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All anglers 17 years of age and older are required to have a fishing license.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Tawas: Walleye were caught while jigging off the pier in good numbers. Anglers were seeing more and more Atlantic salmon on the inside of the pier. Lake trout were caught off Tawas Point in 20 to 40 feet of water. Singing Bridge was spotty with catches of walleye and browns trout.
Oscoda/Au Sable: Walleye and Atlantic salmon were caught in good numbers at the mouth of the river. Anglers were seeing some Atlantic salmon up river a little ways and some steelhead were around. Minnows worked well for Atlantic salmon and white jigs worked well for walleye.
Presque Isle: Anglers fishing straight out of the harbor were getting a mixed bag of trout and Atlantic salmon. With water temperatures ranging 39 to 42 degrees the fish were scattered in the water column. Leadcore and copper lines were doing well and so were downriggers from 15 to 60 feet down over waters 40 to 80 feet deep. Watermelon and spoons with oranges and greens were producing well. A nice Chinook was caught. The lighthouse to Thompson Harbor had Atlantic salmon and trout in shallower water with anglers having success in waters 25 to 40 feet. Pier anglers were having success casting green and gold spoons for Atlantic salmon on and off throughout the day.
Rockport: A couple Atlantic salmon were spotted cruising the shallows around the pier. Boat anglers were doing well from Middle Island north to Knight Bay in waters 40 to 90 feet. Orange, watermelon and yellow spoons were catching fish high in the water column while flashers and spin glows on deeper sets took the majority of the trout. A couple pike were spotted around the boat launch as well.
Alpena: Boat anglers were doing well offshore in 50 to 90 feet of water. Planer boards with leadcore and copper lines were producing both Atlantic salmon and trout. Paddles with spin glows off downriggers and dipsy divers were taking a good number of trout. Walleye were caught from the pier head to Sulphur Island in waters 10 to 20 feet deep. Those jigging the river mouth did well on plastics as well as minnows. Casting from the pier and yacht club produced walleye, pike, bass and the occasional brown trout. Various colors of shallow running crankbaits were having the best results.
Thunder Bay River: Steelhead were caught at the 9th Street Dam in good numbers. Anglers were also catching a handful of Atlantic salmon in the river ranging from 3 to 8 pounds. Best results were from drifting beads and spawn. Lamar Park to Mill Island Park was a good location to catch walleye, bass, pike and suckers. Crankbaits were taking the majority of walleye while plastic swim baits and crawlers were taking most other species. Boats jigging near the 2nd Street Bridge were taking a few walleye on plastics and jig/ minnow combos. A couple large musky were seen cruising the river as well as some large pike. Large plastic swim baits and spinnerbaits were producing the majority of pike.
Cheboygan River: All of the gates were open. The water was high and running fast. A lot of suckers were noticed this past week. Fishing was slow for steelhead. The few that were caught were on nasty weather days while drifting fresh spawn bags drifting under a bobber or bottom bouncing. Walleye fishing was slow due to strong currents and high water. Evening anglers were casting body baits for them.
Rogers City: Some boat anglers were catching lake trout with the best depths being 30 to 65 feet. Anglers were running lines all over the water column as the lake trout were suspended. Anglers were using attractors and spin glows near the bottom. Anglers were running lines higher as well with spoons. Good colors to use were greens, oranges and blue and silver.
Ocqueoc River: With the recent rain there is hope a fresh run of steelhead will come in. Anglers should try fishing the deeper holes while drifting bobbers and fresh spawn. There were some smallmouth bass and suckers present in the river.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Manistee River: Anglers reported low numbers of steelhead throughout the week with minimal pressure. Anglers finding the occasional bite had the most success bouncing dark colored flies and orange beads in the early morning upriver. Anglers fishing from boats outside of Tippy Dam area reported some success fishing for dropbacks on plugs. Sucker anglers had success throughout the river fishing natural bait off of the bottom. The occasional brown trout, walleye, pike and smallmouth bass were reported while casting small artificial lures.
Manistee Lake: Fishing pressure on Manistee Lake was low with anglers mainly targeting pike and bass. A variety of trolling and casting artificial lures were successful on the southern end of the lake. Fishing in late afternoon to evening produced the best results. Freshwater drum, bowfin and a few crappie were also reported.
Manistee: Anglers trolling for salmon and trout found a few Chinook in 25 to 40 feet both north and south of the harbor.
Ludington: Anglers trolling for Chinook found a few outside the harbor and north toward Big Sable Point inside of 40 feet of water. In the mix came a few brown trout and lake trout. Pier fish was slow.
Upper Peninsula
Little Bay de Noc: Anglers reported a slight uptick in perch fishing. Anglers fishing near Kipling and the head of the bay were having mixed results, likely due to varying conditions. Smallmouth bass anglers reported encountering fish near inflows and holes near shallower water.
Big Bay de Noc: Yellow perch anglers reported some catches, but not as good as over the past couple of weeks. Anglers reported that the spring perch bite was starting to tail off. Anglers were utilizing perch rigs with and without bobbers. Anglers were using both minnows and worms with both producing fish.
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers in Keweenaw Bay and Huron Bay were seeing an uptick in catches of multiple species as the water warms up. Anglers were able to find coho, lake trout, lake whitefish and brown trout out of the bays. These fish were mostly caught in the mornings or early afternoon while trolling. Trolling was done at a wide range of depths from 150 feet all the way up to 30 feet. Most fish were caught on artificial lures. At night some anglers were having luck with smelt but the catch was not high.
Hessel/Les Cheneaux/Detour: Anglers in Hessel were catching a few splake, however the fishing started the slow down due to weather. Perch have yet to come into the marina area and boat anglers were having a hard time finding them too. There were a few pike and smallmouth bass caught and released within Hessel Bay. The Detour area was slow with very little fishing activity still.
Traverse Bays/ Portage Canal: Anglers were able to catch some lake trout and Chinook salmon when weather was permitting. With the rising water temperature around the Keweenaw Peninsula, fishing pressure and catches were starting to increase. Anglers mostly found their catch during the mornings with most fish caught before 11am. Fish were caught while trolling and jigging and a mix of artificial and natural baits were used.
Munising Bay: Boat anglers did well catching coho while mainly trolling within the bay. Fish appeared to be suspended 15 to 20 feet in water depths of over 100 feet. Pier anglers continued to report slow fishing. The recent storm made a lot of changes in the bay near river mouths.
Grand Marais: Boat anglers reported good catches of coho trolling east towards the Blind Sucker River while fishing the breaks in about 15 feet. Lake trout anglers were doing well while jigging for lake trout. Pier anglers reported no consistency for whitefish.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie: Anglers trolling for walleye with artificial crankbaits around 40 feet back had the most success with anglers who were going down to the southern dumping grounds five miles straight out from Luna Pier and getting their limits. No specific colors dominated this past week. The largest walleye were caught out of Canadian waters near the wind turbines. Largemouth bass were caught just out of Bolles Harbor boat launch on imitation worms. Very few yellow perch were reported as of late, as it is still early in the season for them thus far.
Lake St. Clair: The inclement weather slowed down catch rates over the last couple days, but successful trips were still occurring. Smallmouth bass anglers were doing well while using green crankbaits, soft plastics and swim baits. Most anglers did well closer to shore in 10 to 15 feet of water from Nine Mile Ramp all the way to Anchor Bay. Anglers reported doing well near and in Muscamoot Bay. Walleye anglers were doing well trolling multi-colored Bandits near the shipping channel and northern parts of Anchor Bay in 15 to 20 feet of water. Anglers casting for walleye were doing well using artificial flies and swim baits near Nine Mile Ramp and straight out from the Clinton River Spillway.
Saginaw Bay: Boat anglers were catching walleye in 6 to 10 feet of water at Linwood Boat Marina. Walleye were also caught two miles northeast of Spoils Island in 18 to 20 feet of water on #9 Flicker minnows in both areas. Some bluegill were caught at the mouth of the Pine River in 5 to 6 feet of water. At Eagles Bay Marina, shore anglers were catching bluegill and a few on slip bobbers and minnows. On the east side of Saginaw Bay, fishing for walleye was spotty, but limits were starting to become more common. Anglers fishing the edge of Callahan reef were finding walleye around 10 to 12 feet of water. Walleye were also caught out from Quanicassee in 10 feet of water and less. The slot out from Sunset and all the way up towards North Island was producing walleye in 12 to 14 feet. Body baits were doing well for walleye and crawler harnesses were starting to produce limits. Bass anglers were catching and releasing both smallmouth and largemouth bass in nearshore areas all around the east side of the bay on a variety of artificial baits.
Saginaw River: Overall, fishing was slow. Bass anglers casting various artificial baits in the vicinity of Vets Park M13 in shallow areas around six feet of water caught a good number of largemouth bass and a few walleye.
Tittabawassee River: Anglers found some walleye and did well fishing downstream of Gordonville Road. From there down to Freeland Road Bridge anglers were casting jigs or trolling various body baits. Elsewhere on the river fishing was pretty slow.
Lexington/Port Sanilac: Anglers were trolling in 40 to 65 feet of water south of Lexington and north of Port Sanilac. They were running planer boards with body baits and downriggers with spoons. Some good catches of Chinook salmon, steelhead, lake trout and a few coho salmon were caught. A few coho and steelhead were caught from the breakwall in Port Sanilac while casting artificial lures.
Harbor Beach: Fish were caught at many different depths from 40 to 100 feet of water with good catches of a mixed bag of lake trout, steelhead, coho, some Chinook salmon and an occasional Atlantic and a few pink salmon showing up. Anglers were using dipsy divers and downriggers with spoons.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Muskegon: Boat anglers were catching Chinook salmon from the surface down to 45 feet in 30 to 80 feet of water. Spoons in orange, chartreuse and blue worked well.
Muskegon River: Numbers of steelhead in the river were declining but some fish were still being caught by determined anglers. Walleye were caught on the river below Newaygo, with highest success in the early mornings. Brown trout and rainbow trout were caught in good numbers above Newaygo by those targeting them. Smallmouth bass and a variety of suckers were caught throughout the entire river with increasing occurrence.
Grand Haven: Boat anglers were catching Chinook salmon throughout the water column in 30 to 75 feet of water. Anglers targeting yellow perch found the action to be very slow. Pier anglers were unsuccessful while casting spoons for salmon or brown trout. Glow and bright colored spoons worked well. A few salmon were caught on green or white flies.
Holland: Anglers were catching Chinook salmon in 30 to 70 feet of water while trolling spoons.
Pentwater: Anglers were catching Chinook salmon in 30 to 50 feet of water while trolling spoons near Little Sable Point.
St. Joe: Boat anglers targeting salmon had pretty good fishing this past week. Most boat anglers were fishing in 80 feet of water but there were fish in shallower and deeper waters. Boat anglers were catching mostly Chinook but there were lake trout caught as well as a few coho. Anglers were mostly fishing spoons. Pier fishing was slow for all species.
South Haven: Boat anglers were targeting 70 to 90 feet of water and mostly fishing with spoons. Anglers were catching mostly Chinook with a few lake trout mixed in. Pier fishing was slow.
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.
