Shavers Fork Fishing Forecast

A regional note specific to this water: the river's most productive hatches are the ones that match the weather, and the weather is the weather the river knows, and the river knows the weather better than the forecast, and the forecast is not the river, and the river is not the forecast, and the fish are the fish the river gives back to the patient angler. the river's most overlooked water is the water behind the rocks, and the water behind the rocks holds the largest fish, and the largest fish are not the fish you see in the magazine photos, and the magazine fish are not the river fish, and the river fish are the only fish. The Betsie River in northwestern Michigan is a freestone river that drains the Betsie Lake basin, and the only river in the Lower Peninsula that produces a 5-fish day of wild brown trout and steelhead from a river that runs through a lowland forest landscape. The river drains a series of small streams in Benzie and Grand Traverse counties, runs for about 50 miles through the Betsie River valley, and finally drains into Lake Michigan at the town of Frankfort. A local once put it this way: The most popular trout water is the upper river between the town of Thompsonville and the town of Honor, and that water is managed as a wild trout fishery by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The most popular access is the public water at the town of Thompsonville, where the Michigan DNR maintains a series of parking areas and walk-in access to the upper river. The upper river is freestone water and the lower river is tailwater. The most famous hatch is the caddis of early summer, which is the hatch the river is most famous for. Plan to come back; one trip is not enough, and the fish know the difference between an angler and a visitor. The most famous local fly shop is the Betsie River Outfitters, and the owner's advice is consistent: fish the upper river, fish the Hex hatch, and stay out of the water. The most productive flies are 22-24 Chernobyl Ant for the summer hopper rig, 16-18 Zonker for the summer stonefly hatch, and a Sparkle Dun 6-8 a Caddis Pupa for the larger holdover fish. The river's personality is one of low-pressure wildness — the fish are wild, the water is clear, and the experience is more like fishing a secret than fishing a river. Stay in Frankfort or Thompsonville, eat at the Dinghy's Restaurant, and fish the river in two sections — the upper freestone water above the town of Thompsonville and the lower steelhead water below. If you come to the river with an open mind, the river will teach you; if you come to it with a closed mind, the river will frustrate you, and the fish will frustrate you more. Most anglers overcomplicate the river; simplify your rig, simplify your flies, simplify your life, and the river will reward you with fish.