See every public fishing venue in Michigan on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
Little Manistee River is a public river in Lake County, Manistee County and Mason County, Michigan, managed by State of Michigan (public / navigable water). You can fish it on a Michigan all-species licence, trout and salmon included. Bank access is at MI DNR boating access sites, state parks, the national and state forests, and road crossings; wading a navigable stream is generally allowed but the bank is usually private. Designated trout streams carry their own seasons. Public access confirmed via public-trust river.
The Au Sable or upper Manistee River — the birthplace of Trout Unlimited and the model for river trout management. Wild brown and brook trout, stocked rainbows, the famous Hex and drake hatches, plus a fall Chinook and steelhead run in the lower reaches below the last dam. The 'Holy Water' between Burton's Landing and Wakeley Bridge is flies-only, no-kill.
It runs roughly 63 miles through the Northern Lower Peninsula region. Anglers here mostly fish for brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, chinook salmon; steelhead, smallmouth bass, northern pike are also on record. Live flow and gauge height come from the L Manistee R At Nine Mile Bridge Nr Freesoil, Mi USGS station shown below. The nearest other mapped waters on PiscaMaps are Wile Lake and Coon Lake.
Species from PiscaMaps water-type profiles, MI DNR trout designations and hand research.
Night fishing: No statewide night-fishing closure in Michigan. Some designated trout streams are closed outside the regular trout season, and a number of rivers close to fishing seasonally in spawning reaches (marked). Ice-fishing shanties must be removed by set dates that vary by zone. Spearing, dip-netting for smelt and suckers, and bowfishing for carp and gar have their own seasons and waters.
Boats: Most Michigan rivers are drift-boat, canoe and jet-boat water; the lower Grand, Muskegon, Manistee, St. Joseph and Saginaw take bigger boats, and the Great Lakes and Lake St. Clair are full big-water fisheries. The Au Sable, Pere Marquette and the northern trout rivers are wade and drift-boat fishing.
Bank & bivvy camping: Bank access is at MI DNR boating access sites, state parks and recreation areas, the Huron-Manistee, Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests, state game and forest land, and road/bridge crossings. Michigan's public-trust doctrine covers the Great Lakes bottomlands to the ordinary high-water mark; on inland rivers, wading a navigable stream is generally allowed but the bank is usually private.
Boat ramps: 4 mapped — Stronach Township Park Boat Launch, Boat ramp, Boat ramp, Elbow Lake Boat Launch.
Camping: 4 sites mapped nearby — Old Grade Campground, Bear Track Campground, Carrieville State Forest Campground, Penny Park Campground.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors.
Loading live flow & gauge height…
Live from USGS gauge 04126195 — L Manistee R At Nine Mile Bridge Nr Freesoil, Mi. Full gauge data →
Anyone 17+ needs a Michigan DNR fishing licence — the resident annual all-species licence is about $26, the non-resident annual about $76, and 1-day and 3-day all-species licences are sold. Michigan folded the old separate trout/salmon stamp into the base all-species licence in 2014, so one licence covers everything including trout, salmon and the Great Lakes; there is no separate stamp. Michigan residents 65 and older buy a reduced-price senior licence, and anglers under 17 fish free. Buy from the DNR at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses. A Michigan all-species fishing licence covers navigable rivers and the Great Lakes. Lake Erie's western basin is fished on a Michigan or Ohio licence in the reciprocal zone; the Menominee and other border waters on a Michigan or Wisconsin licence. Designated trout streams carry their own seasons.
Every water carries species, bank & boat access, current regulations and live water conditions — and members get Swim Mapper, Catch Logger and Trip Planner. It's the only US map with a dedicated carp-water layer.
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