# Living on the Grand River



## WMUAngler (Oct 18, 2007)

I'm in the process of buying a house on the Grand just east of Grand Rapids. I have quite a few questions, but any information would be helpful. Feel free to PM me as well.

I know the dam in GR keeps me from boating west of the the city, but how far east can I go down the river by bass boat? Can I boat to Lowell? How about Portland? How about Lansing?

I know my shoreline will flood in the spring, what kind of dock works best for this; floating or maybe rolling dock?

Is the river No-Wake, or is it boater's discretion on how fast they want to go?

Does anyone have a link where I can find answers to these questions and many many more? 

Thanks guys.


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## White Pine Tackle (Nov 24, 2008)

I think you can go as far east as the Lyons dam. In terms of depth up around that area, I'm not sure. If your boat doesn't draw much water and you've got some cajones I bet you could make it pretty far. 

I'm almost positive there aren't any wake/no-wake rules on the river. There might be a top-speed limit, but it'll be faster than you want to go anyway... I've fished quite a few times around West River and you'll see all types of watercraft on plane (jet skis, bass boats, row boats, etc).


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## WMUAngler (Oct 18, 2007)

White Pine Tackle said:


> I think you can go as far east as the Lyons dam. In terms of depth up around that area, I'm not sure. If your boat doesn't draw much water and you've got some cajones I bet you could make it pretty far.
> 
> I'm almost positive there aren't any wake/no-wake rules on the river. There might be a top-speed limit, but it'll be faster than you want to go anyway... I've fished quite a few times around West River and you'll see all types of watercraft on plane (jet skis, bass boats, row boats, etc).


Thanks a lot for the info. I've never fished the Grand by boat, so my cajones will take some time to drop I'm sure. :lol:


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Take a drive down West River right now and you'll see plenty of backyards and anything else like a golf course underwater!


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## WMUAngler (Oct 18, 2007)

Yeah, it looks pretty bad off of W. River Drive. It's too bad, that golf course over there was always the cheapest one in the area. 

The property, that I have an offer in on, is mostly dry so far. I'm glad I'm going to get to see the river at it's highest before closing though.


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## Spey (Jul 27, 2004)

You might want to make sure you've got lots of freeboard. Seems to me it's been above 19' in recent years and who's to say what's really the upper end. Hate to see you get stuck with needless costs.


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## seareelz8 (Feb 22, 2008)

For most of the year, the water levels on the Grand from Ada (M21 bridge) all the way to Ionia should be high enough for your bass boat to make it. However, it can be risky to go full speed because of logs, boulders, sand bars which suddenly appear and give lack of clearance or time to avoid if you are going too fast. It will help if you can run the motor in shallow drive and expect to move slower when water levels are down. At times in July or August when there has been little or no rain for 3 weeks, the river can be at it's lowest level for the entire year. Sometimes this condition makes the Grand have some awesome action for smallmouth bass, walleyes, and huge cats in some sections from Ada to Ionia. If you need a tag along person sometime for trying the Grand , I'd be glad to join you.


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## agross (Jan 18, 2009)

as always on the river be careful, there are spots that are plenty deep enough, but there are alot of trees and rocks that you need watch out for, if you want to fish above portland there is a boat launch to top of portland damn, however i wouldn't recommend it with a bass boat, to many real shallow spots especially if your not familiar with it, if you want to fish below portland dam there is a boat launch above webber dam which is betweeen lyons and portland, there is some good fishing between webber and portland, lots of smallies and a little of everything,


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## GVSUKUSH (Mar 9, 2004)

Plainfield twp? Ada twp? Lowell twp?


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## WMUAngler (Oct 18, 2007)

GVSUKUSH said:


> Plainfield twp? Ada twp? Lowell twp?


Ada Twp.


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## WMUAngler (Oct 18, 2007)

agross said:


> as always on the river be careful, there are spots that are plenty deep enough, but there are alot of trees and rocks that you need watch out for, if you want to fish above portland there is a boat launch to top of portland damn, however i wouldn't recommend it with a bass boat, to many real shallow spots especially if your not familiar with it, if you want to fish below portland dam there is a boat launch above webber dam which is betweeen lyons and portland, there is some good fishing between webber and portland, lots of smallies and a little of everything,


Thanks for the advice. I will definitely be a cautious boater to begin with. I imagine my trolling motor will be seeing a lot more action than the outboard. I also have the Navionics chip which will give me some idea of the depths, although I do know that they fluctuate a lot.


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## WMUAngler (Oct 18, 2007)

Spey said:


> You might want to make sure you've got lots of freeboard. Seems to me it's been above 19' in recent years and who's to say what's really the upper end. Hate to see you get stuck with needless costs.


Yes, I've thought a lot about that possibility. I will be purchasing flood insurance; although it's not required for this property it is available. The neighbors tell me that the water will reach my pond about once every 5 years, but it doesn't get any closer to the house than that. Although I believe them, I'd still rather pay the $35 a month for some peace of mind.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I work in the mortgage business, and would highly recommend anyone not to buy in a flood zone. Flood insurance basically insures your home if it washes away, but does not cover damage to possessions which are ruined by flooding. I educated my kids in this way, following hurricane Katrina. Waterfront living is great. Actually living IN water sucks. Insurance is not the savior it might sound like. Trust me, I deal with clients who live in FL, TX, and LA a LOT. Their flood insurance is much more expensive than $35/month. But they get hurricanes, too.


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## WMUAngler (Oct 18, 2007)

Fishndude said:


> I work in the mortgage business, and would highly recommend anyone not to buy in a flood zone. Flood insurance basically insures your home if it washes away, but does not cover damage to possessions which are ruined by flooding. I educated my kids in this way, following hurricane Katrina. Waterfront living is great. Actually living IN water sucks. Insurance is not the savior it might sound like. Trust me, I deal with clients who live in FL, TX, and LA a LOT. Their flood insurance is much more expensive than $35/month. But they get hurricanes, too.


If your community has adopted the FEMA's Flood Plain Management system, the National Flood Insurance Program is affordable, available and it covers both contents and the building. www.floodsmart.gov has some great information on this. The property that I'm buying is in the Low-to-Moderate Risk Zone and the government estimate for my preferred level of coverage is between $326 and $388 per year. Waterfront living and peace of mind is well worth that amount I think.


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## WMUAngler (Oct 18, 2007)

The PM's have been GREAT! Thanks guys. That's what I love about this site, sportsmen helping out their fellow sportsmen. 

The only questions I still have involve the dock choices. What kind of system works best for a river that has a wide variance in depth?


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## gooseboy (Jul 11, 2008)

Fishndude said:


> I work in the mortgage business, and would highly recommend anyone not to buy in a flood zone. Flood insurance basically insures your home if it washes away, but does not cover damage to possessions which are ruined by flooding. I educated my kids in this way, following hurricane Katrina. Waterfront living is great. Actually living IN water sucks. Insurance is not the savior it might sound like. Trust me, I deal with clients who live in FL, TX, and LA a LOT. Their flood insurance is much more expensive than $35/month. But they get hurricanes, too.


 
I am in the realestate appraisal biz and have not seen much re-imbursement for flood damage. If there is a mortgage, a flood certification will be completed, if its in a 100 year or less flood plain you might be paying more for insurance. I appraised a property on the Muskegon River near Big Rapids and there payment was closer to 120 per month just for insurance


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## WMUAngler (Oct 18, 2007)

Well, I got the house and 3 acres on the Grand. June 12th is the closing date and then I'll be fishing as much as time will allow. Unfortunately I have almost an acre under water right now, but at least the house is still high and dry. Thanks again to all the advice givers.


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## DoubleJay (Aug 9, 2009)

WMUAngler said:


> The PM's have been GREAT! Thanks guys. That's what I love about this site, sportsmen helping out their fellow sportsmen.
> 
> The only questions I still have involve the dock choices. What kind of system works best for a river that has a wide variance in depth?


Ditch the “bass boat” and get into a solid 18-19 ft aluminum jet sled. Most are built like tanks, and center console layout allows for casting platforms fore and aft. You can run it across rocky areas, gravel, sand bars, and never have any pucker factor. I’d recommend a Yamaha 4 stroke (90/65) on a Roughneck 1760. Get it set up with a good river chain power anchor and oars. You’ll get a ton of use out of this machine, four seasons!

Jay
PS. Fiberglas and rocky rivers don’t mix well....


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Hopefully WMUAngler hasn't had to file any flood insurance claims since 2009.


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## riverwart (Oct 20, 2009)

Old post got me again. Reading ******* inquires from 14 years ago. I'm like wow haven't heard from Thousand Casts in forever. Still haven't.


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## andyotto (Sep 11, 2003)

I wonder how it worked out for him after all this time.


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## GRUNDY (Jun 18, 2005)

LOL! The "recommended" threads are a bit dated most of the time.


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## slowpaya (Oct 23, 2011)

was just posting for him... lol


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## Floater (Feb 8, 2003)

Saw on his fb that he is making custom rods again.


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## Far Beyond Driven (Jan 23, 2006)

I'm still using the Thundersticks I bought from him long ago...


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