Weekly Fishing Report
Oct. 17, 2013
 Lake Whitefish: not just for commercial anglers!
Although
extremely important to Great Lakes commercial fishers, lake whitefish are
becoming more and more popular with recreational anglers throughout Michigan.
But you really have to know how to catch this delicious species!
The
lake whitefish has a small, exceedingly delicate mouth and is confined to
dining on insects, freshwater shrimp, small fish and fish eggs, and bottom
organisms. Most feeding takes place on or near lake-bottoms. Keep that in mind
when selecting your bait.
If
you’re interested in staying inland and looking for lake whitefish, stick with
deep, clear-water lakes. If you’re interested in heading to the Great Lakes
they can most often be found in deep water, either on or near the bottom.
For more information on fishing for lake whitefish
visit the Michigan Fish and How to Catch Them webpage.
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 Great Lakes Temperature Map
Click on the links below to jump to the report section that interests you most.
Lake Erie: Perch fishing has been hit-or-miss. The majority of catches came near the Fermi
Power Plant in 24 to 26 feet however fish were also caught around Turtle
Island, buoys 3 and 4 off the River Raisin and the Dumping Grounds, which are
east of Luna Pier in 11 to 15 feet of water. Try husky jerks and body baits.
Detroit River: Anglers
caught perch near the Cross-Dike across from Sugar Island.
Lake St. Clair: Has very good smallmouth bass fishing. Perch fishing continues to get better between
Nine Mile Road and Twelve Mile Road and off Grosse Pointe.
St. Clair River: Has good walleye fishing at Port Huron. Anglers are vertical jigging late at
night. Catch and release sturgeon
anglers are doing well near Algonac.
Lexington: Salmon are in the harbor but they will not bite. Those fishing at night have managed to catch
the occasional salmon or brown trout.
Boat anglers report large schools of baitfish in 30 to 35 feet.
Saginaw Bay: Catch rates for perch have increased somewhat off
Linwood in 15 to 18 feet. Some reported
30 to 35 fish per boat however they are sorting out the small ones. No shore fishing for perch yet as that
usually picks up right around deer season in November. Boat anglers fishing off Quanicassee caught a
few perch.
A few boats launching from
Bay Port and heading across the bay to Au Gres were bringing back about 30
perch. At Caseville, dredging in the
channel continues so fishing was slow.
Those perch fishing off Oak Point did well one day but caught nothing
the next. A majority of the boats were duck
hunters.
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Kalamazoo
River: Continues
to produce chinook and coho up near the Allegan Dam. Many are turning dark. Steelhead are starting to show up.
Calhoun County: Fishing is slow on most of the
inland lakes. Duck Lake and Gang Lake
were producing a few nice panfish. Prairie
Lake had bluegills and perch.
Holland: Water
temperatures were still on warm side so the trout and salmon are out in waters
120 to 150 feet. Pier anglers are
floating spawn for steelhead however catch rates were slow because of the warm
water.
Grand Haven: Boat
anglers were fishing in waters 100 to 160 feet.
Most fish were taken in the 120 to 150 range. Fish have been caught on magnum or small
spoons, spinnies and flies. Hot colors
were green, blue and orange. Pier
anglers are trying for steelhead however the warm water makes fishing more
difficult.
Grand River at Lansing:
Has salmon however anglers
are having little success.
Looking Glass River: Is producing a few panfish
and bass. A good number of pike have
been caught near Babcock’s Landing.
Jackson County: Inland lakes were producing
bluegills.
Muskegon River: Is
still producing some large chinook salmon though many are turning dark. Catch rates for steelhead are increasing as
more fish move in. A few nice brown
trout have also been caught.
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Rogers
City: The adult salmon run is pretty much done however those
still heading out have done well for younger salmon and steelhead when trolling
small spoons halfway down in 50 to 90 feet.
Lead core of 3, 5, and 7 colors worked well. Good colors are green, blue, orange, black or
white with silver, red and white or anything that glows early or late. The bite was best the last couple hours of
daylight or just as the sun comes up in Swan Bay or between US-23 and Forty
Mile Point.
Presque Isle:
Boat
anglers will want to try straight out of the harbor and north between the two
lighthouses. Try halfway down in 50 to
90 feet the last couple hours before dark or as the sun comes up.
Thunder Bay River: A large number of salmon are
very dark and spawning. Fish are still
being caught by those drifting flies or spawn along the bottom.
Harrisville: Salmon
are working their way into the harbor slowly but consistently. Some are still fairly fresh, but most are
starting to turn. Early morning and
evening was the best time to fish with spawn, spoons or body baits. Walleye are coming into the harbor in the
late evening. Fish were caught on body
baits.
Oscoda: Fish
caught from the pier are still in good shape and hitting on spoons or body
baits. The occasional walleye has been
picked up by anglers targeting salmon or steelhead.
Au Sable River: More
anglers are heading upriver now that the Foote Dam area is open. Fish up near the dam are starting to turn
dark but were still in good shape. Try
floating spawn. Steelhead are making
their way into the river and the number of fish will only increase as we move
towards November.
Tawas: Had
very little boat activity. Fishing in
the harbor and off the piers was slow.
Tawas
River: Is
still producing salmon in the lower river at night.
Au
Gres: Perch
fishing picked up with anglers taking up to 25 fish ranging 7 to 11
inches. Most were caught out near the
shipping channel in 35 to 45 feet.
Au
Gres River: Is
producing salmon and steelhead down at the Singing Bridge and for those
surfcasting. For the steelhead, try
drifting spawn.
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Petoskey: Had very few anglers. The marina is still being dredged and the
dock has been pulled. A couple steelhead
were caught on spawn near the mouth of the river.
Bear River: Catch rates for
chinook have dropped. The leftover fish
are in pretty rough shape. A limited number
of coho and steelhead were caught on fresh spawn.
Charlevoix: Smallmouth bass
fishing is still good in the channel. Try
crawlers, leeches, or scented rubber baits.
Perch anglers were straight out from the pier in 80 feet but all they
caught was gobies. The few fish in
Medusa Creek are in bad shape.
Traverse City:
The East Bay has steady
smallmouth bass fishing. Try plastics
such as darters or tube baits in 20 to 40 feet.
A few perch and cisco were caught.
Perch fishing was slow in the West Bay but smallmouth bass were caught
in 25 to 35 feet.
Elk River: The chinook salmon run is past its peak. Steelhead and the occasional coho and lake
trout were caught on spawn bags near the power dam. Salmon have also hit on deep diving crank baits.
Boardman River: The salmon run is winding down. Anglers are now catching the occasional
steelhead or lake trout when drifting spawn.
Frankfort: Water temperatures are starting to drop. Steelhead were caught on fresh spawn. Try to keep the weeds off your line.
Betsie
River: Is still producing chinook and coho however catch
rates have slowed.
Onekama: Dredging
in the channel is done. Anglers are now
targeting coho and steelhead in front of the piers.
Portage
Lake: Bass anglers are still picking up large and
smallmouth along the south wall and the drop-offs. Strong winds made it hard for those pan
fishing.
Manistee: Pier
anglers and those surfcasting are starting to catch steelhead on spawn. Boat anglers are catching salmon and
steelhead 80 to 140 feet down in 300 to 500 feet of water when using green or
blue spoons. A couple steelhead were
caught on orange spoons in the top 40 feet.
Manistee
River: More steelhead are starting to show
up.
Ludington: Pier anglers are starting to catch steelhead on spawn. Those heading out to waters 200 to 400 feet
deep found fish 80 to 130 feet down when using green flies or spoons.
Pere Marquette River: Is
still producing some big chinook though many have turned dark. More steelhead are starting to show up.
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Marquette: Boat anglers caught chinook, coho,
steelhead and lake trout just outside the lower harbor breakwall in 40 to 50
fee or up near the mouth of the rivers with spoons, stick baits or crank baits. Pier anglers caught coho and lake trout.
Dead River: Fishing pressure decreased as catch
rates slowed.
Carp
River: Shore anglers reported fair catches of coho. A couple steelhead were caught. Most are casting spoons and crank baits or
floating spawn.
Chocolay
River: Is still producing some coho in certain sections of
the river. Anglers are using spinners or
stick baits. Those using spawn bags had
no luck.
Menominee:
Walleye were caught off the
Cedar River when trolling crawler harnesses or rapalas. Channel cats, pike and smallmouth bass were
caught. A few were salmon fishing near the
rapids in the river but none were caught.
Menominee
River: Those
targeting trout and salmon are fishing off Stephenson Island and up near the
Hattie Street Dam. Some are drifting
spawn and yarn while others are casting spoons.
Shore anglers downstream of Stephenson Island caught channel cats,
smallmouth bass and yellow perch when drifting crawlers. Those trolling after dark caught some walleye
on crawler harnesses or stick baits.
Little
Bay De Noc: Those
pre-fishing for the walleye tournament caught fish but they would not say
where. Perch fishing was fair near
Kipling in 10 to 23 feet, and off Brach’s Cabins in 14 to 17 feet. Try crawlers and minnows. Good smallmouth action off the Farmer’s Dock
in 18 to 35 feet with minnows, tube baits, or spinners.
Escanaba
River: Shore
anglers caught salmon near the 1st Dam. A good number of fish are making their way up
into the river. Most are casting spoons,
spinners or crank baits. Rock bass were
also caught.
Big
Bay De Noc: No
walleye to report but smallmouth bass fishing was fair to good off Garden Bluff. Anglers are drifting minnows 15 to 30 feet
down along the drop-off.
Munising: Boat anglers targeting coho reported fair catch
rates. Some were able to get one or two
fish but some returned empty-handed. Pier
anglers caught coho, splake and the occasional steelhead. Splake were hitting primarily on spawn.
Grand Marais: Pier
fishing was light and unproductive.
Those trolling near the mouth of the Sucker River caught the occasional
coho or steelhead. Shore anglers fishing
the mouth of the Sucker River report low catch rates.
St. Mary’s River: Had fair perch fishing. Extra water being released from the power
plant in Sault Ste. Marie is forcing perch away from the main channel and into
the bays off the shipping channel.
DeTour: Boat anglers are targeting
walleye along the reefs and Moon Island.
A few limit catches of yellow perch were reported.
Drummond Island: Anglers are catching yellow
perch in 12 to 14 feet of water around Ashman Island, Grape Island and Peck
Island. Most are using shiners.
Cedarville and Hessel:
Yellow perch are biting on the east end of Hessel Bay,
Snows Channel, Middle Entrance and Musky Bay.
Try crawlers or minnows in 6 to 11 feet of water. Pike fishing has been very good for those
casting chubs in shallow water. Bass
fishing continues to be good.
Carp River:
Anglers
are fishing from the mouth upstream to the McDonald Rapids. They are catching chinook and steelhead
though the chinook are starting to deteriorate.
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