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Fly fishing near Traverse City, Michigan
111 waters with a page on this site lie within 30 miles of Traverse City, Michigan — Manistee River, Betsie River and Platte 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 4 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Distance | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee River | 12.1 mi | 190.1 | — |
| Betsie River | 26.6 mi | 57.2 | — |
| Platte River | 19.5 mi | 32.6 | — |
| Boardman River | 11.8 mi | 28.2 | — |
| North Branch Boardman River | 24.5 mi | 27.3 | — |
| Torch River | 24.0 mi | 20.0 | — |
| Silver Creek | 22.2 mi | 17.9 | — |
| Rapid River | 26.3 mi | 17.0 | — |
| Leland River | 15.7 mi | 15.8 | — |
| Hopkins Creek | 23.7 mi | 15.2 | — |
| Manton Creek | 23.1 mi | 14.0 | — |
| South Branch Boardman River | 25.9 mi | 13.3 | — |
| Fletcher Creek | 22.0 mi | 12.1 | — |
| Cedar River | 29.5 mi | 11.6 | — |
| Crystal River | 18.7 mi | 10.7 | — |
| Cedar Run | 5.3 mi | 10.2 | — |
| Ham Creek | 21.6 mi | 10.2 | — |
| Morrisy Creek | 23.6 mi | 9.7 | — |
| Adams Creek | 25.3 mi | 9.0 | — |
| Lemon Creek | 29.4 mi | 9.0 | — |
| Jackson Creek | 16.4 mi | 8.6 | — |
| Fife Lake Outlet | 18.8 mi | 8.4 | — |
| Jaxon Creek | 15.3 mi | 8.0 | — |
| Little Betsie River | 20.9 mi | 8.0 | — |
| Rice Creek | 21.9 mi | 8.0 | — |
| Grass River | 26.7 mi | 8.0 | — |
| First Creek | 26.3 mi | 7.5 | — |
| Taylor Creek | 26.7 mi | 7.5 | — |
| Grass Creek | 27.8 mi | 7.5 | — |
| Dutchman Creek | 26.3 mi | 7.2 | — |
| Smail Creek | 28.6 mi | 7.2 | — |
| Cold Creek | 25.1 mi | 7.0 | — |
| Cole Creek | 25.2 mi | 6.8 | — |
| Yuba Creek | 5.0 mi | 6.7 | — |
| Crystal Lake Outlet | 26.5 mi | 6.7 | — |
| Wheeler Creek | 20.3 mi | 6.6 | — |
| Filer Creek | 22.2 mi | 6.4 | — |
| Mason Creek | 15.8 mi | 6.3 | — |
| North Branch Platte River | 17.8 mi | 6.3 | — |
| Houdek Creek | 18.3 mi | 6.3 | — |
| Victoria Creek | 13.7 mi | 6.2 | — |
| Buttermilk Creek | 20.8 mi | 6.1 | — |
| Carpenter Creek | 15.9 mi | 5.9 | — |
| Swainston Creek | 15.6 mi | 5.7 | — |
| Carter Creek | 18.9 mi | 5.6 | — |
| Soper Creek | 22.7 mi | 5.3 | — |
| Dair Creek | 25.7 mi | 5.3 | — |
| Crofton Creek | 28.5 mi | 5.3 | — |
| Parker Creek | 16.9 mi | 5.2 | — |
| Herring Creek | 28.0 mi | 5.2 | — |
| Seaton Creek | 29.9 mi | 5.1 | — |
| Battle Creek | 11.4 mi | 5.0 | — |
| Belangers Creek | 10.6 mi | 4.9 | — |
| Twentytwo Creek | 16.1 mi | 4.9 | — |
| North Branch Anderson Creek | 19.8 mi | 4.8 | — |
| Mitchel Creek | 11.7 mi | 4.7 | — |
| West Branch Anderson Creek | 18.4 mi | 4.6 | — |
| Third Creek | 27.6 mi | 4.6 | — |
| Little Rapid River | 29.0 mi | 4.6 | — |
| Shalda Creek | 17.5 mi | 4.5 | — |
| Kids Creek | 11.4 mi | 4.4 | — |
| Kinney Creek | 17.7 mi | 4.3 | — |
| Paradine Creek | 25.7 mi | 4.3 | — |
| Merbert Creek | 6.0 mi | 4.2 | — |
| East Creek | 15.7 mi | 4.2 | — |
| Second Creek | 27.2 mi | 4.2 | — |
| Pickerel Creek | 18.7 mi | 4.1 | — |
| Cedar Creek | 2.2 mi | 3.9 | — |
| Chase Creek | 21.5 mi | 3.9 | — |
| Finch Creek | 28.9 mi | 3.9 | — |
| Failing Creek | 28.9 mi | 3.8 | — |
| Lee Creek | 6.2 mi | 3.7 | — |
| Acme Creek | 10.9 mi | 3.5 | — |
| Vandarli Creek | 12.3 mi | 3.4 | — |
| Shetland Creek | 16.5 mi | 3.4 | — |
| Stanley Creek | 17.3 mi | 3.4 | — |
| Golden Creek | 22.5 mi | 3.3 | — |
| Toohey Creek | 29.6 mi | 3.3 | — |
| Weaver Creek | 10.9 mi | 3.1 | — |
| Brundage Creek | 17.5 mi | 3.1 | — |
| Round Lake Creek | 23.2 mi | 3.1 | — |
| Cold Creek | 29.2 mi | 3.1 | — |
| Collison Creek | 17.9 mi | 3.0 | — |
| Otter Creek | 19.9 mi | 3.0 | — |
| Clearbrook Creek | 5.3 mi | 2.9 | — |
| East Arm Acme Creek | 11.5 mi | 2.9 | — |
| East Branch Wheeler Creek | 20.8 mi | 2.8 | — |
| Apple Creek | 21.3 mi | 2.7 | — |
| Blind Creek | 21.4 mi | 2.7 | — |
| Walton Outlet | 19.8 mi | 2.6 | — |
| Ennis Creek | 18.3 mi | 2.5 | — |
| Leo Creek | 7.2 mi | 2.3 | — |
| Lime Creek | 16.0 mi | 2.2 | — |
| Bissell Creek | 10.7 mi | 2.1 | — |
| Greens Creek | 29.2 mi | 2.1 | — |
| Bakers Creek | 11.9 mi | 2.0 | — |
| Barker Creek | 26.1 mi | 2.0 | — |
| Shanty Creek | 29.3 mi | 2.0 | — |
| East Branch Mitchell Creek | 11.8 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Bourne Creek | 20.2 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Desmond Creek | 27.0 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Perkins Creek | 27.2 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Cripple Creek | 28.0 mi | 1.7 | — |
| Elk River | 7.2 mi | 1.5 | — |
| Fourmile Creek | 12.2 mi | 1.4 | — |
| Crow Creek | 29.1 mi | 1.3 | — |
| Northport Creek | 19.3 mi | 1.2 | — |
| Spring Creek | 20.2 mi | 1.2 | — |
| Herring Lake Outlet | 28.4 mi | 1.1 | — |
| Kingsley Creek | 17.2 mi | 0.8 | — |
| The Forks — named stretch | 11.2 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.
Betsie River
Nearest listed access: Kurick Road (canoe launch), 1.6 mi, or County Line Bridge (canoe launch), 1.9 mi.
Platte River
Nearest listed access: Turtle Lake (boat launch), 2.6 mi, or Grass Lake State Forest Campground (boat launch), 4.0 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
- Natural Education Reserve — 4.8 mi
- Cedar River Preserve — 8.3 mi
- Yuba Creek Natural Area — 8.5 mi
- Lake DuBonnet Flooding State Wildlife Management Area — 9.8 mi
- Brown Bridge Quiet Area — 9.9 mi
- Petobego State Game Area — 10.8 mi
- East Creek Reserve — 10.9 mi
- Sand Lakes Quiet Area — 14.0 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Traverse City-Lodge (fee) | 3.4 mi | MDNR |
| Traverse City-Mini Cabins (fee) | 3.5 mi | MDNR |
| Traverse City-Group Use Area (fee) | 3.6 mi | MDNR |
| Traverse City-Modern Campground (fee) | 3.7 mi | MDNR |
| Arbutus Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 7.6 mi | MDNR |
| Lake Dubonnet Trail Camp (fee) | 10.3 mi | MDNR |
| Lake Dubonnet State Forest Campground (fee) | 10.4 mi | MDNR |
| Scheck's Place State Forest Campground (fee) | 11.1 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
- Streamside Orvis — 0.0 mi, Traverse City
- The Northern Angler — 0.4 mi, Traverse City
- Hawkins Outfitters — 0.5 mi, Traverse City
- North Shore Outfitters — 25.2 mi, Northport
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
- Betsie River
- Platte River
- Boardman River
- North Branch Boardman River
- Torch River