Tailwater · Sand Gravel · Michigan, US

Big Manistee River

The Manistee River curving through dense forest with a grassy bank, Michigan.

The big water below Tippy Dam gets huge runs of king and coho in the fall and a steelhead run that holds fish all winter and peaks in spring.

Tomorrow · Not the day for it
Flying Ant
Forecast · Tomorrow
Not the day for it
Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
80% projected
Today's fly
Flying Ant
Flying Ant
Conditions on the water · Tomorrow
Live gauge
Level
Steady
2.74 m
Water temp21.3°C
ClarityClear
Weather23°C
WindN 5 km/h
Pressure1014 hPa
Rain · recent1.3 mm
Rain · ahead6.0 mm

The nearest gauge doesn't record temperatures, so we've estimated it — defer to the river keeper's advice.

Water temperature for Brown Trout
Warm — slow
21°C est.ideal 10–16°C
0°14°28°
How to fish it · for Brown Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Water at 19.8°C — above the brown trout caution line (18°C). Fish dawn or dusk only. Land it fast, wet hands, no air shots.
Likely species
terrestrials
Hatch timeline · tomorrowPeak at 12pm

12pm(now) — Flying Ants

Stage: Terrestrials on topApproach: Dry flyActivity: 61%
Also:Trico (Eastern)23%
Peak emergence windowWeather boost4 food groups active

Peak activity at 12pm — Flying Ants (Flying Ants, Peak emergence window)

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 4 with Pro.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · September highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Brown Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Michigan licence
  • Flow tracks the Tippy Dam release
  • Verify MI DNR reach rules
  • Introduced, harvestable sport fishery.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Cooler water nearby · 1
Water here at 19.8°C — the fishing's alive, but these are cooler if you'd rather rest the warm water.
Betsie River
40 km
~18°C
Steelhead · Chinook salmon · Coho salmon
Gallery · 2
  1. The Manistee River curving through dense forest with a grassy bank, Michigan.
    Manistee River
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

The big water below Tippy Dam gets huge runs of king and coho in the fall and a steelhead run that holds fish all winter and peaks in spring. It's a tailwater, so it fishes steady and cold while the freestones are out — crowded in the salmon weeks, far better once the leaves drop and the chrome takes over.

  • Sand gravel
The full read · show the working · for Brown Trout · confidence 80%
How the 28 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature14 × 28%3.9
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity95 × 18%17.1
Feeding Time55 × 13%7.2
Pressure80 × 7%5.6
Insect activity61 × 12%7.3
Limiting factor: Water temperature (19.8°C) is outside Brown Trout's preferred range (10–16°C)= 59
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–16 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
The dawn and dusk windows score higher than the midday lull.
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts