hall Drain | 5.7 mi | 1.6 | — |
| Dry Run | 0.7 mi | 1.5 | — |
| West Branch Cedar Creek | 5.2 mi | 1.2 | — |
| Blue Lake Drain | 11.7 mi | 1.0 | — |
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
South Branch White River
Nearest listed access: Robinson Lake (boat launch), 4.1 mi, or Diamond Lake (boat launch), 4.9 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 southern lower Michigan: June (19), July (21), August (18).
| 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 |
| Hendrickson | April–May | #12–14 |
| Little Black Caddis | April–May | #16–20 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
| Light Cahill | May–July | #12–16 |
| Little Sulphur | May–July | #16–20 |
Recorded from southern 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
- Newaygo Experimental Forest — 5.1 mi
- Newaygo State Park (leased from Consumer's Energy) — 12.0 mi
- Mosquito Creek Trails — 14.7 mi
- White, Michigan Wild And Scenic River Study Area — 15.7 mi
- Rogue River State Game Area — 15.9 mi
- Muskegon State Game Area — 16.2 mi
- Muskegon County Wastewater System Management Area — 16.6 mi
- Owasippe Scout Reservation — 21.4 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Twinwood Lake Campground (fee) | 4.2 mi | USFS |
| Newaygo-Rustic (fee) | 12.3 mi | MDNR |
| Minnie Pond Campground (fee) | 15.4 mi | USFS |
| Brush Lake Campground (fee) | 16.1 mi | USFS |
| Indian Lake Campground (fee) | 17.4 mi | USFS |
| Pines Point (fee) | 17.6 mi | USFS |
| Benton Lake Campground (fee) | 17.8 mi | USFS |
| Shelley Lake Campground (fee) | 20.2 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
- Parsley's Sport Shop — 0.1 mi, Newaygo
- Brenners Sporting Goods — 26.6 mi, Comstock Park
- Shoreline Service — 28.6 mi
- Pere Marquette River Lodge — 32.1 mi, Baldwin
- Nomad Anglers — 32.2 mi, Grand Rapids
- Baldwin Bait & Tackle — 33.1 mi, Baldwin
- Ed's Sport Shop — 33.2 mi, Baldwin
- Johnson's Pere Marquette Lodge — 33.7 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
- South Branch White River
- Little Muskegon River
- Tamarack Creek
- Crockery Creek
- Little South Branch Pere Marquette River
- Cedar Creek