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Sturgeon weekend fly fishing trip
58 waters in the Sturgeon watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Sturgeon River, West Branch Sturgeon River and Silver 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 2 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
Sturgeon 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 Sturgeon 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.
Silver 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
- Baraga State Forest Area — 4.8 mi
- Sturgeon, Michigan (Ottawa Nf) Wild and Scenic River — 7.0 mi
- Baraga Plains State Wildlife Management Area — 7.1 mi
- Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness — 10.7 mi
- Sturgeon River Sloughs State Wildlife Area — 15.8 mi
- Slate River Forest — 16.9 mi
- Huron Bay Field Station — 20.6 mi
- Craig Lake State Park — 22.5 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Baraga-Modern (fee) | 4.0 mi | MDNR |
| Baraga Mini-Cabin-Antlers (fee) | 4.1 mi | MDNR |
| Baraga Tepee (fee) | 4.1 mi | MDNR |
| Baraga-Semi Modern (fee) | 4.1 mi | MDNR |
| Big Lake State Forest Campground-Upper (fee) | 8.8 mi | MDNR |
| Sturgeon River Gorge Wilderness | 10.1 mi | USFS |
| Sturgeon River Campground (fee) | 12.2 mi | USFS |
| Emily Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 15.4 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
- Watersmeet Fish Hatchery — 38.9 mi
- Big Bay Outfitters — 40.6 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
- Sturgeon watershed
- Sturgeon River
- West Branch Sturgeon River
- Silver River
- North Branch Otter River
- West Branch Otter River
- Perch River