Scheck's Place Campground and Trail Camp, Boardman River

 South-ish on Brown Bridge Road outside of Traverse City, MI one finds the Scheck's Place campground compound.

I can almost pronounce Scheck's Place without sliding into a movie title featuring an ogre.

At left, the first of three campgrounds of interest to the angler: Scheck's Trail Camp. Michigan has a shore-to-shore trail for horse enthusiasts. Scheck's Trail camp is on the path and caters to the horse crowd. However, the campground is open to all. At left, the trail camp. The bits of "Rommel's Asparagus" sticking up are hitching posts at campsites. Wide open spaces. Don't fence me in.

 The trout piece of this location features the watering hole for the ponies and the angler trails that wander upstream and down from the location. Here's the horse signpost.

 Here's the gravel tongue in the river for pony watering. The flow is again moderate and the river is on the order of thirty to forty feet wide.

I was here on Saturday and should have just fished it the rest of the day ... but for the growling offshore thunder that I knew was conspiring to ruin my wilderness culinary treat of dinner.

Downstream from the ponies about fifty feet along the angler's trail through brush and alders. The trail is pretty good considering it's just a wear path. The river is nice in this section with good pools, undercut banks, and timber. Within every cast length is some sort of "fishy" structure that deserves attention. The flow was up (river flow doubled while I was there over Easter) but I think I could have managed a nice wade here.





Father downstream a few hundred feet is the confusingly names Scheck's Place Campground -- this one is not for ponies. However, Brown Bridge Road bisects the campground and the dirt trail that is Brown Bridge Road is sandy, rough, and holds water all at the same time. It's a Subaru-or-better road.

 North side, Scheck's Place campground. Full of water. Most campsites swamped and one section of the camp road covered with siz inches plus of standing water.

This is not a worry-free location to camp. No one likes water incursion from a downpour.

 Flooded campsite, typical of most sites here.













Some sites at the very rear of the campground were quite nice; but, I drove through six inches of water to get here. There's a stone walk to the river and an island divides the current right inside the campground itself.  The island wasn't helping the intention of wading with its channelizing of the high flows into higher and faster flows.

Not wadable.  Downstream view from the north campground.

The campsite has a nice handicapped fishing platform. Good bird-watching spot.

 Across the road is the other small southern portion of Scheck's Place Campground. I counted seven close pads and a river access canoe launch o'rtopped with river. There is a bridge on Brown Bridge Road between the campsites and with the river up, the bridge was more of a culvert.

In this flow, a misstep would run one through the wringer and there'd probably be drowning involved. Might be fine at other times; but, the Boardmanwas brutal on Easter weekend.

Horrendous snap but the south campsites were dry and under some nice trees. Canoe loading will bring the trailers right in front of each campsite all day long, however.

Sometimes, trout guys like to nap before the hatch and wade that can run into the evening. Canoe loading is seldom a lullaby.






Hope this helps future excursion anglers.

Prost.