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4        0


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MICHIGAN DEPThIENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Fisheries Division
Technical Feport: No. 78-4
Septemiber, 1978
SERIES: THE TROUT STREAMS OF MlICHIGAN
NO. 33 TA.HCQAMENON RIV=


Lelanid Anderson, Fisheries Biologist








SERIES: THE TROUT STREAMS OF MICHIGAN
NO. 33 TAHQUAMENCN RIVER
Leland Anderson, Fisheries Biologist
River Lore
The mighty Tahquamenon, you name it' It has it' To my knowledge, no other
stream in the water wonderland of Michigan can boast the versatility of this
great and historic river. Famed in legend of the Chippewa and steeped in
the lore of the hob-nailed boot, this aqueous serpent twists its way from
the springs of northern Alger and Luce Counties at its source, over the twin
cataracts of the Upper and Lower Falls and on into the mist studded waves of
Hiawatha's Gitchee Gumee at its nouth. Its nursling tributaries drain hardwood studded hills to the northwest, the pine plains to the south and the
tannic bogs in its valley.
This mighty river has something in cammon for all who have an interest in
the north country.
Its esthetic value centers around the picturesque cataracts, the Upper and
Lower Falls. The forest types along its banks are ever changing - from virgin
stands of beech and maple to wnrte birch, balsam, white and black spruce, elm,
ash, willow, hemlock, norway, white and jackpine.
The naturalist can find here, on or near by, a myriad of flowers, hundreds of
song and marsh birds, ducks, geese, eagles and osprey; and many members of
the aniaml kingdom such as beaver, muskrat, mink, otter, rabbits, deer, bear,
coyotes, fox, and an occasional moose.
The hunter has used this waterway for centuries as a source of travel and
game. Duck and coot hunting is considered very good on adjacent Mud Lake
near McMillan, the Natalie Marshes inundated by the Dollarville Flooding,
and in the many bayous and inlets along its entire course. In the adjoining
forest run the agile whitetail and lutoering black bear.
To the canoeist, there is water to test the expert and satisfy the neophyte.
This stream may be floated from Long Lake above the Eagle's Nest near its
source to Whitefish Bay at its mouth. However, it is advised that for better
canoeing one should start at McMillan Bridge, for one may became hopelessly
tangled up in the "spreads". There are many other points of access and the
principal portages are around the two great falls.
The fisherman can test his skill along its entire course for th p  river
probably contains the greatest variety of fish found in any stream in Michigan's
Upper Peninsula. There are panfish, bass and trout in the Tahquamenon Lakes;
brook trout from the High Fill to Long Lake where scme perch and suckers came
into the catch also, and pike from Camp Seven, a tributary lake. Then on
down from the Eagle's Nest past the High Bridge and the "spreads" (above and
below Hatch' s), it is mostly brook trout fishing - a prettier stretch of stream
few have fished. From the mouth of the Syphon (below the spreads) to Mud Lake




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it is brook trout fishing in the spring; panfish, pike, walleye, suckers
and minnows in the warmer months. Frcn Mud Lake to the Upper Falls there is
a chance to hook northern pike, munskies, large and smallmouth bass, walleyes,
and panfish. SScx  trout (brook, brown and rainbow) along with a few pike
and walleye are caught between the Falls, and recent stocking of brown and
rainbow trout have greatly increased the lure to this romantic area. The
species of fish most prevalent from the Lower Falls to the mouth are northern.ike, walleye, snallmouth bass, perch and rock  ass. Hoever, same muskies,
brown, brook and rainbow trout are taken and an occasional sahlon.
Many of the tributary streams that rise above the Falls also furnish fishermen
with imposing targets. The upper portionr of the East Branch is well known
for brook trout, while the Lower stretches abound with pike and walleye.
The Hendrie is noted for good, pike fishing, but does give up scwe brook and
brown trout at its headwaters rnar Fibron Quarry and Rexton. The Sage River
is a brown trout stream. The Teaspoon Creek, the first creek in Michigan
to be set aside for "kid's fishing" has a variety of species - trout in its
headwaters and warmn water fishes in the lower marshy areas. The Auger and
Murphy are brackish water streams and add little to the fishery. The Silver
with its artificial and many beaver ponds, the East, Red, Syphon, and Kings
Creeks are mostly feeders of brook trout.
Mosquitoes, black flies and no-see-umns abound along the entire system.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow used this setting as a love scene for that legendary
Indian hero, Hiawatha, and that eugenic maiden, Minnie-Haha. Barstool legend
has it that Hiawatha tragically met death in a plunge over the Upper Falls
while swooning over viinnie who had jilted him by falling in love with a
mysterious intruder from the rocky reaches of Tahquamenon Island.
In latter years such stalwart loggers and lumbermen as Danaher, Culhane,
Dollar, McSweeney, Hunters, Hulbert, McLeod, Morett, Underwood, Clauson,
Curnings, McPhee, and Malendi used the river in one way or another to assist
in the promotion of their fortunes or illfortunes.
-andmarks along the river that claim association to these luminaries are:
the "highfill" on Co. Road 422 and the "high bridge" about a mile below the
Eagle's Nest are logging railroad crossings associated with Danaher (1895 -1903); E. C. Underwood's fur farm (muskrats) near Natalie Siding on the DSS&A;
the "ghost town" of Dollarville, once a thriving lumbering metropolis named
for Robert Dollar (later an associate in the Dollar Steamship Campany) who
ran the American Lumber Company Sawmill on this location about 1882; tihis
was taken over later by Danaher and Malendi who finished up in 1903. Remnants
of the railroad trestles, booms and building foundations are sti... `  evident.
A short distance below is the "ole swCimin hol=e" used for skinny dipping by
local youths. Spider Bay (a series of arm-like bayous) is a short distance
below into which flows a spring creek from Angel Lake (named for the "angels"
that inhabited the "honey house" located thereon) o At M-123 crossing, a mile
and a half north of Newberry, is Chamberlain' s Mill (a modern-day small
dimension sawmill); while on the opposite side of the bridge, where Newberry's
Sewage Disposal Plant is now located, xas the Underwood Shingle Mill and
Potash Plant run by a Mr. Clauson. The upilings from the Newberry Lumber and
Charcoal Co. railroad trestle are still evident at this location.




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In 1903 Cumrings and McPhee had a logging camp and banking ground at the
present site of McPhee's Landing, five miles down river from Newberry. It
is likely that timber from this point was floated downstream. Deadman's
Farm, about 5 miles below McPhee' s, is an isolated high spot in the
Tahquamenon swamp where a trapper-farmer, remnant of the post logging era,
was supposedly murdered when his furs were stolen. Hunter's Landing (the
end of a logging road that joined with the Charcoal Grade) is about 1 1/2
miles down from the farm.  (This landing was used about 1910). Another
of Hunter' s landmarks is the former location of a sawmill about 4 miles
down from the landing, now the upstream terminus of R. J. Beach's "Betty B"
river trips and the Toonerville Trolley from Soo Junction (Junction of
former DSS&A and Soo Line Railroads). Slater's landing at the mouth of the
East Branch Tahquamenon is the terminus of the "Taom Sawyer" River Boat Trips.
McNearney's farm, about 3 miles below the mouth of the East Branch, was the
Headquarters Camp of Dawson Timber Company (1872-1879) where squared timbers
were hewn and then rafted down river. McNearney took over after Dawson left.
Con Culhane's (one of the more "picturesque" loggers of the era), logging
railroad grade crossed the river about 3 1/2 miles below McNearney's
(about 1897). Parts of the trestle and approaching grade are still in
evidence. The "Big Island", a modern-day rendezvous for Dutch and Detroit
Lions Thanksgiving festivities, is another mile or so downstream. The
Tahquamenon's "deephole" is in the big bend where the river again meets
up with M-123. It is about a mile from the deephole (60 feet deep?) to the
brink of the Big Falls (a 48 foot drop). During the logging days, Morett
had a floating bridge at the top of the falls to prevent losses of stray
barges and errant boatsmen from taking "Hiawatha's plunge." One passage
over the Lower Falls was diked by Culhane to facilitate better log passage
over the other fall. Culhane Railroad Grade ended at the "Whitehouse"
landing about 5 1/2 miles below the Lower Falls. A channel was dredged
by Alanso Cheeseborough to cut off the big bend above the mouth of the
river, evidently as a pass-by of a log storage area. There were thriving
sawmills at Emerson, about a mile south of the river mouth in 1885 and at
Shelldrake 8 miles north of the river mouth in 1895. Very little remains
at Emsrson except for dock pilings. There are still old houses and dock
pilings at Shelldrake. It is doubtful that Shelldrake had any connection
with the Tahquamenon River operations.
Logs were also driven on the East Branch of the Tahquamenon as early as 1890.
Cornelius Bennett had a lumber and shingle mill on the river just north of
Seewhy with a spur railroad to the DSS&A, (prior to World War I). George
Bridges is supposed to have had the longest corduroy logging road in
Michigan which crossed the East Branch about a mile northeast of the town
of Hulbert. Dick Hulbert, for wham the town and lake of Hulbert were named,
had a log rollway on the East Branch near the mouth of Big Be-ver Creek in
1890. The State Fish Division maintained a brook trout rearing station
on the river a half mile east of Eckerman from about 1930 to 1958.
The Hendrie River which flows into the Tahquamenon a mile or so upstream
from the East Branch was also used in the logging era by the D. N. McLeod
Lumber Company (1905-1915). Carl McSweeney, an artist with the long armed
dredge, is responsible for the network of canals and ditches that were
used to straighten out the serpentine configurations of the Hendrie and




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and Sage Rivers to provide better drainage and rmore judicious use of
water flow, le. was commtissioned to this. work. by D, N. McLeod.?4zLxio
also had visions of land prorrotion-after the logging era'. The black
soil (mud flats) in- the Tahquarenonf lood plain wre noted for their
ability to produce bu-mper crops o-f celery,, cab-bage and lettuce.
Soils
The principal soil types in this watershed 'vary fran san--d-.sandy boars to
muck, clay, marl, and silt, The ]redcrninant soil in the Tahquanenon Lake
area is Hiawatha sandy lowam; from there to the "Eagle' s Nest", AuTrain
sandy loamn; from there to Hatch' s is rubicon sand; the mainstream bottom
lands to Newberry are Tahquamuenon peat and tributaries carbondale muck.
Fran Newberry to McPhee' s Landing is.Griffin sandy-clay loam; fran there
to the Hendrie River rmouth,, Tahquamenon peat; fran Hendrie to the Falls
arefa is a mixture' of rubicon sand., Griffin sand, fine silt, mu'ck and, clay;
in the Upper.Falls area is fine sandy.loam; Ewen silty loam below the falls,
-and' frcm there to the mouth is a mi axture of rubicon' sand-gr~avelly'phase to
Brimley sand.
The river' s " sand load" assisted by strong northerly winds off Lake Superior
had'deposited a delta type bar about 3 1/2 miles long southeastward into
Tahquamenon, Bay.
The valley 'of the East Branch Tahquarnenon is Kirsten muck up to Eckerman,
fran there to Strongs is loamy sand and rubicon sand. Rifle peat is found
in swan-py areas. Above Strongs is heavy sand loam on highlands.*
The pattern for the Hernirie River watershed is the same as the East Branch.
The Sage. Valley is Tahquamenon. peat up to M-28 and Houghtonrmuck above
M-28. The swarrpy areas are carbondale muck,, Kalkaka sandy loam, and
rubicon sand is found in the highlands.
The Auger River Valley consists of Tahxqaamenon peat at the irouth, comiLng
down stream through Griffin sandy loam on the ridges and carbondale muck,
Dawson peat, and Kirsten muck i-n the flat bottoms;. Strongs sandy loam in
headiwater highlands.
The Murphy Valley, a-short way to the east, consists of carbondale muick at
the mouth; ccoming through Bohemian fine sandy, loam with Tah  n-nn and
Spaulding peat in the lower flats and AuTrain sandy loam in the he~adwaters.
Thek~ Taquino    lod.lan xends9 fromA -% 4"-%r-, TZ4K,ýIngq '.s-Creek w -est-of Mat-milla n -to




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Stream Character, Gradient And Vegetation
The Tahquamenon River watershed rises at an elevation of 1,000 feet
descending to an elevation of 605 feet at its mouth in Whitefish Bay
of Lake Superior. (The Upper Falls being 48 feet high and the Lower
Falls 20 feet.) Water discharge amounted to a minimum of 157 C.F.S.
(1955) to a maximum of 6990 C.F.S. (1960). Wzatc  levels in 1960 extended
to two feet above the Soo Line (DSSA) Railroad tracks in the Sage River
area. It drains an area of 790 square miles. The average snowfall in
the valley amounts to 100 to 119 inches with an average annual precipitation rate of 30 inches. Days are generally frost free from June 20th
to September 1st. The water in the mainstream and major tributaries
vary from light to dark brown in color. They have a pH of 6.5 to 8.5.
Many spring fed tributaries feed the mainstream well above the Upper Falls.
The major tributaries ranging from the headwaters to the mouth are Kings,
Syphon, East, Silver, Teaspoon, Thirty Nine, Sixteen, Auger, the Sage,
Gimlet, Hendrie, East Branch, Murphy, Linton, Bowers, and Cheney Creeks.
The Hendrie River and its upper tributaries, namely Naugle Creek, rise at
840 and 810 feet respectively in the sand plains of Chippewa and limestone
hills of Mackinac Counties. The East Branch Tahquamenon rises at 902
feet frcm the sand plains southeast of Strongs, in T45N, R5W, Chippewa
County.
In profile the mainstream drainage emerges frcm a series of steep rolling
sand hills which are vegetated with northern hardwood (hard maple, beech
and yellow birch), hemlock and white pine, and scattered "islands" of
spruce, balsam and cherry. The Tahquamenon Lakes form a sort of aqueous
basin out of which flows the stream thread. There is a short gravelly
rapid between Tahquamenon Lakes 2 and 3. After flowing under the "highfill" of County Road 422 the stream falls in a series of gravelly riffles
and pools to Long Lake, emerging from Long Lake in a wide sandy basin
to about 200 yards beyond the "Eagle's Nest" on County Road 421. Frcm
here the river drops in a series of gravelly riffles and pools through a
steep sandy valley vegetated with lofty white pine, white birch and poplar.
Past such historical landmarks as Danaher's Highhridge, and several fishing
and hunting camps (Seelbinder, Thampsons, Skinner' s and Ross' s) to a. half
mile beyond Ross's Camp where the stream flattens out into a small swampy
"spreads" fringed with tag alder and cedar. The river pinches back
together at Hatch's Camp on County Road 442 (East Creek Trucktrail). Fram
Hatch's downstream, for a short distance, the stream winds through a flat
marshy area and then "spreads" again over a flat swamp of con-fers and
tag alder. Though the stream is hard to follow in this area there is a
main course that follows the low sandy hills along County Road 442 for a
half mile and then dips generally southward until its confluence with
King's Creek. The bottom in the spreads area is of sand and silt and
littered with windfalls of cedar and spruce. Frcm King's Creek downstream,
the river is considered canoeable to the confluence with Syphon Creek,
where the stream picks up more depth and width allowing for use of outboard motorcraft frcm here to its mouth. Frman Syphon Creek to the mouth




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of the liendrie, the river is slow and meandering thru bog and-low
mnarginal swamp, veget~ated with tag alder, willow, laurel on the fringes
to orswnp conifers (taaack, black spru.ce-, balam.). elm, so~t rmaple,.
white birch and poplar,- There are relativeP.ly f~ew high spcts along this
stretch of river and these are occupied Zy road crossings, caxrnps an-d
cabin sit~es. The McMillan' (steel) bridge spans the river at County Road
415.  At Natalie, Michigan Waterways arid FoL-y Divisions have
established a public access point and a State Forest Campground. The
popular landing was once the site of Underwood' s Muskrat Farm.
At Dollarv ille, V here the rivevr- skirts the,-Soo Line Railroad tracks
(forrmerly the DSSA Rai-Lroad), the State and Federal authorities 'in'
ccoperationn witri local _`Litre'sts have constructed a. dam to hold back
120C) acres of surface water W11b"h ranges in depth to 12 feet. (Deepest
water. being in the itrnediate old river bed.) The river is well vegetated
withi a variety of aquatic weeds, fringed and islanded with Willow, alder,
m-arsh grass and northern lowland conifers.
From Dollarville to State Highway M-123. (about 3 -m.iles. downstream) the
river winds serpenticuosly through several grass aridbrushy bayou 's. The
banks vary in height to 15 feet and 'are vegetated with grass, willow,
"buck brush," eli., white birch, soft maple, and tag alder.
From M-123 to McPhee' s Landing (about 6 miles dowvnstream) the river winds
through low sand hills ve&-jetated with poplar., white birch, soft maple,
jack pine, and thor.-napple. Marshy bayous have developed along its course
over the years.- The river is relatively shallow, sarnd and silt bottormed,,
and littered with debris.
The first mile below McPhee' s, the river flows through marginal swairp
vegetatea' with elmn, soft maple, ash, and alder;-from thence downstream
to the rro. uth of the Hendrie River the Tahquaxrern flows th-.rough low marsh
lan&" vegetated with alder,. "buck brush," cattails and sedges. low sandy
hlills emerge from the swanp at Deadman' s Farmn, Hunter' s landing, "Betty B"1
land~ing and Baker' s. The stream is approximately 50 to 100.feet wide and.
1 to) 10 feet deep. Aquatic we   grcwth is moderately heavy. Bottcon soils
are sand and silt.
Frcm thie Hendrie down to the Upper Falls, the river channel straightens
out considerably; the bends being large and loopy, flowing through marginal
swamnp vegetated with soft maple, elm and conifers and then through low
rolling sand plains vegetated with poplar, whiite birch, marginal] hardwoods
and alder. Streamn banks are steep and relatively high. The - ower ground
is covered with alder, cedar, spruce and balIsam.




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whirlpool below that is probably 30-40 feet deep. The water then flows
over a short sandstone rapid about 400 yards below. From here to about
one mile above the Lower Falls, the river is about 100 to 150 feet wide
and enclosed by precipitous banks 80 to 100 feet high that are vegetated
with northern hardwoods, henlock and white pine. At a point about a mile
above the Lower Falls the river bottom is elevated to another sandstone
ledge over which it flows until it drops over the Lower Falls. This drop
is about 20 feet over a 2 step cataract west of the island and a one step
fall east of the island. A series of shallow rocky rapids below these falls
ends in a quiet pool about 12 feet deep in which the river bends southeastward for a quarter mile and ripples over another Short* rapids and then
heads in a southerly direction over a sand and silty bottmn.
From this point to the Whitehouse Landing the banks are still quite precipitous and covered with northern hardwood and islands of white and
norway pine, aspen and white birch. Eastward of the Whitehouse Landing
the terrain falls into a lowland category covered with spruce and balsam
and then rises again into low rolling hills covered with hardwood and
white birch. Then it tapers off into a flat sand plain along the river
vegetated with jack and norway pine, aspen and white birch. Terrain falls
away to black spruce swamnp and buck brush to the south, but remnains high
to the north - the landscape tapers off toward Lake Superior and is
covered with a mixture of jack and norway pine, aspen and white birch.
There is some alder on the river bottom. The river below the falls is
free of debris except alongj the irmaediate shore. The width of the river
varies from 100 to 150 feet wide and 3 to 20 feet deep. The deepest area
being in a big bend just above the mouth and west of M-123, under which
the river passes about 100 yards upstream from the mouth. The bottom is
of sand, clay and silt from the Lowr Falls to Lake Superior. There is
a large grassy island about 100 yards west of the M-123 bridge formed by
a dredged. by-pass which was dug by Alanso Cheeseborough in the late 1800's.
Most of the main tributaries are relatively sluggish, rising in sand and
gravelly hills. but for the most part flowing through large swamps within
the flood plain, except in the highlands where virgin forests skirted the
stream. Most stream banks are vegetated with grass or alder. Soil erosion
is not a major problem anywhere on the watershed.
Land Ownership
Starting in the headwaters the lands are in Cleveland Cliff Iron Carpany
ownership south to the vicinity of County Road 421 below the 1Sagle's Nest.
For the next 2 1/2 miles it is in State owanership except for two forties;
then in a numnber of private holdings down as far as Hatch's Camp on County
Road 442. From there to Newberry in State owned land except for 2 sections
in the iixanediate vicinity of Newberry.  From Newer  to Deadmarf's Farm
is rmostly State land, except for an odd lob and a section at McPhee' s
Landing. From the mouth of the Sage River to the boundary of the Tahquamenon
Falls State Park the river corridor is divided up between Atlas Plywood
Compoany and several small ownerships. Most of the land in the river corridor
from the "deep hole" at M-123 to Lake Superior is in State ownership
(Tahquamenon Falls State Park) except for a few isolated parcels just below
the Lcwer Falls and midway between the Falls and the mrouth.




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The majority of the main trib%,utaries, in Luce County are in State ownership,
especially in the mursh and submrginalswwnps. The upper end of the.Syphon, Kings, Teaspoon, mid-section of Eas"' OandPd  Creeks are-in wa~ll
private parcels; the Gimlet Watershed is mostly in Kimberly Clark omnership
and the Murphy in several amller ownership.*xThe. lower Hendrie and M~c
Ditch are-in State and M~ead ownership and the urper portions-in State and
FederTal ownership. The lower portiort- of th-c  c iaý-  ranch is in several
private parcels and the headwaters in State and William Bonifas lands.Thus rrst river front lands-now in State,, Federal and Timber Canpany
owner.ships can be classed as public recrea'tion lns.
Fish Mngeet
'lhe Tahquarnenon Lakes are managed for species present m tostly warm water
and an occasional brook trout; and adjacent Franik Lake for brown trout
anrd perch. The river froma the high fill. is a first class trout feeder
stre~am. Long Lake is stocked annually with 1-2000 brook- trout and Bennett
Spring, its outlet, and Grass Lake slough are stocked annually with yearling
brook trout. Camp 7 Lake, whose outlet joins with Grass Lake slough produces pike and panfish. Fran Long Lake to the Mc~illan Bridge is a first
class trout stream and need not be stocked. (The stretch between the
Eagle's Nest to Hatch's, esthetically, is probably one of the most "inviting"
stretches of trout stream i~n. the eastern Upper Peninsula.) In the lower
reaches (fran Kin' s Cree:kI to McMillan Bridge') warm. water species are the
principal inhabitants in the late surrrner. Kings., Syphon., East and Red
Creeks are first class trout feeder streams in this area, but not presently
stocked, and provide sane good "beaver pond" fishing.
The mainstream f ran YcMillan Bridge to Whitefish Bay is designated as a
warmi watei& stream. However, brook trout are found down as far as Newberry
in the spring, but these fish work up into the spring feeders by June.
Mud,ake, which lies in close proximity w-ith the river about 3- miles east
of McMillan Bridge, contains northern pike, northern muskies, largemrouth
bass. and perch. The backwaters of Dollarville Dam (1200 acres) approach
the Mud Lake outlet and contain the above mentioned species plus walleye,
rock bass and bullheads. Silve'r and Teaspoon Creeks are the principal
feeders in thris area. Silver contains 3 artificial and a number of Small
beaver ponds which produce an abundance of small brook trout. The artificial ponds (Silver, Brocky and Bucky) are stocked annually with brook
trout and get a good play. Kak' s Lake at the head of Carlson Creek, a
tributary cof the Teaspoon, is managed for warm water species and has been
stocked recentlyv with "tigesr"' muskies. T\wiz Lakes at the he.-- -1aters of
-the Teaspoon i s a two-story lake and planted71 regpularly with yearling splake.
IT- a-lso roduv-v-~i4ces some b-N-rook, bINrwowntrout, norhern pike, ý_ perch, sunfishes,_




.0


-9 -and biliheads whereas. the portion between the railroad and M-28 is a trout
stream stocked with brown trout with sane large brook trout present. The
headwaters contain nostly brook trout. Third Greek Pond has been stocked
with both brook and browin trout. Gimlet Creek is a- waxm water stream with
several mrll beaver ponds containing nostly suckers and minnaw~s,. The
H~endrie Rivier in pincipally a brown w~xm water t~t~rm frain its nouth
upstream to the Trout Lake branch of the ScrL, imilroad, and frain here
its neadwater streams contain sane brook and browtn trout. Fibron Pond at
the head of Anguilm Creek, a branch of the East Branch of the Hendrie, is
stocked annually with sublegal brown trout. The Murphy is a brown warm
water stream containi-ng northern piker yellow perch and bullheads. There
may be sane brook trout in the extreme-headwaters. The East Branch of
the Tahquamenon f ran the mo~uth up to the River Road contains northern pike,
walleye, yellow perch, rock. bass,,bulheads and suckers. Fran River Road
upstream to its headwaters it is a trout stream and is stocked annmually
with brook trout near Eckerm-an and Strongs where fishing pressure is heavy.
All tribtaries in this area are top qunlity trout feeder streams. Linton
Creek is a sxiall streamn with' numerous beaver ponds. Brook trout are
numerous but snall. There are several other smrall insignificant trout
feeder streams between the rmouth of the East Branch and the Upper Falls.
The mainstream between the two Falls contains a mixture of warm and cold
water species., namely brown,, brook and rainbow trout, northern pike,
walleye, rock bass, and suckers. Trout are stocked just below the Upper
Falls. Fish food is plentcifil and uater well aerated. The "romantic"
setting draws many anglers,, particularly fly fishermen and many good catches
are made. Feeder streams here are either seepage springs or intermittent
drainge off the escarpment.
The mainstream from the Lowqer Falls to its mouth in Whitefish Bay is noted
principally for its northern pike, walleye, smalliruth bass, yellow perch,
rimskies, and suckers, however, sane brown and brook trout and a few
anad-ortous rainbows care up to the Falls. Before 1950 the river' s excellent
fall perch fishery and late summier walleye fishery produced a phenomenal
crop of fish. This fishery is presently a..mare skeleton of its former
self. Good perch fishing has been developing in Emrerson Bay 'in recent
years and it is hopeful that this will spread up river.




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4..Ji