Mason County, MI • Steelhead • Brown Trout • Coho Salmon
Little Manistee River
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Current Conditions
Flows are around 143 cfs and rising, about the year-round median (Gauge at Nine Mile Bridge near Freesoil — reports water temperature as well as flow, which the old Freesoil gauge never did). Water was 52°F at the gauge. The hatch calendar has BWO on this water in October.
Been out on the Little Manistee?
Little Manistee River Fishing Report
Steelhead: ExcellentNymphing: BestSwing Flies: Good
The weir count has been very strong this spring. Steelhead are throughout the system — from the lower river up through the deadline above the weir. Egg patterns and stonefly nymphs most effective. Some fish willing to move to swung flies in the morning.
Live Flow Conditions
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Current
150
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Normal Today
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Water Temp
Loading live USGS data...
USGS Site: 04126195 • Little Manistee River at Nine Mile Bridge near Freesoil • View full data ↗
Gauge at Nine Mile Bridge near Freesoil — reports water temperature as well as flow, which the old Freesoil gauge never did
Hatch Calendar
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
HendricksonEphemerella subvaria
SulphurEphemerella dorothea
CaddisHydropsychidae spp.
BWOBaetis spp.
TricoTricorythodes spp.
Gear Recommendations
The Little Manistee is Michigan's premier steelhead river — intimate, clear, and heavily run by wild steelhead. The weir near Walhalla is a key landmark. Spring and fall steelhead are the main draw.
Gear
Dry Fly
NymphingRecommended
Euro Nymph
Streamer
Rod
9ft 5-weight
9ft 6-weight
11ft 3-weight or 4-weight
9ft 7-weight
Line
WF5F floating
WF floating
Euro mono rig
Intermediate or Type 3 sink tip
Leader
10ft to 4X
9ft to 3X
Heavy mono rig
6ft to 1X
Tippet
4X–5X
3X–4X fluorocarbon
4X fluorocarbon
1X or 15lb mono
Waders
Chest waders
Chest waders with wading belt
Chest waders
Chest waders
Boots
Felt-soled boots
Felt-soled with studs
Felt-soled boots
Felt-soled boots
Dry Fly Tips
Dry fly fishing is productive for resident brown trout in summer between steelhead runs. Caddis and PMDs are the key patterns in June.
Dry fly selection for summer resident brownsFloatant
Nymphing Tips
Egg pattern nymphing is the primary steelhead technique on the Little Manistee. During peak spring and fall runs, large Glo Bugs and Sucker Spawn patterns fished under a large indicator produce consistently. The river runs clear — use fluorocarbon tippet.
Euro nymphing for steelhead on the Little Manistee requires heavier flies than typical trout fishing. Tungsten bead eggs and heavy stoneflies drifted through the pools below the weir are very effective.
Heavy egg-pattern jigsStonefly nymphs size 8–14
Streamer Tips
Swinging streamers for steelhead on the Little Manistee is most effective in higher flows of spring. A sink-tip line and a large streamer swung through deep runs produces fresh steelhead.
Intruder-style streamersWooly Buggers in chartreuse and blackWading staff
Find Your Guide
J&J River Guides
Independent
📍 Baldwin, MIFloat and wade
35+ years of guide experience on the Little Manistee and surrounding rivers — experts on steelhead timing.
Specialties
Little Manistee steelheadDrift boat tripsNymph and egg fishing
Pricing (2 anglers unless noted)
Full Day$550
Half Day$350
What's Included
All tackle and flies
Shore lunch (full day)
Beverages
What to Bring
Chest waders
Rain gear
Michigan fishing license
Federal permit holders — authorized to fish the Little Manistee above the weir
Run status is rebuilt twice a day from the live gauge and the DNR's own run windows. The windows are typical timing, not a forecast — what actually moves fish is water temperature and a rise, and the run tracker carries both for every river at once.
Kings Chinook Salmon
Tailing off
Typical: Aug 21 – Oct 21, peak Sep 11 – Oct 1
Runs early — it is a small, cold river and fish push on the first real bump.
Coho Coho Salmon
Peak
Typical: Sep 10 – Nov 12, peak Sep 28 – Oct 25
Steelhead Steelhead
Peak
Typical: Sep 22 – Apr 12, peak Oct 22 – Dec 17
Source of Michigan’s wild steelhead brood stock. Every steelhead stocked in the state traces back to this river.
Upstream limit
DNR weir at Six Mile Bridge The weir is the hard stop from mid-August to mid-November, and again for steelhead in March and April.
Whose fish
Wild DNR stocks no steelhead here at all, and the run is naturally reproduced. It is the only steelhead egg-take facility in Michigan — every steelhead the state plants anywhere traces back to this river.
Access
Nine Mile Bridge, Six Mile Bridge, Indian Bridge, Johnson Bridge, Old Stronach. Wade only in most of it. Small water, tight cover.
Crowding
Busy but not Tippy-busy. The weir stretch draws a crowd; walk twenty minutes and it thins out fast.
Regulations
Gear-restricted water in sections — check the current DNR guide before you go. The weir stretch has its own closures.
What to throw
Small and sparse. Single eggs, nymphs, small buggers. This is not a river for the big articulated stuff.
The Little Manistee River, while smaller than its namesake, is one of Michigan's most productive steelhead rivers on a per-mile basis. The Little Manistee State Fish Hatchery on its banks is responsible for stocking millions of steelhead and salmon throughout the Great Lakes — making the river uniquely significant to the entire Michigan fishery. The river flows 52 miles through Mason and Lake Counties before joining Manistee Lake. It is largely unknown outside of Michigan fishing circles, which is exactly how its devotees like it.
Did you know
The Little Manistee Weir captures returning wild steelhead to strip eggs for hatchery propagation — the hatchery on this river supplies steelhead smolts to rivers across Michigan and other Great Lakes states annually.
Did you know
Despite its small size and relative obscurity, the Little Manistee is regularly mentioned in the same breath as the Pere Marquette by Michigan steelhead guides — its fish are larger on average.