Manistee

Why go

Manistee gives you the whole west Michigan fishing menu within half an hour of town. You can troll Lake Michigan for salmon and lake trout, cast spoons off the piers, stand below Tippy Dam during the fall run, drift the Big Manistee for winter and spring steelhead, or spend a calm evening on an inland lake catching perch and bass.

What sets it apart from other ports in northern Michigan is the river. The Michigan DNR names the Manistee among the state’s better inland streams for Chinook, the lower river carries a federal Wild and Scenic designation, and the DNR’s Little Manistee weir, Michigan’s only steelhead egg-take facility, sits just outside town.

It suits drive-in anglers, groups who want to split a boat, and families who want fishing mixed with beach days. Fall is the busy season. Spring steelhead and summer lake trips are quieter.

The fishing

The year runs in a loop. Steelhead and brown trout come to the piers and river in March and April, often in cold, stained water. From May the boats start trolling for Chinook and lake trout, working deeper offshore as the lake warms through summer. In late August the salmon gather near the harbor and start up the river, and September and October are the heart of the run. Coho follow, and the Manistee has a well-known late-October coho fishery. Steelhead enter the rivers from late October and many stay through winter.

Inland lakes fill the gaps. Perch, bluegill, bass and pike bite from spring through fall, and Manistee and Portage lakes are fished through the ice in winter. These are patterns from DNR reports and species guides, not a calendar. Read the DNR weekly fishing report in the weeks before you go.

Where to fish

Lake Michigan trolling out of Manistee and Onekama

Summer trolling here is a deep-water game. DNR reports describe Manistee boats running straight out and south, sometimes toward Big Sable Point, and finding Chinook anywhere from about 70 to 300 feet of water, with lines set 40 to 100 feet down on spoons, plugs and flasher-fly rigs. Early mornings and late evenings tend to fish best. Lake trout are caught near bottom north of town, and coho and steelhead mix in through the season.

Onekama, just up the shore, reaches Lake Michigan through the channel from Portage Lake. DNR reports from Onekama name local spots such as the Barrel and the water in front of the golf course for Chinook and lake trout. In late summer, DNR reports note that when the lake turns over and cools, baitfish move closer to shore and the Onekama bite can pick up.

Piers and the channel

The Manistee piers are free and close to downtown. In spring, anglers fish spawn from the Lake Michigan side for steelhead and brown trout. In late summer and fall, they cast and jig spoons for Chinook, and the channel and the harbor mouth produce salmon for small boats. Summer pier trips often turn up smallmouth, largemouth, rock bass and the odd pike or walleye instead. At Onekama, pier anglers cast spoons for Chinook in fall evenings.

Ice can linger on the piers into March, and spring runoff can push debris into the harbor. Use care on the piers in cold or rough weather.

The Big Manistee River and Tippy Dam

The stretch from the DNR ramp below Tippy Dam to the M-55 bridge, 26 miles, is part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. It supports steelhead, Chinook and coho from both natural reproduction and stocking, plus resident brown trout, smallmouth and walleye. Anglers fish below Tippy Dam heavily in spring and fall, and guided fishing is one of the most popular uses of the river. In summer, walleye and pike take over.

The DNR describes the water below the dam as one of Michigan’s top trout, steelhead and salmon spots, with fall anglers lined up shoulder to shoulder for Chinook. See our Manistee River fishing guide for access sites, drift boats and seasons.

The Little Manistee River and weir

The Little Manistee enters Manistee Lake near Stronach. The DNR does not stock steelhead here; the run is mostly wild fish plus strays. Its weir blocks the river during spring steelhead and fall salmon operations, and every salmon that reaches the weir in fall is harvested. Special regulations apply to the Little Manistee, so check the Michigan Fishing Regulations for it before you fish.

Manistee Lake

Manistee Lake sits at the back of the harbor, linked to Lake Michigan by the channel past downtown. In late summer and fall, boats jig and troll salmon in the lake, and DNR reports also mention pike, smallmouth, perch and steelhead. Lake sturgeon live in the lake and river and are covered by special rules. More in our Manistee inland lakes guide.

Portage, Bear and Arcadia lakes

Portage Lake at Onekama covers about 2,116 acres and connects to Lake Michigan through a channel opened in 1871. In a DNR creel survey there, perch were the main fish kept and largemouth bass the main fish caught. Bear Lake, inland from the coast, gets regular DNR walleye stocking, and the village’s Hopkins Park campground has a launch, dock and fishing pier on the lake. Arcadia Lake, a small harbor lake at the village of Arcadia, has a township marina and launch with inlet access to Lake Michigan.

The Pine River

The Pine, a tributary of the Manistee, is known as a blue ribbon trout stream. Most anglers fish it from shore in the early morning and evening through summer, and weekdays are much quieter than weekends. In summer it is also a busy canoe river, and the Forest Service limits daily watercraft numbers from mid-May to early September. Forest Service access sites are plowed in winter. Michigan’s statewide trout opener falls on the last Saturday in April.

Ice fishing

When the ice is safe, Manistee Lake and Portage Lake are fished in winter. Past DNR reports describe shanties off Penny Park on Manistee Lake, perch and pike near the Ninth Street launch, and perch, pike and lake herring on Portage Lake. Ice varies a lot from year to year, so check local conditions before you walk out.

Charters and guides

Lake Michigan trips out of Manistee and Onekama troll deep, so expect an early start and a long morning. Ask the captain where boats have been finding fish that week, whether lake trout are a fallback, how they handle your catch, and what happens if wind keeps them in port.

On the river, guides run drift boats for fall salmon and for steelhead from late fall into spring. A guided day is a good way to learn a new river, since access and rules change by stretch. Our guides to choosing a fishing charter, private vs shared charters and guided vs DIY fishing cover what to ask.

Where to stay

Base in Manistee if you want the piers, the harbor and the shortest drive to the river mouth. The city marina is on the riverwalk next to downtown and takes transient boats. Onekama puts you on Portage Lake with a channel to the big lake, and the village of Bear Lake suits a simple lake-and-campground trip.

For camping, Orchard Beach State Park sits on a bluff three miles north of Manistee with a modern campground and cabins, and has a fish cleaning station. Tippy Dam Recreation Area has a rustic campground open all year and a rustic cabin, right at the river. Hopkins Park on Bear Lake has 31 campsites with reservations from late April to late October. For lakefront options, see our guides to lakefront cabins and fishing resorts.

Beyond fishing

• City beaches. Manistee keeps three Lake Michigan beaches: First Street, Fifth Avenue and Manmade Lake. The riverwalk runs from the marina toward the beach.
• Orchard Beach State Park. Trails through old-growth forest and a viewing platform above Lake Michigan. Erosion has closed beach access from the park.
• The Little Manistee weir in spring. Egg collection usually happens in April, and the public is welcome to watch.
• Paddling. Tippy Dam Recreation Area lists paddlesport rentals, and the Pine is one of the region’s main canoe rivers.
• Winter. Tippy Dam and Orchard Beach both list cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

See fishing with kids for ideas on keeping a family day fun.

Trip costs

Manistee can be an inexpensive trip. Pier, bank and lake fishing cost little beyond a license, and state campgrounds keep lodging affordable. A Recreation Passport is required for vehicles at state parks and state boating access sites, and Forest Service river sites need a parking pass. A Lake Michigan charter or a guided drift-boat day is the main expense; splitting a boat helps. The trip budget calculator and fishing charter cost guide help you add it up.

Getting there and around

Most visitors drive. US-31 runs up the coast through Manistee and Bear Lake. Manistee County Blacker Airport has Contour Airlines jet service to Chicago O’Hare, and Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City is the region’s main airport. You will want a car: the piers, Tippy Dam, the river access sites and the lakes are spread across the county. For more bases nearby, see Ludington to the south and Traverse City to the north.

Licenses and rules

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources sells licenses and sets the rules. You need a license if you are 17 or older and fishing public waters. Rules for trout and salmon streams change by stream type and stretch, the Little Manistee has its own regulations, and lake sturgeon have special rules. The regulations year turns over at the end of March, so check the current Michigan Fishing Regulations and the DNR’s inland trout and salmon maps before each trip. Snagging is illegal. Our fishing licenses guide and fall salmon run guide cover the basics and river etiquette.