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Where to fish

  • Forecast
  • Catches

Mine

  • Favorites
Forecast
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© 2026·AI-powered bite forecast
0.1.0+2161 · b4069346

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United States / Michigan / Flat River

Bite forecast: Flat River

  • length 71 mi
Loading map…

Best fishing days for the next week

  1. TuesdaySeptember 8weather-based forecast
    74/100high activity

    Cloudy: 50–57 °F

  2. SundaySeptember 6weather-based forecast
    67/100high activity

    Drizzle: 59–70 °F

  3. MondaySeptember 7weather-based forecast
    63/100high activity

    Cloudy: 59–75 °F

Flat River (Michigan) — a popular fishing spot. About 114 km long. Here you'll find a bite prediction — when fish are active and which hours give the best chances, adjusted for weather and pressure.

Nearby water bodies

  • LakeClifford Lake2 mi
  • LakeSpring Lake2 mi
  • LakeWest Lake2 mi
  • LakeTacoma Lake2 mi
  • LakeSimmons Lake3 mi
  • PondFarnsworth Lake3 mi
  • LakeHunter Lake3 mi
  • LakeDickerson Lake3 mi
  • LakeDutchman Lakes3 mi
  • LakeTurk Lake4 mi
Loading map…

Catches

Recorded 2 catches here. Most commonly caught: Steelhead, Smallmouth bass. Peak season: May–September.

  • Steelhead
    Flat River
    73 °F9 mph
    Sep 30, 2019
  • Smallmouth bass
    Flat River
    68 °F13 mph
    May 15, 2019

Measured river conditions are available for Flat River: current gauge height, streamflow, and water temperature when reported by the source.

Bite calendar

7–Sep 13
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Bite activity:highmediumlowslow
Based on:weatherseasonal
What is a bite calendar?
Brook troutCoho salmonMuskellungePikeSmallmouth bassWalleyeWhite bassYellow perchBluegillCarpChannel catfishLargemouth bassWhitefishRainbow troutSteelheadBlack crappieChinook salmonWhite crappieLake troutBurbot

Black crappie

5/10 · Fair

Hourly activity

0:006:0012:0018:0023:00
Bite activity:highmediumlow

The bite is moderate — fish feed in short bursts. A thunderstorm is possible: activity rises before the front and drops after.

Peak bite hours

Best time — 06:00–08:00 (dawn bite) and 19:00–20:00 (dusk bite).

Tactics

Work the cover — snags, weed edges, hole entrances; retrieve the lure with pauses.

Lures

The water's turning murky — go with bright, noisy lures: small jig or minnow bait.

Gear

Pack transitional-season clothing — mornings and evenings are chilly. A thunderstorm is possible — bring a rain jacket, and pack up at the first rumble of thunder.

Summary

An average day — best chances during peak windows.

How this forecast is calculated

Why this forecast

The computed water temperature is around 64 °F — inside the 57–75 °F comfort range for Black crappie, so baseline activity is high.

Computed water temperature by month; the green band is the 57–75 °F comfort rangecomfort 57–75 °F64 °F
JFMAMJJASOND

Black crappie works the twilight: the peaks are pinned to sunrise and sunset — their times are in the sun-and-moon card above.

The day: daylight hours and when Black crappie feeds0:0012:0024:00

Pressure is rising 0.18 inHg over the day — the bite usually settles down after a rise.

Pressure through the day, 0.18 inHg change
00:00 · 29.9923:00 · 30.17 inHg

One more input — the moon's feeding windows: within their hours the score sits higher than across the rest of the day. The window times are in the “Solunar feeding periods” card below.

Feeding windows on the day scale0:0012:0024:00

September is an active season for Black crappie here.

JFMAMJJASOND

These are the same values the bite curve above was computed from. How the forecast works

7 SepMonday, September 7
+74°

Cloudy · feels like +79°

Low / high
+52°…+75°
Precipitation
0.00 in
Wind
2 mph W
Cloud cover
100%
Humidity
75%
Pressure
29.94 inHg
00:00+59°—4 mphsouth wind, 4 mph99%33%
01:00+59°—4 mphsouth wind, 4 mph98%40%
02:00+60°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph97%48%
03:00+61°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph96%56%
04:00+62°—5 mphsouth wind, 5 mph94%66%
05:00+62°—4 mphsouth wind, 4 mph93%78%
06:00+62°—3 mphsouthwest wind, 3 mph91%91%
07:00+63°—3 mphsouthwest wind, 3 mph89%100%
08:00+65°—4 mphsouthwest wind, 4 mph86%100%
09:00+68°—4 mphsouthwest wind, 4 mph83%100%
10:00+71°—4 mphsouthwest wind, 4 mph80%100%
11:00+72°—3 mphsouthwest wind, 3 mph77%100%
12:00+74°—2 mphwest wind, 2 mph75%100%
13:00+75°—2 mphnorthwest wind, 2 mph75%100%
14:00+75°0.03 in3 mphnorthwest wind, 3 mph79%100%
15:00+74°0.03 in4 mphnorthwest wind, 4 mph85%100%
16:00+73°0.03 in4 mphnorth wind, 4 mph90%100%
17:00+70°0.04 in5 mphnorth wind, 5 mph93%98%
18:00+66°0.04 in8 mphnortheast wind, 8 mph95%95%
19:00+62°0.04 in10 mphnortheast wind, 10 mph96%93%
20:00+59°0.00 in10 mphnortheast wind, 10 mph96%95%
21:00+56°0.00 in10 mphnortheast wind, 10 mph96%98%
22:00+54°0.00 in10 mphnortheast wind, 10 mph96%100%
23:00+52°—9 mphnortheast wind, 9 mph96%100%
+75°+63°+52°
Weather throughout the day
0:006:0012:0018:0023:00

Sun and moon

Monday, September 7
The day: daylight and the hours the moon is above the horizon. Local time0:0012:0024:00
DaylightMoon above the horizon
Sunrise
06:22
Sunset
19:20
Day length
12 h 58 min
Sunshine hours
9 h 5 min
UV index
3
moderate
Moon
Waning crescent
Moonrise
02:41
Moonset
18:22

The day is 3 min shorter than yesterday.

Sunshine hours count direct sun only — cloud cover cuts it, so it is shorter than daylight.

Solunar feeding periods

+13% in the windowMonday, September 7
Feeding windows on the day scale, local time0:0012:0024:00
Major periodsMinor periods
  • Minor02:11–03:11Moonrise
  • Major09:38–11:38Moon overhead
  • Minor17:52–18:52Moonset
  • Major22:07–00:00Moon underfoot

The windows are set by the moon's transit and rise, and the forecast above already accounts for them: within these hours the bite score sits higher than across the rest of the day, while the day's overall level still comes from the catch-calibrated model.

What are solunar periods?

Water

Gauge height
3.45 ft

USGS gauge FLAT RIVER AT SMYRNA, MI, 19 mi away · measured 2026-09-02 14:00 · data source · provisional data, subject to revision