The Grand River of Michigan

The Grand River is Michigan’s longest river, and the largest tributary of Lake Michigan.  Along its 256-mile journey through farmlands, forests, and cities including Jackson, Lansing, Portland, Grand Rapids, and Grand Haven the river provides a diversity of habitat types to a healthy assortment of fish species and native mussels.  Six fish ladders allow salmon and steelhead to swim upstream as far as Moore’s Park in Lansing, and also allow the passage of many warmwater species.

The impoundment above North Lansing Dam is the site of an annual fishing tournament known as the Lunker Derby, with the only eligible fish being carp, suckers, and catfish.  Bank fishing access is excellent here, though current velocity is low.  Much of the river below Lansing and upstream of Portland is wadeable during low water, with the exception of holes and a few impoundments.  Bedrock, cobble and boulders are common in riffle areas, while silt and sand settle out in slower areas.  Pondweed has taken root in the center of the river in some areas, providing a haven for damselflies and minnows.  The current is faster along the margins of the river where aquatic vegetation doesn’t grow.  Downed wood and rocky runs harbor crayfish and a variety of aquatic insects.  Smallmouth bass and carp are extremely abundant and aggressive, but small in size.  Shorthead redhorse, channel catfish, and rock bass are also common, with occasional pike and seasonal pulses of coho salmon and steelhead.  Clarity is good enough to permit sight fishing for carp with flies after a couple of dry weeks.
 

Below Lyons Dam, the Maple River adds its muddy waters to the Grand and changes its character.  Channel catfish and walleye become more common, and smallmouth bass and carp are less numerous but still common and larger in size.  Hard-bottomed areas alternate with sand, and the river meanders less often, resulting in long stretches of relatively featureless water.  The Maple River itself is prone to flooding, and much of its floodplain lies within the Maple River State Game Area.  Paddling through the flooded silver maple forests is a unique experience, and although the river is hard to read because of its slow, turbid nature, the river is very fertile and there are few bad spots to wet a line.  Channel and flathead catfish, silver redhosre, carp, and bowfin are abundant, and many other warmwater species are occasionally caught. 
 

At Grand Rapids, the coffer dams, quarry hole, and shallow gravel and bedrock runs below Sixth Street Dam are popular with wading anglers during low water.  This is an urban fishery, but a surprising solitude can be found while waist deep in swift current two hundred and fifty feet from either shore while balanced on a slippery rock.  Nearly any species of fish found in Michigan can be found here at one time of year or another.  Chinook salmon, steelhead, and walleye are most popular, but this is a great place to find a wide assortment of species from longnose gar to lake trout.
 

The 42 miles of river from Grand Rapids to Lake Michigan are flanked with bayous and gravel pits that provide an additional element of diversity to fish habitat.  Access is good for bank anglers at county parks and other public areas, but wading opportunities are limited.  The marshes and bayous provide wonderful places to paddle and abundant wildlife habitat.  Freshwater drum, gizzard shad, channel catfish, and largemouth bass are abundant.  At the mouth of the river, piers extending into Lake Michigan are popular with anglers targeting salmonids, yellow perch, and menominee.

Tributaries of the Grand range from tiny trout creeks to the green-tinted Thornapple River, which is known for its pike and stocked muskie fishery.  The Flat River is a boulder-strewn stream that is home to large smallies and redhorse; Stoney Creek holds good numbers of quillbacks and some black redhorse; Fish Creek gets a big run of shorthead redhorse and is known for trout in its upper reaches.

The Grand River system is large enough and diverse enough that one could easily spend a lifetime exploring it without uncovering all of its secrets.  Lake sturgeon were speared by Native Americans as far upstream as Lansing in years gone by, and a few sturgeon still spawn in the lower river (angling for them is prohibited).  The state-threatened river redhorse is also found in parts of the Grand, as are other Michigan rarities like the black buffalo and spotted sucker.
 

Although the fishing is often great along the Grand, even when it isn’t the scenery, wildlife, and solitude are still worth the trip.  Bald eagles have returned to the river, and are a common sight along some stretches of water.  Despite its beauty, the Grand has a reputation as a polluted river due to combined sewer overflows and other abuses.  Communities along the river have begun to realize the value of the river, though, and projects including a sewer upgrade in Grand Rapids and river walks in Portland and Lansing demonstrate this.  Perhaps as a result, kayaking, canoeing, and fly-fishing have become more popular in recent years, but it is still possible to head out for a day of exploring and never see another person.