If you’re headed out fishing, please do your part to keep yourself and others safe by following COVID-19 public health and safety guidelines. Go fishing only if you're feeling well. Practice proper social distancing (at least 6 feet away from people who don’t live in your household) and keep a face covering handy for when social distancing cannot be maintained. Frequently wash your hands with soap and warm water, or use hand sanitizer.

The past week has been very windy, which has limited many anglers’ opportunities to get out. This has resulted in limited reports on fishing for this week. Make sure to get out while the weather is good if you can. The scenery is spectacular, and the fishing in fall can be good. Tight lines and stay safe!

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

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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie: High winds and large waves have kept many anglers from getting out. Perch were being caught in 21 to 25 feet of water off Stoney Point, near buoys 1 and 2 in front of the Raison River. Anglers fishing near E buoy straight out from Bolles Harbor were also catching some perch. Many anglers over the weekend were reported as targeting largemouth bass in the harbors and canals in the Hot Pond with some good success. Walleye anglers were not reporting much activity.

Detroit River: Reports of a limited number of anglers out jigging for walleye with limited success. Water temperatures are still in the high 50s/low 60s, so once the temperatures start dropping, the bite will improve.

Lake St. Clair: No reports due to high winds and waves keeping anglers away.

St. Clair River: The walleye bite has slowed for shore anglers. They are seeing a few steelhead being caught.

Lexington: Steelhead, Atlantic salmon and coho salmon have been caught by anglers using body baits and cleos fishing the early mornings. Some anglers have been catching perch when fishing with minnows. 

Port Sanilac: Boat anglers trolling spoons with leadcore line reported they are doing well catching steelhead, Atlantic salmon and an occasional lake trout in 40 to 60 feet.  Others trolling north in 65 to 80 feet and running baits 15 to 20 feet down have also caught steelhead and lake trout. Anglers fishing the breakwall have caught coho and steelhead by casting body baits and cleos.

Saginaw Bay: There has not been a lot of fishing activity this past week due to the wind. Only a few perch and bass anglers were reported out looking for fish. A few perch were caught off Geiger Road north of Sebewaing fishing around scattered weed beds.  Quanicassee was slow for perch from both the shore and in the bay. Anglers catching some perch were reporting most were small with only a few keepers. The perch have not showed up in the tributaries there yet. Anglers fishing for smallmouth bass reported slow fishing in Wild Fowl Bay. Some perch were being caught near Gambill’s Landing near Pinconning in 17 feet, Linwood in 16 feet, the old shipping channel in 14 feet and the east side of Spoils Island in 16 feet. No reports of walleye being caught.

Saginaw River: Some perch were being caught in the lower part of the Saginaw River.  Some walleye are starting to show up in the lower part of the Saginaw River, where anglers are mainly jigging with live bait. Some anglers report catching walleye while using perch rigs, but reports state the fishing has been slow.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

St. Joseph: The windy weather has kept anglers from getting out. Pier anglers have not been having much luck.

St. Joseph River: Fishing has been slow with not many able to get out.

South Haven: The windy weather has kept anglers from getting out. No reports from pier anglers.

Holland: The weather has resulted in little, if any, fishing activity.

Grand Haven: The Harbor Island boat launch is closed.

Grand River near Grand Rapids: Coho, steelhead and Chinook numbers have been decreasing. Anglers are mainly using spawn, spinners, thunder sticks and wet flies. Some anglers were catching panfish using red worms and crickets. Some reports of crappie being caught on minnows and red worms. 

Rogue River: No report.

Grand River near Lansing: No report.

Muskegon: Weather conditions have prevented most boats from getting out. The few anglers that made it out reported slow fishing for trout and salmon. Pier anglers casting lures were not having much luck.

Muskegon Lake: The weather has resulted in little, if any, fishing activity.

Muskegon River: Some anglers fishing Hardy Pond were doing well fishing for smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and northern pike, with some nice fish being caught.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Cheboygan River: There are two chutes open at the dam this week. Anglers have been catching some Chinook salmon drifting skein or casting spoons/crank baits with skein users reporting the most success. Chinook salmon have been ranging between 8 to 20 pounds, with many around 15 pounds. There have also been some steelhead caught by anglers drifting spawn bags. Steelhead have been averaging around 8 pounds.

Mackinaw City: No reports.

St. Ignace: No reports.

Burt Lake and Mullett Lake: No reports.

Rogers City: Anglers who have been able to get out on Lake Huron at Presque Isle or Rogers City have been doing well catching steelhead. Try to find the baitfish recently located in 45 to 80 feet to increase your success while running lines higher in the water column. Anglers have been using smaller spoons with brighter colors like orange-yellow and silver combo, orange and silver, orange and green, or blue and silver.

Alpena: Anglers able to get out on the bay or Lake Huron have been doing well catching steelhead, with an occasional walleye or Chinook salmon. Anglers are having success fishing 40 to 80 feet with spoons in the top part of the water column. Bright colors are producing the best bite. A few lake trout have been caught; however, they must be immediately released as they are no longer in season unless you fish MH-3 and south.

Thunder Bay River: Reports indicate it has been a tough week of fishing, as there are plenty of fish, but the bite has been very slow. Anglers reporting success have been using fresh spawn. Other options include drifting flies and casting body baits or plugs.

Oscoda: Reports indicate that anglers trolling body baits and spoons have caught a few walleye and steelhead. The best angling has occurred in water 15 to 25 feet in close to the river mouth and at depths of 40 to 60 feet. Pier anglers casting spoons and deep diving crank baits have caught walleye, smallmouth bass, Chinook salmon, Atlantic salmon and steelhead primarily in the mornings. Reports of large schools of shiners have been seen off the piers and in the river mouth.

Au Sable River: A few Chinook salmon, Atlantic salmon, steelhead and pink salmon have been caught by anglers back-trolling plugs, floating spawn, casting spoons, casting streamers and bottom bouncing beads and flies. Fish have been slow to bite. Most Chinook salmon caught were dark, with some patchy. Atlantic salmon were found holding in structure difficult to fish, like current breaks, stumps, downed trees, logs and other woody debris. Some were caught not associated with structure in the open water.  A few smallmouth bass and northern pike have been reported by anglers fishing with crank baits, crawlers and minnows.

Higgins Lake: Anglers have reported good perch fishing, with some nice keepers. Some nice rock bass have also been caught. No reports available on trout or smallmouth bass.

Houghton Lake: Crappie and walleye have been reported moving up into canals. Anglers using fathead minnows have reported some good catches. Bluegill fishing has been good for those fishing the drop-offs while using minnows.

Tawas: Some steelhead have been caught, with a few limits, while trolling spoons past buoy 2 in 50 feet. Walleye fishing has continued to be slow, with a report of a few caught off the Tawas pier casting jigs and body baits. 

Tawas River: A few walleye have been caught in the Tawas River off jigs. sSalmon fishing has been slow, with only a few being reported caught in the Tawas River.

Au Gres: Some perch have been caught off the dock at the access site by anglers using minnows and crawlers. A few good catches of perch have been reported, with a few limits, near the mouth of the Au Gres River in 20 feet, in the shipping channel between Pt. Lookout and Pt. Au Gres and south in 40 to 50 feet. Anglers are catching perch from the Rifle Bar to Saganing Bar to the Pinconning Bar in 12 to 18 feet while using minnows. Some anglers have caught bluegill and other sunfish inside Eagle Bay marina with wax worms and crawlers.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Charlevoix: Overall, effort was down this week. It has been windy, which has resulted in less fishing activity. Most of the salmon have moved into the rivers, and boats have not been going out to target them as much. The lake trout season has closed. Many anglers are waiting for steelhead and perch to show up in the area. Some anglers were casting for Chinook salmon near the cement plant. Effort in the channel has also been slow, with a few anglers fishing for smallmouth bass and salmon early in the morning.

Grand Traverse Bay: For those boats that could make it out with the winds, the perch fishing has been good in a few spots. Anglers using minnows, wigglers and wax worms had the best success.

Boardman River: Salmon fishing is winding down.

Platte Bay: Salmon fishing is winding down.

Betsie River: Good numbers of Chinook salmon were in the river, with most turning dark. Steelhead are starting to show up in the lower river.

Portage Lake: No report.

Manistee River: Good salmon fishing was reported, with steelhead starting to show up in the lower river. Below Hodenpyl Dam anglers have reported good catches of rainbow trout while using fish eggs.

Pere Marquette River: Salmon fishing has been good over the last week. Some steelhead are starting to show up in the lower portion of the river.

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Upper Peninsula

Keweenaw Bay: Reports of slow fishing, with a few boats out trolling and a few catches of salmon and trout.

Marquette: Boat angling season is winding down, especially with windy weather limiting angler opportunities. A few boats have been out in the lower harbor and fishing the mouth of the Chocolay with some success catching rainbow trout, brown trout and coho salmon. Anglers are mainly trolling with spoons or casting lures and plugs. Pier anglers have been targeting lake trout, with decent reports of fish averaging 2 to 4 pounds. No limits have been reported, but fishing was good with those catching one or two fish. Anglers are primarily using spawn and crawlers.

Little Bay de Noc: High winds reduced angler participation this week. Walleye anglers mostly fished the reefs in the Kipling area. The best catches were reported in 14 to 25 feet using crawlers or stick baits. Several fair catches of perch were reported in the same area using crawlers in 10 to 20 feet. Some nice northern pike were reported by anglers trolling around ship docks in Escanaba fishing in 8 to 15 feet early in the morning.

Manistique River: Shore salmon anglers were reporting fair to good catches fishing the rapids by the “Bass Hole” and up to the dam. Many Chinook are dark-colored now, with an occasional pink salmon, coho salmon or steelhead being caught. The river is still full of walleye, with many having been caught by salmon anglers casting crank baits.

Munising: Boat angling season is winding down, with very few going out over the past week. Weather has been too windy. Shore anglers have reported slow catches, with a few catching one or two coho. Some anglers have reported catching small rainbow trout. Very few splake have been caught. Shore anglers are mainly using spoons or fishing with spawn.

Detour: Strong winds have kept anglers off the water. A few anglers reported catches of small Chinook salmon just upstream from the lighthouse at Fry Pan Island trolling yellow and orange spoons behind flashers set at 55 feet over 90 feet of water with a trolling speed of 3.5 miles per hour. Some nice walleye have been caught 2 miles upstream of Detour Village, at Swedes Point, trolling black and chrome crank baits.

Drummond Island: Lots of perch anglers have been fishing over the last week, and the warmer weather has caused the bite to taper off in Scott Bay and Maxton Bay. Anglers having the best success have been still fishing and jigging with worms and shiner minnows. Anglers should try to fish where the clear water meets the darker water, as perch are staging there in 10 to 14 feet.

Cedarville and Hessel: Anglers have reported good numbers of Chinook salmon and a few good catches at the Hessel Marina finger docks. Chinook are hitting on natural spawn and artificial spawn bags jigging in 4 to 8 feet. A few perch have migrated to the Hessel Marina. Try fishing at the public boat dock in 7 feet two cranks off the bottom, using both worms and shiner minnows. Anglers have caught some nice northern pike by trolling large crank baits at buoys 22 and 23 in Snows Channel, just west of Dollar Island. Some perch have been caught at the red buoy 70 yards from the Park Avenue boat launch. Try bobber fishing near the red buoy in 10 feet using worms and minnows.  Some anglers have reported catching largemouth bass in Cedarville Bay while using 3-inch crank baits. Anglers have also reported catching northern pike at the middle entrance to the Les Cheneaux Islands in 18 to 20 feet using creek chubs or large minnows.

Carp River: Only a few reports this week from anglers who were bottom bouncing worms at the seawall without success. Some anglers were using spawn bags without any luck. There were reports of a few anglers fishing at the overpass bridge for pink salmon and coho salmon; however, fishing has been slow.

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Fishing tip: Finding steelhead in the thick of fall

Although many folks have hunting on the brain, there are some anglers who are enjoying a few more trips to the streams right now to find steelhead. Those having success are probably following a few basic tips:

• Target lesser-known streams that may have been stocked by the DNR in the past few years.
• Don’t fish on the weekends – when everyone else is – and instead, focus on midweek if you can.
• Tough out the weather. Some of the best fishing occurs when the weather is the worst.
• Focus on going in the early morning or at night.

Want even more information on targeting steelhead? Check out the steelhead page on the DNR’s website and Trout Trails for lesser-known locations for steelhead.

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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.