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Ontonagon weekend fly fishing trip
67 waters in the Ontonagon watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Middle Branch Ontonagon River, East Branch Ontonagon River and West Branch Ontonagon River. June, July and September carry the most recorded hatches, 22 insects in June, 19 insects in July and 15 insects in September. In range: 8 blocks of public land with a page of their own, 8 state-forest campgrounds and 5 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
Ordered by mapped length. July mean is measured at the USGS gauges standing in each river; a dash means no gauge on it reports temperature.
A 3-day plan
Middle Branch Ontonagon 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.
East Branch Ontonagon 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.
West Branch Ontonagon 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 the Upper Peninsula: June (22), July (19), September (15).
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Alderfly | May–June | #10–14 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
| Giant Black Stonefly (Salmonfly) | May–June | #4–6 |
| Green Sedge | May–August | #12–16 |
Recorded from the Upper Peninsula, earliest first. The year-round records sit at the bottom because they are true and they are not news.
Public land in range
- South Ewen Purchase Unit — 3.7 mi
- Norwich Plains Revised Roadless Area Roadless Area — 8.1 mi
- Ontonagon Wild And Scenic River — 8.7 mi
- Ontonagon, Michigan Wild And Scenic River Study Area — 9.7 mi
- Paynesville Purchase Unit — 10.4 mi
- Agate Falls Scenic Site — 11.6 mi
- Ontonagon, Michigan Wild and Scenic River — 11.9 mi
- Lake Gogebic State Park — 13.4 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Robbins Pond Campground (fee) | 11.7 mi | USFS |
| Lake Gogebic-Modern (fee) | 13.2 mi | MDNR |
| Lake Gogebic-Semi Modern (fee) | 13.3 mi | MDNR |
| Trap Hills | 14.4 mi | USFS |
| Sparrow Rapids Campground (fee) | 17.8 mi | USFS |
| Burned Dam Campground (fee) | 20.0 mi | USFS |
| Langford Lake Boat Launch | 20.2 mi | USFS |
| Sylvania (Clark Lake) Campground (fee) | 20.3 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
- Watersmeet Fish Hatchery — 19.9 mi
- We Tie It — 33.2 mi, Boulder Junction
- Silver Doctor Fly Fishing — 33.2 mi, Boulder Junction
- Big Sno Outfitters — 34.9 mi
- Hawks Nest Outfitters — 43.2 mi
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
- Ontonagon watershed
- Middle Branch Ontonagon River
- East Branch Ontonagon River
- West Branch Ontonagon River
- South Branch Ontonagon River
- Ontonagon River
- Baltimore River