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HomeOutdoorsWeekly fishing report: April 13, 2022

Weekly fishing report: April 13, 2022

Photo credit: Michigan Department of Natural Resources

Northeast Lower Peninsula

Tawas: Boat anglers were catching a few brown and lake trout out near Tawas Point while trolling body baits in 10 to 15 feet of water. Pier anglers were catching a few lake trout and walleye while casting body baits.

Gateway Park: Fishing was slow, but there were a few suckers caught while fishing crawlers.

Au Gres: Boat anglers were catching a few lake trout out near Whitestone Point while trolling body baits in 15 to 20 feet of water. A few suckers were caught in the river off crawlers.

Singing Bridge Access: Fishing was slow, and the water was high and muddy.

Pine River: Perch fishing was slow out near the mouth of the river, but there were some good catches of perch off minnows at the end of Palmer Road and at Eagle Bay Marina.

Cheboygan River: The steelhead were biting but fishing had been slow lately on the river. Anglers were mostly targeting steelhead from shore at the dam, with most drifting spawn or artificial egg imitations. Anglers should try drifting a bead or small jig a few feet below a float. Natural eggs are always a safe bet too.

Pigeon, Sturgeon, Ocqueoc rivers: Steelhead are expected to start pushing into the lower and middle reaches of these rivers. Anglers should try using spawn downstream of gravel areas for success.

Oscoda/Lake Huron: Only a few boats made it out into the lake as the ramps were not put in yet. A few anglers were having luck on the pier catching mostly steelhead and a few Atlantic salmon and lake trout. Most anglers were having luck with using spawn bags or minnows. Others were having luck while casting spoons of various colors and patterns.

Oscoda/Au sable River: Lately fishing has hit and miss. The water temperature was low, only being around 36°F. Anglers reported drifting spawn bags or running beads. Some anglers had success with drifting wax worms.

Au Sable River from Mio Dam downstream to McKinley: A moderate walleye population was in this reach, with multiple age classes and sizes present. Anglers should refer to the fishing guide (particularly page 44) since gear restrictions apply here or call a local fisheries biologist for clarification.

Harrisville/Lake Huron: A few anglers were having success catching lake trout and a few steelhead. Lake trout were caught while trolling body baits in 10 to 20 feet of water.

Black River: A few anglers had success. The steelhead harvest had been hit and miss. Floating various color spawn bags was the main method for targeting steelhead. A few anglers tried spinners and spoons but had little success.

Northwest Lower Peninsula

Portage Lake: Some anglers caught a few small perch.

Manistee: Anglers looking for brown trout found a few while trolling along the coastlines with body baits and spoons. Pier anglers caught a couple brown trout while using spawn. The walleye bite was slow. Anglers were catching perch in Manistee Lake and steelhead in the Manistee River.

Pere Marquette and Muskegon rivers: Steelhead anglers were doing well. High water levels were making it difficult for wading, but boat anglers were doing well.

Ludington: Anglers were trolling for brown trout and had some luck, but it was slow at times. Fish were found in the harbor and outside the pier heads when using body baits and spoons. In the mix came a couple coho and walleye. Anglers looking for lake trout found them in 50 to 70 feet of water. Pier anglers also caught a couple brown trout and steelhead while using spawn.

Frankfort: Anglers venturing out on the big lake found very little action. Anglers that were pier fishing did see some activity on spawn.

Little Traverse Bay: The area inside of the breakwall had mostly open water and the rocks were starting to clear of snow and ice (although be careful as it’s still dangerous in the rocks with some snow and ice). There were a few anglers fishing for steelhead on the inside of the breakwall and they had limited success.

Bear River: Steelhead anglers were concentrating mainly on the area at the mouth of the Bear River. Some anglers had success with spawn bags and beads. Some anglers tried the dam and downstream. There were a couple steelhead caught. Anglers were mainly using spawn and flies.

Upper Peninsula

Little Bay de Noc: Angler pressure has declined. Perch anglers were making an appearance in the upper bay area. Most anglers were targeting deeper water across from the Kipling access. Anglers were having the best success with wigglers.

Manistique: Steelhead were in the river, but water levels were high making for tough fishing conditions. Most anglers were floating spawn. Some anglers were getting their boats in the water and trolling the mouth and river.

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Most angling pressure was concentrated to the Falls River mouth on Keweenaw Bay and the head of Huron Bay. Catches have been limited while the pressure on the ice declines and boat launches were not open due to ice. Look for possible open water fishing in the coming weeks.

South Portage Entry/ Big Traverse Bay: Some anglers were casting off wave breaks and piers for steelhead. Anglers should try casting spawn or imitation spawn in river mouths on Lake Superior to attract fish that may be moving nearby.

Munising Bay: Fishing pressure was low. However, the anglers that were out were doing well with some limits of coho reported. Best action was early morning. Anglers were mainly targeting coho with a few incidental catches of splake.

Grand Marais: The upper part of the harbor along the pier had areas where ice flows have opened up where anglers could cast a line, but open water areas were limited. The Sucker River water levels were increasing. Open water/ice flows were shifting out into the lake however we are still a few weeks away from any possible boat fishing.

Les Cheneaux/Detour: Anglers were catching a few perch and splake throughout Hessel Bay early in the week, however towards the end of the week fishing pressure dramatically declined due to the loss of ice in the area. No fishing activity reported in Detour.

Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie: Fishing on Lake Erie was slow for walleye with majority of anglers coming back empty handed while using both artificial and natural baits. A possible explanation for the low catch rate could be that the water was very muddy, caused by high winds. Fish were marked closer into shore, possibly spawning. Anglers started to see slightly more success while trolling with yellow bandits at slightly slower speeds in semi-shallow water, about 18 feet of water in Brest Bay and near the nuclear power plant, and in about 14 feet of water out from Luna Pier. Gold perfect 10’s lures did well. Northern pike shore fishing off the point Mouillee access site was good while using crankbaits. Yellow perch were biting on minnows in the channel at the Bolles Harbor access site. Steelheads were caught close to shore on blue and silver Bandits.

Detroit River: Walleye fishing was spotty over the weekend. The best results came from the Trenton channel, the backside of Mud Island, and between the Ambassador Bridge and Belle Isle. Anglers ran across the most fish in 23 to 27 feet of water. Most anglers used jigs and the best results were when anglers tipped the jigs with shiners.

Saginaw Bay: Walleye were caught while trolling crankbaits at Linwood in 20 feet of water, at the Old Dumping Grounds, at the Sparkplug in 24 feet and in the Crib in 18 feet of water. Yellow perch were caught while shore fishing at Finn Road. There were a lot of small 5-to-8-inch perch caught. Yellow perch anglers were fishing from Quanicassee to the Fish Point area. Some anglers were catching a lot of perch, but many were small in size and anglers needed to sort through fish to get larger ones to keep. Anglers were also fishing the bay for perch with better size, but less numbers.  Anglers should move around to locate a school of perch in 7 to 9 feet of water.

Lexington and Port Sanilac: Anglers were catching coho salmon with a few steelhead, Atlantic salmon, lake trout and chinooks south of Lexington up the shoreline to Port Sanilac. Anglers were trolling with planner boards and body baits in very shallow water, 6 feet to 15 feet of water. Coho salmon made up the majority of the catches. Many limits were caught. Pier anglers in both harbors had some luck catching coho, steelhead and the occasional lake trout casting small artificial lures. Anglers were fishing with minnows and wax worms. Boat anglers had good to excellent fishing for coho with an Atlantic salmon and an occasional lake trout in the catch as well, some limits of coho were caught. Best catches were caught trolling two miles south of Port Sanilac in 10 to 15 feet of water while running planner boards and small Shad Raps and Flicker Shads.

Caseville: Some small perch were caught in the harbor. Pier anglers were casting artificial baits for lake trout, but overall fishing was slow.

Southwest Lower Peninsula

St. Joseph: Boat anglers were catching good numbers of coho. Trolling small crankbaits from 18 to 30 feet of water was working best. Most fish were caught south of the piers. Pier anglers were catching a few coho. Anglers were doing best using skein fished on the bottom. 

South Haven: Boat anglers were catching very good numbers of lake trout. The best water was from 50 to 70 feet of water. Boat anglers targeting coho had slow fishing.   Pier fishing was slow for all species.

Muskegon: Pier anglers were catching a few brown trout and steelhead on spawn. Boats trolling the shoreline for brown trout found the action to be slow. A few lake trout were caught on small spoons.

Grand Haven: Pier and boat anglers were finding the brown trout action to be slow. Yellow perch were caught on wigglers and spikes but boat anglers found the action to be slow.

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.

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