Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie: Anglers were having good catches of yellow perch north of E buoy in 19 to 24 feet of water offshore from Edison Power Plant and around Luna Pier in 15 feet of water. Anglers were not finding much success on Lake Erie for walleye. A few largemouth bass were caught along the rock wall near Sterling State Park. Anglers were finding success in the DTE discharge channel and at the mouth of River Raisin for channel and occasional flathead catfish. Catfish were biting well on worms.
Lake St. Clair: A few bass were caught in front of the Metropark. A good number of musky anglers were trying their luck in front of the spillway with a few fish being caught.
Saginaw Bay: Some yellow perch were caught out in front of Gambill’s Marina in 17 feet of water. Yellow perch were also caught in 16 feet of water at Linwood. On the edge of the old shipping channel, yellow perch were caught in 17 feet of water.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Grand River – Lansing: Anglers were doing well with catching smallmouth bass and channel catfish on large minnows. The best time was between dusk and 9p.m.
St. Joseph: Pier anglers were catching a few coho and Chinook. Most fish were caught by casting spinners and spoons. Perch fishing was a little slow. There were reports of fish being caught in 70 feet of water. There were a few salmon in the lower St. Joe River. Salmon were being caught at the Berrien Springs dam.
South Haven: Boat anglers were catching some lake trout in 100 feet of water. The Black River had a few salmon in it, but fishing was slow in the river. Pier fishing was slow for salmon.
Grand Haven: Pier anglers were catching a few coho salmon on spawn or while casting spoons. Glow spoons worked best. The Grand Haven boat launch on Harbor Island will be closed from Sept. 27 through Oct. 15.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Alpena: Angling slowed down dramatically. Some anglers had success with mixed bags of walleye, lake trout, steelhead and a few salmon. Trolling spoons and spin-n-glow in various depths was popular with anglers when targeting salmon and trout. While trolling body baits was the popular method when targeting walleye in the bay.
Cheboygan: The catch rate of Chinook salmon at the Cheboygan Dam declined significantly compared to previous weeks. Even with several salmon present and jumping, anglers were putting in several hours with only receiving a few bumps. There were reports of salmon seen along the river to Lake Huron. Chinook continue to average 25-35 inches in length and weigh between 15 to 20 pounds. Green crankbait or spawn sacs were providing anglers the best results when fishing for salmon at the Cheboygan Dam.
Thunder Bay River: Anglers have flocked the river with Chinook salmon moving into the river. Anglers were also catching panfish, bass, pike, catfish and the very occasional walleye. Common methods used by anglers to catch bass, pike and the occasional walleye included casting stick baits, body baits, and spinners or drifting leeches and night crawlers. While targeting catfish, drop shot rigs were the most common method. Salmon anglers were casting body baits and spoons as well as floating eggs.
Oscoda: Salmon were starting to move into the Au Sable River. Anglers were mostly catching lake trout, steelhead and walleye. Pier anglers were catching bass, pike, and some walleye, coho and Chinook. Trolling spoons of various colors around 80 to 100 feet of water was the popular method when targeting salmon and trout. Off the pier, common methods for targeting bass, walleye and catfish were floating leeches and nightcrawlers, casting stick or body baits, and the use of drop shot rigs for catfish. While targeting salmon off the pier, the most common method was casting spoons and body baits.
Au Sable River: Anglers were seeing success fishing for bass, pike, panfish, a few catfish and salmon. Various methods were seeing success. Most commonly was the use of casting or trolling body baits and spoons. Catfish and panfish were caught with the use of drop shot rigs with night crawlers around dusk.
Rogers City: Anglers were still targeting adult salmon. Anglers were fishing Swan Bay while using boards and bombers. Some anglers were also casting. Success was very little as the fish were ready to run the river and spawn. Best depths for trout were 70 to 120 feet of water. Anglers caught some steelhead, coho, Atlantic salmon and young Chinooks as well. Run spoons high or in the upper half of the water column. Good colors were oranges, greens blues and glow stuff early and late.
Tawas: Walleye fishing was slow. Chinook salmon fishing was good on the Tawas River at Gateway Park. Most of the fish were caught off spoons or body baits. There were a few small perch caught on the pier in the harbor while using minnows.
Au Gres: Walleye fishing was slow. Some perch were caught out near Point Au Gres in 20 to 25 feet of water off minnows. There were a few small perch and bluegills caught off the dock in the Au Gres River while using worms or minnows. There were some good catches of perch out in 15 to 20 feet, southeast of the mouth of the Pine River. There were some small perch and crappie caught off the dock while using minnows or worms.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Frankfort: Anglers reported a few Chinook in the bay and between the pier heads, but most Chinook have entered the river. Platte Bay was producing fresh coho.
Manistee: The shelf out to 200 feet of water had produced a few coho and small Chinook on spoons. Pier anglers and boats trolling the harbor were catching freshwater drum and a few dark salmon. Silver worked best for catching freshwater drum off the piers.
Ludington: A few coho and small Chinook were caught off Sable Point on spoons.
Petoskey: There were a couple of good runs of salmon in the Bear River, but fishing has been inconsistent. Anglers were catching Chinook and coho mainly from the dam downstream. Anglers were using flies, artificial single eggs and spawn in the river. Anglers were also catching a few Chinook and coho at the mouth of the river and off of the ends of the piers. Anglers were using spawn bags and skein near the river and casting stick baits and spoons off the piers. Bright colors and glow spoons/lures were working best off the piers and docks in Petoskey near sunset and sunrise and overnight.
Upper Peninsula
Ontonagon: Anglers were fishing in shallow waters while trolling for salmon with spoons but after a while deeper water was sought. Productivity for lake trout was good with near limits coming in while trolling spoons between 100 and 150 feet of water.
Union Bay: Fishing pressure was moderate and a few decent lake trout were caught. Water temperatures were extremely sporadic and anglers were finding lake trout scattered from 100 to 200 feet of water.
Black River Harbor: Anglers were fishing shallow waters in hopes of finding some Chinook or coho staging to head up the river. Unfortunately, no salmon were reported but a few steelhead were caught in shallow waters. Anglers trolling spoons out in 120 to 160 feet had moderate success for lake trout near the bottom. Fish ranged from 3 to 11 pounds, but anglers had to put in significant effort.
Keweenaw Bay: When weather was calm, anglers were catching coho salmon, Chinook and steelhead. Fish were caught while trolling in medium depth waters all around the bay. Some anglers also reported lake trout catches while bobbing in deeper water.
Munising Bay: Fishing was slow for boat anglers with only a few scattered coho caught. Shore and pier anglers had better success for splake and coho with a few steelhead observed. The coho were still silver and a combination of male and female – with some of the females having loose ripe eggs. Best luck was with spawn sacs.
Grand Marais: A few boat anglers tried trolling within the harbor and outside east towards the Sucker River with no luck for coho and pike. The water levels in the Sucker River were up slightly due to north wind pushing levels up, however still considerable low.
Big Traverse Bay/ South Portage Entry: Lake trout, walleye and coho were found around South Portage Entry. Most anglers had luck fishing from the pier or around the shallows fishing for panfish.
Rock River: A few boats were out fishing for coho in front of the Rock River and were casting spoons and stick baits. A few steelhead and coho were caught at the mouth of the Rock River. Most anglers were either using spawn or crawlers.
Little Bay de Noc: Perch anglers were reporting fair to good success. Anglers were fishing out in front of Kipling with crawlers or minnows. Many of the anglers were fishing shallow areas near drop-offs. Walleye anglers experienced tough fishing, but were optimistic that the bite will improve once fall temperatures set in. Smallmouth anglers were catching fish, with many targeting reefs. Anglers fishing off the Gladstone pier were catching some perch, rock bass and a few pike.
Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers were heading out of Ogontz and Nahma. The islands were still producing fish, but some have had better success along the shorelines.
St. Ignace/Les Cheneaux: Anglers were still fishing the rapids on the Carp River but were not catching much. Anglers were also at Nunns Creek and catching a few Chinooks, mostly early morning or late night. Splake were found at the Hessel Marina and anglers were catching a few.
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.
