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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie: Several boat anglers were catching walleye around Stony Point. Anglers were trolling Bandits 60 to 110 feet back in 24 to 26 feet of water. A lot of fish were marked, but slow and steady action.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

Grand River: Boat and wade anglers were catching steelhead below the 6th Street Dam. Drifting spawn on bottom or under bobber was working best. The bite should get better with forecasted warmer weather.

Kalamazoo River: Boat anglers were targeting steelhead and were doing well before the colder weather. Drifting spawn on bottom or under a bobber worked well below the Allegan Dam and along shore. Boat anglers had some success between the dam and the M-89 Bridge using plugs and drifting spawn.

St. Joseph River: Boat anglers targeting steelhead were catching fish below the Berrien Springs Dam and in the lower river near I-94 Bridge. Plugs and back drifting spawn were working the best with some boats trolling upstream with plugs in slower current areas. The Benton Township Launch is closed.

Muskegon: Lake whitefish action slowed down in the channel. A few were caught using small jigging spoons.

Grand Haven: Anglers jigging in the channel found the lake whitefish action to be very slow.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Houghton Lake: Anglers were catching walleye, pike and bass in East Bay. Anglers were also catching crappie in the canals.

East Branch Au Gres River: A couple steelhead were caught but success was spotty.

Tawas: Anglers were catching whitefish from the Tawas State Dock.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Manistee: Steelhead fishing was fair. Low and clear water conditions have made fishing tough for the last couple of weeks, but some fish were caught.

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Upper Peninsula

Menominee River: Brown trout have moved into the lower Menominee River. Anglers casting from shore using spoons and spinners were having most success.

Little Bay de Noc: Docks were pulled out from launch sites at Ford River, Rapid River and Farmers Dock. Access docks that were still in as of Nov. 28 were at Aronson Island, Hunter’s Point, Gladstone, Kipling and one dock remained at the North Shore boat launch.

Big Bay de Noc: Ogontz boat launch was the only one on the Bay that had not yet been pulled. However, some skim ice was present around the dock.

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Fishing Tip: Where to find northern pike in Michigan

Most places in the state are seeing cold temperatures, but fishing for northern pike will continue to pick up. Pike are extremely popular during the ice fishing season but are readily available throughout much of the year.

There are many notable northern pike fisheries located throughout Michigan, including on Muskegon, Portage and Manistee lakes and Michigamme and Houghton lakes. But this species can be found in many other lakes and virtually all larger rivers in the state.

Please note there are many regulations for northern pike regarding minimum size and possession limit. Be sure to read up on this species in the current Michigan Fishing Guide and on the northern pike page on our website.

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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.