Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake St. Clair: Yellow perch fishing was good across the lake. Reports started to filter in from shore anglers catching perch in the canals and marinas. Anglers were also starting to see some better catches of crappie, bluegill and pumpkinseeds in these same areas. Muskie fishing was good. Shore anglers may have opportunities to catch muskie close to shore at places such as the point at Lake St. Clair Metro Park, Harley Ensign Boat Launch and the Clinton River Spillway.
St. Clair River: Excellent catches of walleye were occurring in the upper river. Anglers jigging with minnows near the Blue Water Bridge were having the most consistent success.
Lexington: Pier anglers were catching the occasional Atlantic salmon. Lots of fish were in the harbor but convincing them to bite can be difficult this time of year. Some yellow perch were also caught when using perch rigs with minnows.
Port Sanilac: Coho salmon were caught from the breakwall. Anglers were having better success when fishing the lake side of the breakwall. Casting spinners or spoons produced the best results, with some anglers also catching fish on spawn.
Caseville: Burbot were caught from the breakwall while using minnows on bottom. Anglers were also casting spoons or body baits for walleye and lake trout.
Finn Road: Anglers were catching bluegill.
Quanicassee River: Yellow perch continued to be caught by anglers with catches of 10-15 fish being common. There was some sorting to do, but 10-12” fish were not uncommon.
Saginaw River: Fishing remains slow for walleye.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Kalamazoo River: Shore anglers were catching steelhead below the Allegan Dam. Boat anglers were doing well fishing plugs below the boat launch.
St Joe: Anglers were catching steelhead in the rivers and whitefish off the pier. Walleye were caught near the dam in the evening hours.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Houghton Lake: Anglers were catching walleye, pike and bass in East Bay. Anglers were also catching crappie in the canals.
East Branch Au Gres River: A couple steelhead were caught but success was spotty.
Tawas: Anglers were catching whitefish from the Tawas State Dock.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Manistee: Steelhead fishing was fair. Low and clear water conditions have made fishing tough for the last couple of weeks, but some fish were caught. When stream fishing in low and clear conditions, consider dropping down to a smaller line diameter such as 4-6 pounds with fluorocarbon leaders, and use natural baits or smaller lures and flies.
Upper Peninsula
Little Bay de Noc: Anglers fishing for walleye launching out of Kipling had some success when trolling crankbaits. Most docks were still in.
Big Bay de Noc: Ogontz and Fairport are the only launches not yet pulled for the season. Angler pressure is very limited.
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.
