Northeast Lower Peninsula
Tawas: Due to weather conditions, most of the angler activity was limited to shore and pier fishing. Three were a few walleye and steelhead caught in the Tawas River at Gateway Park while casting body baits, and drifting spawn. There were some coho salmon and steelhead caught in the surf at the Singing Bridge Access while still fishing spawn.
Au Gres and Pine River: There were some reports of walleye caught near the Bell buoy and Whitestone Point while trolling body baits in 20 to 45 feet of water. There were some small bluegill caught from the docks while still fishing crawlers. At Pine River access, boat anglers caught some largemouth bass while casting spinners, body baits and plastics near shore. Perch fishing was slow with some caught while still fishing minnows in 5 to 20 feet. There were some bluegill and crappie caught inside Eagle Bay Marina while still fishing with minnows, worms and plastics.
Rogers City: Due to weather conditions there was very low fishing activity. Most or many anglers have winterized their boats and have called it a season.
Alpena: It’s been a slow week due to weather conditions. There were a few great 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 were the best baits to use. Good colors were greens, blues with silver or oranges with silver or green.
Thunder Bay River: Chinook salmon have entered the river. Anglers were casting spoons and body baits. They were also drifting spawn and beads below bobbers. Anglers were hoping Atlantic salmon and coho will show up soon.
Cheboygan River: Salmon fishing activity was high on the river, with many fish caught this last weekend. There was a chance for a steelhead, pink salmon or coho salmon, or a lake trout but the vast majority of fish caught were Chinook salmon. At this point in the season, lures seemed much less productive than artificial and natural spawn presentations.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Manistee: Steelhead and coho were caught while using spawn bags off the pier and on the beach.
Ludington: A couple steelhead were caught off the piers while using spawn.
Upper Peninsula
Little Bay de Noc: Windy conditions limited available locations and opportunities for fishing. Smallmouth anglers had success fishing the upper bay and locations near Gladstone.
Manistique: Pink salmon remain in the river, with anglers casting reaction baits or floating beads. Anglers were catching and seeing some Chinook salmon that were the remnants of the last run.
Marquette: Fishing activity was low this last week. Lake trout were the most reported catches, but coho and Chinook salmon reports were increasing. Most successful catches of lake trout came from anglers trolling spoons in about 75 feet of water around White Rocks. Salmon were observed and reported being caught near the mouth of the Chocolay River, and occasionally around the breakwall in lower harbor. Salmon reports were increasing in the Chocolay River where anglers were using pink/gold spinners, or floating spawn bags.
Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Weather conditions were restricting most angling effort on the bays however there were a few days when people were able to get on the lake. Anglers had some luck fishing during the morning hours for lake trout and that was the majority of the catches last week. Only one report came off the water stating any salmon catches.
Big Traverse Bay/ South Portage Entry: Anglers were not able to spend too much time on the lake and in the bays with the high winds we had the last week. Those who were able to get out caught a few lake trout and not much else. Fish seemed to be hanging out in and around rivers so anglers should try casting from or to shore.
Les Cheneaux/Detour: There was very little angler activity in the Detour area. In the Les Cheneaux area, anglers were still catching a few Chinook salmon off the marina in Hessel. There was a lot of bait fish in the marina as well.
Grand Marais: A few shore anglers that spent some long hours fishing the mouth and shoreline area the last few days had no luck. They tried casting, spawn, lots of variations. No other anglers were fishing the pier or with boats.
Munising Bay: Coho fishing was slow. Very few fish were caught off the pier, with most anglers reporting zero catches. Splake fishing was also slow with very few caught. Anglers were trying both spawn and casting but had no luck. A few boat anglers were out with the same result.
Carp River & Nunns Creek: Nunns Creek and the Carp River were still producing fish, but the numbers of anglers and salmon decreased lately. Some Chinook salmon were still available at Nunns Creek and steelhead were entering into the Carp River. Recent rainfall will likely improve the fishing.
Au Train: Fishing activity was minimal over the last week in Au Train. Some anglers attempted to go after salmon near the Laughing Whitefish River but had no success. Lake trout were reported from anglers fishing around Au Train Island. The flats remained to be the hotspot with anglers catching lake trout while trolling in 20 to 60 feet of water. Spoons and stick baits seemed to be the most successful lures while trolling.
Upper St. Marys: Fishing pressure on the Upper St. Mary’s was very low due to windy conditions. Some anglers were targeting pike and walleye in Waishkey Bay with no luck. The occasional perch was caught.
Whitefish Bay: A few anglers in Whitefish Bay were targeting salmon in 60 to 120 feet of water with no luck. Constant northwest winds kept anglers restricted to the south side of Whitefish Point near the harbor. Anglers near the mouth of the Tahquamenon River targeted walleye and pike and also had very limited luck. A few musky follows were reported.
Lake George: The fishing in Lake George was productive with catches of pike, smallmouth and perch. On occasion there were a few walleye caught, which was a distinct increase since last month, but it is hit or miss at the moment.
Lake Nicolet: Fishing in Lake Nicolet has improved as the month progresses. Mostly due to the fact of weather and temperatures. The methods have remained consistent for trolling for walleye, casting for pike and bass, jigging for perch, and casting/drifting/jigging/trolling for the various salmon. A few of the surveyed anglers have been putting in the hours to track down the fish. There were salmon caught, with a couple walleye, pike and perch caught on occasion as well.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie: Yellow perch fishing in Lake Erie picked up significantly this last week. Perch were hugging the lake floor but were still biting well. Anglers were both drifting and anchored in Breast Bay and near E buoy in 15 feet of water and had good success while using shiner minnow rigs with 1oz of weight and using red shining beads to get their attention. Walleye fishing was scarce. Anglers targeting them came back with just a few for a day of fishing per boat. Those using artificial swim baits had the best success with perch colors in Breast Bay in 20 feet of water. Largemouth and smallmouth bass were hitting good on Chatterbait lures in the channel just north of the Sterling State Park launch.
Lake St. Clair: There was a decent catch of walleye as the water cooled down. They were using bottom bouncers and crawler harnesses in the lake as well as the middle and south channel. Anglers were trolling at various depths throughout the day.
Detroit River: Walleye fishing picked up and the best action was in the mouth at Lake St. Clair. Anglers did best while jigging in approximately 28 feet of water. The U.S. side near Peche Island was also a great spot. Smallmouth bass action was slow and there was little perch action. Smallmouth bass anglers were catching sizable northern pike. White and purple were hot colors this week.
Saginaw Bay: There were a few anglers that were able to get out of the Quanicassee area for yellow perch due to wind conditions. Shore fishing for panfish and yellow perch from Quanicassee to Sebewaing was slow. Due to weather conditions, only a few yellow perch were caught out in front of Linwood in 18 feet of water.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Muskegon River: Anglers were still catching Chinook salmon downstream from Croton Dam. Steelhead were starting to show in the river system. Best baits for steelhead were spawn and orange beads.
Berrien Springs: There was a good number of Chinook, coho and steelhead in the ladder. There were some Chinook in the 40” range and good numbers of coho and steelhead. There were at least 50 Chinook in the tail water below the Buchanon fish ladder as well. Water levels were low and clear which made it easy to see fish.
Grand River: Coho were seen in the ladder at Weber Dam with a few Chinook and steelhead mixed in. At Sixth Street ladder there was a good push of coho headed upstream. Anglers were catching salmon at Sixth Street. The Portland ladder had good numbers of salmon in the river as well as some in the ladder.
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.
