# Little Manistee River Regulations



## O. Gannon (Dec 22, 2003)

Just to make sure people know the Little Manistee downstream of the weir and upstream of the weir to Johnson's Bridge is closed until April 1st. There has been quite a bit of fishing activity already on the river so trying to put out a reminder the river is currently closed. Please be sure to check out the Exceptions by County and the County Listing of Lakes and Streams in the Inland Trout and Salmon portion of the Fishing Guide to know the regulations.

https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/FishingGuide2020_684742_7.pdf


*Little Manistee River from Johnson Rd. (Johnson’s Bridge) downstream to Manistee Lake.* 

*SC - Closed to Fishing* - Sep. 1 - Nov. 14 and Jan. 1 - March 31 from a point 300 feet downstream from the DNR weir in T21N, R16W, S25 to Manistee Lake. 

*SC - Closed to Fishing* - Year-round within 300 feet of the DNR weir, T21N, R16W, S25. SC - Closed to Fishing - Jan. 1 - March 31 from a point 300 feet upstream of the DNR weir to Spencer’s Bridge. 

*NOTE:* The daily possession limit shall be 1 rainbow trout from 300’ downstream of Little Manistee River Weir to Manistee Lake. Special artificial lure regulations apply Aug.1 - Nov. 15, see p. 8.


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

It’s only been like that since before I fished it in 78. It baffles me that fishermen don’t know the rules and regulations of the waters they intend to fish.


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## skipper34 (Oct 13, 2005)

Fishing water that is closed for whatever reason is called poaching. They probably do the same thing for deer and other animals. It's not that they're ignorant of the rules, they're just ignorant.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

Bob Hunter said:


> It’s only been like that since before I fished it in 78. It baffles me that fishermen don’t know the rules and regulations of the waters they intend to fish.


Well the fishing guide is 68 pages and the majority of it is special regulations related to trout. We have stream types, special closures, areas open, regulations by size, by species, by lure, and even hook type. Then add in the amount of rivers with the same name....like bear creek. Then all the same stuff for lakes. It doesnt surprise me at all when someone doesnt interpret the book correctly. Especially when other anglers are out there fishing the same way in an area.


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

While we all know some the rules are complicated, the Little has been this way for a long time and it really is wise to know the rules before you go. Having said that, let me ask this, what would help in making the rules and regulations clearer? I'm serious here, in particular I think the trout fishing regs are really complicated, as do most people but in all seriousness, what can we do to help clear them up?


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

DirtySteve said:


> Well the fishing guide is 68 pages and the majority of it is special regulations related to trout. We have stream types, special closures, areas open, regulations by size, by species, by lure, and even hook type. Then add in the amount of rivers with the same name....like bear creek. Then all the same stuff for lakes. It doesnt surprise me at all when someone doesnt interpret the book correctly. Especially when other anglers are out there fishing the same way in an area.


When in doubt, ask someone, call a local tackle shop, ask on a forum, or call the DNR, it’s not that complicated.


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## DirtySteve (Apr 9, 2006)

Bob Hunter said:


> When in doubt, ask someone, call a local tackle shop, ask on a forum, or call the DNR, it’s not that complicated.


Sounds great and all until you are told something wrong. I have had DNR misinterpreted rules before on more than one occasion.


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

DirtySteve said:


> Sounds great and all until you are told something wrong. I have had DNR misinterpreted rules before on more than one occasion.


So just winging it is a better option?


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## CaughtMoreCatfishOnTinder (Oct 2, 2019)

Bob Hunter said:


> When in doubt, ask someone, call a local tackle shop, ask on a forum, or call the DNR, it’s not that complicated.


Not winging it, but DNR should do something to fix how intuitive reading the regulations is. I've called DNR before about some questions regarding limits and tackle used in specific rivers and told me just to referee to the booklet, in which i was asking questions about. I'm much better at deciphering it now, but definitely a challenge and not self intuitive at all. All they really need to do is expand on their trout maps and include dates open, and limit amounts on them. Ohio's regulations are simple in comparison to Michigan's.


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## Botiz (Oct 21, 2010)

I will never understand some people. Complain about something, and then put down all suggestions to address the thing you were complaint about. 

Michigan has a million lakes and miles of streams. To try to manage it all in any sort of effective manner requires nuance and a broad variety of rules, regulations and management practices. 

We need people to understand the value of what we have and put some effort into learning why those regulations are put in place. We absolutely do not need to dumb down the rule book because someone is pouting that it’s too complicated.


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## Botiz (Oct 21, 2010)

CaughtMoreCatfishOnTinder said:


> Ohio's regulations are simple in comparison to Michigan's.


Ohio doesn’t have nearly the complexity that Michigan does when it comes to waterways and fisheries. Trying to compare the two is apples and oranges. I grew up in Ohio.


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## jjlrrw (May 1, 2006)

I haven't looked at the regulation booklet for 20 years until a few years ago, it was very confusing the first time through it, I purchased a license and had a copy of the regulations. Got to camp and started reading through the booklet to figure out the rules.

First issue I ran into was what type of river is the Little Manistee 1,2,3, or 4 a few year ago it said refer to the DNR web site to figure that out (no internet available) I see they now have that info added to the booklet. The next issue the fishing season table in the first few pages for trout, type 4 stream it lists "Open for the entire Year" I thought super lets go, but after page jumping a few times you learn that is not the case. It can also be a challenge to know where some of the listed bridges are located if you're not familiar with the area. 

I do like that they list new regulations in *red* text throughout the guide.


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## CaughtMoreCatfishOnTinder (Oct 2, 2019)

Botiz said:


> I will never understand some people. Complain about something, and then put down all suggestions to address the thing you were complaint about.
> 
> Michigan has a million lakes and miles of streams. To try to manage it all in any sort of effective manner requires nuance and a broad variety of rules, regulations and management practices.
> 
> We need people to understand the value of what we have and put some effort into learning why those regulations are put in place. We absolutely do not need to dumb down the rule book because someone is pouting that it’s too complicated.


I don't think you understood what i was asking. I wasn't saying to "dumb down the rules" but make it easier to understand.

Currently it set up as showing what rivers are what 'type' of stream, which is fine, but make it confusing when they base it on county rather the entirety of the river. On top of that they have a added section to include more regulations to specific sections of rivers. I think if they worked off their interactive trout maps, it would be easier to understand. People can visually see what 'Type' that section of the river is, and attach more information like limits, gear, and open season regulations to it. Right now all regulations for rivers are in text, but don't have a visual map to supplement that information apart from the trout map that is missing reg's. It would be extremely easy to interoperate that way.

Yes i understand Ohio has much less streams and rivers, but i think its still worth while to look at how simplified their regulation handbook is.


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

DirtySteve said:


> Well the fishing guide is 68 pages and the majority of it is special regulations related to trout. We have stream types, special closures, areas open, regulations by size, by species, by lure, and even hook type. Then add in the amount of rivers with the same name....like bear creek. Then all the same stuff for lakes. It doesnt surprise me at all when someone doesnt interpret the book correctly. Especially when other anglers are out there fishing the same way in an area.


Bit of an exaggeration, no? There are 19 pages in the section on trout regulations, 2 pages are the general regs and 14 pages are the listing of designated (not type 1) trout water by county so you can easily check. The vast majority of those 417 water bodies (377) are open to all gear types but require different seasons or limits for biological reasons. The other 1400 streams are a single cookie regulation.


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

Personally I think one the most confusing is when a river or stream has different rules and regs. For example, the PM has some areas that are open to all types of fishing then there is the flies only sections. Same on a couple of other rivers, where the problem comes in is when you don't know the area all that well and you aren't REAL sure where you are at, just as someone else stated. That, to me, is the hardest thing to figure out in some case, especially if you are referring to streams in the U.P.


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## Bob Hunter (Jan 19, 2016)

DirtySteve said:


> Sounds great and all until you are told something wrong. I have had DNR misinterpreted rules before on more than one occasion.


I found this today while looking through the fishing handbook online, it took me all of about 30 seconds.


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## Quig7557 (Dec 31, 2008)

Let me help you out.














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Don’t forget the river designation change and the open portions specific to the stream type designation.
If one was foolish enough to read just the portion you posted, when you were fishing off the M37 bridge on October first, well you would be in violation.


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## kzoofisher (Mar 6, 2011)

Quig7557 said:


> Don’t forget the river designation change and the open portions specific to the stream type designation.
> If one was foolish enough to read just the portion you posted, when you were fishing off the M37 bridge on October first, well you would be in violation.


If one were that foolish one would be very foolish indeed and deserve the ticket. The county listing shows only the exceptions to type 1 streams, any stretch of trout stream not listed there is type 1. If the section of the LM you're fishing isn't listed below it's type 1 or not a trout stream. Pretty straightforward. It only becomes complicated if you want to make it complicated, look at the exceptions for the area you're going to be fishing in and go fishing. There's a better than 80% chance where your going has no exceptions. And a good chance you've got some local water you could be fishing today if you live in, say Ionia county.


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## Quig7557 (Dec 31, 2008)

You can be satisfied with the rule book, a survey might shed light on what the majority thinks.


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## bjm (Nov 25, 2003)

This might be asking too much, but how about an app that allows you to click on any portion of the map (any water body), and the app gives you regs for that exact location. Dates of seasons, gear restrictions, restrictions and limits by species.

That would actually be a pretty fun app to build. It could use your phone’s GPS location if available.

there have been some recent great posts about keeping logs as well. Really wish I had done that over the past 30 years. The app could also serve as a log of when you’ve fished and let you make any entries to record your success and observations. It could also track for you where you fished along with all the conditions.

if you allow the app to access your photos it could also keep an index of any fish you caught that day or other photos you took.

Please start sending money and I’ll get started! 😀


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## Steve (Jan 15, 2000)

What drives me nuts about the trout fishing rule book is that they have the color coded map in one place and the table to look up what the color codes need in a totally different place.


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