Northeast Lower Peninsula
Tawas: There were some walleye and perch caught inside the bay near Jerry’s Marina and buoy’s 4 & 6 while trolling crawlers in 10 to 14 feet. Some walleye and steelhead were also caught out near Tawas Point while trolling spoons and body baits in 20 to 30 feet. Pier fishing was slow with a few small perch caught while still fishing with minnows. At Gateway Park on the Tawas River, there were still a few Chinook salmon caught while still fishing with spawn and casting body baits. A few walleye and steelhead were also caught in the river while casting body baits.
Au Gres and Pine River: There were some bluegill and perch caught from the dock at the boat access site while still fishing with crawlers. Perch fishing was slow in Au Gres as well as in the Pine River area. Anglers were reporting catching lots of smaller fish and a few keepers in 5 to 20 feet, while still fishing minnows. Walleye fishing was also slow with a few reports of fish caught in 20 to 25 feet out near the catfish hole while trolling crawlers and body baits. A few smaller perch were caught from the dock at the Pine River Access while still fishing minnows and crawlers.
Houghton Lake: Anglers were catching bluegills and crappie. Anglers were also trolling for walleye.
Rogers City: Fishing the adult Chinook salmon slowed down as many of them have moved up tight into the bay and into the river. Younger Chinook, steelhead and coho were straight out of the harbor and up towards 40 Mile Point. Anglers should locate the bait fish and stick with them. Run lures, mainly spoons, throughout the water column. Good colors were white with uv, blues, greens, oranges and silver mixed in with those colors, glows early and late.
Alpena: There were some nice catches of steelhead, Atlantic salmon and coho salmon come in from Thunder Bay. Best depths were in 40 to 60 feet of water and fishing the bait fish that were marked on the graph. Spoons worked best. Good colors were greens, blues with silver, or oranges with silver or green.
Thunder Bay River: Chinook salmon were in the river. Anglers were casting spoons or body baits or drifting with fresh spawn for best success.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Manistee: The pier and surf action was slowly starting to pick up. A few steelhead and a lake trout were reported while using spawn bags. Offshore salmon and trout fishing was good before the wind picked up over the weekend.
Ludington: Pier fishing was slow. Offshore salmon and steelhead fishing was good. Salmon were observed in the river at the state park, but the bite was slow.
Upper Peninsula
Little Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers were having mixed results. Perch anglers reported slow action this week. Limited success for perch was found near the Days River using worms or minnows. Walleye anglers reported a slow bite, but better fishing is anticipated as water temperatures fall. Anglers fishing the Escanaba River reported some coho activity.
Manistique: Some Chinook salmon were still in the river. Anglers targeting Chinook used primarily skein and beads. Pink salmon fishing was good. Anglers were drifting beads or casting reaction baits. There were some reports of a few steelhead being caught as well as brown trout. Walleye fishing was slow, but a few anglers managed to catch them while pitching jigs.
Marquette: Anglers were catching lake trout with the occasional salmon. Hot spots for lake trout were near White Rocks and Granite Island. Anglers fishing near White Rocks reported fish in waters from 50 to 80 feet of water using bright color spoons. Anglers fishing near Granite Island reported catching lake trout in 100+ feet of water using spoons and flickers. Salmon have primarily been reported coming from near the Chocolay River through Shot Point. Anglers who reported catching coho and Chinook salmon were trolling spoons higher in the water column in 50+ feet of water. There were increasing reports of anglers catching some coho salmon in the Chocolay River using spinners and floating spawn bags.
Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Anglers had success with lake trout and some other trout and salmon during the last week. Some anglers reported good fishing north of Sand Point when weather permits, and some anglers reported luck near the head of the bay in Keweenaw Bay. In Huron Bay, anglers reported luck on the north-west shore of the bay as well as in the head of the bay. Most anglers reported their best luck trolling before 11 a.m.
Big Traverse Bay/ South Portage Entry: Anglers reported most of their luck while trolling in the mornings near the canal and further up the shore north. Anglers who were able to get out early caught lake trout and Chinook salmon with some anglers reporting losing other salmon at the boat. Most successful fishing was done in the depth range from 40 to 110 feet and fish were biting slowly throughout those depths. Most fish were caught on spoons and flies. Anglers reported the most success while fishing well before noon.
Hessel: There were a few anglers catching Chinook salmon at the marina in Hessel. There was also a ton of bait fish hanging out in the marina as well. Splake were swimming through the marina as well as a hand full of Chinook salmon.
Au Train: Fishing activity was low over the last week, but some anglers reported catching lake trout. The hotspot for lake trout has come from near Au Train Island in the flats. Anglers reported catching lake trout using spinners in 20 to 60 feet of water in/near the flats. Try trolling using spoons or stick baits for best opportunities at catching fish.
Upper St. Marys: Fishing pressure was low on the Upper St. Mary’s with slow catches of yellow perch. Anglers were targeting perch, rainbow trout and beginning to start scouting for whitefish with the temperatures dropping quickly. Anglers catching fish were primarily using crawlers or minnows while sitting just off the bottom of the river in roughly 25 feet.
Whitefish Bay: A few anglers were targeting salmon in deep water out in Whitefish Bay with no luck. Some fish were reported and marked on scanners but did not produce results. Anglers in the Tahquamenon River have increased their efforts targeting fall muskies, with some follow action near the mouth. Anglers were casting large soft plastics and spinners for best results.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie: Yellow perch size and quantities were increasing with the colder weather upon us. Perch were caught near Brest Bay and Stony Point just north of the Sterling State Park boat ramp. Anglers were using emerald shiners on perch spreaders. Walleye were also caught outside of the Fermi Power Plant and near Stony Point. Anglers were trolling for walleye with artificial Husky Jerks and Bandits in 20 to 25 feet of water. With the water temperature cooling down this month, the bigger fish are bound to be biting.
Lake St. Clair: The perch action was picking up out in front of the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and into the 9 Mile area.
Detroit River: Yellow perch fishing was slow, but shiner minnow perch rigs were working best. The best catches were near Grosse Isle in 8 to 10 feet. Smallmouth bass fishing on the lower river slowed down considerably. Anglers fishing for perch with live bait were releasing quite a few and bass anglers casting with artificial bait were doing the best near Grosse Isle and in between Ecorse and Wyndotte in 13 to 20 feet of water. Most walleye anglers were returning with three or less fish. Anglers who did the best, fished in the mouth of the river at Lake St. Clair while trolling with crawlers or jigging with artificial and live bait combos.
Saginaw Bay: Yellow perch were caught at Linwood in 12 to 14 feet of water. At the Spark Plug and on the east side of Spoils Island yellow perch were caught in 16 feet of water. Yellow perch were also caught at Sailboat buoy F in 12 to 14 of water. Bluegill were caught by shore anglers at the end of Finn Road while casting small tube jigs.
Harbor Beach: A few coho, steelhead and walleye were caught while casting Cleos, Arctic spinners and body baits. Anglers were fishing from the breakwall and from boats and kayaks inside the harbor.
Port Sanilac: Good numbers of coho moved into the harbor and anglers were catching a few off the pier while casting spoons and spinners. Shiners also moved into the harbor in good numbers. A mix of coho, steelhead, Atlantic salmon and pike were caught from the north and south breakwalls while casting Arctic spinners and Cleos.
Lexington: Atlantic salmon, coho, steelhead and pike were caught while anglers were casting artificial lures, Arctic spinners and Cleos.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Muskegon: Water temperatures were starting to cool down and more Chinook salmon were moving further up into the river system. Anglers reported fair success either floating skein or casting crankbaits. Shallow water in certain areas of the upper sections made it difficult for some boats to navigate.
St. Joseph: The St. Joe River had a good number of steelhead and salmon around Berrien Springs. There were quite a few fish using the fish ladder. Fishing in the lower river was slow for smallmouth bass and walleye. There were still salmon being caught by anglers trolling in the lower river.
South Haven: Salmon anglers had very slow fishing inside of 100 feet of water. There were a few boats fishing very deep and catching a few lake trout and salmon. Boat anglers were well beyond 120 feet of water. Pier fishing was slow 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.
