15 miles
Michigan · freestone
15 miles
Intermediate · Wade
August on the hatch chart — names and sizes, not a catch report.
Filled months are when that insect is on the chart. Best months for this river are lit.
| Insect | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midge (Chironomidae) |
Hatch-chart nymphs, dries, and streamers for this river. Not a crowdsourced catch report.
Open the Bear Creek (Manistee) fly list →2 listed points. Map is Vellum land and Teal water — a desk chart, not a satellite.
North boundary of the National Wild and Scenic reach. Michigan DEQ station 21MICH_WQX-510200, Bear Creek at Coates Highway, Dickson Township Section 7.
USDA Forest Service access where Bear Creek meets the Manistee River, formerly White Fence. Parking for 20 vehicles. USDA: 44.2917, -86.1142. Vehicle parking pass required.
Michigan DNR no longer maintains an active Blue Ribbon list; current rules are stream Types 1-4 plus special artificial-lure rules. 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations: on all waters of Bear Creek (Manistee Co.), special artificial lure regulations apply. Confirm the Inland Trout and Salmon map for the Type on the exact reach. Michigan fishing license required. USDA Bear Creek River Access requires a vehicle parking pass.
Bear Creek in Manistee County is the historic Blue Ribbon Bear Creek, a 15-mile Wild and Scenic tributary from the Third Creek junction to Nine Mile Road. It is not a random Bear Creek. Michigan DNR no longer keeps an active Blue Ribbon list. Inland trout water is typed 1 through 4 now.
The National Wild and Scenic designation (1992) runs from Coates Highway to the Manistee River. Resident brown trout and brook trout hold the corridor. Steelhead and salmon use the lower water in spring and fall. The 2026 digest applies special artificial-lure rules on all waters of Bear Creek in Manistee County.
Primary public access is Coates Highway at the north Scenic boundary and the USDA Bear Creek River Access on River Road at the Manistee confluence. No live USGS discharge gauge sits on this Bear Creek. Confirm the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations and the Inland Trout and Salmon map before you fish.
A published hatch calendar specific to this Bear Creek was not found.
Au Gres River East Branch
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Steelhead · Freestone
Freestone
Brown Trout · Rainbow Trout · Steelhead
Freestone
Brown Trout · Brook Trout · Rainbow Trout
Baldwin River
Brown Trout · Brook Trout · Freestone
Freestone
Brown Trout · Brook Trout
Freestone
Brown Trout · Brook Trout · Rainbow Trout
Brule River (Michigan UP)
Brook Trout · Brown Trout · Freestone
Freestone
Brook Trout · Brown Trout
Canada Creek
Brook Trout · Freestone
Freestone
Brook Trout
If something here is thin or wrong, add what you know. It goes to review before it publishes.
Contribute to this riverNo USGS site is linked to Bear Creek (Manistee). We do not invent a site id or guess a flow.
