Jordan River | Upper Manistee River | Boardman River | Betsie River | Pine River | Cedar River | Big Manistee | AuSable River
THE MANISTEE RIVER
The Manistee River runs approximately 232 miles through the northern Lower Peninsula, through the villages of Sharon, Smithville, Mesick, and enters Lake Michigan at Manistee. It is considered, like the nearby Au Sable River, to be one of the best trout fisheries east of the Rockies. The river rises in the sand hills in southeastern Antrim County, on the border with Otsego County, about six miles southeast of the town of Alba. These deep glacial sands provide it with a remarkably stable flow of clean cold water year round, making it a popular river for fishing as well as canoeing. Over the course of its length, it drops in elevation from around 1300 feet to 582 feet, with an average stream gradient of about 2.9 feet per mile.The river's name comes from the Ojibwa word Manistiqweita, meaning "Crooked River".[1] Historically, the upper river was renowned for its outstanding grayling fishery, among the finest in the world, as catches in excess of 1000 fish per weekend outing were commonly reported up until the 1880s, when extensive logging in the area ruined the habitat.
Jordan River | Upper Manistee River | Boardman River | Betsie River | Pine River | Cedar River | Big Manistee | AuSable River
