Fishing Reports News

Steelhead fishing will be picking up since the salmon runs have ended, and most inland lakes are still producing good catches of panfish, the DNR said Wednesday in its weekly fishing report.

Southeast lower peninsula

In Lake Erie, perch are being taken above Sugar Island, Powder Island and East Celeron Island in 9 feet of water. Perch also can be found in Brest Bay near the state park. Bass anglers were taking largemouth from the hot hole south of the River Raisin.

In the Huron River, steelhead are being fished at Bow Park and the Spillway.

In Ford Lake, fishing has been poor to fair depending on the weather. When anglers could get out of the wind, they were catching walleye and perch on minnows and jigging spoons. Bass were hitting a variety of plastic baits. Bluegill could still be caught on waxworms. Most anglers were catching fish in deeper waters.

In the Detroit River, anglers are handlining for walleye in the Delphine channel.

In Lake St. Clair, at the Marysville boat launch, perch and steelhead are being caught on emerald shiners. Perch fishing is good from Nine Mile Road down to Alter Road. Muskies are being taken around the dumping grounds. Walleyes and perch are being taken at the mouth of the North Channel. Most are jigging with large minnows for walleye and the perch are hitting on minnows.

In the St. Clair River, steelhead are being taken at Pinegrove Park on redeye spoons, bombers and large emerald shiners. Those fishing for walleye are using bombers and large emerald shiners.

Southwest lower peninsula

In St. Joseph, some steelhead and whitefish are being taken off the piers, but with all the wind, it is almost impossible to fish.

In the St. Joseph River, boat anglers continue to do well for steelhead with spawn working the best. Shore anglers are catching a few fish as well, but the fishing is hampered by high water and falling leaves.

In the Dowagiac River, there are still some salmon in the river but most of the fish are gone. Steelhead fishing is slow due to high water and falling leaves. Fishing should improve greatly as water conditions improve.

In Grand Haven, a few steelhead have been caught on spawn from both piers. Menominee are still being taken.

In the Grand River at Grand Rapids, there is a lot of steelhead action in the river, with a few brown trout being taken. Steelhead are hitting on choker bags, jigs tipped with wax worms, hot-n-tots, thundersticks and glow-in-the-dark wobble glows with pink dots.

When the water is not cloudy, anglers are using size 8 to 10 hooks with 6 to 8 pound fluorocarbon. Willie worms are being used below Bridge Street. Walleye are being taken on the east side of the river with walleye minnows being the hot bait.

Glow-in-the-dark or white and pink bucktail jigs are also being used. Good crappie and bluegill fishing in the early morning at Riverside Park. Bluegills are hitting worms fished on the bottom near the sunken island. Anglers are reminded that the drop-shot fishing method may not be used on any river or stream. At Millennium Park, large bass are being taken on big shiners and crappie are biting on fathead minnows and shiners.

In Cranberry Lake, large numbers of 9 to 12 inch bluegills are being caught on wax worms and leaf worms.

In Reeds Lake, large crappie are being taken on shiners and fathead minnows. Anglers are also using fathead minnows, jigging 2 to 3 feet down.

In the Grand River at Lansing, salmon fishing is done and the steelhead have not made it up this far yet, so try fishing for crappie and bluegill near brush piles and bridge pilings. Check the normal spots for walleye.

In Muskegon, steelhead are still being taken off the piers on spawn.

In the Muskegon River, the best spots for steelhead are from U.S. 31 down using chartreuse spawn bags or hot-n-tots, and flatfish in orange and gold. Walleye fishing has been slow. Reedsburg Dam up near Houghton Lake is producing good catches of pike using minnows. Muskegon River pike fishing is good along the weed beds.

Northeast lower peninsula

In Rockport, the docks have been pulled and the bathrooms are locked for the season. Salmon fishing is over for the year. A few perch were taken off the end of the pier still-fishing 3 feet down using minnows under Some 5 to 10 inch fish have been caught. Perch are also being found in the lagoon area by the tribal boats. Try outside the middle boat in the deep hole with the low weeds.

In Thunder Bay River, fishing activity has increased due to the possible chance of hooking a steelhead up river. Anglers drift fishing the dam using spawn or flies are having little to no luck for steelhead. A few dark salmon are still being caught. The best spot for perch is the bend above Jepettos using small perch minnows.

Other areas for perch include the gas dock at the marina, the river launch, Mill Island and below the Second Street Bridge. All were using small perch minnows for bait and most were still-fishing or fishing from the bank while using perch rigs. The catch rate has been consistent and steady all day. A couple whitefish were also caught as more fish should be coming up into the river shortly.

In Oscoda, a few anglers have been out targeting whitefish, steelhead, salmon and brown trout, with only a few whitefish being taken.

In the Au Sable River, fishing has slowed with little steelhead action in the lower stretch of river. Walleye are being taken at the mouth of the river by casting rapalas in the evening or early morning before daylight.

In Higgins Lake, anglers are seeking brown and rainbow trout along the drop off. Houghton Lake, Walleye are being taken at night in 2 to 4 feet of water floating rapalas and crankbaits, with rapalas being the most popular.

Northwest lower peninsula

In Petoskey, some steelhead have been taken off the docks using spawn sacs and single eggs. Cold, windy conditions have kept most anglers from going out.

In the Bear River, anglers are catching salmon, but most are releasing their catch due to their poor condition.

In Charlevoix, there is some perch action in Lake Michigan using wigglers in 90 to 100 feet of water. A few menominee and steelhead have been taken near the cement plant.

In Lake Charlevoix, anglers are catching perch along the northwest shore.

In Traverse City, on East Bay, anglers continue to catch a fair number of whitefish off the Wall in 90 to 95 feet of water while still-fishing single eggs on the bottom. On the West Bay, fair numbers of yellow perch are being taken off the Boardman River mouth in 90 feet of water.

In the Elk River, steelhead have been taken near the dam and along the river bank. Spawn bags produced the most consistent action while drifting along the bottom or floating under a bobber.

In the Boardman River, a few steelhead and chinook have been caught below the Union Street Dam while drifting spawn bags along the river bottom.

In Crystal Lake, fair to good fishing for lake trout while trolling the south end of the lake. Perch are being taken near 7th Street.

In Frankfort, steelhead fishing from shore and the piers has been good on both the Elberta side and Frankfort side. A few fish have been caught casting small spoons but spawn on a slip rig seems to be working best.

Fish are hitting on chartreuse and pink spawn bags with the catch being consistent throughout the day. Boaters trolling in Betsie Bay have picked up some steelhead and northern pike. On the pier, a few menominee have been caught near the elbow and out on the very end. Most fish have been small.

In the Betsie River, the chinook run is over and a few steelhead are starting to make their way into the river.

In Onekama, weather permitting, anglers trolling in 175 to 185 feet of water have caught chinook, coho and a few steelhead on green, purple, and white spoons. A few steelhead have been taken off the north pier on spawn.

In Portage Lake, a few perch have been caught in front of the channel, but things appear to be slowing down. Please be aware that other boats may be bird hunters. Manistee, Pier fishing and surfcasting have been good in the last week.

In Ludington, steelhead fishing has been good surfcasting and off the piers.

Upper peninsula

In Keweenaw, angler participation was down again in Traverse Bay. Fishing was fair for boat anglers trolling for lake trout out from the Gay Stacks on Buffalo Reef. Some nice lake trout and rainbow trout are being taken in 30 to 50 feet of water with a variety of spoons. Anglers did well jigging for lake trout out from the L’Anse Township Park. Try using 3/4 ounce jigs with sucker cut bait in 210 feet of water.

In Marquette, fishing off the Lower Harbor breakwall has started to improve. A few whitefish, menominee and splake have been taken but fishing has been slow. Fair to good fishing for lake trout near the end of the breakwall and when trolling.

In the Dead River, the salmon run appears to be over.

In Green Bay, in the Menominee/Marinette area, bad weather kept most boat anglers on shore. Those that made it out reported fair walleye catches off Henes Park. Excellent walleye around the green buoy just off the mouth of the Cedar River.

In the Menominee River, walleye are moving up river with catches taking place from Stephenson Island upstream to the First Dam. The best time to fish is in early morning hours using rapalas off Hattie Street Bridge. Fair brown trout and salmon fishing off shore drifting spawn or yarn. Angling pressure is down due to high winds.

In Little Bay De Noc, anglers fishing walleye at night have been doing well north of the narrows, trolling in various depths around the Second and Third Reefs.

In Big Bay De Noc, recent high winds have kept anglers away. Bass anglers did well in the area just south of Garden Bluff drifting minnows off the break 15 to 20 feet down. All fish caught were large than 16 inches and fat. No walleye reports.

In Munising, fishing conditions have been poor most days this past week with cold, rain and high winds. Those braving the elements have reported slow success on coho, splake and rainbows. Most anglers have been using spawn bags and casting spoons from shore. Very few boats have been out. Whitefish have been slow to fair with most fish on the small side.

In the St. Marys River, a few steelhead are being taken from shore at Rotary Park by drifting salmon spawn. Musky fishing has been productive near Moon Island at the north end of Munuscong Bay and Fowler Bay by trolling large musky type lures in 8 to 15 feet of water off the edges of weed beds. Smallmouth bass fishing is good at the north end of Neebish Island using large minnows in 14 to 21 feet of water.

In De Tour, a few anglers have been out targeting musky and northern pike on the west side of Drummond Island. The best places to try for perch are Ashman Island, Grape Island, Yacht Haven and Scott Bay fishing in 10 to15 feet of water using shiners or night crawlers.

In Cedarville and Hessel, catch rates have slowed dramatically due to wind, rain and snow. The few anglers that made it out were having limited results for perch fishing the north side of Drummond Island in 8 to 14 feet of water using minnows. The salmon run has come to a close. The channel markers throughout the Les Cheneaux Islands have been removed for the season. Most boats venturing out are duck hunting rather than fishing.

In the Carp River, a few anglers are fishing the river mouth for steelhead and northern pike. The catch is limited, but should pick up soon.

In St. Ignace, fishing activity is extremely slow as both city launches have been closed. A few anglers are targeting salmon around Bois Blanc Island and the southwest side of Mackinaw Island.