Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie: Anglers were having good catches of yellow perch around the E buoy sailboat marker in 19 to 24 feet of water and out from Fermi Power Plant in the same depths of water. Anglers fishing for walleye were having issues with weeds getting caught on their lines while trolling. Anglers were catching largemouth bass near Point Mouille and around the mouth of the River Raisin. The hot pond discharge channel from Edison Power Plant was producing good catches on channel catfish. Anglers were using minnows on perch harnesses and bass biting well on crank baits and wiggle worms.
Lake St. Clair: Smallmouth bass anglers did well in the mouth of the Detroit River between the shoreline and out to the 10-foot range while using artificial spin baits. Perch anglers did well in the Gross Point area near the Canadian border in 15 feet of water near Buoy 20. Anglers were using emerald shiners and golden minnows. Other anglers had good success on the back side of Strawberry Island in 4 feet of water in the weeds. Walleye were caught from the edges of shipping channel and in Anchor Bay in 12 feet of water. Pink crawler harnesses performed well. Musky fishing picked up in front of the spillway. Crankbaits and dive baits worked well.
Saginaw Bay: Limits of yellow perch were caught at Linwood in 13 feet of water, at the Old Shipping Channel in 14 feet of water and one mile northeast of Spoils Island in 16 feet of water. Perch were also caught at Spoils Island on the east and west of the island.
Sebewaing: A few largemouth bass were caught on night crawlers in the marina.
Geiger Road/Sumac Island: Anglers had good perch fishing with 15 to 20 per angler on average. They were catching fish straight out in 6 feet of water. Anglers were catching good numbers of largemouth bass and northern pike while casting various artificial baits in the weeds in three feet of water. Some bluegills were caught around Shook Island in eight feet of water.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Muskegon: Boat anglers were catching a few lake trout and steelhead in 120 to 170 feet of water. Lake trout were caught in the bottom 20 feet of water on spin and glows. Steelhead were caught in the top 35 feet of water on orange spoons. Pier fishing was slow.
Grand Haven: Boat anglers were catching lake trout with the occasional salmon and steelhead. Best action was from 120 to 180 feet of water. Lake trout were caught on bottom using spin and glows. The salmon and steelhead were biting on orange and green spoons in the top 60 feet of water. Pier fishing was slow.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Cheboygan: Anglers were catching salmon at the Cheboygan Dam. Anglers were having the best luck in the early morning or during the late evening hours, with few caught during the afternoon and early evening hours. Anglers had the best results while using spawn sacs or imitation spawn sacs/beads.
Oscoda: Pier anglers fishing out of Oscoda on Lake Huron caught a few coho and steelhead. Pike and bass were also caught off the pier. Most commonly, anglers were either casting spinners, spoons and body baits. Common colors that were seeing success were hot pink, orange and glow lures at night.
Ocqueoc River: Several Chinook salmon were present throughout the Ocqueoc River. Anglers who were reporting catches of salmon were downstream of the weir by the Ocqueoc Outdoor Center. The use of spawn sacs provided anglers the best results. (Note: Fishing is prohibited within 100 feet of the lamprey weir)
Au Sable River: Fishing in the Au Sable River picked up with Chinook and coho in the river with a few steelhead and Atlantics as well. Various methods were seeing success. Most commonly was the use of casting spoons and spinners. With success being seen drifting spawn as well. Common colors used were hot pink, orange and bright yellow.
Tawas: Chinook were caught in the Tawas River at Gateway Park while casting spoons and body baits. There were a few small perch and rock bass caught in the Harbor off of perch rigs with minnows.
Au Gres: Anglers were catching perch in 20 to 25 feet of water straight out of the Au Gres River. Some perch were caught out near the mouth of the Pine River in 4 to 6 feet of water and out near the Saganing and Pinconning bars in 10 to 15 feet. Anglers were using perch rigs and minnows.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Charlevoix: Anglers were catching Chinook salmon near the cement plant in Charlevoix. There were a few anglers targeting smallmouth bass in the channel.
Manistee: Fishing pressure was low, but boat anglers caught a few Chinook and steelhead in 300 to 400 feet of water.
Ludington: Pier anglers were fishing spawn with some luck for small coho and steelhead. Boat anglers reported good catches of mature Chinook and lake trout out 9-miles.
Petoskey: The Bear River was producing Chinook and coho. Anglers were using flies, artificial single eggs and spawn in the river. Anglers were catching a few Chinook at the mouth of the river near the marina while using bobbers, skein and crankbaits.
Upper Peninsula
Ontonagon: Anglers were catching lake trout. The average size was in the three-to-five-pound range with a few 10-pound fish being caught. Anglers were trolling spoons in 100 to 150 feet looking for cooler water.
Union Bay: Lake trout were caught between 100 and 140 feet, but anglers were having to troll deep to find cooler water and active fish. Lake trout were averaging three to five pounds with the occasional 15-pound fish being caught.
Black River Harbor: Anglers were finding lake trout, but they were having to go out deeper compared to other years at this time. Two-to-four-pound lake trout were common with a few fish in the 10-pound range. Spoons performed the best.
Keweenaw Bay: Anglers were reporting lake trout, coho and Chinook catches out of Keweenaw Bay. Anglers had success with catching salmon on shore and at the river mouths. Boats anglers were catching lake trout while trolling and bobbing in deep water. Fishing was best in the mornings more than in the afternoons.
Munising: Shore and pier fishing pressure was low. Only a few splake and coho were caught.
Grand Marais: Boat anglers were targeting lake trout and were having good catches of fish averaging around three pounds. Anglers fishing the Sucker River were catching a few steelhead. Anglers were using mainly spawn but a few were caught using spoons.
AuTrain: Shore anglers fishing the mouth of Rock River reported very slow action. Anglers were fishing with crawlers or spawn. A number of boat anglers were out from AuTrain mainly targeting lake trout and reporting good catches with fish averaging around three to five pounds. Most anglers were fishing around 100 to 120 feet down – mainly around Shelter Bay and just outside AuTrain Island. Boat anglers trying for coho reported poor fishing with very few caught.
Marquette: Boat anglers were primarily targeting coho and Chinook with very few caught. Anglers were mainly trolling from Lower Harbor over towards the Carp River and then to Chocolay River. A few lake trout were caught while trolling. Lake trout appeared to be staging shallower for spawning. A few anglers were fishing off the Lower Harbor breakwall for lake trout but reported slow action. Some boat anglers were out at the Chocolay River with a few steelhead, coho and brown trout observed. Mornings provided the best action.
Big Traverse Bay/ South Portage Entry: Anglers reported catching lake trout from fishing in 40 to 140 feet of water. Most lake trout were caught while jigging in mid depth water. Pike anglers were having success close to shore. Some anglers reported steelhead in the Big Traverse River.
Little Bay de Noc: Anglers fishing out of Kipling had some success with perch, although a good deal of sorting for keepers was needed. An assortment of night crawlers and minnows were used in depths of around 14 feet of water. Walleye fishing out of the Ford River and out of Kipling had only limited success. Schools seemed to be relatively widely scattered. Some salmon were spotted in the rivers.
Big Bay de Noc: Walleye anglers were fishing out of Nahma with marginal success. Smallmouth anglers were catching fish in deep water. Some anglers were using live bait out of Fayette. Anglers were also catching pike.
St. Ignace/Les Cheneaux: Fishing and angler pressure slowed down in both ports. Anglers were targeting and catching Chinook salmon in Nunns Creek. Anglers were also catching a few perch in the middle entrance out of Cedarville around Musky Bay.
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.
