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Fly fishing near Petoskey, Michigan
61 waters with a page on this site lie within 30 miles of Petoskey, Michigan — Intermediate River, Jordan River and Bear 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 3 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Distance | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate River | 24.1 mi | 35.5 | — |
| Jordan River | 16.4 mi | 35.1 | — |
| Bear River | 9.5 mi | 19.6 | — |
| West Branch Sturgeon River | 13.9 mi | 18.6 | — |
| Pine River | 14.3 mi | 15.5 | — |
| Deer Creek | 16.9 mi | 11.3 | — |
| South Branch Boyne River | 16.7 mi | 11.2 | — |
| Club Stream | 17.1 mi | 11.2 | — |
| Porter Creek | 15.5 mi | 8.5 | — |
| Warner Creek | 18.6 mi | 8.5 | — |
| Grass River | 27.8 mi | 8.0 | — |
| Horton Creek | 12.2 mi | 7.8 | — |
| Inwood Creek | 17.9 mi | 7.8 | — |
| North Branch Spring Brook | 12.3 mi | 7.5 | — |
| Grass Creek | 26.6 mi | 7.5 | — |
| Monroe Creek | 17.1 mi | 7.1 | — |
| McGeach Creek | 17.2 mi | 6.7 | — |
| Stewart Creek | 15.6 mi | 6.6 | — |
| North Branch Boyne River | 16.0 mi | 6.3 | — |
| South Branch Spring Brook | 13.6 mi | 6.1 | — |
| Minnehaha Creek | 8.7 mi | 6.0 | — |
| Boyne River | 15.1 mi | 6.0 | — |
| Susan Creek | 13.3 mi | 5.8 | — |
| Skinner Creek | 18.4 mi | 5.6 | — |
| Hay Marsh Creek | 13.6 mi | 5.4 | — |
| Mud Creek | 8.6 mi | 5.2 | — |
| Wilkinson Creek | 21.6 mi | 5.2 | — |
| Collins Creek | 17.3 mi | 4.7 | — |
| Marion Creek | 17.9 mi | 4.4 | — |
| Paradine Creek | 28.0 mi | 4.3 | — |
| Marl Creek | 13.6 mi | 4.2 | — |
| Mill Creek | 20.6 mi | 4.2 | — |
| Schoofs Creek | 11.0 mi | 4.0 | — |
| Bennett Creek | 20.6 mi | 3.9 | — |
| Kocher Creek | 21.5 mi | 3.9 | — |
| Moyer Creek | 17.2 mi | 3.7 | — |
| Marvon Creek | 18.2 mi | 3.5 | — |
| Guyer Creek | 21.4 mi | 3.5 | — |
| Eastport Creek | 22.4 mi | 3.4 | — |
| Brown Creek | 18.1 mi | 3.1 | — |
| West Branch Minnehaha Creek | 9.9 mi | 3.0 | — |
| Allen Creek | 14.2 mi | 3.0 | — |
| Licks Creek | 16.4 mi | 3.0 | — |
| Mason Creek | 18.0 mi | 3.0 | — |
| Bartholomew Creek | 21.0 mi | 2.9 | — |
| Blackjack Creek | 15.5 mi | 2.8 | — |
| Todd Creek | 19.1 mi | 2.8 | — |
| Whisky Creek | 19.5 mi | 2.8 | — |
| Schoolhouse Creek | 15.7 mi | 2.5 | — |
| Hitchcock Creek | 23.2 mi | 2.5 | — |
| Gimlet Creek | 13.9 mi | 2.4 | — |
| Severance Creek | 19.5 mi | 2.4 | — |
| Fisk Creek | 23.6 mi | 2.1 | — |
| Cramer Creek | 16.4 mi | 1.9 | — |
| Lilak Creek | 20.8 mi | 1.9 | — |
| Antrim Creek | 20.9 mi | 1.9 | — |
| Scott Creek | 21.1 mi | 1.9 | — |
| Spring Brook | 13.4 mi | 1.5 | — |
| Kuznick Creek | 16.3 mi | 1.3 | — |
| Liscon Creek | 19.9 mi | 0.7 | — |
| The Pigeon Artificial-Lures Water — named stretch | 23.0 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
Intermediate 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.
Jordan 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.
Bear 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.
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
- MNRTF Parcel 121 — 6.5 mi
- Young State Park — 10.1 mi
- Mackinaw State Forest - Gaylord Unit — 14.9 mi
- University of Michigan Biological Station — 17.8 mi
- Fisherman's Island State Park — 20.4 mi
- Boyd B. Banwell Nature Preserve — 21.1 mi
- Fisherman's Island — 21.1 mi
- Jordan River Natural Area — 22.2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Petoskey-Mini Cabins (fee) | 2.5 mi | MDNR |
| Petoskey-Tannery Creek Modern Campground (fee) | 2.5 mi | MDNR |
| Petoskey-Dunes Modern Campground (fee) | 3.0 mi | MDNR |
| Petoskey-Group Use Area (fee) | 3.3 mi | MDNR |
| Young-Mini Cabins (fee) | 10.6 mi | MDNR |
| Young-Spruce Modern Campground (fee) | 10.6 mi | MDNR |
| Young-Oak Modern Campground (fee) | 10.8 mi | MDNR |
| Young-Terrace Modern Campground (fee) | 10.9 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
- Bearcub Outfitters — 0.1 mi
- The Outfitter — 4.2 mi
- KatFisher Bait & Tackle — 28.2 mi, Cheboygan
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
- Intermediate River
- Jordan River
- Bear River
- West Branch Sturgeon River
- Pine River
- Deer Creek