# Rifle River near Sterling



## TroutStlkr (Aug 5, 2008)

I generally do most of my trout fishing in the Northwest part of the Lower Penninsula, but will be spending the weekend at Rifle River Resort near Sterling. The main goal of the weekend is just that my 2 and a half year old really has been asking to go camping with his daddy, but I thought while I'm at it, I might toss some spinners if it was worth it. Is anyone familiar enough with the area to know what that stretch of river fishes like this time of year. I've fished the Rifle up higher but didn't know what the river was like this low and if it runs cool enough this time of year to hold a few decent trout.


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## JEHazeltine (Oct 22, 2003)

You will catch some smallies only. Trout are generally found further north in the rifle.


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## TroutStlkr (Aug 5, 2008)

JEHazeltine said:


> You will catch some smallies only. Trout are generally found further north in the rifle.


 Thanks. I'd definitely settle for some smallies. Probably do mostly bankfishing from within the campground, but I can anybody tell me if it is wadeable through there? Also, there is supposed to be a pond in the campground as well. Anybody know what is stocked in it? I'd love it to be full of gullible panfish to let my son reel in.


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## seazofcheeze (May 16, 2011)

I grew up fishing exclusively on that part of the rifle. Here is what I can tell you. There trout are almost always gone from that stretch this time of year. There may be 1 or 2 (literally) stragglers, but even the drop backs are usually long gone by now. The river is generally shallow this time of year, and fairly clear, unless there have been recent rains. The spawning run of smallmouth is also over. Again, there may be a few stragglers but, the last bass I saw on beds were about 3 weekends ago. Mid-june through Mid-september is probably the worst time to be fishing this stretch of the river. There may be a few rock bass around, but the bites from any kind of fish will probably be few and far between.


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## ridgewalker (Jun 24, 2008)

I have lived on this stretch of river for many years. If the canoers, etc. aren't too thick fish the holes and structure. There are fish. I would not suggest spinners this time of year. Try ultralight or flyrods with small lures or bottom bounce with worms, crawlers, or small imitations. Underbank sections can work. Good luck and hope for a quiet river.


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## TroutStlkr (Aug 5, 2008)

Thanks guys. I may try it out, but I'll definetely be going with lower expectations, which is fine. The main purpose, like I said was just to go camping with my son. When I had the inlaws book out site, I actually thought it was Rifle River Recreation Area, and once I found out where it actually was, I figured the chances for trout went down. It'll still be a great extended weekend in the great outdoors and maybe one night, I take a short drive north to find some colder water.


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## TroutStlkr (Aug 5, 2008)

Well as it turned out, I didn't fish the river at all. It was running pretty high and muddy through the campground. That said, the pond did provide some fun for the kids. My son was able to reel in all the panfish his attention span would allow and the niece landed a pretty decent largemouth out of there. Had a fun weekend overall.


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