# Big Manistee/ Bear Creek area



## jklein (Sep 1, 2013)

Heading over to bear creek in a couple weeks. Just wondering how the salmon fishing is going? Have never been there and we're going to camp fri and sat nights. Do i use spoons flies stickbaits Spawn? Do you fish them into the night? Any info would be appreciated thanks


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## jmattard (Sep 4, 2013)

New to the forum. Looking for the same details. Planning a trip the last week in Sept to Bear Creek. Looking for something a little less crowded than Tippy Dam, but still have the Salmon running through.

Thanks, Joe


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## BearCreekPro (Mar 18, 2008)

Where are you folks planning on camping/fishing? Different techniques work in different stretches of river.


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## jmattard (Sep 4, 2013)

Dont want to answer for jklein, but we are casting spoons, thundersticks, and spawn bags. No fly equipment


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## BearCreekPro (Mar 18, 2008)

Well there will be fish throughout the system by the end of September. Closer to the Big Man, spawn and t-sticks should work.


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## jmattard (Sep 4, 2013)

Looking at a Map of Manistee River from Tippy Dam to Lake Michigan, I see 4 access points:

1. Tippy dam
2. High Bridge
3. Bear Creek
4. Rainbow

What is the attraction of Tippy dam over bear creek or High bridge? Is there a huge difference in the population of fish between each during the run?

Also, wanted to point out we are planning to fish from shore without waders. Are any of these inaccessible without wading gear?

Thanks for the reply.

- Joe


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## Progress (Feb 6, 2009)

Going to be kind of tough and less enjoyable without waders on all of those waters in my opinion. Good luck and be safe. Fun time of year!

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## FishKilla419 (Feb 22, 2008)

There will be people with waders everywhere. You will have a hard time with no waders anywhere.
Pm sent

Here fishy fishy..


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## jatc (Oct 24, 2008)

jmattard said:


> Looking at a Map of Manistee River from Tippy Dam to Lake Michigan, I see 4 access points:
> 
> 1. Tippy dam
> 2. High Bridge
> ...


Tippy is very easy access to well over a mile of stream. You can easily fish here off the bank in many places as well, though I would work on picking up some waders eventually. There is also a fish cleaning station and bathrooms with very close parking. The first few miles below Tippy are all gravel and where a large portion of the spawning activity will occur. Add to this the fact that the salmon tend to push upstream as far as possible before spawning (which in the Big M's case is the dam) and in late September there are normally big numbers of fish near this access site (also big numbers of people because of it).

I fish Tippy for spring steelhead, and occasionally for salmon, but I prefer a little more solitude which I find farther downstream.

You listed four access points.... Let me start you in the right direction, but you are going to have to do a little searching on your own from there. Much of the Big M runs through the Manistee National Forest, ie. public land. Get a topo map that shows all of the trails and two-tracks running through the forest. You might have to walk a bit from your car to the River, but a few hours spent searching should yield a few less populated spots for you to fish in peace.


I prefer to target fish in deeper holes and usually throw spinners and cranks. I have found the late evening/ first few hours of dark to be the most productive in the spots that I fish, but I must admit I normally fish until 2 AM and then sleep through the early morning fishing which is probably pretty productive as well (it is just how my schedule seems to work out).

Closer to Tippy, most of the guys will be bottom bouncing with flies or spawn on the shallow gravel. Float fishing with skein under a float can also be deadly in the deeper runs as well, but for me watching a bobber is too much like bluegill fishing so I don't do it very often. I normally find enough fish willing to smack a spinner or t-stick to keep me more than interested.

When you get tired of fishing sit on the benches near the dam at night and watch the show. I have literally seen 20+ fish hooked within a 100 yard stretch at the same time which makes for some quite interesting sport.


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## BearCreekPro (Mar 18, 2008)

If you plan to fish Bear Creek without waders, the only spot would be at Spirit of the Woods, as that is the only public access I believe. Also, there will be a significant more amount of fish in the Big M system around Tippy and the mile stretch below it than in the Bear. As jact says, look at some maps and with a little walking, you can ditch the crowd and fish off shore the way you wanted to and hopefully get into some fish.


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