THE JORDAN RIVER
It is early January as I sip my coffee and watch ice floes migrate down the river in front of the cabin. So far it has been a mild winter, December was wet, but not in the fluffy white powder kind of way. We are all ready for some spring fishing. There are thoughts of how this season will turn out, river levels are low, not much has accumulated to recharge the water table. But winter is far from over, so I cannot worry about what has yet to precipitate. My thoughts are focused on what flies to tie and what rivers need to be explored or reacquainted. We need this in our winter doldrum, mixed in between reading, prepping, and tying- there must be some fascination or fixation on trying unfamiliar places and techniques. I am excited to get back to the Jordan River- but why?
I was in chat with fellow anglers at a TU ‘Tie One On’- many were asking about the hallowed Jordan- home of some noteworthy browns. Yes, without a doubt, rumors are easily dispersed among social media that this river has a few trout that can haunt your dreams, I have had my share, but that is not all this magnificent river has to offer. It is a magical river. The Jordan Shire- cedars, tamaracks, hemlock & pine make up the midsection, while tag alders and birch mixed with a few hardwoods are in the upper stretches. It is easy for me to overlook and take for granted- I intend to change that. Many who float with me get a little topography lesson about the watershed, how it encompasses 130 square miles (about the size of Athens, Georgia) in its short 27-mile meander of cold clean trout water. I can show you where it bubbles from the ground and drops in elevation of 1,280 ft to 600 ft at its mouth dumping into the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix. It quickly goes from a braided wadable stream to a swift flowing river after it is joined by the Green River. Below Graves Crossing, it is mostly north flowing chilly water. Even in July, partly due to the cedar canopy, the multitude of frigid feeder creeks and the fact it rarely sees a ton of direct solar radiation – it remains below 65 degrees. Let us begin by separating this jewel of Antrim/Charlevoix counties into three segments. The Upper Stretch- above Graves Crossing (no watercraft permitted-open for fishing last Saturday in April- September 30) the Middle Section- Graves to Webster Bridge, and the Lower Stretch- Webster to the mouth.
The Upper Jordan aka Fontinalis Rising.
The Jordan River Road crosses the river’s course three times in the headwaters. Those road crossings and undersized corrugated tubes make for prime beaver habitat and impede fish passage. The Conservation Resource Alliance has earmarked funds for removal and replacing them with open span bridges, preventing future washout and overflow. Be careful hiking in and finding your secret spot. There are many retention areas from former beaver dams that are mostly muck and silt making it easy for one step ‘up to your armpits’ in goose poop. There was a recent removal of 60-some beaver dams by local Friends of the Jordan River, and it has allowed a large amount of sediment to dump into the lower river, but the beavers have been diligent and re-established this great fishing arena. Most notable is the number of pull-offs and stairs for access to the river. Most of the upper watershed is State Land, allowing for exploration to your heart’s content. If you are truly adventurous, you can hike in on the North country trail for nine miles, camp at Pinney Bridge and hike out. There have been days out here in August when the BWOs and Tricos emerge that every brook trout under the sun came out to play, and often in late September, I can fool them on Hippie Stompers or Amy’s Ants in a few favorite colors, they seem to be willing to play. Use caution wading and stealthily approach using 5x or 6x tippet. This will improve your success ratio. Streamer fishing can be done with small Black Ghosts or Coachman style flies, swinging flies over submerged logs will produce a quick strike. While nymphing is possible, you will have to seek out short technical drifts and prepare to lose a dozen flies and practice tying knots for your outing or keep your game in the upper tier of water column. This stretch of water is one of the places i enjoy the last day of the season. The Jordan Valley is dotted with beautiful color under Dead Man’s Hill and the trout seem to be looking for their last meal while salmon crash their way along knee deep sections of this magical river. Chinook and Coho make their way up here for the salmon fry to have a banquet of macroinvertebrates and some respite from predators before they out-migrate to the big lake. The salmon parr also provides a valuable food source for browns further down the river system. The Jordan River Federal Fish Hatchery can be found along the river, it is no coincidence that it was built along the icy water where it can tap into the springs emerging from the Antrim Moraine to house young Lake Trout and Brook trout for stocking in the Great Lakes.
The Middle Earth- Graves Crossing to Webster Bridge
The vast majority of anglers seek what this area has to offer- good bug populations and decent casting for some trophy browns. Not recommended for wading, this water is swift and has many deep holes with clay and slippery bottom. The average flow is between 170-190 cfs, but I have seen the river rise to 500/600 cfs after a good rain. The good news is it usually returns to normal flow within 24 hours because it does not have any restrictions or impoundments below. Keep a good eye on the USGS graph for your wading adventure. Daytime fishing in the summer is a mix between frustrating and futile- you are either dealing with a plastic hatch of canoe/kayakers or the 4-5″ coho smolt attacking your fly on every drift. Save your trips for early or late if you really want to enjoy your time on the river. Dry fly fishing has its special spots- beginning at the “Beer Cooler” all the way through ‘Brown Trout Alley’ and down to ‘Lawyers Lounge’. If the BIG Hatch is on, do not expect to be the only boat at the put in. You will often see Wild Bill, Dakota, Aaron, Kelly, Trent, Casey and a few local anglers prepping their strategy for the night while sharing a coffee and story from the night before. Remember this water stays colder than others and hatches are often delayed a week or two from similar rivers. Steelhead can be found here from late October into the spring. Success depends on the day as they tend to get where they need to go in quick order. Centerpin anglers have an advantage simply because they can get the offering in front of the target species in quick order before the drift runs short. Structure is the name of the game, get it close and know the river. If you fish at night- please do yourself a favor and explore in the daylight, seeing a log and overhanging cedars will lessen your midnight experience when you either keep losing flies in the wood or donating your favorite pattern to the tree gremlins. Staying out late will improve your chances at a bigger brown, but this water can shut down quickly because of its cooler temperature.
The Lower River-Land of the Giants
The flows can be deceptive, and the holes are deep enough to hide a car, especially below Rogers Road where Deer Creek dumps in. But this is also home of some of the lake run browns and an occasional steelhead that will slip in for an evening snack and test how much backing you have on your reel. When lake levels are high, the fish tend to move around a lot. Sporadic sipping from one seam to the next. The current is tricky and very deceptive, this can often lead to frustrating anglers, patience pays dividends. Fish this area with caution and heed other anglers who have been here. I set foot into the river at a spot I knew well and instantly went over my waders- the river can change from one season to the next. Your nearest fly shop is Boyne Outfitters, and they will have a fly or two if you are looking to restock your supply.
The Future of the Jordan River
What lies ahead for this magnificent and treasured trout stream? Some groups have pushed for gear restrictions and creel limits/slot sizes for regulated harvest. There was even a push to add some river miles to the “Flies Only” designation without much data backing the move. I do not personally oppose it, but this is one of those places where you can take a young angler out to catch their first brook trout and teach them the importance of selective harvest while enjoying a campfire brookie with lemon & butter like my grandfather did. While others feel it would be an innovative idea to prevent anadromous species from entering the watershed, even though local MVWTU worked with DNR to remove the electrical weir at Alba Access in 2004. Salmon and steelhead contribute to the ecosystem and become a primary diet of large browns when they out-migrate as juvenile fish. Last week The Nature Conservancy in coalition with Little Traverse Bay of Odawa Indians planted some 110K whitefish eggs suspended in eggs crates. There is intent to re-establish a spawning run of whitefish. They spend less than six months in the river before they look for a lotic environment, so I highly doubt we will be seeing any as a bycatch in the Dry fly season. Arctic Grayling, project RE-Wild is slowly moving forward. With delays in getting eggs due to Covid and transport from Alaska, the Jordan is one of five primary locations to test run a potential re-introduction of a once native fish- not the exact species we once had, but similar and time will tell. I do not know if we can predict the future, but I do know one thing for certain- you will find me knee/thigh deep in the upper reaches of this glorious river throughout the summer months hoping to fool a few larger brook trout that hide in those deep mucky back eddies under all those tag alders…
