Northeast Lower Peninsula
Tawas: There were some walleye and steelhead caught past buoy #2 in 35 to 50 feet of water while trolling body baits and crawlers. At Gateway Park on the Tawas River, there were some limits of Chinook and coho salmon caught while drifting spawn and casting lures.
Au Gres and Pine River: There were some perch caught out from the mouth of the river and between Lookout Point and Au Gres Point in 15 to 25 feet while still fishing with minnows. At Pine River Access area, there were some perch caught out near the mouth of the river and south towards the Saganing and Pinconning bars in 7 to 20 feet while still fishing minnows. There were some largemouth bass caught in near shore and along the weed beds while casting plastics and lures. Some small perch and bluegills were caught off the dock and along the river while still fishing minnows and crawlers.
Oscoda: Anglers were catching Chinook and coho on spoons at the pier. Walleye were caught in the evening. At the river, there was a large push of coho.
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.
Cheboygan River: Anglers reported catches of Chinook but a couple of pink salmon were caught as well. Most boat anglers switched from trolling to drifting eggs in the stretches immediately below the dam. The pier was not very productive, so shore anglers were best off near the dam too. Skein and crankbaits continued to be the most productive baits. Time of day seemed to make the biggest difference with dawn and dusk being the most-likely time for a fish to bite.
Alpena: There were a few great catches of steelhead, Atlantic and coho salmon that came in from Thunder Bay. Best depths were 40 to 60 feet of water and fishing the bait fish that were marked on the graph. Spoons were the best baits. Good colors were greens, blues with silver, or oranges with silver or green.
Thunder Bay River: A few salmon were in the river. Anglers were casting spoons or body baits or drifting with fresh spawn for the best success.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Manistee: Salmon and steelhead fishing was good offshore when fishing 200 to 350+ feet of water when fishing 40 to 60 feet down. The pier was very slow.
Ludington: Offshore salmon and steelhead fishing was good off the point and straight out. Depths were 190 to 200+ when fishing 50 to 70down but it varied. The piers were very slow.
Upper Peninsula
Carp River and Nunns Creek: Nunns Creek and the Carp River continued to produce salmon, but angling pressure seemed to have decreased in the last week. A few coho and steelhead were caught at Nunns Creek along with Chinook salmon. The low water levels were especially evident at the mouth of these two streams. At Nunns Creek, a moderate wind blowing from the lake and towards the shore seemed to draw the salmon in and make them more likely to bite. A calm day can mean slower fishing, but they will still bite.
Little Bay de Noc: A few salmon were in the river. Anglers were casting spoons or body baits or drifting with fresh spawn for the best success.
Manistique: Many pink salmon were in the river. Anglers targeting Chinook salmon were having success near the paper mill while drifting skein or beads. Some steelhead catches were reported. There was an occasional bi-catch of brown trout and walleye.
Marquette: Lake trout were being reported however, there were some reports of brown trout and coho/Chinook salmon. Most of the reports for lake trout were coming from anglers trolling between 60 to 100 feet near White Rocks. Some reports of lake trout and brown trout and salmon came from anglers fishing in 50+ feet of water between the Chocolay River and Shot Point. For salmon, try trolling spoons higher in the water column for best opportunities. Anglers fishing in the Chocolay River reported catching primarily coho salmon using spinners and drifting spawn bags.
Munising Bay: A few boat anglers were out this past weekend with no luck. A few splake/coho were caught offshore and at the pier but in general very slow with most anglers catching zero.
Grand Marais: A few anglers were shore fishing and trolling with poor success for coho or steelhead. Some anglers reported fishing for lake trout with limits reported. The lake trout were staging for spawning into shallower water less than 100 feet.
Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Most anglers coming off the water with successful fishing trips brought in lake trout off the bays. Boat anglers were mostly trolling in deeper water, around 90 to 150 feet. Anglers from shore fishing near river mouths were able to catch coho salmon on natural and artificial baits.
Big Traverse Bay/ South Portage Entry: Anglers had tough luck during the recent windy days however some anglers were able to bring in a few lake trout while trolling in waters around 50 to 70 feet. Those who caught fish were using spoons and flies.
Les Cheneaux/Detour: There were a few pink and Chinook salmon caught around the marina. A few perch were caught off the docks, but it was slow. Fishing in general was very slow in the area. There was a bass tournament this last weekend and there were quite a few smallmouth bass caught with a winning two-day bag total of 37 pounds. There was also a 6-pound largemouth and a 6-pound smallmouth caught.
Au Train: Lake trout were the only species reported being caught. All reports of lake trout came from anglers fishing around Au Train Island in anywhere from 40 to 100 feet of water. Anglers should try trolling spoons or jigging cut-baits for best opportunities. Some anglers attempted to troll up near the mouth of the Laughing Whitefish River and were marking fish but had no luck bringing anything into the boat.
Lower St. Marys: Perch anglers on Drummond Island did well. Anglers were reaching their perch limit in Potagannissing Bay and the next couple weeks should be really great with ideal water temperatures settling in. Minnows and crawlers on perch/crappie rigs were still the go-to setup. Some walleye were caught in the area, primarily at night.
Upper St. Marys: Fishing pressure increased in the upper St. Mary’s over the past week with more favorable weather conditions. Anglers were targeting rainbow trout, perch and northern pike with slow but steady success. Anglers were using crawlers and minnows off the bottom of the river for perch closer to the US side of the river. Near Waishkey Bay, trolling and casting with spoons and spinners produced the best results for pike. The occasional smallmouth was caught on spinners.
Munuscong Bay: Perch were moving in so fishing activity picking up. Anglers targeting musky were trolling the deeper waters of the channel.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie: Yellow perch fishing remained slow with the windy weather despite the cold snap bringing down water temperatures slightly. Anglers seeing perch were catching five small ones for every descent sized one on average and only ended up keeping about 10 or less. Some of the best places to mark perch were in about 10 feet of water just out from Luna Pier, and near E buoy out of Bolles Harbor. Shiner minnow perch rigs were the best way to catch perch. Largemouth bass fishing in La Plaisance Bay just out of Bolles Harbor provided great results.
Lake St. Clair: High winds and precipitation has limited angling effort. Water clarity has also been variable. Try for yellow perch in 15 to 18 feet of water or even deeper. Find the baitfish using your electronics to increase your chances for catching yellow perch and walleye. Smallmouth bass fishing has been picking up with the cooler water temperatures.
Detroit River: Smallmouth bass fishing was good on the lower half of the river with anglers catching fish in 13 to 20 feet of water. The perch action was picking up on the lower river as well with anglers still fishing and drifting with minnows which took fish in 8 to 10 feet of water. Anglers took a limited number of walleye while jigging with artificial baits and trolling with crawlers. Most walleye were taken in the mouth at Lake Erie.
Saginaw Bay: Anglers fishing for yellow perch reported slow fishing with mostly small fish. Yellow perch were caught at Linwood in 12 to 14 feet of water, at Blackhole in 23 feet of water and at sailboat buoy H. Walleye were caught while jigging near sailboat buoy B. Bass anglers had slower fishing, but anglers caught some smallmouth and largemouth bass on a variety of artificial baits.
Harbor Beach: Coho were caught from the break wall while casting Cleos and spinners. A few walleye were caught in the early morning or late evening while casting body baits.
Port Sanilac: A lot of coho were in the harbor and anglers were catching them on attic spinners and Cleos. Dark colors worked the best on sunny days. A few steelhead were caught on a variety of small artificial lures.
Lexington: A few anglers started to catch Atlantic salmon that were coming into the harbor. Early morning was the best time. Anglers were casting Cleos and other artificial lures.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Muskegon: On the Muskegon River, anglers were catching a few Chinook salmon on the lower end of the river. Casting crankbaits and floating skein under a bobber worked best. Chinook salmon fishing was slow on the upper stretch.
St. Joseph: Pier fishing was slow for salmon and steelhead. There were a few freshwater drum and bass caught. Perch fishing was also slow. Boat anglers targeting salmon were catching a few lake trout and a mixed bag of coho and Chinook. The fish were caught on spoons. The boat anglers catching these fish were fishing very deep. The waters targeted were well beyond 120 feet of water. Salmon fishing in the lower St. Joe slowed down. There still were a few salmon being caught while trolling. Walleye and smallmouth fishing picked up. Anglers were doing pretty good at the dam in Berrien Springs for Chinook and coho.
South Haven: Pier fishing was slow for all species and perch fishing was also slow. The few salmon boats that made it out this week were fishing close to the pier heads. There were a few fish caught but they were very deep. Fishing for salmon in the Black River slowed down. There were still a few fish being caught while trolling.
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.
