Michigan Fishing

Michigan Fly Fishing: The Au Sable, the Pere Marquette, and Enough Trout to Keep You Quiet

Michigan fly fishing carries more history per river mile than just about anywhere in the country. The Au Sable River — specifically the Holy Water section between Grayling and Mio — is the birthplace of American fly fishing tradition as most of us know it. Ernest Schwiebert, George Griffith, the Hendrickson hatch, the Hex hatch — all of it happened here. If you’re a fly fisher and you haven’t made the pilgrimage to the Au Sable, get that sorted out before you make plans to fish anywhere else.

The Au Sable is a spring-fed, cold-water gem that holds wild brown trout in numbers and sizes that justify its legendary reputation. Dry fly fishing the Hex hatch on the Au Sable in late June and early July — after dark, with large trout feeding aggressively on the surface in near-total darkness — is one of the most technically demanding and deeply satisfying experiences in American fly fishing. It is also not for the faint of heart or the poorly prepared. Bring a headlamp, your best casting, and the patience to wait until midnight if necessary.

West of the Au Sable watershed, Michigan fly fishing pivots to steelhead and salmon, and the Pere Marquette River is the flagship. The PM, as it’s universally known, is a designated Wild and Scenic River with a year-round trout fishery that transitions into one of the finest winter and spring steelhead runs in the Great Lakes. Muskegon River steelhead, Grand River steelhead — all of western Michigan’s larger river systems run fish from October through May. Michigan Great Lakes steelhead are not shy fish. They eat well, run hard, and give the kind of account of themselves that makes you forget how cold your feet are.

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a separate conversation worth having. Brook trout in the UP — native, wild, bright — inhabit streams so clear and cold and remote that fishing them feels like a time machine. Two-Hearted River country. If you know, you know.

Michigan fly fishing is as good as the legends say. Do not let anyone convince you otherwise.

Target Species: Wild Brown Trout, Steelhead, Brook Trout, Chinook and Coho Salmon, Smallmouth Bass Best Seasons: May–June (brown trout hatches) | Late June–July (Hex hatch) | October–May (steelhead/salmon) Notable Waters: Au Sable River, Pere Marquette River, Muskegon River, Two-Hearted River, Manistee River