MANISTEE RIVER

The Manistee River starts in the center of the Lower Peninsula, about 20 miles north of Grayling, and then meanders for over 200 miles before flowing into Manistee Lake. This river system is very diverse and offers many fine trout fishing opportunities.

The upper river is loaded with brookies, and the browns increase as you go downstream. The prime fly-fishing water is found between Deward and Smithville. If you want to catch a trophy brown and don’t mind the occasional walleye or smallmouth bass mixed in, try below the Hodenpyle Dam. This water is much better accessed via a canoe or small boat, as is the river between Sharon and the upper end of the impoundment. Many good trout streams join the Manistee in its upper half and offer good fishing for browns, brookies or both. Among the best are Hopkins, Silver, Slagle and Cannon creeks, and the North Branch of the Manistee.

The lower river is also blessed with some fine trout-containing tributaries. The Pine River joins the Manistee at the Tippy Dam impoundment and offers our state’s best fishing for resident rainbow trout. Brookies and browns are also present in good numbers in this cold, high-quality stream, and most of its mainstream is classified as blue-ribbon trout water. Bear Creek joins the Manistee about 15 miles downstream from Tippy Dam and offers good fishing for browns, including trophy-sized fish, as well as brookies in its headwaters. The Little Manistee joins the big river in Manistee Lake and you will find good fishing throughout its length, with brown trout predominating. Juvenile steelhead are common in both Bear Creek and the Little Manistee, and a larger rainbow is always possible.

Large numbers of brown trout are also stocked below Tippy Dam. The water temperature is marginal here, so the trout do not always carryover well. The last two summers have been relatively cool and thus their carryover has been much better. You can expect unusually good fishing this season for browns in the 15- 20-inch class. A similar scenario exists below Croton Dam on the Muskegon River in Newaygo County, so it will likely be another hotspot this coming season.

For the latest on all these central Lake Michigan tributaries, contact the DNR at (231) 775-9727.

AU SABLE RIVER

The Au Sable begins only a few miles from the headwaters of the Manistee River but flows to Lake Huron. Like the Manistee, the Au Sable River system offers a very diverse trout fishery.

The fly-fishing-only reach that starts a few miles downstream of Grayling is known as the “Holy Water” and offers good fishing for browns along with the occasional brookie and rainbow. The East Branch of the Au Sable joins the mainstream in Grayling and has good fishing for browns along with brookies, especially farther upstream. This branch is lightly fished, with almost no canoe traffic, so it can be a good place to try on the weekends.

Much of both the North and South branches of the Au Sable have extensive flies-only reaches, and their best fishing tends to be found as you get closer to the mainstream. This is especially true on the South Branch, which is known for its excellent Hexagenia limbata mayfly hatch and big browns. This hatch normally occurs in late June but can vary with the weather. The Au Sable below Mio is known as the trophy water of the river. This water is best floated, and 20-inch-plus trout are a possibility.

For those liking smaller water, two tributaries of the same name add to the fine trout fishing opportunities of the Au Sable. There is a Big Creek that flows into the North Branch just upstream from its juncture with the mainstream. Big Creek soon splits into East and West branches, and both offer good trout fishing for browns. Another Big Creek joins the mainstream of the Au Sable from the south near Luzerne. It also has East and West branches, and the whole system has good fishing for browns and brookies.

BLACK RIVER

One of many Michigan rivers of the same name, this is the Black River that is located in the northeast part of the Lower Peninsula and flows north to Black Lake and ultimately Lake Huron. It offers the best brook trout fishing in Lower Michigan and perhaps our whole state.

The prime brook trout stretch is found in the upper river between McKinnon’s Bend access site and Crockett Rapids. The East Branch of the Black joins the mainstream in this reach and almost doubles its size. The East Branch runs a bit colder than the main Black and is also a very good brook trout stream. The lower half of the East Branch is best, and both it and the mainstream are classified as blue-ribbon trout streams. Canada Creek flows into the Black River below Crockett Rapids and contains a good brook trout population. Because it is quite a bit colder than the mainstream at their juncture, large brookies move up into it during summer hot spells.