31 miles
Michigan · freestone
31 miles
Intermediate · Wade / boat
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Steelhead, Chinook Salmon
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) | ||||||||||||
| Little Black Stonefly | ||||||||||||
| Hendrickson (Ephemerella subvaria) | ||||||||||||
| Blue-winged Olive (Baetis) | ||||||||||||
| Caddis (Trichoptera) | ||||||||||||
| Sulphur (Ephemerella) | ||||||||||||
| Hex (Hexagenia limbata) | ||||||||||||
| Terrestrials |
Hatch-chart nymphs, dries, and streamers for this river. Not a crowdsourced catch report.
Open the Little Manistee River fly list →3 listed points. Map is Vellum land and Teal water — a desk chart, not a satellite.
Huron-Manistee National Forests campground on the upper Little Manistee west of M-37. USDA: 44.0608, -85.8517. Shallow, wooded water. Canoeing is not recommended on this stretch.
National Forest campground on the Little Manistee with parking for 20 vehicles and a connector to the North Country Trail. USDA: 44.1475, -86.0306.
Federal bridge access near Freesoil. Live USGS gauge 04126195 is at this crossing. Parking on National Forest land.
Michigan DNR no longer maintains an active Blue Ribbon list; current rules are stream Types 1-4 plus Gear Restricted listings. Upstream of Johnson's Bridge (Johnson Road): Gear Restricted, artificial flies only, daily possession 2 trout, 15-inch minimum for brown trout and 10-inch minimum for other trout and salmon. Downstream of Johnson's Bridge: Type 4 (fishing open all year except the closures below; brook and brown trout possession last Saturday in April through September 30; Type 4 size limits: brook trout 7 inches, brown trout 10 inches, rainbow 10 inches; 5 trout and salmon combined, no more than 3 fish 15 inches or larger). Entire Little Manistee River closed to fishing January 1 through March 31. Three hundred feet above and below the DNR weir closed to fishing all year. From 300 feet below the weir to the mouth, also closed September 1 through November 14. Michigan fishing license required. Verify the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations and the Inland Trout and Salmon map for the exact reach.
The Little Manistee River holds a 31-mile historic Blue Ribbon trout reach from County Road 633 to the Manistee County line, on a spring-fed freestone that starts in wetlands near Luther and ends in Manistee Lake. Michigan DNR no longer keeps an active Blue Ribbon list. Inland trout water is typed 1 through 4 now, and this river was one of the premier designated streams under the old standard.
The Little Manistee weir is the DNR primary egg-take station for Chinook salmon and the sole Michigan source of steelhead broodstock. Resident brown trout hold the middle river. Brook trout persist in the upper water. Rainbow trout and Pacific salmon use the lower river when seasonal closures allow.
Old Grade Campground west of M-37 sits on shallow, wooded National Forest water. Johnson's Bridge is the gear line: artificial flies only above it, Type 4 below it. Bear Track Campground and Nine Mile Bridge add Forest Service parking farther down. Live USGS gauge 04126195 reports discharge at Nine Mile Bridge.
The entire river is closed January 1 through March 31 to protect wild steelhead. Three hundred feet above and below the weir stay closed all year. From 300 feet below the weir to the mouth, fishing is also closed September 1 through November 14.
Hendricksons come on after the late-April opener. Caddis carry summer. Hexagenia is on the published Little Manistee hatch list for June. Confirm the current Michigan Fishing Regulations and the Inland Trout and Salmon map before you fish. Types and closures change by reach.
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
Bear Creek (Manistee)
Brown Trout · Brook Trout · Steelhead · Freestone
Freestone
Brown Trout · Brook Trout · Steelhead
Freestone
Brown Trout · Brook Trout · Rainbow Trout
Brule River (Michigan UP)
Brook Trout · Brown Trout · Freestone
Freestone
Brook Trout · Brown Trout
If something here is thin or wrong, add what you know. It goes to review before it publishes.
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