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HomeOutdoorsWeekly fishing report: April 5, 2023

Weekly fishing report: April 5, 2023

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

Thunder Bay River: Anglers targeting steelhead in the open parts of the river did well using spinners and spawn bags. Anglers targeting steelhead near the 9th Street Dam did the best. Floating spawn bags, nymphs, and other drifting baits seemed to be better than casting spoons/spinners etc. Those using drift baits, were successful drifting in the deep pool directly under the dam.

Au Sable River: Anglers were starting to catch better numbers of steelhead in the Au Sable River in the deeper holes. Lake trout were caught at the mouth of the Au Sable River and on Tawas Bay.

Burt Lake: Anglers reported catches of perch, burbot and walleye.

Presque Isle: Anglers on Grand Lake were successful catching perch on the south end of the lake in 4 to7 feet water with spoons and minnows.

Northwest Lower Peninsula

Manistee River: From Tippy Dam to High Bridge, the river flow was up and moving fast. Steelhead numbers above the coffer increased a bit but most being reported were a bit darker shade, but below fresh runs were hitting flies, beads or a combination of flies and wax worms. Anglers were seeing good sizes and average numbers as the anglers ventured the hill stairs were doing just a bit better. From High Bridge to Bear Creek, some of the holes were getting moderate reports in early mornings but fading with fresh steelhead moving up. From Bear Creek to Manistee Lake, steelhead were hitting the river but were moving quickly to the upper portions. Anglers were reporting nice sizes as numbers were low.

Upper Peninsula

Little Bay de Noc: Ice anglers fishing the upper bay for yellow perch had limited success. There was some fishing activity in deep water in front of Kipling, as well as the “mud flats”. Anglers reported deteriorating ice conditions, with diminishing amounts of good, hard ice, so extreme caution is advised when traveling, as conditions will likely change rapidly as the thaw takes hold.

Keweenaw Bay: Early in the week anglers were able to shore fish from multiple locations along Lake Superior with varying luck depending on conditions and weather. Most successful anglers were able to cast from shore using spinners and spoons and were targeting salmon. Most areas of the lake were open water but with launches still not yet open due to snow and ice pack.

Les Cheneaux: There were few anglers out trying to catch some perch, but the ice conditions were changing daily. There were some intense winds shifting directions and the ice was deteriorating.

Munising: Gusty winds the past few days and heavy snows in area of 12 to 15 inches limited fishing effort. Most access areas were not plowed yet. High winds moved out ice at Sand Point to hospital, Grand Island Ferry Access was mostly float ice. Bay Furnace was open and fishable, however there were still large chunks of ice floating so depending on winds they moved back in. A few anglers were out over the weekend with some success for coho and splake.

Marquette: Rainbow trout were slowly running in the Carp River, but no word on any fish species other than brown trout out of the Chocolay.

Southeast Lower Peninsula

Saginaw Bay: Anglers were catching small yellow perch at Palmer Road and Sagatoo Road on perch riggs. Average size was five inches. Walleye were caught in Pinconning in 20 feet of water while trolling with Bandits. Some walleye were caught five miles N/E of Spoils Island in 20 feet of water while trolling with Bandits.

Saginaw River: Anglers reported that the walleye fishing was poor. Shore anglers were catching and releasing a few channel catfish while using night crawlers on the bottom at Zillwaukee.

Southwest Lower Peninsula

Muskegon: Anglers were having success with steelhead below Croton Dam with almost everyone using egg beads. Incidental catches of walleye and small trout were common when fishing for steelhead. The last few weeks people have begun to catch a few smallmouth bass, including large ones. Pine Street launch was especially packed with anglers over the weekend. The fishing pressure was concentrated upstream of Henning Park due to the high-water levels and muddy water so the lower section of the river didn’t have many anglers.

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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