Saint Joseph River
Michigan · Berrien
- County: Berrien
- Shoreline outline: not yet matched (basemap OSM)
The pin is approximate, near the middle of the water. The shoreline on the map comes from OpenStreetMap.
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Overview
The St. Joseph River basin covers about 4,685 square miles of southwest Michigan and north-central Indiana and is the third largest river basin in Michigan. The 210-mile river begins at Baw Beese Lake in Hillsdale County, loops through Indiana past Elkhart, Mishawaka and South Bend, then re-enters Michigan in Berrien County and reaches Lake Michigan at St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. A fish ladder at the Berrien Springs Dam opened in 1975, and by 1992 Michigan, Indiana and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had added ladders at the Buchanan, Niles, South Bend and Mishawaka dams, letting Lake Michigan trout and salmon travel 63 miles upstream to the Twin Branch Dam. In a 1992 to 2004 creel survey reported by Michigan DNR, steelhead were the most harvested fish. Chinook salmon, coho salmon and brown trout were also taken, and bluegill, walleye, channel catfish and smallmouth bass were the main other species harvested.
Regulations
Trout and salmon rules vary by section, and Indiana rules apply across the state line. See the current Michigan Fishing Regulations: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/fishing/fishing-regulations
Stocking history
| Species | Qty | Size | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walleye | 58841 | 3.22 | 06-10-2026 |
| Walleye | 45413 | 3.07 | 06-09-2026 |
| Walleye | 58239 | 3.63 | 06-03-2026 |
| Coho Salmon | 79492 | 14.0 | 04-01-2026 |
| Rainbow Trout | 61067 | 20.2, 19.5, 19.7 | 04-01-2026 |
| Rainbow Trout | 6545 | 20.1 | 03-26-2026 |
| Rainbow Trout | 19900 | 20.2 | 03-25-2026 |
| Walleye | 24299 | 2.97 | 06-04-2025 |
| Walleye | 61680 | 2.86 | 06-03-2025 |
| Chinook Salmon | 149832 | 9.0 | 05-06-2025 |
| Rainbow Trout | 86833 | 19.6 | 04-10-2025 |
| Coho Salmon | 24888 | 14.3 | 04-02-2025 |
| Coho Salmon | 49776 | 14.1 | 04-01-2025 |
Michigan Department of Natural Resources