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HomeOutdoorsWeekly fishing report: September 7, 2022

Weekly fishing report: September 7, 2022

walleye fishing
Photo credit: Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Northeast Lower Peninsula

Houghton Lake: Fishing was slow, but anglers were catching bluegill, walleye, perch, pike and bass. Walleye anglers had better results while trolling.  

Tawas: There were a few Chinook, steelhead and walleye caught out near and past buoy #2 in 35 to 80 feet while trolling spoons and body baits. There were also a few walleye caught inside the bay near buoys 4 & 6 while trolling body baits in 25 to 35 feet towards buoy #2. Fishing was slow in the harbor with reports of a few largemouth bass and some bluegills caught while casting various lures and still fishing crawlers. At Gateway Park on the Tawas River, there were a few Chinook caught while casting body baits, spinners and drifting spawn.

Au Gres and Pine River: Some walleye were caught in 25 to 35 feet between Au Gres Point and Lookout Point while trolling flicker shad and crawlers. There were also some reports of walleye caught out near the Bell buoy in 20 to 40 feet. Down near the Pine River area and the Saganing and Pinconning bars, there were some reports of perch caught in 7 to 25 feet while still fishing minnows. There were a few sunfish caught off the dock at the Pine River Access off crawlers.

Rogers City: Salmon were staging off Swan Bay. The best depths were from inside the bay out to 90 feet of water. Anglers were running lines throughout the water column.  Meat rigs, J-Plugs, Dodgers or rotating flashers along with spoons were producing well.  Good colors were greens, white or pearl, black and white and glow stuff early and late.  Before dawn and after the sun set was the most successful time in targeting the staging Chinook. The Chinook were running from mature jacks to 20+ pounds. The fish appear to be in good shape, and many were still silver. 

Oscoda: Anglers reported catches of Chinook off the pier. Walleye were caught at night on Bandits and Husky Jerks.

Alpena: Lake trout were caught out at the humps and towards the Nordmeer Wreck.  Anglers were fishing close to the bottom running big attractors with Spin-N-Glo flies as well as spoons. The best action for walleye seemed to be outside of Thunder Bay at ports like Rockport Presque Isle and Rogers City. 

Thunder Bay River: Boat anglers were starting to troll the river for Chinook and coho. Trolling body baits and spoons produced the best results.

Cheboygan River: Many boat anglers were trolling the river channel with success. Only Chinook catches were reported. Shore anglers were catching salmon from both the pier and below the dam at the spillway. Drifting spawn was productive at the dam, but spoons worked best in the deep water of the river.

Northwest Lower Peninsula

Ludington: Salmon were caught at Big Sable Point in 90 to 160 feet of water while fishing 70 to 100 feet down, straight out, and off the projects at various depths. Fish were scattered. Green and glow spoons, flies and J-Plugs worked well. Some smallmouth bass were caught from the piers. Salmon action in the harbor and channel slowed as water temps were warm. Pere Marquette Lake also slowed down for those jigging as water temps were warm.

Upper Peninsula

Little Bay de Noc: Windy conditions resulted in limited fishing pressure this week. Perch anglers reported fair to good fishing near Kipling. Walleye anglers were targeting areas just south of Gladstone and No See-um Creek. Anglers had success both trolling and casting snap jigs. Shore anglers caught some perch at the Gladstone fishing pier and at the Rapid River boat launch.

Manistique: River anglers reported good fishing with catches of Chinook, coho, pink salmon and brown trout. Anglers were having luck drifting skein, as well as casting reaction baits. Walleye anglers reported fair fishing in the river.

Marquette: Fishing activity was significantly lower than previous weeks. White rocks and Granite Island seemed to be the areas with the highest catch rates of lake trout, and some reports of lake trout from the Shot Point area. Anglers fishing near Granite Island were catching lake trout while trolling spoons in about 150 to 180 feet of water. Anglers fishing near White Rocks had success trolling spoons and flickers in about 60 to 100 feet of water. As for Shot Point, anglers reported some lake trout in 40 feet of water and some in about 80 feet.

Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Angling pressure was low due to weather conditions for much of the last week. Anglers who were able to get out found fishing difficult with reports of salmon and lake trout slow but still some coming in on the most common tactics. Anglers were using artificial baits, mostly spoons, and trolling in a variety of depths from 50 to 190 feet of water. Early light and trolling blue and silver seemed to be what most fish were caught on.

Traverse Bays/ South Portage Entry Canal: Anglers reported lake trout and salmon coming off the bays just east of the Keweenaw Peninsula but in fewer numbers than the week prior. Some shore and pier anglers recently caught lake sturgeon from the pier in south portage entry near the lake, however that was very uncommon. Anglers fishing near shore for warm water species also had some luck with bass and pike caught up along weeds. Fishing has still been best on Lake Superior during early mornings.

Au Train: Fishing activity was very low in the Au Train area. There were some reports of lake trout coming from the flats and deep water around Au Train Island. Anglers fishing in the flats of Au Train Island caught lake trout in 30 to 60 feet of water. Bright colored spoons (light blue/orange) seemed to have the best success. Anglers also reported catching lake trout in about 120+ feet of water while trolling the same bright colored spoons. There was also some angling success while jigging cut-baits in that deeper water. There were some anglers that attempted to fish near Wood Island but had no success.

Upper St. Marys: Near the Soo Locks, anglers were targeting rainbow trout, perch and walleye. Successful anglers were using different types of live bait, primarily crawlers, fishing off the bottom of river. Slow jigging or still methods with a bobber produced results. Anglers in Waishkey Bay were targeting northern pike with slow catch rates. Trolling with red and white spoons and spinners was the primary method of fishing. Surface water temperatures were dropping consistently below 68 degrees after the cold front over the weekend.

Carp River & Nunns Creek: Salmon were caught at both rivers. Nunns Creek was more popular but there was a higher chance at a salmon other than a Chinook at the Carp River. Anglers should change lure sizes if they know that fish are in an area but won’t bite. Many salmon were caught on smaller spoons.

Whitefish Bay: Anglers in the Tahquamenon River were having some success with catching northern pike near the river mouth and out into Whitefish Bay. Trolling with spinners or slow drift jigging with crawlers in the current produced some results.

Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie: Fishing in Lake Erie was moderately slow this past week. On hotter days, the yellow perch were not hitting as hard. Walleye were very elusive. Anglers catching yellow perch were using perch rigs baited with minnows in 20 feet of water or deeper but without any specific spots with many anglers needing to move around often to have a shot of finding a good school. Fishing was generally more successful in the morning before the peek heat of the day, or in the afternoon. Water clarity was murky. Smaller hooks were working marginally better for catching yellow perch.

Detroit River: Anglers were catching smallmouth and largemouth bass on the lower end of the river while trolling and casting artificial baits, and also some were caught near shore on Lake Erie. Some walleye were caught in the lower river by anglers jigging or trolling with artificial lures and with crawler harnesses. Some northern pike were caught off Mud Island. Anglers were beginning to catch perch mostly in the mouth at Erie but no real numbers to speak of yet.

Lake St. Clair: Anglers reported catching smallmouth bass at Metropark in 12 feet of water, but the larger smallmouth bass were found in deep water and near the channels. Perch were caught near buoys 26 and 28. Successful anglers were moving a lot and trolling with crawler harnesses. Muskie and sturgeon anglers were doing well. Walleye were caught in the north end of the lake with some anglers catching limits.

Saginaw Bay: Yellow perch were caught at Gambils in 12 to 14 feet of water and at Linwood in 16 to 18 feet of water and at Sailboat Buoy A, B, G and H. Anglers fishing for yellow perch caught a few keepers around 10 feet of water out from Quanicassee with lots of sorting through small fish. Walleye were caught in 10 to 12 feet of water off Callahan Reef. Walleye were scattered and caught in 10 to 13 feet down around Quanicassee, in the slot 14 to 17 feet, around the edges of the bar, and a few out in deeper water in 20 to 24 feet. Body baits and crawler harnesses were catching fish. 

Sebewaing: A few walleye were caught in the slot in 14 feet of water but it was pretty slow overall.

Grindstone: Boats trolling for salmon and trout were fishing 140 to 150 feet straight out from the harbor and to the north. Anglers were using downriggers with spoons and lead core and were catching some lake trout about 80 feet down and a few steelhead and cohos 50 to 60 feet down.

Port Austin: Smallmouth bass were caught from the breakwall while casting artificial lures. Boats anglers were trolling in 15 to 20 feet of water while using artificial lures.

Harbor Beach: Lake trout, steelhead, coho and the occasional walleye were caught in 125 to 150 feet while fishing about 75 to 80 feet down for lake trout and 50 feet down for salmon and trout. Anglers were using lead core and downriggers with spoons and fishing straight out from the harbor.

Port Sanilac: A mix of salmon and trout with some walleye were caught in 100 to150 feet using planer boards and downriggers with spoons. Anglers were catching fish 50 to 75 feet down to the north and a few miles south of the harbor.

Lexington: A few anglers were catching salmon and trout north towards Port Sanilac in 100 to 125 feet of water while fishing half way down using lead core and planer boards with spoons.

Southwest Lower Peninsula

Muskegon: The salmon action was fair. The best action was 45 to 90 feet down in 60 to 120 feet of water. No salmon were reported from the breakwalls. A mix of glow plugs, orange or green spoons, and green flies were productive.

Grand Haven: Boats anglers found the salmon action to be fair in 40 to 120 feet of water. The best action was 40 to 85 feet down on glow spoons and green or white flies. The pier action was slow for salmon. A few freshwater drum were caught while casting spoons.

St. Joseph: Perch fishing was inconsistent with the better chance of catches in 42 feet of water. Salmon anglers were catching fish when they could get on the lake. The best water was around 100 feet of water. Spoons were catching most of the fish. Pier anglers had slow fishing for all species.

South Haven: Salmon anglers reported pretty good fishing this week. Fish were caught in 110 to 120 feet of water. There were some good fish caught deeper also. Fish were caught on spoons, rotators and flies. Perch fishing was inconsistent. Anglers would catch fish for a couple of days and then they would turn off for a few days. The best water was around 40 feet of water. Pier anglers had slow fishing for all species.

This report is intended to give you an idea of what is going on around the state. Updates come from Fisheries staff and conservation officers. With more than 11,000 inland lakes, the Great Lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams, not all locations can be listed. However, it is safe to say if a species is being caught in some waters in the area, they are likely being caught in all waters in that section of the state that have that species.

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