Southeast Lower Peninsula
The inland lake panfish action was hit or miss with the bitter cold. Pike were caught on tip-ups on several area lakes. Anglers targeting panfish should vary their presentations by using smaller or larger lures and different baits, vary their depth. Weed beds would be a good location to find numbers of active fish.
Lake Erie: Reports of ice conditions have varied. Anglers should be cautious.
Lake St. Clair: The yellow perch action was still good in Anchor Bay with anglers having to sort through some small fish to get some keepers. Anglers used red bead spoons and small teardrops tipped with spikes.
Clinton River: Steelhead fishing had slowed a bit with the cold weather.
Saginaw Bay: In lower Saginaw Bay, anglers were catching walleye at Thomas Road in 18 to 27 feet of water. Walleye were also caught in the slot and past slot all the way to Buoy 1. At Finn Road, walleye were caught in 16 to 20 feet of water. Some yellow perch were caught at Vanderbilt Park in 3 to 4 feet of water. Jack hooks with red beads were working the best. On the east side of the bay, fishing from Sebwaing to Bayport was slow with a few pike speared. Those fishing for yellow perch only got a few. Wildfowl Bay had a lot of small perch with some keepers mixed in. A few lake trout were caught at the pier in Caseville.
Saginaw River: Downstream into Bay City had been slow but a few walleye were caught near the Appledore sailing ship in 22 feet of water, Independence Bridge in 20 feet of water, and across the channel on the far side from the DNR launch at the mouth of the Saginaw River in 15 feet of water. Anglers were moving to find fish in these areas. Good baits were a fire tiger jig head or jigging Rapala tipped with a minnow. Blue and chrome jigging Rapala tipped with a minnow also performed well.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Gull Lake: Anglers continued to do well catching smelt.
Miner Lake: Anglers were catching pike while using tip-ups baited with golden shiners over weed beds in 7 to 13 feet of water.
Northeast Power Peninsula
Tawas: Perch and walleye fishing had been slow. Anglers were seeing or marking fish in 12 to 22 feet of water, but they were not biting. Anglers in the harbor were seeing pike, walleye and lake trout in 10 to 15 feet of water, but not catching many. Jigs and spoons tipped with minnows seemed to work best.
Au Gres: Some perch and walleye were caught in the river and on the south side of the break wall. Jigs and spoons tipped with minnows seemed to work best. There were a few reports of some pike speared as well.
Pt Au Gres: There were reports of some walleye and lake trout caught out past Pt. Au Gres in 15 to 24 feet of water off jigs and spoons tipped with minnows.
Pine River: Perch fishing had been hit or miss in 5 to 16 feet of water off jigs tipped with minnows and jack hooks. Walleye anglers were having some success in the evening in deeper waters, 15 to 25 feet, with spoons and jigs tipped with minnows.
Tomahawk Creek Flooding: Anglers were catching bluegill, pumpkinseed and black crappie. The evening and morning hours performed the best.
Lake Winyah: Anglers were catching bluegill, pumpkinseed and black crappie. The evening and morning hours performed the best. Try the timber area for crappie.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Crystal Lake: Anglers were catching some nice perch.
Portage Lake: Some perch and whitefish were caught. During the winter, drop down your jig sizes and slow down your presentation. Try fishing the basins and deeper water for panfish this time of year.
Upper Peninsula
Les Cheneaux/Munuscong Bay: Anglers were still targeting perch in the Hessel and Musky Bay areas, however they were mostly catching small fish. There were also a few lake trout and splake caught in Wilderness Bay. Anglers in the Munuscong Bay area were catching a few walleye and perch that were also both on the smaller side.
Little Bay de Noc: Walleye anglers reported marking many fish, but getting them to commit was difficult, with most yields from zero to a couple of keepers. Fish that had been caught were quality fish, but they were few and far between. Areas targeted were off Saunders Point, center reef and around the Gladstone launch. Perch anglers reported mixed results; catch numbers ranged from few to fair, although successful harvests have been very respectable. Out in front of Kipling was the main area to target. Anglers were using a variety of bait, including minnows, wigglers and wax worms. Wax worms and minnows seemed to be producing the majority of the bites.
Keweenaw Bay: The main catch coming off the bay was lake whitefish. Most anglers fishing for whitefish were in 80 feet of water or more fishing off the bottom. Anglers were using a mix of artificial and natural baits. Lake trout were the second most common fish to come out of the bay with most anglers fishing for them in 120 feet of water or more. Some burbot were also caught.
Munising Bay: Anglers were reporting slow fishing action. Some anglers were catching lake whitefish and a handful of splake.
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.
