Free Fishing Weekend is June 10 and 11, 2023 is held in conjunction with “Three Free” weekend, where residents and nonresidents can grab a fishing rod, ride the off-road trails and visit state parks and boating access sites – all free of charge. During Free ORV Weekend, Michigan residents and visitors legally can ride without buying an ORV license or trail permit. All other ORV rules and laws still apply. For more information visit Michigan.gov/FreeFishing.
All anglers 17 years of age and older are required to have a fishing license.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Presque Isle: Anglers targeting South Albany Point were finding smallmouth bass and pike in the shallows. Crankbaits as well as plastic swimbaits were working well. The waters straight out of Presque Isle harbor north to the new lighthouse were giving up trout from 60 to 90 feet of water. Flahers/Dodgers in front of spin glows were the most productive on deeper sets. North Bay to Thompson Harbor area was giving up trout and Atlantic salmon throughout the water column in the 50 to 70 feet range. A few Chinook salmon and the occasional coho were caught in these waters. Smallmouth bass were caught as well as a few nice pike around Black Point.
Rockport: Anglers were doing well fishing Middle Island north to Stoneport. Waters 40 to 80 feet were giving up lake trout, Atlantic salmon, Chinook salmon, coho, and a handful of pink salmon. Spoons in purples, greens, and gold/green were working well in low light conditions while brighter colors were producing well in sunny conditions. A few Atlantic salmon were still cruising the shallows around the Rockport dock and were caught on minnows and smaller sized spoons in blue/silver.
Alpena: A migration of walleye arrived, and anglers were taking full advantage of the mild weather. Limit catches were caught in the waters from the pier head to Scarecrow Island. Crawlers in 12 to 16 feet were the most productive during daylight hours. Nighttime anglers were doing well with crankbaits straight off the pier to Whitefish Bay and south around Sulphur Island. The few anglers who targeted trout and salmon were doing well from the 9 Mile to north of Thunder Bay Island. The 50 to 90 feet range was the best depths. Anglers reported 3-6 color lead cores with a variety of spoons were taking the majority of silver fish while those targeting trout did well lower in the water column on spoons, and flasher/ spin glow combos. Orange, golds, greens and watermelon-colored spoons were still working well on both trout and salmon. Thunder Bay River had minimal fishing pressure. A few walleye were caught from the mouth up to 9th Street Bridge using crawlers and leaches. Freshwater drum, bass, bullhead and rock bass were caught all throughout the river as well.
Au Sable River: It’s dry fly season in the upper Au Sable. The mayfly carousel continued with sulphurs and the larger Drakes were starting to hatch with some regularity. Classic fly patterns such as the Roberts Drake and Parachute Borchers were good choices this time of year.
Cheboygan: Smallmouth bass were on their beds below the Cheboygan Dam and in Duncan Bay. However, most anglers fishing in Cheboygan were targeting walleye—especially in the morning and at night. Walleye fishing was decent, but few anglers were getting limits. Drifting a crawler or leech up stream of the State St. Bridge was the most popular strategy and area for walleye. Also, pike fishing was good near the mouth of the river and in Duncan Bay. Some steelhead were in the river, closer to the dam/paper mill. but they are very skittish and not biting well. In Lake Huron, boats trolling for lake trout had mixed results, but some boats did very well for size/numbers.
Rogers City: A mix of lake trout along with fair to good numbers of Atlantic salmon and the occasional Chinook salmon were caught. The best action was fishing up the lake between the state park and past 40 Mile Point. Good depths were from 45 to 80 feet of water. Anglers were running lines all throughout the water column for best results. The Atlantic salmon were coming in the top 15 to 20 feet. Use smaller spoons – slims and reg sized spoons. Good colors were oranges, orange and silver, orange and green. UV on them have also been good. The lake trout were coming all over the place as well as using spoons with lots of greens and some blues or white. Anglers were also using bright flashy attractors with spin glos.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Manistee: Fishing slowed down this past week. Anglers were trolling anywhere from 100 to 300 feet of water found Chinook salmon 25 to 75 feet down; spoons and flasher/fly combos worked well. Most of the action was straight out in the vicinity of town, but some anglers found fish toward Big Sable Point. The pier action slowed down as well however a couple brown trout were still caught. Orange and green spoons were working well.
Ludington: Although the fishing slowed down, Chinook salmon were caught at Big Sable Point, straight out from town and south off the projects. Depths varied from 100 to 340 feet of water when fishing 25 to 80 feet down with spoons or flasher/fly combos. The pier action was slow however a couple perch were reported from the end of the north pier. Orange, green and blue spoons were working well.
East Grand Traverse Bay: Water temperatures were anywhere from 54 to 68 degrees. Bass fishing was good, and bass were making beds up shallow. Jigging and trolling for lake trout was good anywhere from 40 to 120 feet of water. Cisco fishing was very slow; anglers reported that they were marking and seeing cisco but couldn’t get them to bite.
West Grand Traverse Bay: There were reports of walleye being caught in Northport as well as a good amount of cisco being caught in the bay. Be extremely cautious when boating in the area as smoke from wildfires has made visibility low.
Leland: Anglers were mostly targeting lake trout and Chinook salmon out in deeper waters. Pier anglers had good luck catching smallmouth bass with both natural and artificial baits. Anglers venturing out in boats were successful when using spinners and spoons for both lake trout and Chinook salmon.
Charlevoix: Anglers fishing off the pier and throughout the channel into Round Lake were primarily targeting cisco and some smallmouth bass. Fishing for cisco in the early mornings proved to be the most successful while casting/jigging silver and gold spoons. Anglers targeting lake trout had the most success trolling flies and spoons between 60 and 100 feet of water southwest of Charlevoix. A couple Chinook salmon were also reported.
Petoskey/Harbor Springs: Anglers fishing in shallow waters around Little Traverse Bay were targeting smallmouth bass with decent success. Casting soft plastics, tube baits, and crawlers proved to be successful, especially in the early morning. Anglers targeting lake trout found success trolling flies and spoons northwest of Harbor Springs in roughly 50 to 80 feet of water.
Frankfort: The Chinook were biting, and anglers were reporting some good sizes as well. Trolling in 120 to 200 feet of water and setting up front 40 to 90 down. Anglers were getting the best action on spoons or flies. Lake trout north of Frankfort were also being reported on a steady catch.
Onekama: Anglers reported a few Chinook salmon this past weekend from in front of the golf course or the barrel.
Portage Lake: Perch, bluegill and bass were all reported from some very nice weather this past weekend as anglers reported good activity on wigglers, minnows and worms. The mayfly hatch was just about to start as anglers were reporting seeing the beginning stage.
Upper Peninsula
Little Bay de Noc: Smallmouth bass anglers reported good fishing. Anglers reported contacting fish in shallow water and smallmouth moved off their beds. Use of soft plastics that resemble gobies or water baits were successful. Walleye anglers reported slow fishing. Those fishing the head of the bay were catching small fish, although a few keepers were caught. Anglers were having some success south of Gladstone and around the Escanaba River. Trolling cranks, crawler harnesses or pitching a jig and worm were methods anglers used to catch fish. Some anglers caught a few perch.
Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers reported good fishing, less luck for walleye anglers. Yellow perch anglers were struggling and pike were common bycatches.
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers were lucky with the fantastic weather on Keweenaw and Huron bays. Lake trout, whitefish and salmon were caught in decent numbers all through the last week. Some anglers reported better fishing during the mornings however fish were steadily caught during all hours of the day. Fish were caught using both artificial and natural baits and lures. Successful fishing trips were done in both deep and shallow waters however fish were reported closer to the bottom of the water column.
Big Traverse Bay/South Portage Canal: Anglers fishing around the mouth of the Portage Canal and along the east side of the Keweenaw Peninsula found good fishing for lake trout through all times of the day. Anglers reported many lake trout to be good eater size. Jigging and trolling were both popular fishing methods with boats trolling picking up some other trout and salmon species during their fishing trips as well. Fish were not concentrated in the mornings or the day however some anglers reported increased luck while the sun was setting or just before then.
Munising Bay: Boat anglers reported good to fair catches of lake trout with anglers stating the bite was slow. Most anglers were trolling outside of Grand Island – White Rocks and Wood Island Reef. Water temperatures increased to 60 degrees and higher due to extremely hot weather in the 90s. Boat anglers were trolling within Munising Bay for coho. Anglers reported fair to good catches with most fish suspended. A few scattered Chinook salmon were also reported. There was a large tree pollen bloom on surface of water and a major mayfly hatch this past week with some fish reported surface feeding. Shore/pier anglers reported slow fishing with only a few Menominee reported.
Ontonagon River: Earlier in the week, anglers were having great success finding good numbers of walleye in the river. Most anglers used a combination of jigging and trolling and found the best results in early mornings. However, recent rains upstream left the river very muddy, and the bite had been significantly slower as a result of the lower visibility. Anglers also found some success jigging for whitefish off the rocks and from boats at the mouth of the river.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Some recent storms slightly limited fishing efforts out of these ports. Anglers who went out on the lake caught lake trout, coho salmon, and brown trout by trolling artificial lures in shallow waters. These fish were caught in respectable numbers by those who could find them. Successful trips occurred at all times of the day.
Black River Harbor: Over the past week the harbor had low angler activity. The few anglers that went out on the lake were able to find some lake trout and coho salmon. These catches reportedly came in waves throughout the day and were the result of long trips on the water. Trolling artificial lures in relatively shallow waters was the method of choice among anglers.
Grand Marais: Boat anglers reported excellent catches of lake trout with best areas offshore and towards shipping lanes. Water temperatures increased into low to mid 60s. Boat anglers and pier anglers reported a few scattered catches of coho salmon. The whitefish action on pier was slow due to hot weather this past week.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie: After heavy east winds, the water was murky, and the walleye were scattered and deep. Crawler harnesses were still having slight success in areas where the water was a bit less murky. About 5 miles out from the nuclear power plant had decent success. Artificial plug baits had good success with the blue, yellow and green combination colors. Bolles Harbor was slow.
Lake St. Clair: Walleye and perch were caught near the mouth of Clinton River in 12 to 13 feet of water by anglers drifting with crawler harnesses. Good smallmouth bass fishing happened along the north shore of Anchor Bay near Selfridge in 6 to 8 feet of water and near Veterans Memorial Park just north of Nine Mile Boat Launch. White spinners and swimbaits were the best baits to use. Walleye and perch were caught from the dumping grounds all the way to Gull Island near the south channel of the St. Clair River. Generally, anglers did well in 15 to 20 feet of water, trolling with crankbaits and/or crawler harnesses.
Saginaw Bay: Walleye were caught at Linwood while trolling in 20 to 23 feet of water with crankbaits and crawlers. Walleye were also caught at the old shipping channel in 18 feet while tolling with crawlers and out in front of Sunset Marina in 12 feet of water while trolling with crawlers. The fishing was similar at Finn Road. Some largemouth bass were caught along the weed beds in Linwood mostly on crankbaits. Fishing on the east side of the bay continued to be good to great. Those fishing the bottom of the slot and up past Sebewaing were doing well for walleye in 15 to 17 feet of water. Some anglers were starting to find walleye out deeper over the bar in 20 to 22 feet of water. Crawler harnesses, body baits, and spoons were all producing walleye. Purples and greens were some of the more used colors.
Harbor Beach: Rock bass were caught from the break wall while jigging with nightcrawlers and smallmouth bass were caught while casting artificial lures. Anglers trolling for salmon and trout caught lake trout, coho and Atlantic salmon which were scattered from 60 to 120 feet of water while using downriggers with spoons and planner boards.
Port Austin: Smallmouth bass were caught along the Bird Creek while casting a variety of artificial lures. A couple boat anglers trolling for walleye in 30 to 40 feet of water caught coho while using crankbaits.
Eagle Bay: Anglers wading in shallow water caught smallmouth bass while casting artificial lures.
Wildfowl Bay: A few walleye were caught by smallmouth bass anglers while casting artificial baits outside the islands in 9 to 10 feet of water.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Muskegon: Boat anglers were finding the salmon action to be slow. A few Chinook salmon were caught 30 to 100 down in 70 to 180 feet of water. Spoons in green and blue were producing salmon.
Grand Haven: Pier anglers were catching freshwater drum while casting silver spoons. A few steelhead were caught on alewife and shrimp. The salmon action was slow for boat anglers with the best action being 40 to 120 down in 80 to 180 feet of water. Green and orange spoons worked best for salmon. Green or white flies produced a few salmon while fishing deep in the water column.
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.
