Anglers fishing Michigan’s rivers this spring may unexpectedly find themselves with a lake sturgeon on the line. While encountering one of these iconic fish can be memorable and exciting, special regulations exist for lake sturgeon, and fishing for lake sturgeon is prohibited except in a few locations in the state. Any lake sturgeon incidentally caught while targeting other species must be immediately released.

See page 15 of the Michigan Fishing Regulations for lake sturgeon regulations. Anglers can report incidental (unintentional) capture of lake sturgeon and report illegal harvesting or targeting of lake sturgeon at Michigan.gov/EyesInTheField or by calling the DNR’s Report All Poaching hotline: 800-292-7800.

All anglers ages 17 and older are required to have a fishing license to fish public waters in Michigan.

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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Eastern Saginaw Bay: Along the east side of the bay all the cuts, rivers and marinas are high and dirty from the recent rains over the end of last week and into the weekend.

Saginaw River: After the recent heavy rains, the Saginaw River ran high, fast and dirty, making it difficult to fish.

Lake Huron: Weather conditions for fishing were not ideal. Harbor Beach, Grindstone and Port Austin did not seen any fishing pressure. There were a couple of days when some anglers were able to fish in Port Sanilac and Lexington, with a handful of coho salmon and rainbow trout caught from the docks in Lexington; popular bait included wax worms, minnows, and night crawlers using bobbers.

A few boats anglers were able to make it out, but the lake was stirred up and dirty. Port Sanilac had a few anglers fishing from the breakwall, also fishing mostly with live bait.

Lake Erie: Walleye were biting but the wind whipped up the sediment in the water, making fishing slow. Those with the most success trolled with artificial lures on planar boards, at a speed slightly faster than 1.3mph, 25 feet behind the board, in 15 feet of water. Sliver was a popular color.

Lower Saginaw Bay: Weather continued to affect the fishing. The Saginaw Bay and the mouth of the river was nothing but mud.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

South Haven: With rough storms all week, very few boat anglers made it out. There were a few lake trout and coho salmon caught before the stormy weather. Pier fishing was a little slow. There were some fish being caught but the water was dirty. All the coho salmon and steelhead caught were caught on spawn and shrimp.

St. Joseph: The lake conditions kept almost all the boat anglers off the lake. Pier anglers had very inconsistent fishing. Anglers caught coho salmon, brown trout and whitefish on spawn and shrimp. Timing was also inconsistent, with the morning being good one day then the afternoon the next.

St. Joseph River: The river ran very high and fast, making fishing very difficult.

Muskegon: Pier anglers continued to catch a few brown trout and steelhead on spawn. When the weather allowed, a few boats ventured out. Boat anglers trolling the shoreline for brown trout and steelhead had little luck. Popular lures included chartreuse or orange body baits.

Grand Haven: Pier anglers caught a few brown trout and coho salmon on spawn. The water clarity continued to be poor with all the recent rains.

Black River: The high amount of rain raised river levels a lot. Steelhead fishing was very slow.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Tawas/Au Gres: Lake trout and brown trout were caught by those fishing the pier. Those who tried the Tawas River caught suckers. In Au Gres, the rivers were running dirty and fast but cleared up a bit. Boat anglers that managed to get out on the water reported slow fishing.

Thunder Bay River: The river launch dock is now in allowing boats to launch. The river remains high multiple gates open at the dam. Steelhead fishing has improved over the last week from the 9th Street Dam to Rotary Park. Drifting beads and spawn had the most success on and off throughout the day. A few fish were caught while casting spinners with orange and blue/silver being the best colors.

Cheboygan: Over the past week, Cheboygan saw a lot of cold weather and rainfall. Those conditions kept the fishing pressure low on the Cheboygan River. Those fighting the cold have been targeting steelhead at the Cheboygan Dam spillway and the wooden piers behind the paper mill. Anglers have been successful while floating spawn bags and beads. Cheboygan county boat launches and cleaning stations are closed. Cheboygan City Boat Launch by the ball fields has opened.

Rogers City: Snow continued to deny access to the launch ramps.

Presque Isle: The boat launch ramp parking was full of snow, but it was slowly melting. Both lighthouses and access to Lake Huron were blocked by snow.

Ocqouec River: Before the large rains, anglers reported catching a couple of steelhead. Drifting spawn bags and beads in the holes were reported the most successful. The mouth of the river was still packed with snow and tough to fish.

Alpena: Fishing activity was slow the past week. Several anglers casting from the pier reported no luck. A handful of boat anglers tried their luck targeting walleye along the pier and river mouth with no success. A few smallmouth bass were caught near the cement plant, along with a few Atlantic salmon. The harbor boat launch remained iced in.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Manistee: Steelhead and a brown trout were caught off the north and south piers while using spawn, but fishing overall was very slow. There was nothing on the stub pier and no boating activity to report.

Ludington: No fishing report due to bad wind, wave conditions and low activity.

Charlevoix: Little fishing pressure due to bad weather and ice. Medusa boat launch has potential boating and shore access, while Ferry Beach Launch in Lake Charlevoix was still frozen over. The Pine River Channel was open.

Little Traverse Bay: The bay was still completely frozen over, giving no access to boating activity. Water levels in the Bear River were high, giving limited access to steelhead fishing. The mouth of the river had some fishing opportunities, with very limited access to the Petoskey breakwall.

West Grand Traverse Bay: There was still some ice locking up most of the bay early this week, which kept fishing activity to a minimum. Steelhead were caught on the Boardman River by those drifting beads or spawn bags. The recent rains spiked the water levels making fishing more difficult, but some anglers still found success.

East Grand Traverse Bay: No activity on the bay this week as the shore ice has all of the launches locked up.

Leland: The harbor was free of ice, along with the pier heads. The boat launch was not in the water. Weather conditions limited fishing activity.

Northport/Suttons Bay: The boat launch in Suttons Bay was not in the water. However, the Northport launch was open. Suttons Bay was completely locked up with ice. High winds pushed ice shelves from the east side of Grand Traverse Bay to Northport.

Frankfort/Lake Michigan: Pier anglers reported moderate numbers of steelhead with an occasional brown trout off both the Elberta and Frankfort piers hitting on spawn. Boat anglers reported low fishing activity while trolling the shoreline and between the piers.

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Upper Peninsula

Little Bay de Noc: Anglers reported slow fishing for yellow perch, and any fish they did mark were lethargic, barely going after their lures. Anglers reported the most success on wigglers, with some bites coming on minnows.

Munising: Anglers did well targeting coho salmon and smelt throughout the bay with cisco also being caught. The splake and whitefish bite was slow, while the perch bite was reported fair. Anglers reported luck at night when targeting burbot in the bay. Popular baits included eggs and minnows.

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers reported good numbers of coho salmon with a few cisco being caught. Anglers targeting splake and perch saw slow fishing, with many fish being undersized. Anglers also reported success targeting smelt at night. Successful baits included wax worms, minnows and spawn. 

Marquette: This week was slow for fishing in all areas due to ice from the storms that hit the region. There were a few coho salmon caught out on the breakwall on days when the ice allowed anglers to cast into the lake. This occurred toward the end of the week when the sun came out and some of the ice melted. There were also a few brown trout and steelhead caught on the breakwall.

The Carp River was still too shallow and icy early in the week; if fishing around the mouth was not productive, anglers tried moving further upstream.

The Chocolay River was slow again this week since water levels had dropped. Boat anglers reported going upriver once the ice pushed out and the river mouth opened up.

Au Train: The Au Train River mouth opened back up and was fishable as of Sunday. The fish that were caught this month have all been caught out by the mouth of the river on the ice cliffs. Most were caught with either jigs with wax worms or floating spawn eggs.

Ontonagon River: Docks remain out of the water at the Ontonagon Marina Boat Launch. Angling efforts on the river were slow over the past week.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Docks remain out of the water at each of these locations. Access to Union Bay is restricted by remaining ice pack. The mouth of the Big Iron River in Silver City is still obstructed by ice drifts from upstream. The marina in Ontonagon is still frozen over with a thin layer of ice. The fish cleaning station at the Ontonagon Marina also remains closed for the winter season.

Black River Harbor: Amenities at the harbor remained closed from the winter season. The access to the lake from the harbor was restricted by significant ice pack. Fishing efforts were slow. The harbor breakwalls were still completely covered in ice and snow.

St. Ignace: The St. Ignace boat launch, Carp River, and Pine River sites were inaccessible, as all roads and parking lots were impassable due to snow accumulation.

Grand Marais: Fishing pressure was low this past week. The Sucker River was still iced in along with most of the fishing pier and bay.

Les Cheneaux Islands/Detour: The only fishing activity taking place in these areas was still ice fishing. Both launches in DeTour were highly inaccessible.

In Hessel, anglers ventured out on snowmobiles around Hessel Bay, catching some perch and smelt. There was very little fishing activity throughout the area due to ice, rain, spring break, and the holiday weekend. There were still a few anglers venturing out into Urie and Musky Bay, catching a few perch but having a hard time finding them.

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Fishing tip: Early spring fishing

In April, anglers should focus on warming water and changing conditions, as fish like steelhead, coho salmon, and brown trout become more active after a few sunny days; target river mouths, shallow shorelines, and darker-bottom areas that warm up faster.

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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.