The Manistee River is a tributary of Lake Michigan that starts east of Mancelona and flows southwest through the Lower Peninsula for over 200 miles paralleling the Au Sable River for several of its miles. However, unlike the Au Sable which flows into Lake Huron, the Manistee flows southwest and flows into Lake Michigan. The remarkably clear steady flow of clean water makes it a great habitat for trout fishing as well as other recreational activities. It is relatively slow moving resulting from an average gradient of about 3 feet per mile.
It has a good population of trout, as well as steelhead and salmon runs from the lake. The thirty miles of the upper portion of the Manistee provides the trout fishing from M-38 downstream to M-66, while the tailwater below Tippy Dam provides the salmon and steelhead runs. Fly fishing the "Big" Manistee River, as it is called by the locals, provides year-round opportunities.
The Manistee River begins as a small stream approximately 20 feet wide, and gradually increases in size up to a hundred feet in width. The uppermost part has mostly brook trout with browns increasing in population downstream. The lower section also has a population of rainbow trout. The stream bottom consists of gravel and sand. There's lots of cover for the brown trout with logs and undercut banks plentiful. The flow is moderate with some sharp bends with deep pools and runs.
The Manistee River has a special regulation section that is located from Michigan M-72 downstream to the CCC Bridge. Only artificial flies may be used. Fly fishing the Manistee River in this section is excellent for trout with trophy size fish fairly common. There's plenty of access to the river from several roads and many bridges.
The Manistee River is most noted for its salmon and steelhead fishing. It has some huge runs of fish that enter the lower section of the river below Tippy Dam. The stream has a rock and sand bottom very suitable for spawning steelhead and salmon. It's a beautiful stream with long deep pools, and deep runs and riffles. It can be fished from the banks, waded or fished from a drift boat. Fishing from a boat gives one the opportunity to cover more water and is preferred by most serious anglers.
Also, steelhead and salmon also run up into Bear Creek, a tributary to the Manistee. The creek provides excellent water for steelhead and salmon and is a preferred choice by many anglers and should not be overlooked. Indeed one can find small mouth bass plentiful and it can provide great fly fishing during the summer months when the trout fishing slows.
Fly Fishing the Manistee River:
The optimum fly rod for trout is a medium action four or five weight rod that is about 8 or 9 feet long. You may find that you would prefer moving up to a little stiffer rod for nymphs or streamers. For steelhead in the Manistee, a ten foot 7 weight rod would be ideal.
Start with a 4 or 5 weight fly line for most of your dry fly fishing and move up to a 6 weight fly line to deliver most of streamers or nymphs in your box. It may be necessary to weight the line or use a sink tip line for the deeper pools. For steelhead in the lower portion, you would probably move up to a 7 weight rod. Be sure to use a light reel with a good disc drag.
For leaders, we suggest that you use a longer leader from 8 to 9 feet in length in size 6X for small midge imitations and dry flies. For the streamers, we would recommend heavier leaders up to 2X. Ten or twelve pound, knotless, tapered, stiff leaders are best for steelhead and they should be 9 feet or longer. If you prefer to use a Spey Rod, then we suggest a 9 weight, 14 foot length rod. It should be a medium to fast action rod fitted with a ten to fifteen foot leader.
Be sure to carry plenty of tippet in sizes ranging from 2X to 6X and include heavier, hard, stiff tippet for steelhead.
For flies, we prefer the Perfect Fly series of flies. Some patterns that we recommend are Blue Winged Olive, Blue Quill, (also known locally as the mahogany dun), Hendrickson, midges the and Yellow Sally. For streamers we suggest the Brown Sculpin.
Spring:
Springtime is the best time fly fishing the Manistee River for trout because of the numerous hatches. Steelhead can be caught as late as the end of April depending on the weather.
Summer:
Summertime continues to be a good time for trout but if trout fishing slows down just switch to the great small mouth fishing that is offered by the Manistee River.
Fall:
The Fall runs of coho and Chinook Salmon first enter the river and the steelhead follow.
Steelhead begin entering the Manistee River as early as the middle of September and provide good fishing throughout the season.
Winter:
All but the coldest days of Winter can be good for steelhead. The extremely cold water of January and February can make the fish sluggish but otherwise, fishing remains good throughout the Winter for cold hardy anglers
Access to the upper section of Manistee River can be found near M-38 (Mancelona Road) Below Mancelona Road you will find access from several bridges including the bridge at M-72, the CCC Bridge and the Sharon Bridge as well as the Three Mile Access and the Smithville Access.
Access to the mid section of the Manistee River can be from Coates Highway or the Hodenpyl Road at Mesick, where you can follow the stairway to the river below the dam, to fly fish for the spectacular salmon and steelhead runs every spring and fall.
Access to the lower river can be found from numerous side roads off of M-55 as well as the River Road off of M-31 runs parallel to the north side of the river. Access is also available by roads leading to the Tippy Dam. Below the dam, North High Bridge Road crosses the river providing access.
Bear Creek is a feeder to the Manistee that is found on the north side of the river and can be accessed along River Road near the junction of the Manistee or to the north along Coates Highway.
National Weather Service Wellston
USGS Real Time Stream Flows at Sherman, Mesick and at Wellston.