Michigan Fly Fishing Hub · Regulations Guide

Michigan Trout Stream
Regulations Explained

Michigan classifies every trout stream into one of four types — each with different season dates, bag limits, size limits, and gear restrictions. Here is what each type actually means, which rivers fall into which category, and how to fish legally on every water in the state.

Type 1
General Trout Stream
Type 2
Larger Size Minimums
Type 3
15″ Trout Minimums
Type 4
Year-Round Season
Why This Matters

The System That Confuses Every Michigan Angler

Michigan has 36,000 miles of rivers and streams — and the trout regulations vary dramatically from one water body to the next. The same species caught on the same day in two different sections of the same river can be subject to completely different rules depending on which stretch you're standing in.

The DNR uses a four-tier classification system for inland trout and salmon streams. It is not a simple ladder from permissive to restrictive: Type 3 carries the largest size minimums of the four, and Type 4 is best read as “year-round season” rather than “most restricted.” What the Type number governs is seasons, size minimums and bag limits — not your tackle. Understanding this is not optional — it is the difference between a legal day of fishing and a conservation officer writing you a citation on the bank of the Au Sable during Hex season.

Looking for one number in particular? Jump straight to every brook trout minimum size in Michigan.

The 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations are in effect through March 31, 2027. All stream type information below is based on current DNR regulations.

⚠️ Important disclaimer

This guide explains the Type system clearly but individual stream sections can have additional or different rules that override the type defaults. Always verify the specific section of the specific river in the current Michigan Fishing Regulations booklet or the DNR's Inland Trout and Salmon interactive map before fishing any new water.

The Four Types

Type 1 Through Type 4 — Explained

Type 1
General Trout Stream
Standard regulations. Most permissive of the four types.
SeasonLast Saturday in April – September 30
GearAny legal fishing tackle including bait
Brook Trout7" minimum — the smallest minimum on any Michigan stream
Brown Trout8" minimum
Rainbow (steelhead), salmon, lake trout & splake10" minimum
Daily Limit5 trout and salmon in any combination, no more than 3 of them 15" or greater
Examples: most smaller Michigan streams, many UP rivers. The most common classification — if a river isn't listed as Type 2, 3, or 4, it's typically managed under Type 1 or general unclassified rules.
Type 2
Larger Size Minimums
Same season and same tackle as Type 1 — every trout simply has to be bigger before you can keep it.
SeasonLast Saturday in April – September 30
GearAny legal tackle including bait — unless the reach is separately listed as Gear Restricted
Brook Trout10" minimum
Brown Trout12" minimum
Rainbow (steelhead), salmon, lake trout & splake10" minimum
Daily Limit5 trout and salmon in any combination, no more than 3 of them 15" or greater
Only 13 streams statewide carry a Type 2 designation, and usually only for a named reach rather than the whole river. Because the list is that short, look your water up in the county listing rather than assuming — a Type 2 stretch is not gear restricted and is not catch-and-release, it simply asks for a bigger fish.
Type 3
Trophy Minimums — 15 Inches on Trout
Open all year, standard tackle allowed. The 15-inch minimum is for brook and brown trout; steelhead and salmon stay at 10 inches.
SeasonOpen all year — fishing and possession
GearAny legal tackle including bait — unless the reach is separately listed as Gear Restricted
Brook Trout15" minimum — effectively catch-and-release, since a 15" Michigan brook trout is the fish of a decade
Brown Trout15" minimum
Rainbow (steelhead), salmon, lake trout & splake10" minimum — not 15". Steelhead and salmon share a column with each other, not with the trout, and it reads 10" on all four stream types.
Daily Limit5 trout and salmon in any combination, no more than 3 of them 15" or greater
58 streams statewide. This is where the Muskegon's well-known 15-inch brown trout limit comes from. It is a trout rule, not a blanket one — the regulations print rainbow trout in the same column as the chinook, coho, pink and Atlantic salmon, lake trout and splake, and that column reads 10" on every stream type. A 12-inch steelhead on Type 3 water is a legal fish; a 12-inch brown is not.
Type 4
Year-Round Season
Fish it in January if you like — but brook and brown trout may only be kept inside the standard spring-to-September window.
SeasonFishing open all year
PossessionBrook trout, brown trout and Atlantic salmon: last Saturday in April – September 30. All other trout and salmon: all year.
GearAny legal tackle including bait — unless the reach is separately listed as Gear Restricted
Brook Trout7" minimum — same as Type 1
Brown Trout10" minimum
Rainbow (steelhead), salmon, lake trout & splake10" minimum
Daily Limit5 trout and salmon in any combination, no more than 3 of them 15" or greater
128 streams statewide — the Two-Hearted below High Bridge, the Au Sable below McMasters Bridge, the Pere Marquette from Rainbow Rapids to Reek Rd. Type 4 is not the no-kill designation, and the famous flies-only water is not Type 4: the Holy Water and the Mason Tract are Gear Restricted reaches, listed separately and not given a Type at all. Plenty of Type 4 water is open to bait and to harvest.
Side-by-Side Comparison

At-a-Glance Comparison — All Four Types

Regulation Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 4
Fishing season Late Apr – Sep 30 Late Apr – Sep 30 Year-round Year-round
Possession season Late Apr – Sep 30 Late Apr – Sep 30 Year-round Brook, brown & Atlantic: late Apr – Sep 30. Others year-round.
Bait allowed? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Spinning gear? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Fly fishing? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Keep trout? Yes (limits apply) Yes (limits apply) Yes (limits apply) Yes (limits apply)
Brook Trout minimum 7 inches 10 inches 15 inches 7 inches
Brown Trout minimum 8 inches 12 inches 15 inches 10 inches
Rainbow (steelhead), salmon,
lake trout & splake minimum		 10 inches 10 inches 10 inches 10 inches
Daily bag limit 5 combined, max 3 at 15"+ 5 combined, max 3 at 15"+ 5 combined, max 3 at 15"+ 5 combined, max 3 at 15"+
Streams statewide ~1,400 13 58 128
Famous examples Most small streams, many UP rivers 13 named reaches — check the county listing Muskegon below Croton Dam (15" limit) Two-Hearted below High Bridge; Pere Marquette, Rainbow Rapids to Reek Rd.
The most important thing to understand

The Type number sets sizes, limits and seasons — it does not set your tackle. Bait and spinning gear are legal on all four stream types. What makes a stretch flies-only, artificial-only or no-kill is a separate Gear Restricted listing layered on top of the Type, and that listing is what the Au Sable Holy Water and the Mason Tract are famous for — neither of them carries a Type number at all. Anglers get this backwards constantly, in both directions: some assume Type 4 means no-kill everywhere, others carry a spinning rod onto a GR reach because the map said Type 1. Look up both the Type and the GR listing for the exact section you plan to fish.

Brook Trout

Every Brook Trout Minimum Size in Michigan

Brook trout are the only fish in Michigan with a stream minimum below eight inches. On Type 1 and Type 4 water the minimum is 7 inches — a number that surprises anglers who assume it matches the 8-inch brown trout limit. It does not, and it has not for years.

Michigan manages brook trout for opportunity rather than size. They are short-lived, they mature small, and in most of the state a seven-year-old brookie is a rare fish. The low minimum reflects that biology. The exception is a Brook Trout Restoration Area, where the DNR is trying to rebuild the large, lake-run “coaster” strain and the minimum jumps to 20 inches.

Water Brook trout minimum Daily possession limit
Streams
Type 1 stream 7 inches 5 trout & salmon combined, no more than 3 at 15"+
Type 2 stream 10 inches 5 trout & salmon combined, no more than 3 at 15"+
Type 3 stream 15 inches 5 trout & salmon combined, no more than 3 at 15"+
Type 4 stream 7 inches 5 combined — but brook trout may only be kept late Apr – Sep 30
Brook Trout Restoration Area 20 inches 1 fish — brook trout, lake trout and splake combined
Inland lakes
Lake Type A, B and F 10 inches 5 trout & salmon combined, no more than 3 at 15"+
Lake Type C 8 inches 5 trout & salmon combined, no more than 3 at 15"+
Lake Type D 15 inches 1 fish — artificial lures only
Lake Type E 15 inches 3 fish
Unclassified lake 8 inches 5 trout & salmon combined, no more than 3 at 15"+
No, you can no longer keep 10 brook trout in the U.P.

From 2016 an experimental regulation allowed a 10-fish daily brook trout limit on 33 select Type 1 streams in the Upper Peninsula — about 8 percent of Type 1 stream mileage up there. It expired on October 1, 2019, was briefly extended that November, and on January 9, 2020 the Natural Resources Commission voted to restore the standard five-fish limit after DNR biologists recommended against renewing it. The 10-fish limit is gone. Anyone still working from an old digest, an old forum post, or a friend’s memory of the U.P. is five fish over.

The 15-inch rule cuts both ways

The daily limit is five trout and salmon in any combination, and no more than three of those five may be 15 inches or greater. On a Type 3 stream, where the brook trout minimum is 15 inches, that means every legal brook trout you keep also counts against the three-fish trophy cap — so the practical Type 3 limit is three fish, not five. A 15-inch Michigan brook trout is a fish of a lifetime in most of the state anyway.

Additional Designations

Beyond the Four Types — Other Special Designations

The four Type classifications are the primary system, but several additional designations add further restrictions on specific waters.

Gear Restricted (GR)
The designation that actually controls your tackle. GR reaches are listed separately from the Type system and layered on top of it — some are artificial lures only, some are artificial flies only, and scented or organic baits are out on all of them. Harvest may still be allowed. The Au Sable Holy Water, Burton's Landing to Wakeley Bridge, is one of these — flies only, possession closed all year. It is not Type 4, or any Type: Gear Restricted reaches are listed on their own and given no Type number.
Brook Trout Restoration Area (BTRA)
Ten waters, nearly all in the Upper Peninsula — the Big Garlic, the Big Huron and the Iron River among them — managed to rebuild large lake-run brook trout. Brook trout, lake trout and splake all carry a 20-inch minimum with a combined daily limit of one fish, and harvest runs last Saturday in April – September 30. The strictest brook trout rule in the state.
Research Area (RA)
Sections managed under DNR research protocols. Rules vary significantly — some are more permissive, some more restrictive. Always verify before fishing.
Designated Trout Stream
All Type 1, 2, GR, BTRA, and most Type 3 and 4 streams. Designated streams are protected from certain shoreline activities beyond just fishing regulation. Look for posted signs.
Catch-and-Release Only
Some waters are closed to possession regardless of their Type designation — and the Holy Water, the most famous example, is not a Type at all. Burton's Landing to Wakeley Bridge is listed as Gear Restricted: artificial flies only, possession season closed all year, zero trout. Children under 12 may keep one trout between 8 and 12 inches. Always check the specific section.
No Closed Season
Type 3 and Type 4 streams are open to fishing year-round — Type 1 and Type 2 are not, and close on September 30. Note the difference between fishing and keeping: on Type 4 water you may fish in February, but brook and brown trout may only be kept between the late-April opener and September 30.
The Rule Nobody Mentions

Aug. 1 – Nov. 15: The Salmon and Steelhead Lure Restrictions

Every autumn a rule applies to most of Michigan's best salmon and steelhead water that has nothing to do with the Type system, is not a Gear Restricted listing, and is easy to miss because it lives in the definitions at the front of the regulations rather than in the county tables at the back. It exists to make snagging harder, and it is in force from August 1 through November 15 — which is to say, for the whole run.

What you may tie on, Aug. 1 – Nov. 15

Terminal tackle is limited to single-pointed hooks or jigs measuring ½ inch or less from point to shank, or treble hooks of ⅜ inch (three eighths) or less from point to shank — and those only when attached to a body bait, plug, spinner or spoon. A bare treble on a dropper is out. So is a lure primarily constructed of lead.

Where it applies. All waters of the Betsie (Benzie and Manistee Cos.). All waters of Bear Creek (Manistee Co.). The Manistee from Tippy Dam downstream to the railroad bridge below M-55. The Big Sable from the mouth up to Hamlin Lake Dam. All waters of the Pere Marquette. All waters of the Little Manistee. The White from the mouth up to Hesperia Dam, and all of the North Branch. The Muskegon upstream to Croton Dam. All of the North Branch Pentwater, and the South Branch up to Hart Dam.

That list is most of the rivers people drive to in October. If you are swinging or drifting for kings, coho or fall steelhead on any of them, this rule is on your water even when the Type table says you may use any legal tackle.

Beads: legal, but not everywhere, and not as a fly

A bead counts as a lure, not as bait. It is legal fished on the hook, or pegged or attached to the line no further than 4 inches above the eye of a single-pointed hook measuring ½ inch or less from point to shank. Pegged higher than four inches, it is not.

And the part that catches people out on the Holy Water and the Pere Marquette flies-only water: a bead is not a fly. The regulations say so in as many words, and beads are not allowed on flies-only Gear Restricted reaches at all. Neither is scented material.

How to Find Any Stream's Type

Looking Up Your River Before You Go

Three resources — use all three together for any unfamiliar water:

1. DNR Inland Trout and Salmon Interactive Map — The most authoritative source. Search any Michigan stream and see its classification type, season dates, and bag limits. michigan.gov/dnr → Fishing Regulations

2. Michigan Fishing Regulations Booklet (PDF) — Available free at any DNR office or sporting goods store. The booklet lists every classified stream by county with its type, season, and limits. Download the current version at michigan.gov/dnr. The 2026 regulations are in effect through March 31, 2027.

3. eRegulations Michigan — A searchable online version of the regulations at eregulations.com/michigan/fishing

Practical tip

When in doubt about any section's regulations, call the local DNR office or a fly shop near the river. Gates Au Sable Lodge, Old Au Sable Fly Shop, Nomad Anglers, and Batcke's Fly Shop are all authoritative sources on their home waters and they answer regulation questions from visiting anglers every day. Five minutes on the phone is worth far more than a citation.

Every number on this page was read from the printed 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations digest — the stream type table on p. 43, the per-county stream listings on pp. 48–65, and the definitions on p. 8 — and checked reach by reach for the rivers named here. Verified 16 September 2026. Regulations change; if this page and the current digest disagree, the digest is right and we want to hear about it.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use spinning gear on a Type 4 stream?+
On most Type 4 water, yes — and this is the single most common misconception about the Michigan system. All types of natural and artificial bait are legal on stream Types 1 through 4; the Type number does not restrict tackle at all. What restricts tackle is a separate Gear Restricted (GR) listing, which the DNR publishes as its own list in the digest and applies to named reaches. Some GR reaches are artificial lures only, some are artificial flies only. The Au Sable Holy Water is one of the flies-only ones, so a fly rod is the only legal setup there — and note that the Holy Water has no Type number at all. It is on the Gear Restricted list and nowhere else. Check both lists for the exact stretch you plan to fish.
What is the minimum size for brook trout in Michigan?+
Seven inches on a Type 1 or Type 4 stream — the smallest minimum of any trout in the state, and lower than the 8-inch brown trout limit that anglers often assume applies to brookies too. It rises to 10 inches on Type 2 water and 15 inches on Type 3. On inland lakes it runs 8 to 15 inches depending on the lake type, and in a Brook Trout Restoration Area it is 20 inches with a one-fish limit. The full breakdown is in the brook trout minimums table above.
How many brook trout can I keep in Michigan?+
Five — but the limit is five trout and salmon in any combination, not five of each, and no more than three of those five may be 15 inches or greater. The 10-fish brook trout limit that ran on 33 Upper Peninsula streams expired on October 1, 2019, and the Natural Resources Commission restored the standard five-fish limit on January 9, 2020. There is no Michigan water where 10 brook trout is legal today. In a Brook Trout Restoration Area the limit drops to a single fish, combined across brook trout, lake trout and splake.
Does the Type classification change in different sections of the same river?+
Yes — and this is the most important thing to understand. The Au Sable mainstream is the clearest example in the state. Coming downstream: Type 2 from James St. to Burton's Landing, then Gear Restricted — not a Type at all — from Burton's Landing through Wakeley Bridge (the Holy Water) and on to McMasters Bridge, then Type 4 from McMasters down to the Rainbow Bend power line. Four sets of rules on one river in about thirty miles. Always check the specific mileage or landmark boundaries in the regulations booklet for the section you plan to fish.
If I'm on a Type 1 stream that borders a Type 4 stretch, which rules apply where I'm standing?+
The rules that apply are those of the water where your line is in. If your fly is drifting through Type 4 water, Type 4 regulations apply — even if you are standing on the bank of a Type 1 section. The boundary is defined by the water, not by where the angler is standing.
Which stream types can I fish in the winter?+
Type 3 and Type 4 are open to fishing year-round. Type 1 and Type 2 both run on the standard season — last Saturday in April through September 30 — and are closed outside it. Gear Restricted reaches carry their own season, and many are open all year: you can fish the Au Sable Holy Water in January, but not your local Type 1 brook trout creek. Keeping fish is a separate question: on Type 4 water, brook trout, brown trout and Atlantic salmon may only be kept during the standard late-April-to-September window even though fishing is open all year. Always carry your license — it is required year-round on all waters.
What is the penalty for violating stream type regulations in Michigan?+
Fishing regulation violations in Michigan are typically civil infractions with fines ranging from $100 to $500+ depending on the violation. Using prohibited tackle (spinning gear on a fly-only stretch) or keeping fish on a C&R water are both serious violations. Conservation Officers actively patrol blue-ribbon streams, particularly during peak season. License revocation is possible for repeat offenders.
Are the Muskegon River and Pere Marquette Type 3 or Type 4?+
Neither is Type 4, and only one of them is meaningfully Type 3. The Muskegon from Croton Dam down to M-120 is Type 3 — that is where its well-known 15-inch limit comes from, and it applies to brook and brown trout. That same reach allows up to five rainbow trout in the daily limit, with no more than one at 20 inches or greater.

The Pere Marquette is mostly neither. From M-37 down to Gleason's Landing, and on from there to Rainbow Rapids, it is Gear Restricted — that is the famous flies-only water. Rainbow Rapids to Reek Rd. (Indian Bridge) is Type 4. Only the lowest reach, Reek Rd. to Old US-31, is Type 3. Both of those lower reaches cap the daily limit at one rainbow trout.

All waters of both rivers also fall under the Aug. 1 – Nov. 15 lure restrictions described above. Verify the specific section you plan to fish.

Find Live Conditions on
Michigan's Regulated Rivers

Current conditions, hatch calendars, and weekly reports for Michigan's most closely regulated rivers.

Au Sable Holy Water (GR) Muskegon (Type 3) Pere Marquette (GR) Get Your License Tippy Dam Access Fall Steelhead Below Tippy