Due to our seasonal creel clerks finishing up for the season, the Weekly Fishing Report will be suspended following this week’s report. Early next year, when ice fishing picks up and we begin to receive more reports, the Weekly Fishing Report will resume. In the interim, we recommend calling your local bait shop for information on current fishing conditions.

All anglers 17 years of age and older are required to have a fishing license.

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Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie: Yellow perch fishing success increased from the previous week. Anglers were still going east of Stony Point to about half a mile from the Michigan-Ohio border. Minnow rigs with feathers were the most successful, with red feathers proving to be a good color choice. Walleye started to return to Brest Bay, though inconsistently. Some anglers found success trolling for them with artificial diving lures, with black and yellow being the most productive color combination.

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Southwest Lower Peninsula

Muskegon: Pier and surf anglers targeting steelhead found the action to be slow. No lake whitefish have been reported from the channel.

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Northeast Lower Peninsula

Cheboygan: The majority of salmon were spawning and showed little interest in biting. Anglers occasionally caught salmon while floating or bottom bouncing spawn. Catch rates for steelhead increased over the past week. Steelhead anglers did best when floating beads, and those floating spawn occasionally caught fish as well.

Oscoda/Au Sable: Anglers fishing off the pier reported a slow bite last week. Smallmouth bass and channel catfish were caught on minnows off the pier head. Steelhead and coho salmon were caught by anglers bottom-bouncing or floating spawn and beads. Anglers using plugs also had success. A few Atlantic salmon were caught on streamers, spinners, and small spoons. Anglers casting Thundersticks below Foote Dam landed a few Chinook salmon.

Harrisville: Salmon were scattered around the harbor. Fishing remained somewhat slow with a few coho salmon caught on chunks of skein or small orange spoons.

Tawas/Au Gres: Not many boats went out due to the weather. Shore fishing remained slow. Only a few perch and other panfish were caught, most of which were throwbacks. Anglers reported that pier fishing for walleye in the evenings had been slow overall, with only a few being caught.

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Northwest Lower Peninsula

Manistee: When weather permitted, steelhead and a couple coho salmon were caught off the pier while using spawn. There was no action to report from beaches due to bad wave conditions early in the week.

Ludington: A few steelhead were caught from the piers while using spawn; a steelhead or two were also reported from the beaches. Those trolling for steelhead caught fish at Big Sable Point in 60 to 100 feet of water while fishing 15 to 35 feet down with orange spoons.

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Upper Peninsula

Little Bay de Noc: Yellow perch anglers reported fair to good fishing. They fished near the narrows, using perch rigs baited with minnows, and were either drifting or using spot lock to hold their position over schools of perch. Walleye anglers were primarily trolling or casting artificial baits. Reports were mixed, with some anglers struggling to find success, while others were able to catch a few. Anglers reported targeting the head of the bay and other deep structures in the upper bay. Those who trolled reported the best success during the dark hours.

Big Bay de Noc: Anglers in the garden area were primarily bass fishing. Anglers fishing along drop offs used a combination of trolling motors and wind to allow the boat to be fished parallel to the drop off. Moving slowly enough to ensure lures were fished near the bottom was key. Some anglers used live bait such as sucker minnows; others were drop shot fishing and using goby or minnow-shaped soft plastics.

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Fishing tip: Dropping water temperatures

As water temperatures continue to drop, fish metabolism slows down — meaning they won’t chase baits as aggressively. Try slowing your presentation and using smaller, natural-colored baits to match late-season forage. For walleye and perch, minnows or soft plastics worked slowly near the bottom can be especially effective. On calm days, focus on deeper structure and channel edges, where fish tend to concentrate as they transition to their winter patterns.

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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.