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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake St. Clair: High winds and heavy rain significantly reduced angler pressure this week. Anglers continued to catch walleye and perch in the south channel and near the mouth of the channel. Anglers have also reported good catches of walleye near buoys 28, 30 and 31. Bass anglers did well between 11 mile and Gross Point. Other bass anglers fished Goose Bay taking shelter from the wind and did quite well. There are still some muskie being caught near the Clinton river.

Harbor Beach: A few fish are being taken straight out and north of the harbor. Anglers fishing with lead lines have been doing well. Try some 5, 7, 9 and 10 colors for best results. Spoons in blue, silver and green colors have been working for the lake trout and steelhead. Work the top half of the water in 80 to 120 foot of water.

Saginaw Bay: Anglers are catching a few walleye out in front of the Bay City State Park in 12 to 15 feet of water. Walleye are also being caught out by Spoils Island while trolling crawlers.

Sebewaing: Rain, wind and storms this week kept activity low on the eastern side of Saginaw Bay. Some walleye were caught in the slot from Sunset to Sebewaing in 16 to 18 feet of water.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

St. Joseph: Severe weather kept most anglers from fishing this week. Thunderstorms and high waves kept fishing pressure very low. Pier anglers caught a few drum while using shrimp.

South Haven: Severe weather kept fishing pressure low. Boats were fishing very deep.  Salmon anglers were fishing well past 100 feet of water. Very few perch anglers made it out this week. Pier anglers were catching drum, catfish and an occasional steelhead. Most fish were being caught on shrimp.

Grand Haven: The south winds over the past week have warmed the lake temperatures and prevented most boats from getting out. Boats have found a few salmon and trout in 120 to 160 feet of water from 70 feet down to bottom. Lake trout were caught on bottom with yellow spin-n-glows. Steelhead action from the piers have slowed down due to the warmer water temperatures. A few have still been caught on shrimp under a bobber. Freshwater drum have been caught while casting silver spoons or deep diving body baits.

Muskegon: The weather the past week has prevented most boats from getting out. A few salmon and trout were found in 120 to 180 feet of water from 60 feet to bottom. White and green flies worked well along with green spoons. 

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Rogers City: Limits of lake trout have been reported but anglers are having to work for them. Once located they have been doing quite well. The best depths have been anywhere from 65 to 120 feet of water and anglers are running lines throughout the water column for best results. Run a couple of lines deep for lake trout then scatter the remaining lines higher in the water column. Those higher lines have been taking an occasional coho, Chinook and steelhead. Atlantic salmon have been taken while running lines in the top 20 feet of water. Lake trout are hitting best on dodgers and spin-n-glows or cowbells with spin-n-glows. Orange colored spoons with green or brightly colored spoons have been good for steelhead. The smaller walleye sized or regular sized spoons have been the best. Other good colors have been greens, blues, blue and silver, green and blue, purple chartreuse, and glow stuff early and late. Good places to fish are west towards 40 Mile Point or south towards Swan Bay and Adams Point.

Rockport: Anglers are catching limits of lake trout but are having to work to locate them. Once located they have been doing quite well. The best depths have been anywhere from 65 to 120 feet of water for best results. Anglers are running lines throughout the water column for best results. Run a couple of lines deep for lake trout then scatter the remaining lines higher in the water column. The higher lines have been taking an occasional coho, Chinook and steelhead. Atlantic salmon have been taken while running lines in the top 20 feet. Lake trout are hitting best on dodgers and spin-n-glows or cowbells with spin-n-glows. Good places to fish have been straight out of the harbor on the back side of Middle Island near the lighthouse and buoys. Anglers are also fishing the Nordameer Wreck. A few anglers are also fishing north towards Stoneport. Pay close attention to the winds as its been changing the thermocline a lot lately. Some days its rather deep due to the northwest winds and other days its higher with the east southeast winds. 

Alpena: Angling in the bay has been picking up dramatically. Lake trout, rainbow trout, and salmon are still being caught by mostly trolling spoons in 30 to 50 feet of water. Walleye harvest has increased in the bay. Common methods used are trolling crawler harnesses and body baits in 10 to 20 feet of water.

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, freshwater drum and the occasional walleye while using body baits, jigs with twister tails and crawler harnesses.

Oscoda: Angling has picked up slightly. Anglers have been catching lake trout and rainbow trout as well as walleye while trolling spoons and crawler harnesses from everywhere between water depths of 80 to 140 feet of water. Anglers have been catching mostly bass, sheepshead and channel catfish with the occasional walleye using drop shot rigs or floating worms.

Au Sable River: Bass are starting to move farther upstream and being caught most commonly by casting sticks 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 jigs with twister tails and using drop-shot rigs.

Tawas: Boat anglers trolling in the bay and out past buoy #2 and south towards the Charity islands in 40 to 80 feet caught some lake trout, steelhead and walleye off spoons, crank baits and crawlers. Pier anglers caught largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass and bowfin off body baits and crawlers.

Tawas River: Dock and shore anglers at Gateway Park on the Tawas River caught pike, largemouth and smallmouth bass, rock bass, catfish, drum and bowfin off body baits and crawlers.

Au Gres: Boat anglers caught some limits of walleye in 25 to 40 feet using crawlers and crank baits. The fish are scattered anywhere from north towards the Charity islands to south of Eagle Bay Marina.

Pine River: Shore and dock anglers at the Pine River Access caught largemouth bass, rock bass and pike off spinners, body baits and crawlers.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Harbor Springs: The lake trout bite was slow, but a few fish were picked up north of Harbor Point. Try 5 mile and 7 mile and around the humps up north. Many were fishing over 125 feet of water trying to find cooler temps.

Bear River: The Bear River was up over the weekend with heavy rains, and quite muddy. A couple people were fishing the dam and catching rock bass and creek chubs. Shore and pier anglers are still fishing the mouth of the river mainly. Anglers caught smallmouth bass, rock bass, small panfish, bullhead and catfish. Anglers are using worms, minnows, jigs with soft plastics and crankbaits.

Charlevoix: Anglers did well with lake trout near 9 Mile Point. An angler went south past Fisherman’s Island looking for salmon and trout but all they caught were cisco in shallower depths, 30 to 80 feet of water. There were still a couple cisco being caught in the channel last week. Anglers are targeting smallmouth bass in the channel more. Bigger bass and carp were seen in the channel. A good technique for smallmouth bass fishing in the Charlevoix channel is to drift the current on the bottom with a worm or leech, real or artificial will both work.

Frankfort: Anglers are still reporting low numbers of Chinook salmon but they are starting to show up. Try trolling in deep water, 220 to 300 feet of water with spoons and flies and working the top 160 feet of water. Lake trout are hitting in the same areas but better numbers are being reported off the point and the bay area. Heavy rains have warmed the waters up a bit and the mayflies are hatching.

Onekama: The Barrel and in front of the golf course are still reporting catches of lake trout but Chinook anglers are moving offshore to the shelf. Steelhead are being caught in the top 30 feet of the water column. 

Arcadia: Straight out and heading north in 140 feet of water has been working okay. Numbers are low but still worth a trip.

Manistee: Salmon fishing was mostly slow. A couple scattered Chinook were caught straight out along the shelf in 100 to 200+ feet of water; some came from the south towards Big Sauble Point. Lake trout were caught both suspended and near bottom in 100feet of water. A few steelhead were caught in the mix from the top 30 feet. The north pier slowed down for steelhead although a pike or two were caught. Anglers should know that some Lake Michigan fog horns can be activated with your marine radio. A quick google search will point you in the right direction for the port you fish.

Ludington: Salmon fishing was slow although a couple Chinook were caught near Big Sable Point. The piers were slow. The DNR fish head freezer is now at the Copeyon Park fish cleaning station. Please turn in all adipose fin clipped salmon and trout heads or snouts. It may lead to a reward at the end of the season!

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Upper Peninsula

Ontonagon: Anglers have been finding lake trout consistently, but they have been scattered out to 100 feet of water. Trolling with spoons has been a productive tactic and anglers are picking up a few late trout in the 10 to 15 pound range. Coho, browns, rainbows and Chinook are becoming rarer but anglers are bumping into them on occasion. The Ontonagon River started to clear up towards the end of the week and anglers were starting to fish it a bit more. Walleye fishing has been hit or miss with a lot of sublegal fish being caught. Drifting and jigging have been the main fish producers.

Keweenaw Bay: In Keweenaw Bay anglers had luck pulling in whitefish as well as a few lake trout and the occasional salmon. Most fish were caught in deeper water. In Huron Bay anglers were catching lake trout when fishing at the mouth of the bay and further east. Most successful trips were during periods of calm water, but a few anglers were able to find fish in the rougher water as well, especially in Keweenaw Bay. Pressure on the Silver River was low, but the Falls River saw more action. Some anglers on the Falls River had luck catching rock bass. With steady warm temperatures and less storms coming later this week expect fishing to pick up.

Au Train: Fishing has been good the past week. Decent catches of lake trout were reported. Anglers who were trolling did better than those jigging. Lake trout were being caught all over the board in various depths. No salmon were reported this week.

Marquette: Fair numbers of lake trout were brought in over the past week. Various depths were fished. No reports of any salmon were caught.

Munising: A few boats have been doing well for lake trout fishing on the west channel, White Rocks, and towards Wood Island Reef from 80 to 140 feet of water. Fishing pressure continues to be low – again local anglers are targeting Chinook out at Manistique and Fairport. A few nice splake have been caught off the pier but in general fishing is pretty slow with somedays local anglers not catching any to a few fish.

Grand Marais: Pier fishing for whitefish is on a downhill slide with very few anglers out and only a few fish being reported. Boat angling has been light with a few anglers going out for lake trout and doing well and catching limits of lake trout.

Little Bay de Noc: Walleye anglers are struggling to find active schools. Some fish were found out in front of the Whitefish River, although many were reporting undersized catches. Mixed reports were reported from perch anglers. Anglers launching out of the Whitefish had the most success when using crawlers. Shore anglers along the Ford River caught smallmouth bass and pike.

Big Bay de Noc: Smallmouth bass anglers reported a tough bite after the cooler weather caused water temperatures to drop. However, many still had success when trolling crank baits or casting soft plastics. Most fishing activity was out of Nahma and Ogontz. In Fairport, anglers were catching Chinook and steelhead. Most fish were taken on spoons.

St. Ignace/Les Cheneaux: The fishing has picked up some but not much. In the St. Ignace area few lake trout are being caught but anglers are traveling longer distances to get to them. Pike, walleye, and few perch are still being caught at the Pine and Carp rivers. In the Les Cheneaux area, anglers are still catching smaller perch and pike off the pier. Anglers are also seeing smallmouth bass in the area but cannot seem to catch them. Cisco have recently moved into the Cedarville area and anglers are doing well catching those.

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Fishing Tip: How to know if you've found an invasive species

An invasive species is one that is not native and whose introduction causes harm, or is likely to cause harm, to Michigan’s economy, environment or human health.

Think you’ve found an invasive species? Familiarize yourself with potential invasive species threats to Michigan by visiting Michigan.gov/Invasives and clicking on the “Species Profiles & Reporting Information” box.

Once there, you can search for species of plants, insects, diseases, mollusks, fish, mammals, birds or crustaceans and learn about Watch List versus non-Watch List species. You can also learn how to identify invasive species and how to report it if you think you've found one.

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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.