Weekly Fishing Report: July 2, 2015
Michigan Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 07/02/2015 08:00 AM EDT|
Find out where the fish are biting this week! |
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Weekly Fishing Report
July 2, 2015
Weekly Fishing Tip: Fishing for a piece of "history"
Lake sturgeon are one of Michigan’s most culturally and historically significant fish species. But many people don’t know much about these living dinosaurs!
The DNR has a section of their website dedicated to all things lake sturgeon. The page includes their background, their history, angling information, partnership efforts to manage this species, videos and photos and much more. Visit michigan.gov/sturgeon to learn all about this unique fish.
Interested in fishing for lake sturgeon? Although limited, there are opportunities available. In fact, hook-and-line possession seasons will open on Thursday, July 16 on Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River and Otsego Lake in Otsego County. Please note there are strict regulations and size restrictions attached to fishing for lake sturgeon and a Lake Sturgeon Fishing Permit and Harvest Tag is required to participate.
For more information on fishing for lake sturgeon, check out page 19 of the 2015 Fishing Guide or read the rules and regulations online.
Click on the links below to jump to the report section that interests you most:
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Southwest Lower Peninsula
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Upper Peninsula
The weather remains pretty much the same as last week with high water levels and windy weather around most of the state. Although the wet weather has slowed the fish catch in some areas, others are having good luck. A drier forecast is just around the corner for the 4th!
Lake Erie: With muddy water from all the rain, anglers are reporting lower catch than usual, but walleye are being caught trolling 23 to 28 feet down using crawler harnesses. Pink and purple harnesses reportedly had better luck. Anglers were doing well around Stony Point and the West Sister Island. Channel catfish are being caught in the Hot Ponds using worms. Large and smallmouth bass numbers are low due to the muddy water. Few anglers are catching perch but those having luck are using minnows.
Lenawee County: Anglers are reporting water temps between 68-71 degrees on Devils Lake. With all the recent rain, wind and run-offs, water clarity is lower than normal and is making the fishing slower than usual. Panfish anglers are targeting bluegill and crappie in four to eight feet of water using worms or crickets. Bass and pike anglers are doing well around the weed beds during the mornings. A good number of anglers fishing on Lake Hudson are targeting musky with limited success. Those with success are putting in time and no real pattern for the bites have been established. Weather permitting, bass and panfish anglers continue to do well from boats as well as from shore. For bass, try top water along the shallow banks and scum filled bays.
Detroit River: Reported relatively light fishing pressure last week with most angling effort now confined to the early morning and late day hours. Weather continued its recent rainy and breezy trends further hampering efforts throughout the week. Anglers reported fair to poor results fishing between the Ren Cen and the Ambassador Bridge, around Grosse Ile and Mud Island and at the Lake Erie mouth. Most anglers are now targeting walleye by bottom-bouncing with crawler harnesses either trolling or drifting.
Harbor Beach: From Harbor Beach to Lexington, trollers were taking lake trout and steelhead from 85 feet of water at mid-week, with steelhead in the top 25 feet and lakers near the bottom. Fishing should pick up again as soon as the weather settles down.
Port Austin and Grindstone City: The cold water temperature is slowing walleye fishing at Port Austin and Grindstone City. Lake trout fishing was excellent off the tip of the thumb 10 days ago, but the wind has kept everyone ashore since.
Quanicassee River: The east side of the bay was lightly fished last week. Shore anglers fishing the Quanicassee took some bluegills and sunfish on worms.
Bay Port and Caseville: Trollers fishing after walleye were going to the area north of the shipping channel; some got a few fish and a couple of boats got limits.
Saginaw Bay: Most of the success for walleye came at mid-week, with boats going way out-, four to five miles north and east of Buoys 1 & 2. Some walleye action was reported near Sailboat Buoy A and also in 12 feet of water off Bay City State Park. Both harnesses and spoons were catching fish. Smith Park is open to shore fishing again after major renovations, and shore anglers there were catching drum, catfish, a few bass and walleye.
Saginaw River: During the windy part of the week, most anglers were not brave enough to ride the waves so they trolled in the lower Saginaw River and picked up a few walleye on harnesses.
Sanford Lake: Bluegill and crappie fishing remained pretty good on worms and crappies on minnows or tiny jigs. Two bass tournaments last week had generally good catches.
SOUTHWEST LOWER PENINSULA
St. Joseph: Perch fishing has slowed down a little this week. Anglers are still catching decent numbers of fish in 30 feet of water. Salmon fishing has slowed as well. Fish seemed to be scattered from 60 to 100 feet of water. Pier anglers are catching a few steelhead. Fish are being caught using spoons and shrimp fished on the bottom. Sheepshead are being caught in great numbers. Night crawlers and shrimp fished on the bottom is working best.
South Haven: Perch fishing has been very slow. The few fish being caught were in 20 feet of water. Salmon fishing is very spotty. The fish seem to be scattered from 50 to well beyond 100 feet of water. Meat rigs seem to be catching most of the fish. Pier anglers are catching an occasional steelhead. Shrimp fished under a bobber is the most productive method.
Grand Haven: Pier fishing has been fair. Fishers have been catching large alewives and a few perch.
Grand River at Grand Rapids: Water levels are still well above normal. Fishermen are mainly catching carp especially on shredded wheat and corn. Channel and flathead catfish are being caught regularly on worms and bluegill. Some long nose gar also being caught. Plenty of bluegill and pumpkinseed sunfish being caught off the wall using worms.
Grand River at Lansing: Fishing is quiet along the Grand River in Lansing. Those that are venturing out are catching rockbass and smallmouth bass. Pike fishing has been hit-or-miss. Catfish has been good however.
Muskrat Lake: Has seen some good bluegill and crappie catches using night crawlers and wax worms.
Sessions Lake: Also reports success with bluegill and crappie.
Muskegon Lake: More kings have started to show up. The majority of catches before have been lake trout. Anglers are fishing in 100 to 160 feet of water and 50 to 90 feet down for kings. Steelhead are being caught in the top 40 feet of water with orange spoons.
Whitehall: Essentially no action in Whitehall. Look for salmon and trout in the 100 foot range. Yellow and green lures may work well. No pier action to speak of.
NORTHEAST LOWER PENINSULA
Rogers City: Lake trout has slowed from its fast pace limits. Anglers are having to look around more as the fish are starting to transition from shallower to deeper water. The lake trout seem to be more suspended now more than earlier on. Anglers that are putting the time in are still coming in with limits. It is still very slow for salmon and steelhead. Try fishing waters 50 to 120 feet deep, running a spread throughout the water column for best results. Spoons in green, blue, orange, yellow and chartreuse are working well. Anglers targeting Chinook salmon, Atlantic salmon and steelhead should see better results as the water continues to warm.
East & West Twin Lakes: Walleye fishing was really good this week for both lakes. Most anglers are trolling in the 10 foot holes with worms and leeches. The bass fishing was also great on both lakes. Most of the anglers are catching rock bass but there are many that are catching good size smallmouth bass too. The perch fishing is still slow but it is starting to pick up in West Twin in the six foot holes using worms.
Alpena: Walleye fishing continues to be great. Some really nice fish have come in over the last week ranging from three to five pounds. Many are fishing Grass Island, Scarecrow Island, North Shore and along the city beach front or straight out of the marina. Best depths have been in eight to 20 feet of water. Crawler harnesses have been the best but anglers are also using body baits. Anglers going out for lake trout are doing well around Thunder Bay Island in 60 to 120 feet of water fishing close to the bottom as well as suspended.
Thunder Bay River: Has some panfish activity. However, slow is the word. Walleye are being taken off the bridge with night crawlers or body baits.
Harrisville: Is producing good numbers of lake trout. Most anglers are having good success straight out, north and south, fishing in 80 to 130 feet of water. Lake trout are from the bottom to about half of the water depth being fished. Spoons, spin-n-glos and cut bait have all been working well. Anglers targeting lake trout have also caught some salmon and steelhead. Walleye are being caught north of the harbor between Sturgeon Point and Black River, and to the south around Greenbush. In both areas, the fish seem to holding in 12 to 25 feet of water, with body baits and crawler harnesses working well.
Oscoda: Lake trout are in the area in good numbers and anglers are having pleasing success. Fish in 90 to 150 feet of water, from the bottom to about two thirds up the water column. Spoons have been working the best but try a variety of baits with flashers as an attractant. Walleye fishing has been slow in and out of the river. Crawlers and body baits have been working the best. Catfish have started to show up in good numbers with late evening and early morning being the best times. Crawlers and minnows have produced the most catches.
Tawas: Not a lot of fishing effort in Tawas Bay proper last week. A few walleye were taken from 35 to 50 feet of water off the end of Tawas Point and down toward Alabaster in 25 to 30 feet of water. Pier angling is limited to a few smallmouth bass. The Tawas River is slow, producing just a few smallmouth bass and catfish.
Au Gres: Is generally getting good catches of walleye all over the place in 25 to 45 feet of water. Crawler harnesses are producing best. There was a big mayfly hatch off Au Gres late last week that may have suppressed the bite somewhat. Lots of catfish and drum and a few perch taken incidental to walleye. Also, a few boats went to the Charities after bass and did very well on smallmouth with catch & release. Limit catches of walleye were taken in 30 to 45 feet of water straight out or to the south towards the shipping channel when using crawler harnesses.
NORTHWEST LOWER PENINSULA
Harbor Springs: Lake trout fishing was still hit-or-miss in Harbor Springs but some success was had west of Harbor Point in 100 to 150 feet of water fishing near the bottom. Smallmouth bass anglers are still out targeting areas near shore inside the point, around the harbor to the area in front of and past Wequetonsing, casting and retrieving artificial baits.
Petoskey: No salmon reports out of Petoskey. Anglers are mainly focusing on the same area, between the breakwall and Bay Harbor. Some boats are headed even closer to 9 Mile Point. Lake trout are being caught in 80 to 100 feet of water near the bottom on spoons. A variety of species such as smallmouth, rock bass, bullhead, carp, drum, catfish, suckers and pike were caught from the mouth of the river down the beach to the breakwall in Petoskey. Most were caught off D Pier on worms, but casting crankbaits or spinners also worked.
Bear River: Not much activity if any here this past week.
Charlevoix: Angler pressure in boats has been pretty slow; a few caught lake trout south of the channel, fishing in 100 feet of water, 80 feet down and north of the channel in 150 feet of water, 60 feet down. Lakers seem to be more scattered now. Anglers were using spoons or spin-n-glows with dodgers for lake trout. Smallmouth bass are around in the channel but are not hitting great. A couple of bass were caught last week on crank baits and spoons. The ones that were seen have been high up in the water column. There was a lake trout of two caught off the end of the piers and anglers have also reported a sheepshead or two. Cisco fishing in the channel seems to be slowing down a bit.
Sanford Lake: Bluegill and crappie fishing remained pretty good on worms, minnows or tiny jigs. Two bass tournaments last week had generally good catches.
Elk Rapids: Smallmouth bass fishing has been good below the power dam and out to Lake Michigan. Leeches and soft plastics are working well.
Traverse City: Lake trout and smallmouth bass fishing have been a fair catch in the East Bay. The bass are active in the shallows. Try trolling or jigging for lake trout in 60 to 115 feet of water. In the West Bay, smallmouth bass fishing has been good with many of the bass being fished in beds. Lake trout were caught trolling in depths anywhere from 60 to 120 feet.
Boardman River: Bass fishing at the mouth has slowed and mostly small fish are being caught. There have been a few steelhead that have been caught up near the Union Street Dam as well as a few pike. Carp fishing has slowed down a little but fishermen are still reporting a random catch. Brown trout also continue to be caught around dusk below Sabin Dam. Upper stretches of the Boardman River have had few fishermen lately but those out there have caught a few brown and brook trout.
Frankfort: Chinook have been hitting in the early morning in 250 to 400 feet of water and trolling 60 to 100 feet down. Fish are hitting on spoons, flies, and meat rigs with blues and pinks being a popular color. Lake numbers have slowed but anglers are still picking them up in 100 to 150 feet of water bottom-bouncing with cow bells and spin-n-glos.
Onekama: Very nice lake trout are being landed in the barrel and in front of the golf course. Anglers are trolling in 100 to 125 feet of water bottom-bouncing with cow bells and spin-n-glos.
Portage Lake: Anglers are landing fair numbers of panfish from several different areas on the lake with worms. After the recent Mayfly hatch bass anglers are reporting low numbers of hits. Lake temperatures are still cooler for this time of year but moving up steadily.
Manistee: Boats going offshore looking for the temperature breaks are doing well on steelhead along with a few lake trout. Orange, chartreuse, and purple spoons have worked best in the top 25 feet of water. A few salmon have been caught in 100 to 200 feet of water. Meat rigs have been working deeper in the water column.
Ludington: Good numbers of steelhead have been caught offshore on the temperature breaks. Orange spoons have worked well. Boats targeting salmon have found the action to be slow with a few caught in 100 to 250 feet of water.
Pentwater: Anglers are catching salmon, steelhead, and lake trout in 90 feet of water surrounding Little Sable Point. Anglers are travelling several miles off shore to fish for lake trout. Pier anglers caught sheepshead and large and smallmouth bass.
UPPER PENINSULA
Copper Harbor: Fishing pressure is still down. The lake trout bite in Eagle Harbor is picking up. Trolling with spoons has been productive. Splake, rainbows and coho have been showing up outside of both ports.
Keweenaw Bay: Fishing here in the Bay was very slow and with that, angler participation is also slowing down some. One boat of anglers went out near the Huron Islands however, and limited out on lake trout. South Portage entry anglers here are starting to pick up some nice catches of lake trout trolling or jigging on or near Farmers, Newton’s and Big Reefs. Traverse Bay reports anglers both trolling and jigging and also starting to pick up some nice catches of lake trout fishing straight out from the Traverse Bay Launch, Hermits Cove, Gay and Big Louie’s Points as well as the 5, 6, and 7 mile reefs. Anglers are trolling in waters from 50 to 180 feet of water from one foot off of the bottom to 150 feet down.
Lake Gogebic: This week was busier than last but unfortunately the fishing was still slow. The mayfly hatch has dampened fishing success the last two weeks but things seemed to be getting back on track this past weekend. The most common method for fishing for walleye has been still-fishing with minnows or leeches. Those fishing with crank baits tend to catch fewer walleye overall, but a higher proportion of their catch is of legal length. A few boats did have success catching pumpkinseeds this week and there were also a handful of bluegill and black crappie hauled in.
Little Bay De Noc: Breezy Point is still producing the best walleye catches. Anglers mostly troll crawlers w/harnesses in eight to 14 feet of water. At night some had had good success trolling stick baits in the shallows in three to eight feet of water. Walleye anglers have reported catching a lot of drum this week. Perch anglers reported mediocre catches at best. A few jumbo perch were caught just south of the “Narrows” using minnows in and around 30 feet of water. Ford River smallmouth bass anglers reported mostly undersize fish but good numbers casting plastics, spinners and cranks.
Big Bay De Noc: Fair to good walleye catches reported just out from Kates Bay in 16 to 22 feet of water. Most trolled crawlers w/harnesses. Smallmouth anglers in Kates Bay also reported fair to good catches casting plastics and spinners in 10 to 12 feet of water. Also fair smallmouth catches reported in Ogontz and Puffy Bay using the same in 10 to 18 feet of water. Northern pike were active in Ogontz as bass anglers reported several incidental catches.
Fairport: There are still only a few anglers fishing here so far this season as there has been construction at the Marina. Fair catches reported with most trolling spoons in the “Gap” in 100 to 150 feet of water and 30 to 90 feet down. Good steelhead catches reported also.
Marquette: Lake trout fishing has improved this past week. Best times appear mid-morning or early evening. A few lucky anglers have managed to limit out for lake trout with most fish averaging three to four pounds. Lake trout fishing has been best in deeper waters from 180 to 250 feet of water with anglers having some of the better luck near Granite Island and Little Presque Isle fishing the humps on the drop off. Best colors – no real pattern but anglers were most happy with silver/watermelon colors. Salmon fishing has been virtually nothing with only a few steelhead reported this week. Stannard Rock anglers are having great action jigging and trolling with fish of all sizes being caught. Anglers reported fishing in the shallow reef areas and along the deep edges with both areas producing fun fishing.
Au Train Lake: Anglers fishing the lake with most targeting northern pike. Most of the pike are undersize with catches of 10 to 20 pike over a period of three or four days is not uncommon. Most anglers having best success using sucker minnows and bobbers. There were very few walleye fisherman this past week with no report of any catches. A few small perch were caught and released due to their size. The mayfly hatch is on the tail end with a large dragonfly hatch this past week. Anglers are still catching an occasional sucker while walleye fishing using either crawlers or leeches.
Munising: Munising bay reports poor levels of fishing activity over the past week. Catch rates still remained generally low. Reports from around the bay indicate low catch results on coho with a few Chinook. Anglers are focused on water depths from 60 to 200 feet of water trolling all around trying to find fish. Many small splake are being caught and released near the Anna River with a few keeper splake showing up occasionally.
Grand Marais: In Grand Marais most fishermen are still-fishing off the end of the pier while others are trolling out about five miles from the pier for lake trout. Minimal effort was seen at the mouth of the Sucker River with no reported catches. Whitefish are hit-or-miss this week with some days catch rates being good and other days very slow. Whitefish are primarily getting caught on single eggs. Catch rates are good on lake trout with fishermen bringing fish in on every trip.
DeTour: This past week the salmon and lake trout have been hit-or-miss. The few fish harvested were mixed boxes of lake trout, steelhead, and a few small Atlantic salmon. As we approach the 4th of July, warmer day and nighttime temperatures are forecasted. This will help warm up the water and improve the bite.
Drummond Island: This past week the walleye bite has slowed down a little due to the heavy mayfly hatches around the islands of Scott Bay. However, anglers trolling late in the evening between Rutland and Peck Islands have been catching walleye in the 17 and 20 inch class. Try planner boards and use chartreuse and white, or chrome colored four-inch crank baits set at seven to nine feet deep. The mayfly hatch has brought some success for anglers targeting lake herring. A few limits were taken last week in 14 to 17 feet of water on the south side of Harbor Island and the south side of Howard using swedish pimples tipped with waxworms or mayflys. Northern pike have been good during the evening hours just off the DNR Access boat launch on Maxton Bay in four to six feet of water trolling brown and orange rubber twister tails.
Cedarville and Hessel: Pike fishing has been very slow. Best chances for catching pike or bass is by casting in the shallow bays. Perch is good in Moscow Channel but not every day. Perch are also in the Hessel Marina and along the east side of Mertaughs Docks. It looks like the herring will be starting very soon as a few have been caught.
The Weekly Fishing Report is intended to give anglers an ”idea” of what is going on around the state. Updates for the report come from our DNR Fisheries Creel Clerks (seasonal staff) and field staff as well as DNR Conservation Officers working in in the field. General information when available can be found in the first paragraph for each section of the report. For those looking for specific information on a certain body of water or port, it is safe to say if a certain species is being caught in some waters in the area, more than likely they are being caught in all waters in that section of the state that have that species.
While we would love to include all waters and ports of the state that simply is not possible, especially with more than 11,000 inland lakes, the Great Lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams.
Do you have a great spot to go fishing that you'd like to share? Consider submitting it to the DNR for the Family Friendly Fishing Waters project!
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