# Rouge River



## gatorman841

wasinski said:


> I caught a brown trout on the Rouge River at Waterford Bend Park during the fishing derby on Saturday. I thought perhaps it was stocked, as they stock rainbows in there, but I caught a brown and kept it, assuming it was a derby fish. They said they didn't stock browns, and that isn't near the mouth. Do you think this was a brown from Johnson Creek, nearby, as I heard there are browns there, and it's a tributary of the Rouge, or is it unlikely? My question is, how did it get there? I kept it, assuming it was a derby fish, but it wasn't. Should I have released it for it to spawn, or would the brown not have been able to spawn and it was fine for me to take it from the river? It was a small trout, by the way.


Pics?


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## plugger

45 years ago when I lived around the Rouge all it was good for was getting rid of hot pistols. It used to catch fire occasionally.


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## wasinski

Here is a picture. I'm curious where it came from. They said they didn't stock the rouge at Waterford bend park with browns. Was it from Johnson Creek which I heard has some browns? Can they spawn successfully, or is it a stocked trout? Did the stop stocking Johnson Creek? I know they did it in the past. Is it safe to eat? I thought it was a derby trout, so I kept it, but I wanted to release it a few minutes later, but then it died (I kept it in a bucket). Would it have been able to successfully spawn in the Rouge, or would it go back to Johnson Creek to spawn?


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## Swampbuckster

wasinski said:


> Here is a picture. I'm curious where it came from. They said they didn't stock the rouge at Waterford bend park with browns. Was it from Johnson Creek which I heard has some browns? Can they spawn successfully, or is it a stocked trout? Did the stop stocking Johnson Creek? I know they did it in the past. Is it safe to eat? I thought it was a derby trout, so I kept it, but I wanted to release it a few minutes later, but then it died (I kept it in a bucket). Would it have been able to successfully spawn in the Rouge, or would it go back to Johnson Creek to spawn?


I wouldn't eat either of those fish if it were me.


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## wasinski

The smaller rainbow is from the derby so it's a stocked fish (or is it natural?)
My question is where did the brown come from? I thought it was a derby trout, so I kept it, but I later learned, they don't stock browns. Next time I catch one, next year, I'll release it, past the net so it can survive and other anglers don't catch it.
Or do you think the smaller rainbow is a holdover trout from previous derbys?


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## jaytothekizzay

Heres the deal...those are both brood stock, pen raised, stocked fish. Occasionally a brown gets mixed in with the load of planted rainbows. The Rouge river never has been or ever will be a trout stream. There are NO trout of any kind reproducing or even thriving in the Rouge or any of its tribs. It is basically a sewage drain for gods sake. You probably saved those fish from a slow, miserable death. Most of the planted Browns in Johnson drain dont even hold over... so dont worry about killing spawners. However there is some halfway decent trout fishing within an hours drive of detroit. But if real trout fishing is what you want, drive North 3 hours, and take your pick.


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## FISHINGcuresALL

I think that Brown is anemic. You better take it the hospital.


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## mencelewski

I fish that section of the Rouge at least once a week. If you put the time in it has good warm water fish. They do stock rainbows for a derby in late spring. Most of these fish die or get fished out. Every once in a while I'll catch one in the fall or winter but they do not reproduce (obviously). I have also seen browns out of the Johnson Drain (few and far between). The problem is that the that brown would have had to swim through wetland channels, a shallow, algae filled lake, and then down a waterfall. This would not be possible. It had to be mixed in with the bows.


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## roger15055

Frank -You Get the Good Sportsman Handshake!!! To bad you retired we need teachers like you !! Maybe then we could get a few to set the I Phones down...


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## FarwellGreg

Swampbuckster said:


> I use to live across the street from the Middle Branch along Ann Arbor Trail near Wayne Road as a young kid. never could understand why I wasn't allowed to fish in it. I can only imagine how clear and clean the Rouge would have been 250 years ago and the fish that use to inhabit or migrate up the river from the Detroit and Lake Erie. It's amazing how quickly man can destroy nature but nature ultimately will win in the end.


My parents swam in the rouge around Dearborn when they were kids


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## Frank

FarwellGreg said:


> My parents swam in the rouge around Dearborn when they were kids


My dad and his best friend used to swim in the Rouge River after working all day at the Ford Estate as teenagers. I hope the river keeps improving!


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## jd4223

I just recently started fishing the Rouge River(Greenfield Rd/Allen RD) just above the Ford Rouge Plant Steel Processing west of Schaefer road(Dearborn,Mi.) I would always see people fishing from the bank as I drove south on Greenfield crossing over the river just before Allen Rd(Melvindale). Never knew how to access the river at that location. Found out there's a senior citizens activity center right there on S. Dearborn street right at Greenfield/Allen rd. You can park in the lot and walk down the bank to the river. On the other side of the senior activity center parking lot is a boat launch. I've seen numerous boats launched there and they run down river to the Detroit River(I think about 5-7 miles). I started fishing this location last summer and caught numerous species of fish(largemouth bass,bluegill,white bass,shiners,perch catfish,carp,and even a baby Tiger Muskie). All the fish were very healthy and clean looking..(never kept any). The river itself is kind of dirty and after a rain storm there's all kinds of debris floating down river. I've lost a lot of expensive lures mostly Rapalas and other crankbaits on these snags . Most of the other fishermen/women usually fish the bottom for catfish and carp.


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## Drew86

Anyone fish rouge river lately? Always been told to stay away cause its poop water


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## fishinthed

The Rouge has greatly improved since I was a kid, but it's too warm to be a trout stream, though some of the upper reaches of the middle branch are pretty nice. Newburgh Lake has some good bass and pike. One spring evening I caught a smallie just upstream of the lake. 

The "baby tiger musky" was probably a juvenile pike, which have similar striped markings. When I did a kayaking trip on the Lower industrial Rouge I was hella surprised at how nice it was around Zug Island, where the Detroit River runs around the island, so it's effectively in the Detroit River. Saw some eagles there, too.


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## jd4223

Drew86 said:


> Anyone fish rouge river lately? Always been told to stay away cause its poop water


I fished it yesterday(Allen Rd/Greenfield) Caught 1 small 6 inch bass on a gold 1/4oz blade bait(Johnson). Lost the blade bait later on. Lost about 8-9 blade baits to the sunken debris on the bottom. Also I think I fouled hooked a carp in the back. Was bouncing the blade bait back when I felt a bump and set the hook. Line started pulling off reel at a slow steady run for about 30 yards. I tightened my drag and fought the fish for about 10 minutes when the hooks pulled free. Second time that happened. Fished the river about a week prior and got 4 fish. 1 18inch bass(largemouth),a big perch,an 8inch walleye,and a big sheephead(drum) about 3lbs. All caught on the gold colored 1/4oz blade bait. I'm using a 7 1/2 foot ultra light spinning rod spooled with 4lb test line. I can cast 3/4 across the river with this set up. I only fish about 2 hours whenever I go. As far as the baby Tiger Muskie I took a picture and Googled it and sure enough it was a Tiger Musky. Just a note,about 2 weeks ago I caught a baby pike same size as the Tiger Musky,no mistake on the markings. It was a baby pike.


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## tincanary

jd4223 said:


> I've lost a lot of expensive lures mostly Rapalas and other crankbaits on these snags


Swap them to single hook. A lot of manufacturers make single inline hooks to replace trebles. Most of my baits have been converted and I lose far less than I used to. Plus they're easier to remove from fish.


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## fishinthed

jd4223 said:


> Fished the river about a week prior and got 4 fish. 1 18inch bass(largemouth),a big perch,an 8inch walleye,and a big sheephead(drum) about 3lbs. All caught on the gold colored 1/4oz blade bait. I'm using a 7 1/2 foot ultra light spinning rod spooled with 4lb test line. I can cast 3/4 across the river with this set up. I only fish about 2 hours whenever I go. As far as the baby Tiger Muskie I took a picture and Googled it and sure enough it was a Tiger Musky. Just a note,about 2 weeks ago I caught a baby pike same size as the Tiger Musky,no mistake on the markings. It was a baby pike.


Nice action, and awesome markings on that little tooth critter. Muskies _must_ run up there, so it stands to reason there would be some tigers around. Getting a master angler game fish in the Rouge is still on my bucket list. Bass, possibly?



tincanary said:


> Swap them to single hook. A lot of manufacturers make single inline hooks to replace trebles. Most of my baits have been converted and I lose far less than I used to. Plus they're easier to remove from fish.


Another idea is to mash the barbs down. Also helps freeing lures, but surprisingly little difference in lost fish as long as the line is kept tight and has some stretch (mono at least on the business end).


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## tincanary

fishinthed said:


> Another idea is to mash the barbs down. Also helps freeing lures, but surprisingly little difference in lost fish as long as the line is kept tight and has some stretch (mono at least on the business end).


That's another good idea. I don't find my hookup rates lacking unless I'm fishing barbless singles then it becomes noticeable.


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## Out-N-About

we grew up playing in the woods on our BMX bikes around parts of Hines Park as kids in the 1970s/early 1980s. We knew the river was polluted good then, but used to always talk about how cool it would be if we could grab our fishing poles and go fishing. Outside the Henry Ford mansion there is a sign that talks about the workers there that used to have fish fries on fridays after catching fish in the river. I've supported "Friends of the Rouge" going back to their first Rouge River cleanup in 1986. The Rouge is making a comeback...I've read about guys fishing the lower rouge around Michigan avenue and catching bass and pike.


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