Seven rivers open to steelhead in November, and the rules on each
From the flies-only water above Gleason's Landing to the closed apron below Foote Dam, stream type, limit and tackle change river by river, and the special lure rules on four of the seven end Nov. 15.
The Pere Marquette’s flies-only water ends at a boat ramp, the downstream edge of the ramp or slide at Gleason’s Landing in Lake County. The Huron-Manistee National Forests’ camping list, read Oct. 31, 2026, has a “Gleason’s Landing Campground” entry marked “Site Closed.” The list says nothing about the ramp. The line itself is the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations booklet’s, which runs to March 31, 2027, and it is written to “the Downstream Edge of the Boat Ramp/Slide at Gleason’s Landing.”
Upstream, from M-37 to that ramp, the booklet lists 8.5 miles of gear restricted water: artificial flies only, fishing open all year, possession closed all year and a daily possession limit of “zero trout and salmon.” Children under 12 are the one exception. They may keep a single trout or salmon of 8 to 12 inches. Below the ramp the rules change with the calendar. From Sept. 1 to the Friday before the last Saturday in April, the reach down to the ramp at Rainbow Rapids “shall be managed under Type 4 regulations,” with exceptions that matter in November: a daily limit of “1 Rainbow Trout; 0 Brook Trout; 0 Brown Trout” and a 10-inch minimum on rainbow trout. The stream-type explainer in this issue shows how to read a Type.
Seven Lower Peninsula rivers are covered here, each in the segment the booklet writes rules for: the Big Manistee below Tippy Dam, the Pere Marquette, the Muskegon below Croton Dam, the Grand, the St. Joseph, the Au Sable below Foote Dam and the Betsie. On four of them, the Manistee, Pere Marquette, Muskegon and Betsie, a special artificial lure rule runs through Nov. 15. The Grand and the St. Joseph are not designated trout streams, and one stretch of the Au Sable is closed to fishing all year.
On the season, the DNR’s steelhead species page, read Oct. 30, 2026, describes a pattern: “Lake steelhead enter their spawning streams from late October to early May. Although many steelhead enter the rivers in the fall and overwinter there, spawning does not occur until spring.” The page is undated, names no river and is not a report of what any river holds now. The DNR’s weekly fishing report page says the report “will be temporarily suspended after Nov. 4.” This story states no run condition for any of the seven rivers.
The seven segments, side by side
The DNR’s species page says steelhead is “a name given to migratory rainbow trout,” so the booklet’s rainbow limits are the steelhead limits. The hook, lure and bead rules on every stream, and the special artificial lure definition, are in the stream-types explainer in this issue. In the table, the lure column marks the waters where the booklet’s special artificial lure rule runs from Aug. 1 to Nov. 15; the booklet says listed dates are inclusive, so Nov. 15 is the last day. “Designated” follows Fisheries Order 210.26, Designated Trout Streams, effective April 1, 2026, and matters because the booklet allows gaffs on all waters except designated trout streams (page 10). Statewide, beyond one day’s limit a person may hold up to two more daily limits from earlier days if the fish are processed: canned, cured by smoking or drying, or frozen (pages 8 and 9).
| River and segment (county) | Type (2026 booklet) | Special lure rule, Aug. 1 to Nov. 15 | Designated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manistee, Tippy Dam to the railroad bridge below M-55 (Manistee) | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Pere Marquette, M-37 to Old US-31 (Lake, Mason) | Flies only, then 4, then 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Muskegon, Croton Dam to M-120 (Newaygo, Muskegon) | 3 | Yes | Yes |
| Grand, mainstream in Kent County | None listed | No | No |
| St. Joseph, Indiana line to Lake Michigan (Berrien) | 3 | No | No |
| Au Sable, below Foote Dam’s apron to Lake Huron (Iosco) | 3 | No | Yes |
| Betsie, Kurick Road to M-22 (Benzie, Manistee) | 4 | Yes | Yes |
Big Manistee below Tippy Dam
On the Manistee from Tippy Dam downstream to the railroad bridge below M-55, the 2026 booklet’s Manistee County list gives Type 3 and adds that the daily possession limit “shall not include more than one (1) Rainbow Trout,” year-round. Type 3 otherwise allows five fish, no more than three of them trout 15 inches or greater (page 43). FO-210.26 designates the Manistee from its mouth upward, excepting only the portions between Tippy Dam and Red Bridge and between Hodenpyl Dam and M-115, both above Tippy Dam; the water below the dam is designated, so the gaff bar applies.
The booklet’s Manistee County pages and Fisheries Order 204.26, Spawning Closures (effective Oct. 15, 2026), list no closure at the dam. Anything posted at the water is a property rule those documents do not cover. Below the railroad bridge is Manistee Lake, a Type F lake (a drowned river mouth) where the limit is “5 total trout and salmon in any combination,” with a 10-inch minimum, open all year (pages 18 and 42). On the separate Little Manistee, the water from 300 feet below the DNR weir to the mouth is “closed to fishing Sep. 1 – Nov. 14” (booklet page 30; FO-204.26).
The DNR’s ground at the dam is Tippy Dam Recreation Area near Brethren, whose page says: “A Recreation Passport (park pass) is required for vehicle entry into all state park and forest campgrounds.” The Tippy Dam story in this issue covers the park. The Huron-Manistee National Forests’ pages place two river access sites, Blacksmith Bayou and Sawdust Hole, in the Manistee National Recreation River, the stretch from Tippy Dam to the M-55 bridge, each with a season of use of “April 1 – November 30” and a fee of “$5 vehicle per day.” The DNR’s list shows the Manistee River State Game Area at 3,920 acres in Manistee County, with the Cadillac Customer Service Center as its office, and does not say where it meets the river.
Pere Marquette below Gleason’s Landing
Below the Rainbow Rapids ramp the 2026 booklet lists the Pere Marquette in Lake and Mason counties as Type 4 down to Reek Road (Indian Bridge), then Type 3 to Old US-31 in Mason County. Both carry the one-rainbow clause and the special lure rule to Nov. 15, and FO-210.26 designates the river, so gaffs are barred on every segment. Below Old US-31 is Pere Marquette Lake, a Type F lake with the limit given above. The DNR’s Pere Marquette State Game Area, 400 acres in Mason County, has the Cadillac Customer Service Center as its office on the list, which shows its map as “Not currently available.”
Muskegon below Croton Dam
The Muskegon from Croton Dam downstream to M-120, in Newaygo and Muskegon counties, is Type 3 in the 2026 booklet, with a limit written for it: the Type 3 limit “still applies with up to five (5) Rainbow Trout allowed in the daily possession limit,” with no more than three trout 15 inches or greater and no more than one rainbow 20 inches or greater. That differs from the Manistee’s one rainbow. The special lure rule runs to Nov. 15, FO-210.26 designates the river, and Type F Muskegon Lake begins at M-120. At the ports of Muskegon and Whitehall/Montague it is unlawful from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30 “to use other than one single-pointed unweighted hook measuring 1/2-inch or less from point to shank” (page 30).
The DNR’s Muskegon State Game Area covers 15,345 acres in Muskegon and Newaygo counties. Below the dam, Consumers Energy’s September 2016 brochure lists a “Croton Dam Tailwater Park” and an “East Tailwater Access” on Croton-Hardy Drive, naming no manager for either, though it labels other sites MDNR or USFS. Croton Township’s campground site says “Below the dam is easily accessible, just a short drive,” and gives no fee, parking or rule for the tailwater. Newaygo County’s parks page, read Oct. 30, 2026, lists no Croton park or tailwater access, and no page read gives a fee, a parking rule or a fishing rule for the water below the dam. Check Consumers Energy’s hydro page, or Newaygo County’s parks page, before you drive to it.
Grand River at Sixth Street
The 2026 booklet’s Kent County list has no entry for the Grand River mainstream, so the Grand there has no Type. Trout fall under the rule for streams not classified by Type: open all year, an 8-inch minimum (7 inches for brook trout) and a 5-fish daily possession limit with no more than three trout 15 inches or greater (page 44). FO-210.26 designates tributaries of the Grand in Kent County, not the mainstream, so the gaff bar does not reach it. The booklet sets a 46-inch minimum on muskellunge downstream from the Sixth Street Dam (page 13), and at the port of Grand Haven the Nov. 1 to Nov. 30 single-hook rule runs from the westernmost pier head into Lake Michigan to the US-31 bridge. Statewide, the booklet makes it unlawful to “Fish anywhere in a fish ladder or within 100 feet of a lamprey control weir” (page 11).
On the undated listing for Fish Ladder Park, a City of Grand Rapids park, the city says steelhead “show up from early November to mid December with the majority of the Steelhead run between mid February and late April,” a seasonal description, not a report. The city’s Lower Reach page, read Oct. 31, 2026, says in-river work to remove four low-head dams began July 1, 2026, that Ah-Nab-Awen Park, closed since May 18, stays closed through the project period, and that the second construction season is anticipated for summer 2027. Its newest dated update is July 1, 2026, and it carries no river-closure notice. The page says the Sixth Street Dam, “located between Fish Ladder Park and Sixth St. Park,” belongs to a separate Upper Reach Project. No city page read states a rule for anglers at the dam or the ladder.
St. Joseph at Berrien Springs
In Berrien County the 2026 booklet lists the St. Joseph from the Indiana state line to Lake Michigan as Type 3 (page 51). With no one-rainbow clause, the Type 3 limit stands: five fish, no more than three of them trout 15 inches or greater. FO-210.26 designates only tributaries of the St. Joseph in Berrien County, so the gaff bar does not reach the mainstream.
Indiana Michigan Power says it “owns and operates” the Berrien Springs hydroelectric plant, and its safety guidance for its plants reads: “Do not swim, fish or boat near rapidly moving water or near any hydroelectric facility.” Its page describes no angler access or ladder. Shamrock Park, owned and operated by the Village of Berrien Springs, sits across the bridge on the south side of town. The village’s page says it is “open year round” and lists a boat launch at a “Daily Fee: $5.” Neither it nor the park’s own site mentions the dam or a fish ladder, and Berrien County’s parks page, read Oct. 30, 2026, lists no park at Berrien Springs. No page read gives an angler parking rule at the dam. Check the Village of Berrien Springs’ parks page before you go.
Au Sable below Foote Dam
On the Au Sable mainstream in Iosco County, the 2026 booklet lists Foote Dam to Lake Huron as Type 3 with a closure written in: “Closed to Fishing – Year-round, from Foote Dam to the downstream edge of the apron of the dam” (page 55). Fisheries Order 204.26 repeats it. Below the apron the booklet gives no special lure rule and no one-rainbow clause, so the Type 3 limit stands, and FO-210.26 designates the river up to Foote Dam, so gaffs are barred.
Consumers Energy puts Foote Dam “nine miles upstream from Lake Huron.” Its hydroelectric page lists a “Foote Dam Tailwater Access Site” under “Hydro Recreation Sites Temporarily Closed,” with no closure or reopening date: listed as temporarily closed as of Oct. 31, 2026. The page also says Consumers “has signed a purchase agreement to sell its 13 hydroelectric dams along five Michigan rivers to Confluence Hydro,” with no closing date. Its September 2016 brochure lists an “MDNR Foote Dam Fishing Access” on Rea Road. The brochure and the 2026 page name the site differently, so this story does not say they are one place, and it uses the 2026 page’s name.
Betsie River
The Betsie from Kurick Road downstream to M-22, in Benzie and Manistee counties, is Type 4 in the 2026 booklet, with the one-rainbow clause and the special lure rule through Nov. 15. FO-210.26 designates it. The closure that changes on Nov. 16 is at Homestead Dam: through Nov. 15 the booklet and FO-204.26 close fishing within 300 feet upstream and downstream of the lamprey barrier and fish passage facility, and from Nov. 16 to July 31 the distance is 100 feet. Betsie Lake, from M-22 to Lake Michigan, is a Type F lake. The DNR’s Betsie River State Game Area, 746 acres in Benzie County, has the Traverse City Customer Service Center as its office on the list. For all four game areas named here, the public-land map in this issue is the place to check the ground.
The DNR’s Oct. 15, 2026 release says its changes “are not reflected in the printed version of the 2026 Michigan Fishing Regulations” and points to the digital booklet at Michigan.gov/DNRRegs. The booklet’s own page 3 gives 888-367-7060 for the most recent regulation information. Michigan.gov/DNRRegs, read Oct. 31, 2026, leads to the DNR’s Regulation Summaries and Handbooks page. Its fishing link opens the same PDF revision first read Oct. 30, and the page lists no fall changes. The Consumers hydro page, the city’s Lower Reach page and the DNR weekly report page move on their own schedules. Nov. 15, 2026 is a Sunday by the calendar, and the special lure rule ends with it. The December roundup in this issue picks the rivers up from there.
If this one stayed with you, the Almanac will too.
One letter every Sunday morning. The week's openers, one story worth your time, and a photo from a reader's camp.
