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Weekly Fishing Report: April 7, 2016
Michigan Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 04/07/2016 08:00 AM EDT
Another week of snow, cold temperatures and windy conditions has once again hampered fishing for boat and shore anglers. Elevated water levels on many of the rivers will make fishing difficult.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Detroit River: Walleye fishing has been hit-or-miss. Those jigging in the lower and mid-sections caught fish depending on wind direction and run-off.
Oakland County: Cass and Union Lake have seen minimal fishing effort because of the cold weather. Those casting blade baits, and lipless crank baits in deeper water were catching some bass. Catch rates for crappie and other panfish were slow.
Lake St. Clair: Once again, there is not much to report. Skim ice was forming in the canals and the docks were iced over with the cold nights. The lake continues to be muddy from all the wind and run-off.
Clinton River: Had some reports of a couple steelhead being caught.
Lexington: Had a few boats going out and they caught a couple coho in 17 to 20 feet. The water along the outside of the Thumb was very muddy. One boat went out to 80 feet looking for cleaner water but did not find any.
Saginaw Bay: All the rain, snow and ice shut fishing down area-wide. The bay has been very turbid. All of the area rivers are terribly high, if not actually over flood stage, and very muddy. There was little to no activity at Eagle Bay Marina, near the Pine River and Palmer Road. Reports have come in that post-spawn walleye are starting to be caught off the river mouths, but finding clean water will be a problem. A few perch were caught from the cut at Finn Road but shut right down after the rain. Mud Creek was spotty for perch. Sebewaing and Caseville had almost no fishing activity.
St. Joseph: Fishing pressure is very low due to the very poor weather.
St. Joseph River: Is high and muddy after all the rain.
South Haven: Had very low fishing pressure. There seems to be a few brown trout around. Spawn or skein fished on the bottom should work.
Holland: Pier anglers were out targeting steelhead and brown trout.
Grand Haven: Pier and boat anglers reported slow action for steelhead and brown trout. Nearshore water clarity is poor due to recent rains.
Grand River at Grand Rapids: Was producing a good number of steelhead however high water levels will make fishing more difficult.
Grand River at Lansing: Few anglers have been out because of the cold weather. Those making an attempt did manage to catch the occasional steelhead. A couple suckers were caught on crawlers, leaf worms or red worms.
Rogue River: Was still producing a good number of steelhead in the lower river.
Muskegon: Pier anglers caught steelhead and brown trout on spawn.
Muskegon River: Water levels are high and muddy. Steelhead were there but the bite slowed with the cold spell.
Whitehall: Pier anglers caught some steelhead and the occasional brown trout.
With the weird spring weather we’ve been having, anglers may want to take advantage of the different smelt fishing opportunities available throughout the state.
Smelt season is approaching and anglers can currently take this species with hook-and-line, by spearing, or with various netting gear. There is a two-gallon daily possession limit on smelt. Smelt netting regulations can be found on page 23, Table 5 of the 2016-2017 Michigan Fishing Guide and bow and spearing fishing regulations can be found on page 16, Table 3.
Want tips on some specific locations you may want to target during this activity? We’ve just posted an updated document that highlights counties, water bodies, abundance and fishing opportunity for both dipping and hook-and-line smelt fishing. Check it out online!
The Weekly Fishing Report is intended to give anglers an idea of what is going on around the state. Updates come from DNR Fisheries seasonal and field staff, and DNR 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.