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Pine weekend fly fishing trip
18 waters in the Pine watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Pine River, Chippewa River and North Branch Chippewa River. 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 and 8 state-forest campgrounds. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| Pine River | 104.2 | — |
| Chippewa River | 91.8 | — |
| North Branch Chippewa River | 50.3 | — |
| Salt Creek | 36.9 | — |
| Little Salt Creek | 21.6 | — |
| Pony Creek | 16.1 | — |
| Coldwater River | 13.3 | — |
| Roundy Branch | 8.3 | — |
| North Branch Pine River | 7.1 | — |
| Rattail Creek | 5.7 | — |
| South Branch Pine River | 5.7 | — |
| Cedar Creek | 4.2 | — |
| Decker Creek | 4.0 | — |
| West Branch Chippewa River | 4.0 | — |
| Johnson Creek | 3.5 | — |
| Atkinson Creek | 2.6 | — |
| Mission Creek | 2.5 | — |
| Jewel Creek | 2.0 | — |
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
Pine 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.
Chippewa 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.
North Branch Chippewa River
Nearest listed access: Winchester Dam (boat launch), 1.8 mi, or Big Evans Lake (boat launch), 4.1 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
- Edmore State Game Area — 11.1 mi
- Vestaburg State Game Area — 15.7 mi
- Bluff Creek / US-10 / M-18 Floodings State Wildlife Management Area — 22.2 mi
- State Forest — 22.7 mi
- Martiny Lakes State Game Area — 23.1 mi
- Stanton State Game Area — 24.1 mi
- City of Midland Park — 25.7 mi
- Martiny Lake State Game Area — 26.2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Black Creek State Forest Campground (fee) | 24.6 mi | MDNR |
| Mud Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 24.8 mi | MDNR |
| Wilson-Group Use Area (fee) | 30.5 mi | MDNR |
| Wilson-Modern (fee) | 30.6 mi | MDNR |
| Wilson-Modern Lodge (fee) | 30.7 mi | MDNR |
| Wilson-Mini Cabin (fee) | 30.8 mi | MDNR |
| Newaygo-Rustic (fee) | 36.8 mi | MDNR |
| Sunrise Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 38.5 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
No fly shop within range is on our list. That list covers all five states on this site, so an empty result here means no shop near this water is on it — not that the state is missing.
Before you go
- Michigan regulations
- Michigan fishing report
- Pine watershed
- Pine River
- Chippewa River
- North Branch Chippewa River
- Salt Creek
- Little Salt Creek
- Pony Creek