Manistee County, MI • Steelhead • Chinook Salmon • Brown Trout • Coho Salmon
Manistee River (Lower)
Loading live conditions…
—
CFS live
Water temp—
Flow (CFS)—
Barometric—
Air temp—
Cloud cover—
Wind—
Normal CFS—
Current Conditions
Flows are around 2,110 cfs and rising, above normal for mid October (Gauge near Wellston, upstream of Tippy Dam). Water was 58°F at the gauge. Hawkins Outfitters reported eggs on Oct 11. Swinging and streamers for steelhead and chinook in recent reports.
Spring Steelhead: ExcellentDry Fly Evening: GoodWater: Crystal Clear
Prime conditions below Tippy Dam. Steelhead present in solid numbers in the lower river. Resident browns active on sulphur and caddis in evenings near the braided sections above the dam pool. Water clarity is excellent — long leaders required.
Live Flow Conditions
CFS
Current
1570
CFS
Normal Today
°F
Water Temp
Loading live USGS data...
USGS Site: 04125550 • Manistee River near Wellston • View full data ↗
Gauge near Wellston, upstream of Tippy Dam
Hatch Calendar
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
HendricksonEphemerella subvaria
Brown DrakeEphemera simulans
HexHexagenia limbata
CaddisBrachycentrus spp.
StoneflyPteronarcys dorsata
Hopper / TerrestrialMelanoplus spp.
Gear Recommendations
The Lower Manistee (Tippy Dam to Lake Michigan) is a big tailwater with legendary steelhead and Chinook runs. Wide, powerful, and best accessed by drift boat.
Gear
Dry Fly
Nymphing
Euro Nymph
StreamerRecommended
Rod
9ft 5-weight
9ft 6-weight
11ft 4-weight
9–10ft 8-weight
Line
WF5F floating
WF floating
Euro mono rig
WF floating, intermediate, or sink tip (Type 3)
Leader
9–12ft to 4X
9ft to 3X
Heavy mono rig
6ft to 0X
Tippet
4X–5X
4X fluorocarbon
4X fluorocarbon
0X–1X or 20lb mono
Waders
Chest waders with wading belt
Chest waders with wading belt
Chest waders with wading belt
Chest waders with wading belt
Boots
Felt with studs
Felt with studs
Felt with studs
Felt with studs
Dry Fly Tips
Hex hatch on the lower Manistee near Tippy Dam is outstanding in late June. Fish the slow braided sections upstream of the dam pool after 10pm.
Dry fly selection: Hex, Brown Drake, SulphurFloatantWading staff
Nymphing Tips
Nymphing for steelhead with egg patterns and stonefly nymphs in spring and fall. The Manistee's powerful current requires heavier weight than most Michigan rivers.
Large indicatorsHeavy shotEgg patterns, stonefly nymphsWading staff
Euro Nymph Tips
Euro nymphing works on the Manistee's tailouts and seams. Focus below Tippy Dam where steelhead stack in fall and spring. Heavy flies essential in the powerful tailwater current.
Heavy tungsten nymphs size 8–14
Streamer Tips
Steelhead on the swing is the signature Manistee experience. A sink-tip line and a large fly swung through the pools below High Bridge and Rainbow Bend produces in spring and fall. Chinook salmon stack below Tippy Dam in September — use heavy mono and egg-sucking leeches.
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 25 – Oct 25, peak Sep 15 – Oct 5
Coho Coho Salmon
Peak
Typical: Sep 13 – Nov 15, peak Oct 1 – Oct 28
Steelhead Steelhead
Peak
Typical: Sep 20 – Apr 10, peak Oct 20 – Dec 15
The Manistee holds steelhead in every month of the year. Fall fish arrive behind the salmon and stay all winter.
Browns Lake-run Brown
Peak
Typical: Sep 15 – Nov 15, peak Oct 1 – Oct 31
Upstream limit
Tippy Dam Tippy Dam stops the run about 27 river miles up from Lake Michigan. Everything that enters the river ends up below it.
Access
Tippy Dam pedestrian access, High Bridge, Bear Creek, Rainbow Bend, Blacksmith Bayou, Sixth Street in Manistee. Both. The dam pool and High Bridge wade; the water between the ramps is float country.
Crowding
The heaviest salmon crowd in Michigan. Tippy in late September is shoulder-to-shoulder from before first light, and it stays that way. If crowds bother you, fish the lower river from a boat or come in late October for steelhead instead.
Regulations
Below Tippy is open all year with gear restrictions that change by section. Snagging is illegal statewide and it is enforced hard here.
What to throw
Kings: heavy tube flies, egg-sucking leeches, big articulated streamers on sink tips. Steelhead behind them: single eggs, nuke eggs, small stones, swung buggers.
The Lower Manistee — from Tippy Dam to Lake Michigan — is one of Michigan's premier tailwater fisheries and a world-class destination for steelhead and salmon. Tippy Dam's cold, consistent releases create ideal holding conditions year-round, supporting massive fish populations in a wide, powerful river that demands skill and respect. The lower river was designated a National Wild and Scenic River in 1992. Its fall Chinook run is legendary, drawing thousands of anglers to the pools below Tippy Dam each October. Spring and fall steelhead runs are among the strongest in the Great Lakes. Below Tippy, the river is wide enough for drift boats and drift boat fishing is the standard approach.
Did you know
The Manistee's fall Chinook run is one of the most spectacular in the Great Lakes — fish averaging 12–18 pounds stack below Tippy Dam each September and October, sometimes visible from the bank.
Did you know
Fly fishing legend Bob Linsenman helped put the Lower Manistee on the national map for steelhead fishing through decades of guiding and writing on this river in the 1980s and 90s.