Pike and walleye season on the Upper Peninsula Great Lakes, the St. Marys River and U.P. inland waters as well as all Lower Peninsula inland waters will close at midnight March 15. The season is open all year on the Lower Peninsula Great Lakes, Lake St. Clair, the St. Clair River and the Detroit River. Musky season on all the Great Lakes and inland waters as well as the St. Marys River also will close at midnight March 15.

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All anglers 17 years of age and older are required to have a fishing license.

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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake St. Clair: Had a little ice in some of the canals. High winds have limited fishing activity on the lake. Shore anglers have seen increased yellow perch activity. Debris at the Clinton River Cutoff launch is being cleaned out. 

St. Clair River: Is ice-free, and docks are starting to go in at most launches. Most of the walleye fishing activity has been at Port Huron.

Saginaw Bay: The ice is gone at Pinconning Park. The skid pier had not been put in yet. Ice fishing is done, as conditions deteriorated quickly. The cuts and rivers from Quanicassee to Caseville were completely open or had some open water. With the rain and warm temperatures, all should be open by the end of the week. A few anglers were starting to fish the area cuts and rivers for perch but had nothing to show for their efforts. A couple lake trout were caught off Caseville. 

Saginaw River: Walleye anglers have seen good days and slow days. On average, anglers had four to eight fish per boat after sorting through the small ones. Fish were found near Veterans Park, Cass Avenue, off First Street and near the Independence Bridge in the early morning. Most were using a jig and stinger hook with minnows in 19 to 23 feet.   

Tittabawassee River: Walleye have moved into the lower stretches, and a few limit catches were taken near the M-46 Bridge with orange jigs tipped with a minnow. A few were caught near Imerman Park. A lot of fish were marked near the Caldwell launch, but the fish did not want to bite.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

As the ice comes off the lakes, pike move into shallow areas to spawn. Walleye will begin moving farther up into the rivers for spawning as well. River fishing is in full swing for steelhead. The Grand, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph rivers are producing good numbers using spawn under a bobber, drifting spawn or plugging. Coho salmon are moving earlier than normal. Fishing has been good, and some fish have made it all the way up to South Haven, Holland and Port Sheldon. 

New Buffalo: Coho fishing has been good for pier anglers using spawn. 

Galien River: Continues to produce a few coho near the mouth.   

St. Joseph River: Steelhead activity is heating up. All the fish ladders have been cleared of debris, and the camera at Berrien Springs is up and running. 

Grand River near Grand Rapids: Steelhead fishing continues to improve with the warmer temperatures. Those fishing up near the 6^th Street Dam have taken fish on spawn or wobble glo’s. Walleye still can be found off the east wall and down near the Fulton Street Bridge. 

Grand River near Lansing: Water levels were on the high side after the rain, which made fishing a little more difficult. This is the time of year to find pike and walleye below the dams before they start spawning. Most anglers use minnows for both; however plastics also will take walleye. 

Muskegon: Pier anglers caught a couple steelhead at the elbow. 

Muskegon Lake: The ice is gone, and when the winds allow, anglers have caught a few perch on the west side near the marina at Harbor Towne. Most were in kayaks as the docks had not been put in yet. Walleye were caught off 2^nd Street when trolling crank baits or in the channel when jigging blade baits.   

Muskegon River: Water levels were up a bit but still fishable.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Higgins Lake: Still had fishable ice. Good-size lake trout were found on the bottom in 80 to 100 feet. Most were using tip-ups with smelt and golden shiners or tube jigs.  Perch anglers are getting lots of small fish. Smelt can be found in 40 to 60 feet. 

Houghton Lake: Anglers are still ice fishing; however, watch for the pressure cracks and open water between Long Point and the Heights and from Long Point to the west.  Anglers can get on from the north and south DNR launches, but the west launch was still in bad shape. Be sure to bring cleats for easier travel. Panfish have been caught in 8 to 12 feet with perch minnows, wax worms and spikes.  Bluegills were found on the north end and behind Arby’s.   

Tawas: Several lake trout were caught by pier anglers casting body baits or still-fishing with minnows. Boat anglers have caught lake trout and a couple walleye when trolling body baits. 

Tawas River: Boat anglers were launching from the ramp at Gateway Park. A few pike were caught when casting a rapala.   

Au Gres: The ice here is pretty much gone. The Pine River still had some, which should be gone soon.        

Au Gres River: Still had some ice, so boats were not able to get out. The river should be open soon. Some steelhead were caught at the Singing Bridge by anglers in kayaks trolling body baits just offshore, and a few were surf fishing with spawn. 

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Thumb Lake: Still had ice, and anglers were catching splake when jigging minnows in 20 to 30 feet. Most were caught in the middle north basin, but a few were found across from the boat launch in the southwest basin. The fish were on the bottom or were suspended 10 feet from the bottom. Perch are still being caught off the beach access and at the boat launch when jigging either minnows or wax worms, though wax worms were taking more fish. Anglers are sorting through a lot of small ones to get a few keepers.     

Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell: Still had ice fishing opportunities for pike, walleye and panfish.    

Manistee River: Water levels were good so far, and steelhead numbers are improving. Steelhead and the odd salmon were found in Bear Creek. 

Manistee Lake: Boat anglers launching from Arthur Street caught crappie and perch.  

Pere Marquette River: Steelhead fishing is improving.

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Upper Peninsula

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers reported slow to good fishing in the morning, but those who fished in the evening saw little to no action. Coho, splake, brown trout and some whitefish were caught in shallow, while those out deeper caught lake trout and whitefish.  Most of the whitefish were on the small side. Anglers were jigging with both live and artificial bait. Shore anglers caught coho along with the occasional brown trout and splake.   

Little Bay De Noc: Ice conditions are starting to deteriorate, and anglers should remove any remaining ice shanties before it is too late. Anglers should not be driving out on the ice due to dangerous conditions, and rain this week only will make it worse. Walleye were caught around the Escanaba River when jigging or using tip-ups in 30 feet. Perch slowed, but a few good catches were reported at Kipling by those using minnows and wigglers in 28 to 35 feet. Pike were active near the Day’s River when using tip-ups in 14 to 20 feet and near the Escanaba River in 32 feet. Anglers have one more weekend left to target walleye. 

Manistique Lake: Walleye and panfish were caught on Big Manistique. Most were taken on jigging spoons tipped with a minnow. Perch fishing was starting to pick up, but most were small. Pike and panfish were caught in South Manistique. 

Cedarville and Hessel: Still had ice anglers around the Les Cheneaux Islands. A few more perch were caught in Musky Bay, but anglers still were sorting out the small ones.  A couple pike up to 24 inches were also caught in Musky Bay. In Hessel Bay, more perch were caught, and while many were on the small side, a few more 10-inch fish also were reported. Those jigging minnows in Hessel Bay and Wilderness Bay caught a couple splake. There were no reports of any smelt runs in the area. 

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Fishing Tip: Targeting walleye at the end of ice season

Walleye are a popular target for many ice anglers, particularly as the season wears on. Pursuing these aggressive fish can be a great adventure, especially if you follow some of these tactics.

Focus on using jigs with spoons or minnows or tip-ups with live bait to see the most success. You might want to use a few tip-ups and then jig around that same area.

Think about the depth of water as well as the time of day. Walleye fishing through the ice usually begins and ends in shallow water areas with deep water more productive during the heart of the winter.

Learn more about walleye fishing during Michigan’s winter on our walleye page at Michigan.gov/Fishing.

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This report is intended to give you an idea of what is going on around the state. Updates come from Fisheries staff and 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.