Fishing lower MI, Rogue or Dowagic River?

[ClearSkyGuy]

Hi All,
I'm going to be fishing the St Joe river, in Michigan, at the end of July. I have a couple more days to fish and wonder if you have an opinior about which river is "better" between the Rouge or Dowagic? Other river options would be ok too. I'm looking for steelhead on the st. Joe. Browns would be nice on the other. Small mouth bass are acceptable. Productivity and access at this time of the year are my keys.

Your thoughts?

Thanks,

Joe

[billhouk]

Just fished the Rifle River near Rose City, MI in the Rifle River SRA. Between the two of us we caught 11 trout, rainbow and browns, and one yellow perch (?) in three days. It was the 4th of July weekend and while the park was crowded we did not see any other fly fishers. The Rifle is not known as a"trout stream" but we had a very good time. It is in an SRA so accesibility is good. One brown was close to 12 inches and the others ranged from 5 or 6 inches up to 9. We saw several that were much bigger (14+). I used Parachute Adams (14) and Griffith's Gant (14 and 16). My friend used drys and nymphs.
DSCF0027.jpg

[ClearSkyGuy]

Sounds like a good place to explore on out next trip. We were hoping to stay within about an hour of Benton Harbor. Benton Harbor is in the SW corner of the state and Rose City on the NE side. We wanted to keep the travel time to an hour or less. In the past, we've fished the Au Sable at Grayling and have never come close your fish hall. From my house it would not be any further than Grayling so it's on the list.

[rainbowchaser]

The end of July is tough. Fishing out of Benton Harbor I would think of the St. Joe for smallmouth first.. I have never fished Dowagiac Creek but I know that as the weather warms the Rogue gets too warm for most trout fishing except early in the morning or well after dark.

[billhouk]

90 minutes from Benton Harbor is Middleburry, IN. (Yes, Indiana!) The Little Elkhart River in Middlebury has trout and a catch an release area with some public access. The local TU group is very active in developing this fishery. I've scouted the area but have not fished it, yet. Water temperature would be an issue I would think.

[ClearSkyGuy]

Rainbow,
I know it's going to be warm, I am hoping that we get some weather that's a bit cooler than now. We plan on fishing early to take advantage of the lowest temperatures of the day. As I said, you take vacation when you can, it just happens to be warm when I can get out of the office. I am not above fishing for smallmouth, what ever takes my fly is ok with me!

I've heard the Dowagiac River has limited access, that's what's chasing us up to the Rogue.

Thanks!
Joe

[rainbowchaser]

If you can stop by the fly shop here on your way to Benton Harbor you can find out more about how the rivers are fishing and maybe where to access the Dowagiac: http://maps.google.com/local_url?q=h...yaptmZHJzLjoRQ

[ClearSkyGuy]

Bill,
I fished the Little Elkhart River two summers ago. It was a week or two after the TU chapter hosted their Lettle Elkhart River picknick. That day we fished from the River Bend Park all the way to the St Joe river. We (wife and I) enjoyed the park, the scenery along the road, the Bonneyville Mill County Park was very nice. The only problem was the we did not have on bite, not one hit. Fly selection is almost everything and we probably didn't choose correctly. Maybe we will do better next time! River Bend is well shaded and has deep pockets so I expected a few fish in the cool water, but no luck. I liked it, it's close, I live in Fort Wayne, it's senic, and accessable. I've just never made it back. Maybe in the fall when the weather gets cooler.

Good suggestion, we will give it another try, but not on this trip.

Joe

[ClearSkyGuy]

I will check the directions and if we can we will.

Thanks,

Joe