By The Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lower Saginaw Bay: Anglers targeting yellow perch reported slow fishing. There was one good report from buoys 3 and 4 on the edge of the channel. The average size of the fish was 8–12 inches.
Lake Erie: Anglers reported catching perch. The area with the most success was east of Sterling State Park in 20 feet of water, using perch rigs with minnows. Walleye were caught on artificial lures trolled in the northeast corner of the dumping ground south of Bolles Harbor, but only three fish per boat were caught after a long day of fishing, so numbers were not great. Nice-sized bluegill were caught by Toledo Beach using wax worms.
Lake Huron: Some salmon and trout came into Harbor Beach, Port Sanilac and Lexington but despite anglers’ efforts, they weren’t successful in catching any. High winds and bad weather kept fishing activity down.
Quanicassee: There were a few perch anglers offshore, overall fishing was very slow for them, as well as the few people fishing from shore. East of Quanicassee from Sebewaing to Caseville, storms and high winds kept everyone off the water.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
South Haven: The weather was not very good this week. Very few anglers were able to make it out on the lake. There were a few steelhead caught on the piers, but fishing was very slow.
St. Joseph: Salmon fishing was slow for boat anglers. Pier fishing was slow also. There were a couple of steelhead caught casting spoons. Perch fishing remained pretty good with the best waters were around 30 feet of water.
St. Joseph River: Anglers continued to catch salmon in the lower river. Fish were caught on spawn and casting lures. Boat anglers also caught fish trolling and jigging in the lower river.
Grand Haven: Strong winds and rain prevented most anglers from getting out. A few steelhead anglers tried the piers but found the action to be slow.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Cheboygan: Catch rates for salmon were slow at the Cheboygan Dam spillway. There were plenty of fish present, but many were in the process of spawning and did not bite. Salmon anglers floated or bottom-bounced spawn or tried their luck casting spoons and stick baits. Steelhead were reported to have been caught while floating beads or bottom-bouncing spawn.
Oscoda/Au Sable: Anglers fishing the pier head early in the morning picked up a few walleye by casting Bandits and other deep-diving body baits. A few Atlantic salmon and a steelhead were also taken off the pier this week. In the river, coho salmon were caught by anglers drifting skein or spawn bags under a bobber; #3–#5 spinners in orange or pink produced some Chinook salmon and coho salmon and were also popular for targeting Atlantic salmon in the river.
Harrisville: Coho salmon and Chinook salmon were in the harbor but seemed to have lock jaw. A couple coho salmon were caught off the gas docks using skein.
Alpena: A few anglers checked the harbor and pier for perch with no success.
Thunder Bay River: Anglers reported tough fishing for Chinook salmon, but found plenty of coho salmon and Atlantic salmon throughout the river. Floating spawn was productive, as well as spinners and smaller stick bait. Orange, gold, and pink colors produced fish. Anglers reported a fair number of steelhead making their way into the river. Drifting beads and spawn bags had the best results near the 9th Avenue Bridge on and off throughout the day.
Rogers City/Presque Isle: The weather is starting to turn. The weather was very windy and rough with poor conditions to get out so there was not a lot of activity. The marinas are preparing for winter, so they may or may not be open for regular hours. The boat launch ramps are still in.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Frankfort/Lake Michigan: Rain and wind kept anglers off the big lake this week. However, pier anglers were glad to see the rain and cooler temperatures, as south pier anglers in the early morning reported a good increase in the number of steelhead caught on fresh spawn.
West Grand Traverse Bay: Perch were caught in Bowers Harbor, but anglers reported having to sort through many small ones to find a few keepers. Those who fished south of Greilickville also caught perch in 30 to 50 feet of water. Salmon were caught in the lower Boardman River by anglers drifting skein.
East Grand Traverse Bay: A few anglers had success trolling for cisco in 120 to 150 feet of water along the west bank, though the bite was tough. Lake trout were caught at the dam on the Elk River by those drifting spawn bags or beads.
Charlevoix: Anglers targeting smallmouth bass in the Pine River Channel found some success floating natural bait off the bottom.
Manistee: The rain kicked the steelhead bite into high gear. Anglers fishing off the south break wall and near the shoreline reported very good numbers in the early morning hours. Before daybreak, pink spawn bags did well, and after daylight, chartreuse spawn bags had better bites.
Ludington: Due to rain and winds this weekend, anglers were held off the big lake but anglers that found their way to Pere Marquette Lake found very good numbers of yellow perch caught on wigglers.
Little Traverse Bay: Anglers who fished the Bear River in Petoskey found success when targeting Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead while bottom bouncing. Those who fished the mouth of the river also found success drifting spawn and beads. Anglers fishing off the piers caught the occasional steelhead while floating spawn off the bottom. Boat anglers in Harbor Springs reported slow but steady numbers of smallmouth bass.
Upper Peninsula
Ontonagon River: Angling efforts on the river were very low over the past week. Angler reports included catches of northern pike and walleye in low numbers. The floating docks in the Ontonagon Marina were removed from the river for the season. The fish cleaning station at the Ontonagon Marina was also closed for the season.
Marquette: This past week’s weather was windy and cool. Anglers reported catching coho salmon on the break wall. It seemed like most of the fish were finally starting to move into shallower water as the temperature continued to drop. Coho salmon and steelhead were caught at the mouths of the rivers by surf fishermen and along the banks.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Angling efforts from Ontonagon were very low over the past week. Efforts from Union Bay and Silver City were somewhat high on days when weather permitted reasonable lake access. Reported catches consisted mainly of lake trout in high numbers. Anglers reported finding fish when trolling in water depths of approximately 100 to 130 feet. Some anglers found luck jigging in depths of approximately 60 feet.
Black River Harbor: Angling efforts from the harbor were low over the past week. Recent catches consisted of lake trout in fair numbers and coho salmon in low numbers. Reports suggested that anglers had the best luck when trolling in water depths of 100 to 120 feet. Some anglers fishing from the mouth of the river had luck catching coho salmon using both natural and artificial baits.
Little Bay de Noc: Anglers targeting smallmouth used sucker minnows or artificial baits with minnow profiles, fished near the bottom. Although bass anglers reported a slow week of fishing in the upper bay, some quality fish were caught. Anglers targeting walleye reported low catch rates, with some struggling to catch even one; those who persisted did manage to enjoy limited success. Overall, walleye fishing was for those trolling harnesses or crankbaits. Anglers casting snap-style jigs also struggled. They said their electronics indicated that walleye were scattered and did not identify any real concentration. Yellow perch anglers reported slow fishing but anticipated a better bite as water temperatures cooled down.
Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth bass anglers primarily fished along the Garden Peninsula, near Fayette and Garden Bay. They mainly fished the bottoms of drop-offs. However, some reported contacting a few bass in areas that warmed up during the sunny days. This led to fishing deeper and dragging sucker minnows or goby imitation baits slowly near or on the bottom. Windy conditions affected anglers’ ability to fish deep, as well as to fish in less protected areas. High wind days generally had a negative impact on overall success rates.
Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Anglers reported fair salmon fishing. Coho salmon were caught while trolling spoons, crankbaits, and flasher/flies in the upper portions of the water column within the bays and around river mouths. Boat anglers also reported catches of lake trout, rainbow trout, and splake. Shore anglers had some success catching coho salmon and splake.
Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: There was extremely low fishing effort from these ports last week. However, anglers reported good lake trout fishing. Anglers trolling spoons and flasher/flies reported most lake trout were caught shallow around structure in 30 to 60 feet of water. Anglers jigging reported most fish were caught in 70 to 100 feet using natural presentations.
Grand Marais: Fishing activity was very slow. However, anglers reported catching a few coho salmon and rainbow trout at the mouth of the Sucker River. They had success casting spoons and spinners, as well as using spawn.
Munising: The coho salmon bite slowed down a bit. Boat anglers did decent on coho salmon while trolling the bay at shallow depths. Anglers at the mouth of the Anna River caught coho salmon, splake, and the occasional rainbow trout. They had the most success casting spoons and spinners or using spawn.
St. Ignace: At the Carp River mouth, there were reports of salmon and steelhead. Salmon anglers cast spoons for the late-run salmon, while steelhead anglers floated beads or bottom-bounced spawn. At Nunns Creek, most salmon were spawning and were slow to bite. However, anglers still had some luck floating spawn or casting stick baits.
Les Cheneaux/DeTour: Fishing activity was slow over the last week. There were a few salmon around that are staged but slow to bite.
