Follow the R/V Lake Char and crew on the week-long research expedition to Klondike Reef! This short film follows a fisheries research vessel in Lake Superior, where the crew collects data on lake trout – an important native species in the lake that has recently met recovery goals after disruption due to invasive species, pollution, and overharvest. Learn about the crew’s roles, the fish sampling process, and why this research is important for managing Michigan's fisheries by watching the documentary at youtube.com/watch?v=dyRIpETB28I.

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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Tittabawassee River: The river ran high and fast with a lot of debris making fishing difficult, which made for little success for anglers as a result. The boat launch at Center Road is full of ice, but conditions are changing daily.

Eastern Saginaw Bay: With the warm weather and rain this past week, it put a quick end to ice fishing along the east side of the bay. Along the east side, the area cuts and rivers were open and flowing with runoff.

Lower Saginaw Bay: On Saginaw Bay, all the shore ice was gone and all the cuts were low and muddy, making fishing tough.

Saginaw River: Anglers reported good walleye fishing out of the Lee Street boat launch. However, the area became unfishable by Saturday due to conditions changing daily.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

South Haven: Fishing was hampered by ice flows. No boats were able to access the lake. There was little to no success for pier anglers with only a few steelhead caught on spawn. Anglers fishing in the Black River reported mixed results. There were a few reports of steelhead caught on spawn. A large rain event made fishing slow for anglers.

St. Joeseph: Anglers targeting little coho salmon and steelhead reported little luck. Most fishing pressure was to the south; there was a lot of floating ice, so still proceed with caution. Pier fishing was slow, with open water on the lakeside of the south pier reported. All the fish caught were caught on spawn or skein.

Muskegon: Ice conditions on the breakwalls have kept most anglers from trying their luck. The anglers that tried for steelhead and brown trout were unsuccessful.

Grand Haven: Ice conditions on the piers improved with the warmer days. The steelhead and brown trout anglers were unsuccessful on the piers. Harbor Island boat launch had one dock in the water.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Tawas/Au Gres: In Tawas, the river was open for those who would like to fish from shore; however, there was still ice outside of the mouth, so boats were unable to access it. Ice pushed down the Au Gres River making most of the water unfishable. The Pine River in Standish will soon be open all the way and ready for shore fishing.

Frankfort: Rain and warm temperatures melted the ice off the south pier and the north pier was cleared to the elbow. The bay has ice still floating around but is not clear enough for boat traffic. Anglers reported slow activity from the north pier as well as the shoreline.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Manistee: Cold water and icy conditions kept things slow. Anglers who made it out trolling in the harbor and past the pier heads were unsuccessful. Reported water temps were in the mid 30s. Those fishing the piers with spawn and minnows reported no success.

Ludington: Chunks of floating ice covered the main boat launch ramp which made fishing hard.

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Upper Peninsula

Little Bay de Noc: Shoreline ice started to deteriorate, forcing anglers to pay attention to the ice conditions around certain lake access points. Anglers reported good overall ice on the bay, although the shoreline and cracks were changing from day to day. Walleye anglers reported an uptick in fishing. Nonetheless, some large fish catches were reported, and while anglers marked a lot of fish, reports indicated that the fish were finicky. Anglers also reported the jigging rod was out-producing set lines. Set lines were baited with minnows close to the bottom, and jigging rods were fished with spoons and snap-style jigs. Anglers reported the best success when jigging aggressively and then slowing down the cadence of the jig as fish approached.

Yellow perch anglers reported fair to good fishing. Anglers used wigglers and minnows fished on tungsten jigs and small spoons in the upper bay. The mud flats and the shallows near the Days River were productive.

Les Cheneaux Islands: Anglers in Musky Bay caught good numbers of pike, with a few keeper-sized fish being reported. Urie Bay produced a few perch but overall was a slow start to the late perch ice fishing. Government Bay also produced a few perch as well as pike. Moscoe Channel saw some fishing pressure, with very few fish being caught.

In Hessel, anglers reported a good number of perch and a couple of anglers hitting their limits of cisco. Splake fishing continued to be slow. Anglers reported a good amount of ice still but was continuing to melt with the warm weather.

Munising: The coho salmon and perch bite was good for anglers throughout the bay. Whitefish and Splake were targeted with moderate success. Anglers reported good amounts of smelt and reported catching a few burbot. Popular baits included minnows and wax worms.

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers reported fair to good numbers of lake trout, cisco, and coho salmon being caught. Success was also reported by those targeting burbot and smelt during the last week. Some anglers had mixed success while splake fishing, with most fish being undersized. Whitefish anglers reported slow fishing. Common baits among successful anglers included minnows, spawn, cut herring, and smelt.

Marquette: The Chocolay River saw a good number of anglers, with one reporting a very nice brown trout. There were several coho salmon caught out on the breakwall that were small, but in good numbers. The Carp River was a little too shallow for anglers but once the snow and ice melted during the warm-up, the river saw a good increase in depth.

Au Train: Au Train produced a good number of coho salmon for anglers. Anglers reported catching the majority by the mouth of the river on the ice cliffs. Most were caught with either jigs with wax worms or floating eggs.

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Fishing tip: Be cautious!

Late ice conditions can change quickly in March. Anglers should check ice thickness often, especially near shorelines, river mouths, and pressure cracks where ice tends to weaken first.

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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.