The Weekly Fishing Report will be suspended following the Nov. 6 report until early next year, when ice fishing picks up and we receive more reports. For information on current fishing conditions, we recommend calling your local bait shop. We look forward to seeing you again in 2025!

Buy your license ►

Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lower Saginaw Bay: Boat anglers were starting to catch some yellow perch and walleye in the lower part of the Saginaw River on a more consistent basis. Anglers also reported catching 7- to 9-inch yellow perch out in front of Bay Harbor Marina.

Eastern Saginaw Bay: Fishing activity was low on the eastern portion of the bay, especially from Sebewaing to Caseville. Only a few boat anglers tried their luck for both walleye and yellow perch with little to no success. Anglers reported that the perch caught were mostly small.

Quanicassee: Anglers were mostly targeting yellow perch with limited results. Those fishing in the mornings caught more perch, but many were small. Boat anglers found a few perch that were larger in size compared to those caught from shore. Walleye fishing was slow with only a few caught out from Quanicassee in 12 to 14 feet of water when trolling body baits. 

Lexington/Port Sanilac/Harbor Beach: A few salmon and trout were caught by anglers, mostly in the morning.

Lake Erie: Walleye were caught out in the dumping grounds due east from Luna Pier in 18 feet of water on artificial swim baits. Yellow perch remained active in 20 feet of water east of Sterling State Park. Northern pike were biting on soft plastic Texas rigs, usually when anglers were targeting largemouth bass. Shore fishing on the banks of the causeway at Sterling State Park remained good with anglers catching catfish, largemouth bass, and a few yellow perch. 

Lake St. Clair: Perch anglers saw the best results near the dumping grounds as well as between Nine Mile and Grosse Point. Most were using perch rigs with live bait. Some panfish were caught from the canals near Selfridge by anglers using small artificial baits and live bait. Musky action was slow; however, the spillway was a great place to look.

Back to top

Southwest Lower Peninsula

Grand Haven: Pier anglers reported catching steelhead on fresh salmon spawn.

Muskegon: Boat anglers trolling just outside the break walls caught a few steelhead on orange spoons. 

South Haven: Fishing improved greatly this past week. Pier anglers were beginning to catch steelhead and whitefish, with spawn having worked the best. Boat anglers saw slow fishing for salmon; however, the best fishing was reported to have been in very deep water. Anglers fishing the Black River began catching some steelhead and trout.  

St. Joseph: Pier anglers reported catching a few whitefish on spawn. There were also reports of steelhead hooked on spawn as well.

St. Joseph River: The river continued to produce salmon. The dam at Berrien Springs was where most fish were caught. The Dowagiac River was also reported to have had some good salmon action.  

Back to top

Northeast Lower Peninsula

Cheboygan: Salmon were reported to have been stacked at the Cheboygan Dam spillway, with the majority of the fish very dark and spawned out. Anglers were primarily catching Chinook salmon with the occasional pink salmon, coho salmon, or steelhead. Anglers using spawn or beads saw the best results. 

Rogers City: Fishing pressure on Lake Huron was minimal. The few anglers who went out were targeting young Chinook salmon and steelhead however they found no success.

Alpena: Angling pressure out of Alpena was very slow. A few boat anglers trolled in 30 to 40 feet of water for steelhead, Atlantic salmon, and walleye with little success. Those who found steelhead saw the best results when using standard sized spoons in orange, copper, and watermelon on short lead core lines. A few walleye were found in 10 to 20 feet of water after dark from the pier head south to Grass Island. Natural-colored crank baits as well as purples were productive. Those fishing the pier had minimal success on salmon. While good numbers of coho and Atlantic salmon were seen, the bite was slow. 

Thunder Bay River: Chinook, coho, and the occasional Atlantic salmon were still being caught between the walking bridge and the 9th Street Dam. Best results came from floating eggs or beads early and late in the day. A few early steelhead and Atlantic salmon were caught on small spinners in orange, chartreuse, and green. A few anglers reported success on glow spoons after dark. No walleye were reported in the river.

Rockport: Good numbers of salmon were seen along the shoreline and boat ramp; however, no fishing was observed.

Oscoda/Au Sable River: Coho and Atlantic salmon were occasionally caught from the pier head by anglers casting orange/gold K.O. wobblers and blue/silver little Cleos. A handful of nice walleye were caught around dusk off the pier head by anglers casting flicker shads. There were a few Chinook salmon caught when bottom bouncing spawn at Foote Dam. Juvenile steelhead, Atlantic salmon, and the occasional coho salmon were caught by anglers fishing the lower river. Anglers had success floating spawn and beads or casting orange inline spinners. Streamers also produced Atlantic salmon throughout the river. 

Harrisville: A few coho salmon were caught in the harbor by anglers fishing skein under a float or right on the bottom. Anglers also picked up some nice adult steelhead in the harbor while casting spoons. Spawn and minnows under a bobber also seemed to work well for steelhead. There were perch to be caught under the docks, however, those fishing them had to weed through a lot of small fish. 

Black River: Anglers casting pink and red inline spinners caught a few coho salmon and an occasional steelhead. Moving baits seemed to work better than floating spawn.

Au Gres/Standish: Not many boat anglers made it out on the water this past week.  Anglers reported catching a few yellow perch from the pier. In Standish, boat anglers were able to catch their limit of yellow perch out from the Pine River but were still having to do some sorting. Shore anglers fishing at the Pine River also caught some keeper yellow perch. At Eagle Bay Marina, crappies, bluegills, and an occasional perch were caught, but overall, it was slow. 

Tawas: Fishing efforts were low over the past week. Anglers reported that Chinook salmon seemed to have slowed at the Tawas River mouth. Catches of walleye were reported from the pier in the evening.

Back to top

Northwest Lower Peninsula

Charlevoix: Anglers fishing the piers reported the occasional smallmouth bass while fishing live bait on bottom.

Little Traverse Bay: Anglers fishing the Bear River reported Chinook and coho salmon. Bottom bouncing beads, flies, and spawn all produced results.

Frankfort: Pier anglers reported catching steelhead intermittently from both the north and south piers. Shore anglers saw similar results. Using spawn and fishing in the morning hours seemed to produce the best results.

Onekama: Anglers fishing the north pier were consistently landing steelhead in the morning hours on spawn. 

Manistee: Pier anglers reported catching steelhead while using spawn. 

Ludington: A limited number of steelhead and coho salmon were caught from the piers while using spawn. Fishing was generally slow. Those trolling reported a couple salmon and trout from Lake Michigan along with steelhead and northern pike from Pere Marquette Lake. 

Leland: Pier anglers were catching few Chinook and coho salmon when float fishing skein. Early morning or late afternoon seemed to produce the best results. 

West Grand Traverse Bay: Only a handful of boat anglers made it out on the bay this past week, and most were targeting cisco. There was no shore/pier fishing activity reported.

Back to top

Upper Peninsula

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers trolling in the bays were catching lake trout in good numbers when using artificial lures such as flies, spoons and stick baits. Anglers also had luck casting for lake trout in shallow near shore waters. Some anglers were jigging in the bays for splake with natural baits and reported a great amount of success.

Big Traverse Bay/South Portage Entry Canal: Anglers were trolling and jigging with some success for lake trout. Trolling anglers were using artificial baits such as spoons and flies, while jigging anglers were using natural baits like cut sucker. Trolling anglers found fish in 40 to 120 feet of water.

St. Ignace: Anglers were fishing for steelhead at the Carp River, with a couple of individual fish seen by the rapids. At Nunns Creek, pink and Chinook salmon were slowly making their way up the creek when the water was deep enough for them to swim through. Anglers who were using spoons or spawn had the most luck catching a salmon or two.

Little Bay de Noc: Walleye fishing noticeably picked up. Anglers reported a challenging bite, with the best action seen at first and last light of the day. Most anglers were either jigging or trolling during dawn and dusk, although some reported success trolling crank baits after dark. Anglers were fishing the reefs, in the narrows and in front of the Escanaba River. Perch fishing was good; most anglers were either drifting or jigging perch minnows. Anglers fishing out of Kipling reported good fishing.

Manistique: Anglers that fished the river were seeing and catching Chinook salmon. Most anglers reported that some fish appeared to be fresher however, the majority were those that have been in the river for some time. Steelhead anglers reported slow fishing with little to no success. The pink salmon run was reported to be over, with only a few still around. Most anglers were drifting skein or beads.

Ontonagon River: The river saw very low fishing efforts over the past week. Reports show that few fish were caught. The fish cleaning station at the Ontonagon Marina is now closed for the season.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Fishing from these ports was good over the past week. Recent common catches consisted of lake trout in good numbers. Angler reports show that these fish were caught by those trolling across various water depths. Some anglers also had luck jigging in shallower waters. The fish cleaning station at the Ontonagon Marina has been closed for the season.

Black River Harbor: Angling efforts from the harbor were extremely low over the past week. Recent reports indicate catches of lake trout in low numbers. These fish were primarily found in deeper waters. 

Marquette: When conditions allowed, several boat anglers went out from the upper harbor for lake trout and almost all reported success. A few boat anglers were still making their way down to the mouth of the Chocolay River to try for coho salmon and saw mixed results. Coho salmon continued to be caught from the Chocolay River mouth all the way up to the M-28 fishing pier. Brown trout were also reported to have been consistent. There were many fish, including steelhead, in both the Chocolay and Carp Rivers, however anglers reported the bite as finicky. Overall, spawn seemed to work best, with a few anglers catching fish on green spinners and blue/silver spoons as well.

Back to top

Fishing tip: Why is fall fishing so great?

Many anglers will tell you that as fall rolls in the fishing gets better and better. But why is this?

There isn’t much formal research to answer that question, but several factors could be contributing to this influx of angling opportunities: forage availability, dropping water temperatures, fish movement, or oxygen availability.

Some say it could just be related to less fishing pressure and/or better angling techniques.

The bottom line is, if you don’t consider fall to be an ideal time to go fishing you may want to rethink that sentiment. Some of the biggest crappie, muskellunge, walleye and smallmouth bass can be found in the fall — don’t you want to experience that?

For more information on fishing in Michigan, visit michigan.gov/fishing.

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.