The Manistee River

The Manistee River begins its journey to Lake Michigan northwest of Frederic in north central Michigan. It flows south paralleling the Ausable River until the two rivers head in opposite directions near Grayling. This river is home to a fair amount of large brown trout (and brook trout for that matter). The Upper Manistee River is a fantastic stream for fly fishing for trout. The upper portion of the Upper Manistee (say, upstream from CCC Bridge) is wadeable and access is pretty good. The river bottom is sand and gravel and clay. The Manistee seems to have a sandier bottom than the Holy Water section of the Au Sable River; however sand traps are in place at some locations to help remove sand. Fly hatches are pretty good on the upper Manistee and there are sections with special flies-only regulations. We’re excited about the newest fishing regulations on portions of the upper river (implementing more flies only water). This affects the section of river south of highway M72. Below CCC Bridge the trout population thins out a bit, but there are larger browns in this section.

Evening Hatch on The Manistee