Batcke’s Manistee River Lodge

Guided water runs the Big Manistee together with the Pere Marquette, the Little Manistee, Bear Creek and the Pine River, and the operation also takes anglers onto the Lake Michigan flats for carp, pike and smallmouth. Trout, steelhead and salmon come round on a seasonal rotation through the year. The boat is matched to the day, either a custom StealthCraft drift boat or a jet sled. A full day is eight hours for one or two anglers at $600, a half day four to five hours at $450, and a full day for three at $700. All tackle and gear are found, rods, reels, tackle and flies included, and a streamside lunch comes with the full day but not the half. Anglers bring a Michigan all species licence, waders, polarized glasses and weather gear. A deposit of $200 per boat per day holds the date and is not refundable inside thirty days.