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Windy conditions continue to hamper pier fishing. A few more anglers were out on the inland lakes. Lower water levels in the rivers have made trout fishing a challenge.

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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake St. Clair: A few limit catches of walleye were taken in the Delphine Channel when trolling flicker minnows or a rapala. Fish were also caught between St. Clair Shores and Grosse Pointe when trolling body baits. Perch fishing was starting to pick up in the bays.   

Saginaw Bay: Walleye are being caught. A decent number of keeper-size perch have also been caught. Fishing activity has been slow on the Kawkawlin River. At Caseville, whitefish, burbot and lake trout were caught by pier anglers. 

Saginaw River: Anglers are starting to get small walleye along with a few keepers.   

Bad River: Was producing a decent number of crappie.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

Steelhead continue to trickle into the St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Grand and Muskegon rivers. Try running plugs behind a boat or simply drifting spawn along the bottom through the deep runs and riffles.

St. Joseph River: Those fishing near the Berrien Springs Dam continue to catch the occasional steelhead. Fish movement through the ladder slowed with the colder temperatures this week. Water levels continue to be very low and clear. A couple walleye were caught by shore anglers.    

Grand Haven: When the weather allows, both pier and shore anglers are catching steelhead on spawn. The whitefish action has slowed in the channel, with only a few taken by those jigging small spoons that glow. 

Grand River near Grand Rapids: Continues to see a light number of steelhead moving into the area. Shore anglers are using spawn up near the dam. Walleye anglers are fishing off the wall.   

Muskegon: Pier anglers are catching steelhead on spawn. Whitefish action is slowing down in the channel, with only a few caught on small jigging spoons. 

Muskegon Lake: Perch are being caught, and some walleye were taken in the channel. 

Muskegon River: Water levels have dropped, and those targeting steelhead are taking a fair number of fish below Croton Dam. 

White Lake: A few walleye were caught in the channel. 

White River: Anglers have caught steelhead in Hesperia.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Thunder Bay River: The whitefish run is pretty much done for the season. Those fishing up to the 9^th Street Dam are still getting the occasional steelhead and brown trout. 

Fletchers Pond: Had decent catches of northern pike in the morning. 

East Twin Lake: Anglers have located some schools of perch. 

Houghton Lake: The occasional walleye was caught at the mouth of the canals when using crankbaits. 

Tawas: Anglers did well on Tawas Bay, catching good-size lake trout. Most were trolling body baits along the drop-offs, but those fly fishing have also done well throwing streamers in 6 to 8 feet.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Steelhead fishing continues to be decent on the Manistee River. Other rivers also have some steelhead, but water levels are running low and clear, which makes for tough fishing. Steelhead and young coho were caught from Lake Michigan beaches when surf casting.    

Lake Charlevoix: Anglers are trying for perch, but catch rates were slow. 

Kalkaska County: Those targeting walleye on Manistee Lake had success with a crawler harness or crankbait an hour or two after dark. Most were 17-20 inches.      

Traverse City: Those fishing the West Bay caught a few perch in Northport Bay. 

Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell: Those casting from shore were still getting a few walleye. 

Manistee River: Steelhead fishing continues to be decent. On the upper river, the best fishing was upstream of the CCC Bridge. With the cloudy weather, blue winged olives were being used along the banks in the quiet water.

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Upper Peninsula

Steelhead can still be found in some rivers. 

Manistique River: Anglers reported steelhead near the Papermill Dam. 

St. Marys River: Musky and walleye fishing were good in Munuscong Bay.

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Fishing Tip: Where to find northern pike in Michigan

Most places in the state are seeing cold temperatures, but fishing for northern pike will continue to pick up. Pike are extremely popular during the ice fishing season but are readily available throughout much of the year.

There are many notable northern pike fisheries located throughout Michigan, including on Muskegon, Portage and Manistee lakes and Michigamme and Houghton lakes. But this species can be found in many other lakes and virtually all larger rivers in the state.

Please note there are many regulations for northern pike regarding minimum size and possession limit. Be sure to read up on this species in the current Michigan Fishing Guide and on the northern pike page on our website.

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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.