The new fishing license and regulation season kicks off April 1, so anglers need to be sure they have purchased a new license for the fishing season in order to enjoy Michigan’s great fishing opportunities. The 2025 fishing licenses are valid through March 31, 2026.

Fishing licenses can be purchased at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses or by downloading the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app and purchasing your license on the app.

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

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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lower Saginaw Bay: Walleye anglers reported catching a few fish when trolling out in front of Linwood in around 18 feet of water. Over on the east side of Saginaw Bay, yellow perch were caught by anglers on Garner Road and Old State Road, with early morning producing the best results. 

 Eastern Saginaw Bay: The ice has melted and are anglers are now fishing open water on the eastern side of the bay. Anglers targeting yellow perch in the area cuts, rivers, and marinas from Sebewaing to Caseville saw mostly poor results. Anglers who had luck finding a few perch reported that most were small, and they had to sort to get a couple keepers. Fishing off the pier in Caseville was slow.

Saginaw River: Walleye fishing was reported as fairly slow, with recent rains resulting in poor water clarity. A few walleye were caught from Center Street Bridge down to Clemens Airport with an average of one to three walleye per boat. Anglers reported that jigging with a fluorescent-colored jig head and twister or paddle tail seemed to work well.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

Muskegon: Pier anglers reported catching a few steelhead on spawn. Muskegon Lake is now ice-free, and the Snug Harbor boat launch has one dock in the water.

Grand Haven: Depending on the wind direction, flow ice made it very difficult for anglers to get out. A few anglers tried casting for brown trout and steelhead but were unsuccessful. Check the local webcams to see the ice conditions near the pierheads.

St. Joseph: Pier fishing was reported to have improved this past week with decent fishing for coho salmon and steelhead. A few brown trout were also reported to have been caught. Anglers reported that spawn seemed to work best. Anglers were able to fish all of the lake side of the south piers, and about half of the lakeside of the north piers. The ice conditions kept almost all boats off the lake, however the few anglers who were able to make it out caught a couple of coho salmon on small spoons.

St. Joseph River: Anglers fishing the lower St. Joseph River were catching steelhead. Decent catches were also reported up towards the Berrien Springs dam.

South Haven: Pier anglers were able to fish the river on the piers. Decent catches of steelhead and a few coho salmon were reported. These fish were caught on spawn fished on the bottom. 

Anglers looking to stay up to date on pier closures and flag updates can visit the City of South Haven’s website, text “beaches” to 888777 to receive updates, or call their information center at 269-637-5151.

Black River: Anglers continued to catch steelhead on the river, with most fish caught on spawn.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Tawas: The Tawas Bay ice has melted; however, fishing was reported as fairly slow. Anglers who tried their luck fishing the pier did not find much success, with only a few anglers catching lake trout. The dock is in at Gateway Park, but wind conditions kept most boats off the water. The Tawas River mouth and East Branch of the Au Gres River at Singing Bridge were both reported to be fairly dirty due to recent rains. Anglers fishing the surf were able to pick up a few steelhead. 

Au Gres: The ice cleared in front of the Au Gres River, but the fishing effort had yet to pick up. In Standish, a lot of small perch were reported to be in the cuts, however not many keepers were caught. Anglers fishing the Pine River were able to find a few, but overall fishing was slow. At Eagle Bay Marina, anglers had to do some sorting, but many were able to get their limit of keeper perch.

Alpena: Fishing pressure was reported to have been up and down with the recent rains and high winds. There is no longer safe ice inside the harbor. A few pier anglers were casting spoons and crank baits but reported no success. A few boat anglers using the river launch had limited success trolling in 15 to 30 feet of water for steelhead and lake trout. Anglers fishing for walleye reported no success.

Thunder Bay River: Steelhead anglers managed to catch a few fish despite the high water and cold temperatures. Bottom bouncing spawn and beads were reported to have been productive throughout the day between the walking bridge and the 9th Street dam. Small jigs tipped with wax worms were also productive for steelhead, Atlantic salmon, and the occasional brown trout. 

Harrisville/Oscoda: Anglers fishing from the pier head saw success catching steelhead when bottom fishing spawn with pyramid weights. A few coho salmon and lake trout were reported to have been caught off spawn as well. Steelhead were also caught throughout the Au Sable River and up to Foote Dam where anglers had the most success when bottom bouncing spawn. Those who were floating bobbers with jigs/wax worms along with spawn were also catching a few steelhead. Hair jigs produced steelhead while fished under a float. A few walleye were caught off the pier head at dusk by anglers casting bandits and deep diving body baits. The steelhead fishing was reported as hit or miss, but spawn has seemed to produce the most fish. 

Upper Au Sable River: Temperatures are warming up, snowmelt is increasing, and water levels are rising. It's prime streamer season. As water clarity decreases, opt for larger, more visible streamers. When the water clears up, scale down to smaller, more natural patterns for a subtler presentation.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Manistee: A couple steelhead, brown trout and lake trout were caught while trolling the harbor and outside the pier heads with body baits and spoons. Fishing was generally slow. Those fishing spawn from the piers caught a few steelhead and a rare brown trout or coho salmon. The Arthur St. access on Manistee Lake produced a couple steelhead while fishing spawn.

Ludington: Anglers reported the fishing as slow; however, those who were looking for brown trout found a few fish to the north by the Lincoln River mouth and in the harbor while trolling body baits.

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Upper Peninsula

Marquette: Poor weather conditions limited fishing efforts. Anglers fishing the Chocolay River have reported good numbers of coho salmon, brown trout and steelhead. Steelhead have been caught from the Carp River mouth all the way up to Marquette Mountain. Anglers reported that night crawlers and spawn seemed to produce the best results.

Little Bay de Noc: Ice conditions have deteriorated drastically this past week, resulting in limited numbers of anglers. Anglers reported good walleye fishing up until the season closer. Yellow perch anglers reported fair fishing near Kipling and fair to good fishing at the mudflats, primarily using wigglers fished near the bottom.

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Fishing tip: Fishing Michigan’s piers & breakwalls

Michigan’s numerous piers and breakwalls offer great fishing opportunities throughout the year. Anglers often participate in this activity to target a variety of species, with trout and salmon being two of the most popular. If you decide to partake in this type of fishing, you’ll need a high-quality rod and reel. Technique-wise, you’ll want to vary the depth and speed of your retrieves and consider fan-casting as opposed to casting perpendicular to the pier/breakwall. There are lots of bait options to consider, including spawn bags with steelhead, trout or salmon eggs; live alewives; or night crawlers. You’ll also want a long-handled net to aid in landing your catch!

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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.