The weekly fishing report is back! Thanks for your patience while we continue to cover more areas in the near future.
All anglers 17 years of age and older are required to have a fishing license.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Presque Isle: The docks were not in at the marina and there was no fishing activity.
Alpena: Docks were not in at the Alpena marina, but some boats were launching at the river launch and heading out into the lake. Pier anglers at the marina were targeting walleye with only a few fish caught on various colored body baits in the evening.
Thunder Bay River: The water was high and dirty. Steelhead were caught from Mill Island Park up to the 9th street dam while using spawn, beads and crawlers.
Cheboygan: All of the dam chutes were open after last week’s rain. The river was high and stained. A few steelhead were starting to enter the river, but it was slow. Anglers were drifting with fresh spawn bags on the bottom or floating it under bobbers. Anglers were also using beads with limited success.
Ocqueoc River: Anglers were fishing from the mouth of the river up to the lamprey weir. The river was high and stained from heavy rain last week. Anglers were drifting fresh spawn bags under bobbers in the deeper holes for best results. A few steelhead were caught, but it was slow.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Ludington: Anglers trolling the harbor and coast caught a few brown trout, coho and the occasional lake trout. Pier anglers had decent catches of brown trout, steelhead and coho while using spawn and spoons.
Manistee: Anglers on the pier caught a few brown trout, coho and lake trout while fishing with spawn and casting spoons and crankbaits. A few menominee were also caught while using wax worms. Walleye anglers had little success between the piers, but some were caught while trolling and casting. Water temperatures were in the mid to upper 40s inside the pier heads. The south pier was closed.
Big Manistee River: With higher water levels and rising water temperatures over the past week, fresh steelhead were pushing straight up to Tippy Dam. Bottom bouncing yellow and peach beads, bouncing flies, and floating spawn produced the best results. Anglers reported high numbers of adipose fin clips over the past two weeks, especially at the dam. Boat anglers down river of High Bridge reported very limited action with the occasional steelhead, brown trout and walleye. Sucker fishing down river started to increase.
Manistee Lake: Perch fishing slowed down over the past week. Anglers were finding some schools of small perch and catching the occasional large crappie. Anglers targeting bass reported a slow catch-and-release bite.
Upper Peninsula
Little Bay de Noc: Anglers were done ice fishing the bay and awaiting the end of any remaining ice.
Big Bay de Noc: Shoreline ice remains in Ognontz Bay, while ice in Garden Bay was melting and will likely be open soon.
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: All ice has been cleared from Lake Superior in Keweenaw Bay and nearly all ice has left Huron Bay. Anglers were out sporadically with some luck fishing for whitefish in the mornings. All fish were caught near bottom however numbers were low. With temperatures on the rise and snow melting, anglers expect fish to be near river mouths and fishing to continue to pick up as the weather moves fully into spring.
Traverse Bays/ Portage Canal: Launches have begun to open as the waterways near the canal and the Big Traverse River are open. No successful fishing reports were reported. Anglers anticipate fishing to pick up as the water and weather warms and ice leaves the canal fully.
Au Train: The dock was in at the Brownstone and there were a couple boats out throughout the week in Au Train. Boat anglers had success catching coho salmon near Au Train Island while trolling spoons. There were no reports of any fish being caught from the mouth of the Rock River and no reports of any fish from within the river.
Les Cheneaux/Detour: The ice was slowly breaking up and started to crystalize making it unsafe. There were a couple people who fell through in Musky Bay – please use caution. The boat launches and piers were not fishable yet either.
Marquette: Fishing activity increased in the Marquette area. Boat anglers in lower harbor were successful with catching coho salmon while trolling bright colored spoons. Anglers fishing from the breakwall had some success catching coho while using spoons and spinners. In the Carp River, some coho were caught from the mouth and a few rainbow trout were caught while drifting spawn in the river.
Grand Marais: Fishing pressure was low. The pier had a huge ice cap covering the end of the pier. Most of the front section was still ice and snow covered – however with warmer weather predicted and south winds this could change in the coming weeks opening up pier area for fishing. A few boat anglers were out over the weekend with scattered reports of coho, brown trout, rainbow trout caught while trolling with small crankbaits. Anglers were mainly trolling in shallow water. A few anglers were out on the pier and reported a few catches of coho while using spawn.
Munising Bay: Fishing pressure increased over the past few days however reports were scattered. Anglers reported only a few catches of coho and herring. Ice conditions were dwindling. Ice was still present off the Anna, but a large majority of the bay was open.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake St. Clair: Water clarity on the lake has been improving each day. The stained water was warming up quickly and fishing for multiple species has been improving. Largemouth and smallmouth bass were caught by anglers fishing by boat and shore. The warmer backwaters and areas where creeks and rivers enter the lake have been better. Walleye anglers were doing well in the main lake and southern end near the Detroit River while trolling. With the cool water, anglers had a few bonus catches of coho and steelhead.
Detroit River: The annual walleye run was in full swing and will only improve as the water warms. The preferred fishing method this time of year is vertical jigging. Quality reports have come in from all sections of the river.
Saginaw Bay: From Quanicassee to Caseville, anglers fishing for yellow perch reported mostly small fish in the area rivers and cuts. Anglers targeting panfish were getting a few crappie, rock bass, bluegill and sunfish while using worms, minnows, and soft plastics. Only a handful of anglers were targeting walleye from Quanicassee to Sebewaing with most catches being zero to three walleye per angler. A few walleye were caught three miles northeast of the dumping grounds while trolling with crankbaits in 20 feet of water. In Eagles Bay Marina, some yellow perch were caught by shore anglers on perch rigs.
Saginaw River: Shore anglers at Independence Bridge were catching some channel catfish while using nightcrawlers. Shore anglers at Zilwaukee were catching a few white bass while casting tube jigs.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Muskegon: Pier and shore anglers were catching coho salmon along with a few brown trout on spawn bags. A mix of brown trout and coho salmon were caught by boat anglers trolling inside of 25 feet of water. Spoons and body baits worked well in either orange or chartreuse.
Grand Haven: Pier anglers were catching coho salmon, but the action slowed down compared to previous weeks. Coho salmon were caught on spawn or while casting orange spoons. Boats trolling along the shoreline were catching a mix of coho salmon and brown trout. Orange, chartreuse, and pink were good colors in both spoons and body baits.
South Haven: The fishing pressure was low. Boat anglers targeting coho had slow fishing and there were no perch reports. Pier anglers were catching a few fish. There were a few coho and brown trout caught while fishing with spawn.
St Joe: Overall, fishing was better earlier in the week and trailed off into the weekend. Pier anglers and shore anglers were catching decent numbers of coho. Most fish were caught on spawn fished on the bottom. There were no reports of perch catches. Boat anglers were catching a few coho salmon. The water was dirty, and the fish seemed to be very shallow. Most fish were caught in 10 to 20 feet of water.
Port Sheldon/Lake Michigan: Anglers were getting a few coho salmon in 8 to 30 feet of water. Fish were biting better in clear water. Anglers were catching lake trout in 30 to 50 feet of water.
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.
