Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie: Anglers were having good catches of yellow perch north of E buoy in 19 to 24 feet of water and around the dumping grounds. Anglers were using minnows on perch harnesses. Anglers were not finding much success on Lake Erie in Michigan waters for walleye; occasional fish were caught trolling the state line out from Sterling State Park. Largemouth bass were caught along the rock walls south from Bolles Harbor near Otter Creek. Bass were biting well on crank baits. Chrome and blue were the best performing colors.
Lake St. Clair: Perch fishing picked up with anglers bringing in substantial catches from the dumping grounds and at the Gross Point area. Many perch anglers were fishing the north end of the lake and reported good catches from Goose Bay. Most fish were caught on the south end of the lake in 15 feet of water on minnow rigs. Smallmouth bass action was sparse. Largemouth bass were caught around Grassy Island right against the banks and near weed beds. The musky action was picking up in front of the spillway and to the left of the Selfridge launch. Anglers did well in 9 feet of water with shiny silver 4-inch crankbaits. Walleye action was best near the north channel mouth.
Saginaw Bay: Boat anglers were catching some yellow perch out in front of Linwood in 10 to 16 feet of water and at Gambles in 15 feet of water. Fish were also caught at Spoils Island on the east side and one mile northwest of the island in 15 feet of water. Some walleye were caught in the Saginaw River by jigging soft plastic minnows in the lower part of the river.
Quanicassee: Yellow perch anglers did well with some limit catches taken straight out the Quanicassee River in 10 feet of water. Both minnows and pieces of crawlers were catching perch.
Harbor Beach: Steelhead were caught while trolling in 100 feet of water.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Grand River: Some salmon were caught at both dams along the Grand River. Anglers were also catching suckers and catfish.
Kalamazoo River: Steelhead were caught near the Allegan Dam. Salmon were staging in the lower sections of the river. Most anglers were having difficulty getting anything to hit their presentation.
St. Joseph: Pier fishing slowed down for salmon. There were a few coho caught on spoons.
Berrien Springs: A good number of coho were seen at the ladder.
Muskegon: Pier anglers targeting salmon were casting spoons.
South Haven: Perch were caught in 60 feet of water. Boat anglers were catching a few lake trout in 100 feet of water. Pier anglers had slower fishing. There was an occasional salmon caught. Anglers caught some salmon in the Black River. Trolling was the preferred method.
Grand Haven: The Harbor Island boat launch will be closed through Oct. 15. Boat anglers were catching decent numbers of lake trout with the occasional salmon or steelhead. The best action was 70 feet down to bottom in 140 to 220 feet of water. Spin and glows worked best for lake trout within 20 feet of bottom.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Cheboygan: Fishing from the Cheboygan Dam down to Lake Huron was slow, even with the abundance of Chinook present in the Cheboygan River. Anglers using green crankbait and spawn sacs were having success in catching salmon.
Thunder Bay River: Anglers were catching Atlantic and Chinook salmon.
Ocqueoc River: Anglers were reporting that Chinook were starting to enter the Ocqueoc River. Spawn sacs were the primary bait during the evening hours.
Au Sable River: Anglers were catching some salmon.
Houghton Lake: Bluegill and crappie were caught in the weed beds and in the canals.
Tawas: Steelhead and walleye were caught out past buoy 2 in 50 to 70 feet of water off spoons and body baits. Some small perch were caught at the pier in the harbor while using minnows and perch rigs. There were a few catfish and walleye caught in the Tawas River at Gateway Park off crawlers.
Au Gres: Anglers were catching perch in 20 to 35 feet of water straight out from the mouth of the river and out near Pt. Au Gres and the shipping channel. There were some smallmouth bass caught in the river and at the river mouth while casting body baits and spinners. At the Pine River access, there were some good catches of perch, as well as a few limits, in 5 to 30 feet of water off minnows and perch rigs. Some of the best catches came from the Saganing and Pinconning bars in 13 to 15 feet of water. Anglers caught some small perch and rock bass off the dock while using minnows and jigs.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Charlevoix: Boat anglers were catching salmon while casting or fishing with spawn in the freighter slip at the cement plants. Smallmouth bass fishing in the channel performed well with keeper size bass caught regularly while using crawlers.
Onekama: Anglers trolling the channel and the mouth of Portage Lake were reporting catches of coho. Anglers were working the area with small spoons and spinnerbaits.
Manistee: Manistee Lake was producing a few salmon. Salmon were caught in the Big Manistee River with Tippy Dam being the hot spot.
Ludington: Pere Marquette Lake was producing some salmon and pike. Most salmon were up river with Baldwin being a good area to try.
Petoskey: Anglers were catching Chinook, coho, lake trout, pink salmon and some steelhead. Anglers were using flies, artificial single eggs and spawn in the river. Some salmon were caught while casting off of the piers with crankbaits and spoons. Anglers did better at the mouth of the river with bobbers and spawn and casting crankbaits.
Harbor Springs: Smallmouth bass anglers caught a decent number of fish. Perch fishing was slow.
Upper Peninsula
Ontonagon: Anglers were able to find a few lake trout in 100 feet of water while trolling spoons. Boats were still heading out to 150 feet of water and fishing in deep water to catch lake trout. Anglers were finding a few heavier lake trout in the shallower waters.
Union Bay: Fishing remained steady for lake trout in 150 feet of water, but anglers were having to work for the fish as water temperatures fluctuated greatly. Spoons were the ticket, but water temperatures played a big factor.
Black River Harbor: Anglers were catching lake trout near the bottom in the cooler water. Boat anglers were still heading out to deeper water to find active fish.
Keweenaw Bay: Anglers were reporting lake trout, coho and rainbow trout catches from Keweenaw Bay and Huron Bay. Anglers were mostly trolling and having success in the mornings and mid-afternoon when the water was calm.
Big Traverse Bay/ South Portage Entry: Anglers were reporting water temperatures ranging from 61 degrees to 64 degrees throughout the water column. Anglers were catching lake trout, brown trout and coho salmon while trolling around the lighthouse at the mouth of the Portage canal. Anglers were successful mostly in the mornings with some still catching fish in the afternoons. Decent lake trout numbers were coming in off the water in Big Traverse Bay.
Little Bay de Noc: Perch anglers were reporting fair to good success when fishing out of Kipling. Anglers were targeting depths of 10 to 16 feet of water while using drift or still fishing methods with crawlers. Walleye anglers were focusing their efforts around reefs while trolling crawler harnesses and crank baits. Smallmouth anglers were reporting good success.
Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers were catching fair to good numbers of fish. Fayette, Ogontz and Nahma were the primary launches of choice. Anglers were casting deep water structures and having success with reaction baits, as well as goby imitations. There were some reports of contact with large pike.
St. Ignace/Les Cheneaux: Anglers were catching salmon at Nunns Creek. Anglers were seeing a few salmon mixed in with the splake at the marina in Hessel. A few perch and bass were caught in the middle entrance in Cedarville.
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.
