CENTRAL LAKE MICHIGAN
The northwest part of the L.P. is really blessed with many fine trout streams, and a good number of them are open in the winter.

The broad Muskegon River offers ice-free conditions between Croton Dam and Newaygo and has good numbers of browns and rainbows. You must release the browns in this reach, but you can keep rainbows over 10 inches. Trout fishing continues for a few miles below Newaygo, and here you can keep browns if they’re at least 15 inches long. Good access and launch ramps are found at the dam, Pine Street, Thornapple Avenue and, in Newaygo, at a city park.

You will also find catch-and-release winter fishing for browns upstream in the reach below U.S. 10 near Evart and in the Little Muskegon and Tamarack Creek, which flow into the Croton Impoundment.

Moving north, the White River below Hesperia offers catch-and-release fishing for browns, and the best fishing is found near Hesperia. It tends to freeze, so several days of mild weather are needed to make it fishable. The North Branch of the White is less likely to freeze and is open to fishing between the mainstream and Arthur Road.

The Pere Marquette is one of my favorite winter streams and is open all year downstream from M-37. It is flies-only from M-37 to Gleason’s Landing, and good fishing for browns continues down to Walhalla. The entire Big South Branch of the P.M. is open all year, with the best fishing in its middle reach. It’s catch-and-release for browns in both rivers, but you will also find some resident rainbows in both streams. In the flies-only section, all trout must be released. There are a number of public access sites on the P.M. in addition to the road crossings, but they may not always be plowed in a timely manner.

To the north, the Sable River is open to catch-and-release fishing downstream from Freesoil Road all year, and the best fishing is found near the upstream limit.

Our storied Manistee River has many miles of stream open to year-round fishing. The lower river below Tippy Dam is open all year, and the best trout fishing is found between the dam and High Bridge Road. Ice is never a problem below the dam, and the river usually stays open all the way to High Bridge. You are allowed to keep browns here, but all trout must be 15 inches long before they can be harvested. Upstream, there is catch-and-release fishing for browns and brookies in two long sections. It is flies-only between M-72 and the CCC Bridge in Kalkaska County, while you can use any method between U.S. 131 and the Tippy Impoundment. Bear Creek is a large tributary to the lower Manistee and is open all year from County Road 600 in Manistee County to its confluence with the main river. As at the Lower Manistee, you can keep browns and brookies in Bear Creek in the winter, but they must be 15 inches in length.

The Betsie River lies mostly in Benzie County, but dips into Manistee County, and the best winter trout fishing is found here. It is open up to Kurick Road, and you will find a mixture of browns, brookies and rainbows, with browns predominating. It ices up during cold spells, but will stay open with normal-to-mild winter weather.

Farther north, the Boardman River is open all year below Sabin Dam down to Traverse Bay in Traverse City. This is another stream where browns may be kept in the winter, but must be over 15 inches. The Rapid River is a small stream that contains both browns and brookies to the east near the town of Kalkaska. It is open all year for catch-and-release fishing from Antrim Pond down to its confluence with the Torch River.