Fishing Dowagiac River

The Dowagiac River below Pucker Street Dam offers a unique coldwater fishery flowing through cobble, gravel, and sand substrate with coarse woody material and boulders providing cover in deep holes. This three-mile stretch has been managed as a brown trout fishery for over 30 years, with annual stocking increased from 1,200 to 6,800 yearling brown trout after 2000 when stream measurements revealed significantly more water than originally estimated. The river naturally produces brown trout, steelhead, coho, and Chinook salmon since Great Lakes salmonids gained access through the St. Joseph River Ladder Project completion in 1992. Fall creel surveys from 1992-2004 show this popular fishery draws anglers from 15 states and Canada, with angler hours ranging from 5,000-17,500 and catches of 50-1,200 steelhead and 150-2,750 Chinook salmon. The 1999 Pucker Street Dam drawdown permanently eliminated problematic water level fluctuations that exposed riffles for over three hours twice daily, creating stable run-of-river flow that benefits the coldwater fishery. Stream temperatures now run 2°C cooler in summer compared to pre-drawdown conditions, with July mean temperatures of 18.6°C upstream and 18.8°C downstream. The drawdown initially caused significant sand deposition downstream, requiring a sediment trap that removed 48,000 cubic yards of sand over three years at $50,000 cost. By 2002, riffle and run substrates returned to gravel and cobble with deepened holes, though some sand remains along river edges. Anglers report observing more Chinook salmon and steelhead smolts than previously, likely due to improved summer temperature conditions. Dissolved oxygen remained high throughout the drawdown at over 8 mg/l, aided by atmospheric mixing over the dam and downstream riffles. The macroinvertebrate community and habitat below the dam rate as 'excellent' according to Michigan Department of Environmental Quality assessments.