Michigan Fly Fishing
9 Michigan rivers — the Au Sable's Holy Water, the Pere Marquette, Manistee, and the Lake Superior tributaries that produce the fall steelhead and brown-trout runs the upper Midwest is famous for.
Au Sable River
Grayling to Mio · Holy Water
The Au Sable's Hexagenia mayfly hatch — the world's largest mayfly species — brings 20-inch brown trout to the surface at midnight in late June.
Au Sable River
Grayling · Holy Waters
The Au Sable's Hex hatch — Hexagenia limbata, the largest mayfly in North America — emerges in late June through early July nights, producing some of…
Boardman River
Scheck's Place · Traverse City
The Boardman River was the site of one of the largest dam-removal projects in the Midwest — three dams removed between 2012 and 2018 — restoring 160…
Manistee River
Below Tippy Dam
The Manistee's Tippy Dam tailwater is one of Michigan's most consistent fall steelhead fisheries — Lake Michigan-run fish stacked below the dam…
Muskegon River
Newaygo to Croton Dam
The Muskegon below Croton Dam is one of the largest and most consistent Great Lakes-run steelhead tailwaters — comparable in scale and productivity…
Pere Marquette River
Baldwin to Walhalla
The PM's spring steelhead arrive with March snowmelt and can exceed 15 lbs — fish the lower sections with large egg and streamer patterns during peak…
Pigeon River
Vanderbilt · Pigeon River Country · Native Brook Trout
The Pigeon River Country State Forest holds the largest free-roaming elk herd east of the Mississippi — anglers fishing the river share the watershed…
South Branch Manistee
Luther · Chase · Wild Trout
The Mason Tract on the South Branch — a fly-fishing-only catch-and-release section — was one of the first conservation easements in Michigan history…
Two Hearted River
Upper Peninsula
The Two Hearted is one of the few rivers in the lower 48 still supporting native coaster brook trout — Lake Superior-going brookies that grow large…