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, and it’s always a good idea to frequently wash your hands with soap and warm water, or use hand sanitizer.

There’s still time to sign up for the Outdoors Skills Academy Walleye Fishing Clinic on Saturday, June 19 at the Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center in Roscommon. To register, go to Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses and click on the "Purchase a license" button. Sign in (using either a username and password or your ID and birthdate), and find the class under the Outdoor Skills Academy tab.

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

Buy your license ►

Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake St. Clair: Bass anglers have been successful anywhere from 4 to 14 feet of water off the Mile Roads and Metro Beach with drop shots, crank baits and spy baits in chartreuse and blue. Accidental musky catches were made by bass anglers near the Clinton River. Walleye anglers are catching fish with crawler harnesses at the mouth of the South Channel and in the Dumping Grounds at about 18 to 20 feet of water. Some yellow perch were caught in Anchor Bay and by Gull Island in 6 feet of water with worms.

Port Sanilac: Anglers fishing for salmon and trout have had some luck in 65 to 90 feet when trolling with leadcore and dipsy divers with spoons. Anglers were bringing in lake trout, coho, steelhead and a few pink salmon. 

Harbor Beach: Some smallmouth bass were caught and released fishing south of Harbor Beach in the shallows off White Rock. Walleye fishing is slow right now. Try fishing with small body baits and spoons in 50 to 100 feet of water areas north of the harbor. Lake trout fishing is slow with a few taken straight out and north of the harbor in 120 to 150 feet of water using dodgers with spin and glows and spoons close to the bottom. For steelhead and small salmon, try fishing north of the harbor near the color lines with spoons. Try silver, blue and orange colors. Anglers who have been trolling between 80 to 130 feet for salmon and trout with downriggers and sliders have been catching lake trout and occasional coho and steelhead.

Port Austin: Some smallmouth bass were caught casting artificial lures from boats in shallow water inside the harbor and along the shoreline between 3 to 4 feet of water. Lake trout and occasional steelhead have been caught in 80 to 100 feet trolling with downriggers and spoons. Walleye fishing is slow, but anglers are still catching a few west of the harbor in 20 to 30 feet trolling artificial lures. 

Saginaw Bay: Walleye boat anglers are catching two miles northeast of the Dumping Grounds while trolling in 22 feet of water on crankbaits and crawlers. Sailboat bouys A and B are also producing walleyes along with bouys 1 and 2 with the same trolling methods with crank baits and crawlers. Fishing for walleye on the eastern part of Saginaw Bay improved from previous weeks. The slot out from Sunset and up to Sebwaing in 14 to 17 feet of water was most productive. Walleye were also caught out over the bar in 22 to 24 feet of water. Crawler harnesses caught most fish, but crankbaits also caught a few walleye as well. Some walleye are being caught off of Sand Point and around Charity Island.

Smallmouth bass are being caught at the end of Linwood Road by shore anglers casting crankbaits and tube jigs. At Smith Park in Essexville shore anglers are catching mostly sheepshead.

Sebewaing: Anglers did well trolling night crawler harnesses, spoons and flicker shads. The shallower areas through the Sebewaing River and river mouth produced a mix bag for those casting artificial baits and using worm and bobber rigs. Anglers fishing this area caught bluegill, rock bass, largemouth bass and northern pike.

Back to Top

Southwest Lower Peninsula

St. Joseph: Boat anglers were catching a few steelhead around the pier heads. Spoons were hooking most of these fish. Boat anglers were also catching a mixed bag of salmon and trout. Fishing in 150 feet of water seemed to be the best. A few good catches of perch were made. Pier anglers were catching lots of drum. There were a few steelhead caught on shrimp from the piers.

South Haven: There are some salmon being caught by boat anglers. Anglers were fishing a lot of spin doctors and flies. Boats were well beyond 150 feet of water. There should be some lake trout around 70 feet of water. Perch anglers were catching some fish. The best water seemed to be between 50 to 60 feet of water. Pier anglers had slow fishing for everything except drum.

Grand Haven: Boats have been catching a few lake trout and steelhead in 200-320 feet of water. Bright colored spoons have worked well in the top 50 feet of water. Pier anglers have been catching a few steelhead on shrimp. Anglers casting silver spoons in the channel have been catching freshwater drum.

Muskegon: Boats have found the salmon and trout action to be slow. Best action has been from 200-300 feet of water. Orange and yellow spoons have worked well in the top 60 feet of water.

Back to Top

Northeast Lower Peninsula

Rogers City: Lake trout anglers are returning with limits. Productive areas have been 40 Mile Point and Sea Gull Point. Adams Point and Swan Bay area are down the lake and have been producing. Anglers are running a line or two near the bottom while scattering their remaining lines throughout the water column for best results. The best depths have been between 40 to 80 feet of water. Anglers are using spoons and or dodgers and cowbells with spin glos. The spin glo colors have been chartreuse, green glow and yellow with silver. Good colors for spoons have been green, blue, yellow, orange, and purple. A couple of Atlantic salmon, steelhead and chinooks have also been caught with the lines that are higher in the water column with spoons. 

Rockport: Lake trout fishing has been excellent with many anglers limiting. Anglers are fishing up the lake towards Stoneport straight out of the harbor or at the Middle Island Lighthouse and the buoys there. Best depths have been from 40 to 80 feet of water.  Seems to vary a little depending upon the day.  Anglers are running a line or two near the bottom then scattering their remaining lines throughout the water column for best results. Anglers are using spoons and or dodgers and cowbells with spin glos. The spin glo colors have been chartreuse, green glow and yellow with silver. Good colors for spoons have been green, blue, yellow, orange, and purple at times. 

Alpena: Angling in the bay has been slow this week. Lake trout are being caught by mostly trolling spoons in 30 to 40 feet of water but has slowed down in comparison to last week. Walleye harvest has increased but still is slow. Common methods used are crawler harness and bottom bouncers.

Thunder Bay River: Bass are still in the river. Common methods used by anglers to catch bass include casting stick baits, body baits and spinners. Anglers are still catching pike, drum, and the occasional walleye using spoons, body baits, drop shot rigs and crawler harnesses.

Oscoda: Angling has been slow, but anglers have been catching lake trout and the occasional rainbow trout trolling spoons in 70 to 100 feet. Pier anglers have been catching bass while casting stick baits and body baits.

Au Sable River: The bass are starting to move in and are being caught most commonly by casting stick and body baits. Catfish have been caught with drop shot rigs with cut bait or worms. Anglers have been occasionally catching walleye and drum most commonly by trolling crawler harnesses and bottom bouncers, but anglers have had some success casting jig heads with twister tails and drop shot rigs.

Tawas: Boat anglers caught some lake trout, coho salmon and steelhead in 60 to 80 feet off spoons. There was also a few walleye caught in 30 to 50 feet off crawlers and body baits.

Tawas River: Some rock bass and smallmouth bass were caught off jigs, swim baits and crawlers. There were also a few catfish caught off crawlers.

Au Gres: Boat anglers caught walleye in 30 to 42 feet straight out of the mouth of the river and all the way south down past Eagle Bay Marina off crawlers and crank baits. There was also a lot of bass anglers catching smallmouth and largemouth bass by casting near shore with swim baits, tubes and spinners. Pier anglers caught smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, pike and catfish in the Au Gres river off crawlers and body baits.

Pine River: There were a lot of bass anglers catching mostly largemouth bass near the weed beds off spinners and body baits. There were some perch caught near the weed beds off minnows. Shore and dock anglers caught rock bass, perch, pike and largemouth bass off live frogs, crawlers, swimbaits and body baits.

Back to Top

Northwest Lower Peninsula

Harbor Springs: Smallmouth bass fishing remains popular. Anglers had varying success. Some anglers are finding fish and others only catching a couple. Anglers are casting soft plastics along the shoreline. Lake trout were caught mainly north of Harbor Point.  

Petoskey: Boats fishing the Petoskey side of the Bay mainly fished in front of Bay Harbor. Lake trout were caught, with many reported to be very small. The Bear River is still running low, with not a lot of effort in the river proper. Anglers are fishing the mouth of the river. Anglers caught smallmouth bass, rock bass, small panfish, bullhead, drum and carp. Larger catfish and a couple pike were also reported in this area. Anglers were using worms, minnows, jigs with soft plastics and crankbaits.

Bear River: The mouth of the Bear River in Petoskey is a great place to take kids to fish right now. There are a lot of different species and the area is easily accessible. All you really need is a worm and a bobber.

Grand Traverse: There are a few panfish on the beds in the small and medium sized inland lakes in the Grand Traverse region, but the recent run of much warmer than normal temperatures have the water warming quickly, so they won’t be there for long.

Charlevoix: The Charlevoix Area trout tournament was Friday to Sunday. There were a lot of boats out targeting lake trout and salmon in Lake Michigan. Most did well on lake trout, but most salmon came from south of Charlevoix near the Leelanau Peninsula. There were some very large lake trout caught from Fisherman’s Island to 9 Mile. Some nice Steelhead were also brought into the tournament. The areas and depths varied.  

Anglers are still targeting cisco in the channel, but angler effort is not as high as it was a couple weeks ago. Anglers are using anything silver or gold, mainly spoon type lures.

Frankfort: Water temperatures are on the climb. Ale wives are starting to move around the pier heads. Kings are still a challenge to land, but some are being reported in 100 to 140 feet of water and trolling spoons 50 to 70 down. Jigging in 100 feet of water with swedish pimples off the bottom in the Platte Bay area is producing nice lake trout catches.

Onekama: Mayflies are in full hatch increasing shoreline/pier activity for steelhead. Anglers trolling the Barrel are reporting good numbers of lake trout and the occasional Chinook.

Arcadia: Anglers trolling in 120 to 140 feet of water in front of the golf course are reporting a few lake trout with a Chinook or two.

Manistee: A few kings were caught along the shelf in various depths starting in 120 out to 200 and further (300+). Fish were roughly 60 to 80 feet down. Steelhead were caught in the top 30 feet. Spoons and flies worked. Lakers have also been caught in around 100 feet of water. A few steelhead were caught on the north pier using alewife and shrimp.

Ludington: A few kings were caught near Big Sable Point in 100 to 200 feet of water when fishing 60-90 feet down. In the mix came a few lakers and coho. Spoons and flies worked along with meat rigs. Steelhead fishing was decent in the top 30 feet. Salmon were also caught straight out of the harbor and south towards the projects. The piers were slow.

Back to Top

Upper Peninsula

Ontonagon: When anglers were able to get out of Ontonagon, they found lake trout with a few coho and browns mixed in. Water temperatures varied greatly, which spread fish out. Fish were found out to 100 feet of water, but it was difficult to put a pattern together. Spoons were used most often. With heavy rains, walleye fishing became difficult for anglers trolling, drifting or jigging on the Ontonagon River.

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers who were able to get out between storms were able to catch lake trout while trolling in waters below 40 feet. Those targeting salmon in Keweenaw Bay and in Huron Bay did not have the best luck. Activity on the Falls River picked up with more expected in the coming weeks. Anglers in both Keweenaw and Huron Bay found most of their luck in deeper water although depths did vary.

Au Train: Anglers are still bringing in a few nice lake trout. Catches have been mixed between boaters. Jigging still is paying off. However, the fish are in deep water.

Marquette: Some catches of lake trout have been coming in the past few days. Anglers have had to work for the fish they caught. They are fishing deep water, but they don't seem to be biting.

Munising: A few splake have been caught off the Anna River dock. Catches have been very low and most anglers still reporting catches of zero. Very low fishing pressure with few boat anglers have been out. A few catches of lake trout coming in near White Rocks, Wood Island Reef and Grand Portal. However, most boat traffic is now pleasure boat traffic. Surface water temps are in low 60’s.

Grand Marais: Surface water temperatures near shore are in low 60’s and offshore upper 50’s to near 60 due to last week’s hot weather in the 90’s. Fishing pressure has been low as south winds have prevailed; however last few days cooler temps moved in with high in the 70’s. The whitefish catches have been very low however a few limits came in the past few days with the northwest winds that switched.

Little Bay de Noc: Walleye anglers have been struggling, reporting poor catch rates with lots of undersized fish. Most are going out of Kipling and the mouth of the Whitefish, with the majority trolling with crawler harnesses. Perch anglers are having some success around Gladstone Beach, as well as out of Kipling when using crawlers. Smallmouth fishing has been good throughout most of the bay. Anglers reported good action in the Ford River and around the mouth. People fishing from shore along the Ford are catching smallmouth. Shore anglers in Gladstone have been catching perch, rock bass and pike.

Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth bass fishing has been good. Anglers are catching fish in the shallows along the shore and reed lines. However, a few are finding fish out deeper around vegetation or drop offs when casting soft plastics or reaction baits. Walleye anglers have been trolling around the mouth of the Ogontz and out of Fishdam. Small numbers of large pike catches have been reported.

St.Ignace/Les Cheneaux: Anglers are catching perch and pike in the Les Cheneaux area, however the bite has slowed due to the major fly hatches that just occurred. Due to this, many are hoping for the lake herring bite to start. The fishing in St. Ignace has been slow but fisherman are catching a few pike. Anglers were attaching mayflies to their hooks to get the perch to bite in the Les Cheneauxs. 

Back to Top

Fishing Tip: What to do when walleyes pick up

Many think of walleye as a benthic, or bottom, species. While this is true at times, this species will come a long way up in the water column to hit your presentation. More so, they will often suspend in the water column based on forage.

If the mayfly hatch has begun, expect to find these fish anywhere from five to 15 feet off the bottom, focusing your crankbaits or crawler harnesses in that region, instead of along the bottom. You might be surprised how well you can do.

Back to Top

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.