The Family Friendly Fishing Waters map shows family-friendly fishing locations across the state that are easy to access and have a high likelihood of catching fish. You can filter the locations by what type of fish you want to catch, what kind of fishing you are looking for (boat, pier, shore) what amenities you would like (swimming, restrooms, etc.) and entrance fee. Just visit Michigan.gov/FamilyFishing to get started!
All anglers ages 17 and older are required to have a fishing license to fish public waters in Michigan.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Alpena: Anglers targeting walleye reported fishing as hit or miss due to cooler water temperatures. Crankbaits trolled in 17 to 25 feet of water had limited success, as did trolling shallow water during low-light conditions. Anglers targeting trout and salmon had fair results near North Point and Thunder Bay Island. Spoons and spin glows trolled near the bottom in 60 to 80 feet of water were productive for lake trout. Orange, green, and chartreuse spoons trolled in the top 25 feet of the water column produced Atlantic salmon, steelhead, and a few coho salmon.
Thunder Bay River: Good catches of catfish were reported throughout the river while using nightcrawlers and cut bait fished on the bottom, along with the occasional freshwater drum. Walleye anglers also found success using crawlers and leeches intermittently throughout the day.
Rockport: Lake trout fishing remained solid, with fish scattered throughout the water column. Anglers reported success using a wide variety of spoon colors, and Spin-N-Glos were also productive. Atlantic salmon, steelhead, and coho salmon were found high in the water column from Middle Island to Stone Port. Standard-sized spoons in bright colors worked best. Anglers targeting walleye reported no success. A few northern pike and smallmouth bass were caught in Bell Bay while using spinnerbaits and natural-colored tube jigs.
Cheboygan: Anglers trolling spoons in 40 to 70 feet of water have been successful at Poe Reef and Raynold’s Reef for lake trout. Good colors have been oranges and greens.
The Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex remains closed to the public. Downstream of the Cheboygan Dam, walleye, bass, pike, rock bass and the occasional freshwater drum were reported. The bite slowed down due to a mayfly hatch. Walleye anglers drifted hook-and-worm rigs in the morning and trolled night crawler harnesses at night. Shore anglers cast body baits and drifted night crawlers under slip bobbers.
At the river mouth, anglers cast swim baits, spinner baits, and tube baits and reported catches of smallmouth bass and pike.
Rogers City: Anglers continued to target lake trout with good success. The best depths were 50 to 80 feet of water. Anglers used cowbells or flashers with Spin-N-Glos close to the bottom for lake trout, while also running other lines throughout the water column. Spoons also produced well for lake trout higher in the water column.
The occasional silver fish was also caught, but recent northwest winds scattered them throughout the area. More stable winds were expected to help increase activity. The silver fish that were caught were primarily taken higher in the water column, mostly within the top 50 feet.
Productive areas included south toward Adam’s Point, straight out from shore, and north toward the state park and 40 Mile Point. Spoons continued to be a good choice when deployed from downriggers, leadcore, and copper lines run off planer boards and dipsy divers. Effective colors included greens, blues, yellows, oranges, and spoons with glow patterns.
Presque Isle: Lake trout fishing was excellent, with anglers consistently pulling limits. The best depths were 50 to 100 feet of water. Anglers deployed lines throughout the water column using downriggers, leadcore, copper lines, and dipsy divers. Spoons were the most effective choice, with productive colors including greens, blues, orange, gold, yellow, and UV patterns.
Cowbells or flashers with Spin-N-Glos were also effective for targeting lake trout. Silver fish were caught in the top 50 feet of the water column. The occasional Atlantic salmon, steelhead, coho salmon, and Chinook salmon were also reported.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Manistee: Anglers trolling for Chinook salmon caught a few fish during the early mornings, but overall activity was slow. Fish were found in 90 to 145 feet of water while trolling spoons 50 to 80 feet down. Lake trout were caught in decent numbers straight out from town and to the north, with anglers finding success near the bottom in 100 to 150 feet of water. Those targeting steelhead from the piers were unsuccessful.
Ludington: Anglers targeting Chinook salmon caught a few fish at Big Sable Point in 110 to 300 feet of water while fishing 50 to 80 feet down. A few fish were also caught to the south in 60 to 115 feet of water, primarily fishing around 80 feet down. Fishing was inconsistent, with most Chinook salmon being smaller-sized fish. Spoons and flasher-fly combinations produced results. Pier fishing remained slow due to warm water temperatures.
Charlevoix: Boat anglers reported slow fishing for lake trout and the occasional small silver fish. Those who found success trolled spoons anywhere from 25 to 100 feet down in 100 to 150 feet of water. Anglers fishing the Pine River Channel reported limited to no success targeting cisco and smallmouth bass.
Little Traverse Bay: Anglers targeting smallmouth bass reported slow but steady catches, primarily while fishing along the north shore of the bay. Casting tubes, body baits, and occasionally using natural bait produced results. Anglers targeting lake trout found success fishing in 70 to 120 feet of water west of Harbor Springs near the refuge.
West Grand Traverse Bay: Lake trout were caught by anglers jigging around the Red 6 buoy in 50 to 80 feet of water. Gold- and white-colored jigging spoons produced well. Anglers trolling along the west bank just north of Greilickville in 30 to 80 feet of water also caught a few lake trout. Smallmouth bass were being caught throughout the bay in 5 to 10 feet of water, with swimbaits and drop-shot rigs producing the best results.
East Grand Traverse Bay: Smallmouth bass were being caught in good numbers by anglers fishing the South Flats and in front of the state park. Water temperatures ranged between 60 and 63 degrees. Smallmouth bass continued to be caught in the Elk River.
Leland: No fishing activity to report.
Frankfort/Lake Michigan: Alewife moved out into deeper waters, causing the bite to slow this week. Anglers trolled in deeper waters ranging from 140 to 220 feet and used spoons and flies 80 to 100 feet down. The Chinook salmon that were landed were primarily smaller fish. Lake trout anglers reported very good numbers and sizes in Platte Bay, the Six Mile Hole, and off the shelf.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie: Walleye fishing slowed slightly in. Those with the most success fished just southeast of Sterling State Park beach in 19 feet of water. Spoons performed surprisingly well, as did crawler harnesses. Very few yellow perch were caught, but anglers expected catches to increase over the following couple of weeks. Many catfish were caught on natural bait throughout the lake. Shore fishing in the lagoons at Sterling State Park remained good for multiple species.
Lower Saginaw Bay: Walleye anglers trolled crawler harnesses in 12 to 15 feet of water at Callahan Reef, located 2 to 3 miles northeast of Spoils Island, and were also using flicker shads. Anglers were trolling in 8 to 10 feet of water in front of Jones Road using crawler harnesses.
Lake Huron: Anglers near Sunset Marina did the best straight out four miles in 16 to 17 feet of water trolling night crawler harnesses.
Quanicassee: Anglers did well overall while trolling for walleye, with some limits caught. Anglers had to move frequently to locate fish. Productive areas included Callahan Reef in 14 feet of water, west toward the shipping channel in 17 to 19 feet of water, and the Spark Plug in 28 feet of water. Both nightcrawler harnesses and Flicker Shads produced catches. Shore fishing in the Quanicassee River was slow due to the river being stained and muddy from recent rains.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
No reports available.
Upper Peninsula
Munising: Boat anglers trolling the bay and around Grand Island picked reported catching a few Chinook salmon and coho salmon, along with a few splake. Anglers trolling and jigging for lake trout also had good success.
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers reported good numbers of coho salmon being caught while trolling stickbaits, spoons, and flasher-fly combinations in the upper portion of the water column. Anglers also caught chinook salmon, brown trout, and rainbow trout while trolling, although in smaller numbers. Anglers reported a slow bite while jigging for whitefish. Those targeting lake trout found success while trolling and jigging both natural and artificial presentations in 50 to 150 feet of water.
Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: Anglers trolling near structure reported fair to good numbers of lake trout and a few coho salmon while using spoons and flasher-fly combinations. Anglers jigging for lake trout reported a fair bite while using natural and artificial baits, with most fish being caught between 120 and 160 feet of water.
Ontonagon River: The river saw a good amount of angling effort over the past week. Recent reports from anglers showed that walleye were caught in low to fair numbers. Species such as yellow perch and rock bass were also reported in low numbers by some anglers. It appeared that the most successful parties utilized a combination of trolling and jigging to find fish. Shore and dock anglers reported catches of yellow perch, rock bass, and walleye in low numbers.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Angling effort in Ontonagon was healthy over the past week. Effort at the Silver City and Union Bay access sites remained relatively low. Recent angler reports indicated that catches were primarily made up of lake trout in fair numbers, while coho salmon and steelhead were reported in lower numbers. Trolling continued to produce the best yields for boat anglers.
Black River Harbor: Angling effort in the harbor remained somewhat low over the past week. Boat anglers reported catches of lake trout and coho salmon in low to fair numbers. Trolling continued to be the most effective method for locating these fish.
St. Ignace: Anglers produced steady numbers of walleye and perch at the Pine River. They reported catching up to five walleye per trip, ranging from undersized throwbacks to legal-sized keepers. Shore anglers drifted jigs and leeches and cast nightcrawler harnesses. Boat anglers trolled nightcrawler harnesses and body baits.
Grand Marais: Anglers fishing off the breakwall reported catching a few lake whitefish and round whitefish, with worms and spawn producing the best results. Boat anglers trolling and jigging for lake trout had good success, with the occasional rainbow trout also caught.
Les Cheneaux Islands/DeTour: Perch fishing in Hessel slowed down, and anglers had a hard time catching anything worth keeping. Pike fishing in the area was good, whether bobber fishing with chubs or trolling in the bays. Smallmouth bass were still plentiful and quite active throughout the bays, as well as around the marina. Most anglers caught smallmouth while casting soft plastics. Lake trout cooperated with anglers in the middle and east entrance. Anglers trolled spoons 40 to 60 feet down and reported catching limits of nice-sized fish.
In DeTour, anglers continued to catch mixed bags of Atlantic salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead. Lake trout were also plentiful in DeTour, with anglers reporting that the fish were suspended and that they could not keep them off their hooks, even while trolling at speeds of 3.0 mph or faster and fishing 20 to 30 feet down.
Manistique: Anglers reported good fishing for lake trout. They found success using spoons, as well as buoyant, winged spinning lures. Salmon anglers anticipated that fishing would improve, although some anglers did have successful trips during the week. Anglers trolled spoons and flasher-fly combinations, with steelhead being a welcome and common bycatch.
Marquette: The coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead bite slowed down but remained productive for late June. Anglers reported finding fish in 30 to 80 feet of water while trolling from White Rocks toward Little Presque Isle.
More lake trout anglers also began finding success while jigging and trolling in deeper water and around White Rocks toward Granite Rock, typically in 120 to 200 feet of water. Some nice-sized lean lake trout were reported during the week.
Limited boat activity was observed out of Lower Harbor, so no angler reports were available from the Lower Harbor area toward Shot Point.
Au Train: Fishing activity in Au Train was slow this week, with only a few anglers being observed. The anglers who were interviewed reported fishing in deeper water north to northwest of Au Train Island, ranging from 120 to 220 feet of water. Anglers caught a mixed bag of lake trout and coho salmon. A few Chinook salmon were also reported being caught higher in the water column, around 80 feet down, while trolling for lake trout.
