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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Tittabawassee River: Ice covered with poor ice conditions and no fishing activity.

Eastern Saginaw Bay: Fishing along the east side of the bay remained spotty, with some success, but most anglers reported slow fishing. Those fishing nearshore areas from Sebewaing to Wildfowl Bay reported very hit-or-miss fishing for yellow perch. Most anglers ended up with five or fewer perch, but those who put in a lot of effort and fished numerous times a week found decent numbers, with lots of sorting through small fish. Beaded spoons and perch minnows worked when perch were around. A few northern pike were speared as well. Those who headed out deeper after walleye reported slow fishing, with most anglers returning to shore with zero to two walleye from the Sebewaing area. Anglers reported marking decent numbers of fish, but they were not aggressively biting. A few fish were caught out in the slot, but most of the catches were out from Sebewaing and a little south in 25 to 28 feet of water.

Lower Saginaw Bay: Walleye anglers reported catching walleye at the south end of the black hole in 22 to 24 feet of water. The Sparkplug saw some walleye action as well in 23 feet of water. On the east side of Spoils Island, anglers reported catching some walleye. Anglers reported some 12 to14-inch perch mixed in with the walleye caught. The cracks by Spoils Island were very active so the anglers needed to be aware of if fishing in that area.

Saginaw River: The river saw high fishing pressure with anglers fishing at various access points from Wickes Park at the convergence down to the mouth. Walleye fishing was poor overall with hardly any keeper size walleye and some sub-legal fish caught and released. Anglers on the south side of the Zilwaukee Bridge reported marking fish on electronics, but they did not bite.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

No reports.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Tawas/Au Gres: In Tawas, fishing remained slow with mainly only small perch being seen and caught. Fishing in the Au Gres area out on the bay was slow. Those fishing the river caught walleye and a few small perch. In the Standish area, perch fishing was hit or miss.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

No reports.

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Upper Peninsula

Little Bay de Noc: Mild temperatures during the day and below-freezing temperatures at night made for good travel conditions, even for wheeled vehicles. Perch anglers reported fair fishing, with most successful trip reports coming from the upper bay. Some large perch were reported. Anglers were using set lines baited with wigglers and minnows, as well as jigging with spoons or small jig heads.

Anglers targeting walleye reported slow fishing. They reported very tight-lipped fish, with most marks displaying a reluctance to bite. Anglers fishing the upper bay caught small walleye, with only a few keeper walleye. Northern pike were biting, giving walleye anglers a chance for some fun, as most reported slow action.

Les Cheneaux Islands: Anglers in Cedarville struggled to find good numbers of yellow perch; however, they reported catching pike in Musky Bay using chubs and larger minnows. The majority were undersized, but a few were big enough to keep. In Hessel, anglers struggled to catch or find splake; the perch fishing was hit or miss, with plenty of small perch being seen and caught. Cisco were spotted swimming through holes high in the water column in Hessel Bay. There were good numbers of pike caught in Wilderness Bay.

Munising: The coho salmon bite was on and off this past week but some anglers found success. The splake bite remained steady throughout the bay, with a lot of smaller ones being caught. Anglers targeting whitefish reported a very slow bite with limited success. As for the perch bite, anglers reported doing well when targeting them. Anglers also reported large schools of smelt in the bay. Popular baits were wax worms and minnows.

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Fishing tip: Targeting multiple species

If you’re targeting multiple species like perch and walleye in the same area, try a two-rod approach. Use one rod with a deadstick and live bait set just off bottom and actively jig with the other. The jigging draws fish in, while the deadstick often gets bites from fish that are curious but hesitant to chase.

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This report is intended to give you an idea of fishing conditions around the state. Updates come from Fisheries staff and conservation officers. With nearly 11,000 inland lakes, the Great Lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams in Michigan, not all locations can be listed.