Little Manistee River Fishing Report: Updated 04/26/24 The stream is still flowing near a normal level and clear. Steelhead fishing is over for the season. We are starting to get good reports from customers fishing for trout. There are good hatches taking place. email us at (sales@perfectflystore.com) with the dates you will be fishing and we will send you a list of our fly recommendations. Fly and Gear ordering and delivery: We can get flies 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. Please see the bottom of this column for ordering options.
We also have custom Perfect Fly selections in 3 different price ranges for this stream that come with or without fly boxes. They make excellent gifts. Click Here To Order or Call us at 800 594 4726 or email us at sales@perfectflystore.com.
Type of Stream
Freestone and Tailwater
Species
Steelhead
Salmon
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Brook Trout
Click Here to see our Steelhead Flies: Click Here to see our Salmon Flies:
Size
Medium to Large
Location
Northwest Michigan
Nearest Towns
Wellston
Mancelona
Mesick
Season
Varies with species
Special Regulations
Yes, be sure you check them prior to
fishing.
Access:
Good
Non-Resident License
State of Michigan
Weather
National Weather Service Link
USGS Real Time Stream Flows:
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/mi/nwis/uv?04125550
Seasons:
The season varies for trout, salmon and steelhead.
Spring:
There is a spring run of steelhead in April. Spring also provides the best dry fly fishing for trout because of the many hatches.
Summer:
Salmon enter the river in July and early August. Trout fishing is good during the evening drake hatches and in the cool spring water. Fall:
Early fall is great for brown trout fishing. It is also the time the steelhead come back into the river.
Winter:
November and December is the best time for steelhead.
Recommended Tackle & Gear
For Steelhead and Salmon
Fly Line:
7, 8 , 9 or 10 weight for appropriate typerod, sinking, sinking tip and floating
Leaders:
10#, 12# in 9 to 15 feet lengths
Tippets:
10# and 12#
Best Fly Rods:
Perfect Fly 7, 8, 9 and 10 ft. single hand rods
Fly Reels:
For 7 to 10 weight lines
Fly Floatants and Misc Items:
KISS Strike Indicators, Lanyards, etc.
Tools & Accessories:
Nippers, forceps, retractors, etc.
Fly and Gear ordering and delivery:
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.
Copyright 2016 James Marsh
Fly Fishing Report on the Little Manistee River, Michigan
This beautiful little stream starts from springs near Luther and flows for about forty miles to Lake Michigan. In its headwaters, the stream is relatively small with lots of stream side trees and brush. It almost never floods, rarely freezes and never is affected by a drought.
The trout are mostly brook trout with a few brown trout. The stream gradually increases in size the further downstream you travel. At Irons it is about twenty-five to thirty feet wide. The trout are mostly browns in this area.
From Irons downstream to Lake Michigan, a distance of about twenty miles, you will find brook, brown and rainbow trout. This is also the section of the stream that is famous for its steelhead fishing. The river is much wider, ranging from about fifty to seventy feet wide. Salmon also migrate up into this area to spawn.
This river has a gravel and sand bottom. Some areas have some silt and a good population of burrowing mayflies. The entire stream is mostly smooth flowing water with a few moderate runs and riffles. There are lots of deadfalls in the river, undercut banks and deep holes for the trout and steelhead to hide.
The steelhead are all wild fish in the Little Manistee River. Their eggs are used by hatcheries to stock other streams.
The wild trout are not so easy to catch at times. Anglers who use generic trout flies often have a difficult time fooling the trout. They can become very selective to certain aquatic insect hatches. Those anglers who match what is going to hatch as well as what is hatching do much better. Determining what the most plentiful and most available food for the trout is can be critical towards your success.
Fly Fishing Guide to the Little Manistee River
Fly fishing the Little Manistee River is very diverse and varied. The methods, strategies and techniques you use strictly depends on which species of fish you are pursuing. The headwaters are full of brook trout with a few small browns. This area is generally in the area of Luther. The stream gains strength and size as it flows below highway M-37 down past Bass Lake Road . Brown trout are the main species but rainbows start showing up in this area. Fishing is good in the area of the Nine Mile and the Six Mile Bridges. Below the Six Mile Bridge, the water slow down and the pools become longer and deeper. This is a prime area for both steelhead and large brown trout.
Salmon spawn in the river and the steelhead enter the river twice a year, in the spring and again in the fall. Each species requires a completely different strategy and usually, a different method of fishing.
There is a fish weir that blocks the migration of fish during the spring and fall. This allows the state to take steelhead eggs in the spring and salmon eggs in the fall. When the set quota of eggs are obtained, the weir is removed. The steelhead can then jump over the dam and move on upstream. The eggs are used in the state hatchery to stock other streams. The stream is usually blocked from about the first to the middle of March to the middle of April. The steelhead that do not have eggs, called green steelhead, are released to migrate on upstream during this process.
From about August 15 until November 15, the weir is placed to collect Chinook Salmon eggs. The other salmon, Coho, Chinook and some Pink Salmon are kept. All steelhead and brown trout than may be caught in the weir are released to move upstream.
There are several special regulation in effect on the Little Manistee River. From 300 feet below the weir and downstream to Manistee Lake, the river is closed to fishing from September 1 until November 14, and from January 1 until March 31. There is a “flies only” section that runs from Spencer’s Bridge to Johnson’s Bridge. This area is controlled by a club and mostly private. The January 1 to March 31 closure also applies to this section.