By The Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Eastern Saginaw Bay: A few boats ventured out from Quanicassee over this past weekend to target walleye. Fishing was very slow with lots of dirty water out in front and in the slot. Anglers targeting yellow perch along the east side reported very slow fishing with only a few small perch. A few freshwater drum and catfish were caught from shore at Quanicassee.
Saginaw River: The river was still running a little bit fast and dirty. Boat traffic was minimal. Shore anglers at Veterans Park in Bay City caught a few walleye from shore. Anglers did best when vertical jigging with a jig head tipped with a minnow. The bite was sporadic with mornings, evenings and overcast day’s being the best times to fish.
Lake Erie: Anglers had great success targeting walleye not too far out of the Sterling State Park channel and north of that in 15 to 20 feet of water, trolling with artificial lures. Smallmouth bass and muskie were also reported on these walleye trips. Many colors have been working.
Lower Saginaw Bay: Boat anglers trolling out in front of Linwood Boat Marina in 20 feet of water caught a few walleye. This was the only activity reported and the only spot that had some clean water to fish in.
Lexington and Port Sanilac: Fishing boats caught coho salmon and a few rainbow trout in 12 to 15 feet of water with planner boards and a variety of body baits. Anglers from the pier and docks fished with night crawlers under a bobber. They also caught coho salmon and rainbow trout.
Harbor Beach: Fishing boats here also caught coho salmon and rainbow trout trolling a little deeper in 18 to 20 feet of water with planner boards and body baits. Grindstone had just one fishing boat targeting lake trout and landed a few in 70 feet of water straight out from the harbor mouth.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
South Haven: Lake conditions were poor, and fishing pressure was low. There were a few lake trout caught by anglers fishing between 50 and 60 feet of water. A few boats fished the shallower water, targeting coho salmon and brown trout. Pier anglers reported mixed results.
St. Joseph: Boat anglers targeting salmon reported slow fishing. There was a decent number of fish caught in 30 feet of water. Reports of coho salmon, Chinook salmon and a few brown trout were seen. These fish were caught on spoons and small crank baits. There were a few boat anglers that fished deep water and had good catches of coho salmon. Pier anglers had slower fishing. There were a couple of coho salmon, and some brown trout caught on spawn.
Muskegon: Boat anglers trolling the shoreline out to 25 feet of water found some brown trout, coho salmon and the occasional Chinook salmon. Bright colors worked well in both body baits and spoons.
Grand Haven: Pier anglers caught a few brown trout and coho salmon on spawn. When the weather allowed, brown trout and coho salmon were caught by boat anglers trolling the shoreline. Orange and gold body baits were the most productive. Boats targeting yellow perch found the action to be very slow.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Tawas/Au Gres: Over the weekend, boat anglers were able to get out and reported a few brown trout, Atlantic salmon and lake trout. Those fishing the pier for lake trout and salmon reported slow fishing. Anglers also tried the pier in the evenings targeting walleye with not much luck. A few suckers were caught from shore out of the Tawas River. The East Branch of the Au Gres is flowing fast and dirty due to rain. When fishable, brown trout and steelhead were been caught in the surf.
In Au Gres, boats are starting to get out on the water, but walleye fishing remained slow. A few anglers caught a couple, but most have come back in with just an occasional lake trout when trolling and casting. In the Standish area, perch fishing remained slow.
Thunder Bay River: Steelhead anglers had success drifting spawn and beads from the 9th Street Dam to Rotary Island. The recent rains brought good numbers of fish into the river. Near Lamar Park, a few anglers had success when casting spinners with gold and silver colors.
Cheboygan: No fishing reports due to concerns with the Cheboygan dam.
Rogers City: Harbor is still iced up with no activity.
Presque Isle: Harbor is still iced up with no activity.
Ocqouec River: The river is high and cold. Anglers drifted spawn bags and beads and targeted the deeper holes in the river system.
Alpena: As the harbor was still holding ice, anglers launched from the river launch. A few Atlantic salmon and steelhead were caught by those trolling crankbaits and standard-sized spoons in 20 to 30 feet of water. Pier anglers reported no success.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Manistee: Pier and shore fishing for steelhead and browns remains very slow. Those trolling reported little action as well. Recent rains made the water dark and stained.
Ludington: Boat anglers trolling for brown trout reported slow fishing. However, a few were caught over the weekend. Spoons and body baits worked where water temps were warmest. These areas included the harbor and near the Lincoln River mouth. Water temps were in the low to mid-40s. The piers were slow once again.
Charlevoix: Fishing pressure remained limited due to weather conditions and ice. Ice near shore has dispersed and Medusa Launch was open but very shallow. Ferry Beach launch remains iced over.
Little Traverse Bay: Anglers fishing the Bear River reported slow steelhead fishing. Fishing fresh spawn produced some results near the mouth of the river out to the breakwall. Much of the bay was still completely frozen over out to Bay Harbor.
West Grand Traverse Bay: Tough weather conditions kept fishing activity low out on the bay this week. Majority of the bay is ice free with the water temp hovering between 35-37 degrees. The west arm dock was put in this week. Steelhead were being caught on the Boardman River by those drifting beads or jigs with wax worms. Bright colors such as chartreuse or pink worked well.
East Grand Traverse Bay: The bay saw limited activity this week because of tough weather conditions. Steelhead were caught early in the morning on the Elk River. Fresh spawn bags and wax worms both worked well.
Leland: Weather conditions kept all forms of fishing to a minimum. Leland harbors dock was now in place.
Northport/Suttons Bay: Fishing efforts were low as weather conditions were not favorable. Anglers who launched out of Suttons Bay had difficulties jigging and trolling due to thick skim ice. Anglers reported water temperature at 31.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Suttons Bay boat launch is still not in place.
Frankfort/Lake Michigan: Pier Anglers on both Elberta and Frankfort reported low catch numbers as weather hindered fishing. Heavy rain had water levels rising. Boat anglers landed a few brown trout on body baits between the pier heads.
Upper Peninsula
Little Bay de Noc: Little to no fishing pressure this week as anglers awaited open water season. Any remaining ice was in poor condition and the shoreline has deteriorated, resulting in few anglers going out.
Munising: The coho salmon bite remained steady for anglers, with a few nice-sized cisco mixed in. Anglers also caught a few smaller whitefish and splake over the past week. Anglers reported catching a good number of smelt as well. Popular baits were minnows and eggs. Ice conditions worsened due to the warm weather and rain.
Keweenaw Bay: Before ice conditions deteriorated due to weather, anglers reported good catches of coho salmon and cisco. Anglers had also reported success when targeting both smelt and whitefish.
Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: The docks remained out of the water at the Traverse Bay and South Portage Entry Boat launches. However, due to the lack of ice, anglers were able to launch from these locations.
Ontonagon River: Docks remained out of the water at the Ontonagon Marina Boat Launch. Angling efforts on the river were very low over the past week. The river water was extremely dirty due to runoff caused by recent snowmelt and rain showers.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Docks remained out of water at each of these locations. Access to Union Bay is restricted as the gate into the Porcupine Mountains boat launch has yet to be opened for the season. The mouth of the Big Iron River in Silver City is now open. The fish cleaning station at the Ontonagon Marina also remains closed for the winter season. Fishing efforts from these ports have been very low, with reports of coho salmon being caught in low numbers.
Black River Harbor: Amenities at the harbor remain closed from the winter offseason. Access to the lake from the harbor is now unrestricted as the last of the ice buildup has dissipated. Fishing efforts have picked up but remained low. Some anglers had luck catching coho salmon in low numbers from the harbor breakwalls.
St. Ignace: St. Martin’s Bay and Pine River were frozen over. Carp River and Pine River access sites were inaccessible by vehicle due to snow accumulation.
Grand Marais: Low angling effort was reported this past week. With the rain and warm weather, the bay and pier started to open up from the ice.
Les Cheneaux Islands/DeTour: Anglers in Hessel and Cedarville still ventured out in Hessel and Musky Bay trying to get some ice fishing in. The bite was reported to be pretty slow and the fish were tough to find and were constantly on the move. DeTour was still not fishable as the access sites were inaccessible.
