St. Mary’s River Michigan Fly Fishing Report & Options for Selecting Flies: Email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. We can get flies and gear to you within two to three business days from the time you place your order via Priority Mail. If you provide a budget for flies, we will select them to match the budget and get them to you on time for your trip. Your can also call us at 800-594-4726 and we will help you decide what flies and gear to use. All orders are shipped free in the U.S. If under a $100 order requiring Priority mail is a charge of only $8.10. Orders over a $100 are shipped free via Priority Mail.
We have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes that make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Connects Lake Superior to Lake
Huron
Species
Steelhead
Chinook Salmon
Coho Salmon
Pink Salmon
Atlantic Salmon
Size
Large
Location
Upper Peninsula Michigan
Nearest Town
Sault Ste. Marie Michigan and Sault
Ste. Marie Ontario
Season
Species dependant, see current
regulations
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of Michigan
Weather
National Weather Service Link
USGS Stream Flow Data:
At Sault Ste. Marie
Seasons:
The season is species dependant. Check the current regulations.
Spring:
Atlantic Salmon show up in early May and remain in the rapids area until the middle of June. Steelhead show up in the rapids in the middle of May with the run continuing into the middle of June.
Summer:
Atlantic Salmon are below the Edison plant from June through August. Chinook, Coho and Pink salmon enter the river in late Summer.
Fall:
Chinook, Coho and Pink Salmon are in the rapids until mid October. The Atlantic Salmon spawn in the St. Mary’s rapids in late October.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
Fly Line:
5 or 6 weight
Leaders:
Dry fly: 9 & 12 ft., 5 or 6X, Nymphing:
71/2 ft., 3 or 4X, Streamers 0-2X
Tippets:
Dry fly: 5 or 6X, Nymphing: 3 or 4X,
Streamer 0-2X
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly Superb Five or Ultimate Six
Fly Reels:
For 5/6 fly line
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
Floatants, KISS Strike Indicators
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing St. Marys River Michigan
The St. Mary River, sometimes written as the St. Mary’s River, is a seventy-five mile long river that drains Lake Superior from the end of Whitefish Bay into Lake Huron. It is an international border between Michigan, U.S.A. and Ontario, Canada. There are several tributaries to the river flowing in from both the Canadian and U.S. sides of the stream. The St. Marys rapids flow from the rivers exit from Lake Superior.
The most important area along the river are the rapids and the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, with the most famous man-made
feature being the Soo Locks. The rapids of the St. Marys (Sault Sainte Marie in French) are just below the river’s exit from Lake Superior.
St. Marys River carries a huge amount of water and ranks in the top ten rivers in American in terms of the rate of flow. It has a very diverse fishery with over eighty species of fish, over half of which spawn in the river and its tributaries. From a fly fishing standpoint, it is world renowned for its Atlantic Salmon fishery at the rapids section of the river. The rapids are also a popular steelhead and salmon fishery.
In late June, two to five year-old, five to eight pound Atlantic Salmon make their way upstream from Lake Huron through the St. Mary’s River. These fish hold up
behind the Sault Edison hydro plant from June through August. It’s a popular fly fishing destination for fly anglers from around the world.
You can view these fish when they arrive at the Edison plant online by pulling up the underwater FishCam. Early in the run of Atlantic Salmon, large schools of
baitfish spawn in the river and provide a source of food for the salmon.
Great Olive Winged Duns, Hexigenia species of large mayflies emerge in the river during July and become a prime source of food for the Atlantic Salmon. Our
Hexigenia nymphs are very popular flies for the St. Marys River during July, as well as other Great Lakes tributaries.
We also have several Perfect Fly Atlantic Salmon fly patterns of our own that are popular with anglers fishing the St. Marys as well as Atlantic Salmon in other locations around the World.
Flies:
We have a complete line of flies for steelhead and salmon. We have selected them as the
most popular flies from thousands of patterns that have been developed over the years. We have some of our own Perfect Fly steelhead and salmon patterns. They imitate the Hexigenia mayfly nymph, certain caddisfly nymphs, stonefly nymphs and fish roe or eggs that are found in the river throughout the year. We also have a full line of popular wet flies, egg flies, Spey flies that are very popular. We hope you will give our flies a try. We have customers that use our flies on the St. Marys River and hope that you will give them an opportunity to work for you