U.P. weekly fishing report
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.
Little Bay de Noc
Walleye anglers reported catching a few fish in the 15 to 19-inch range. Trolling crawler harnesses and jigging near the black bottom and the Escanaba River produced fair results. Some yellow perch were harvested; despite low numbers of fish being harvested, the perch were a nice size, around 10 inches.
Big Bay de Noc
Smallmouth bass anglers reported good fishing. Casting soft plastics with a natural color pattern was what most anglers used with good success. Walleye anglers reported slow fishing.
Fairport
Chinook salmon fishing was good. Anglers were catching a mixture of year classes with plenty of adults being reported. Average water surface temperatures were around 69 degrees.
Marquette
The best places for anglers to catch was near Granite Rock and between Presque Isle pier and the White Islands. Anglers trolling around 45 to 120 feet of water were harvesting the most lake trout, Chinook, and coho salmon near the White Islands. While anglers trolling for lake trout around Granite Rock were having the most luck trolling at around 120 to 150 feet of water. Gold-colored spoons and silver crankbaits with raspberry accents were good colors out by Granite Rock while either bright green or bluish flasher flies were popular for lake trout and coho near the White Rocks.
Au Train
The best place for anglers to catch fish was near the east side of Grand Island. Anglers trolling or jigging around 60 to 80 feet of water near Grand Island were harvesting the most lake trout. Trolling bright green spoons, crankbaits, or cowbells around Grand Island were common baits.
Manistique
No report.
St. Ignance
Walleye fishing in the Pine River appeared to have slowed down. Anglers were targeting walleye upstream from the boat launch as opposed to at the mouth. Boat anglers on the Carp River were targeting northern pike at the river mouths in weed beds of Saint Martin Bay. Salmon and trout fishing were decent around the Straits area. Anglers were fishing around Mackinaw/Round Island. Most catches were lake trout and Chinook but other species were present.
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay
Anglers were able to catch Chinook and coho salmon however the catch was less than that of previous weeks. Some anglers were also able to find brown trout but in smaller numbers. Most anglers were able to find lake trout in a variety of depths of water and found throughout the water column. Almost every fish was caught while trolling with artificial lures. Most anglers were catching fish while trolling between 60 and 150 feet of water.
Les Cheneaux/Detour
Anglers in the Hessel area were catching a few perch using worms and leeches. There were a lot of little ones so anglers really had to pick through to get a few keepers. Anglers were catching pike in the Hessel area mostly using live bait. In Detour, anglers were catching a few herring out around the islands. They were also catching a few lake trout and Chinook salmon around the lighthouse while trolling with spoons. Anglers reported catching some walleye but they were mostly on the smaller side.
Big Traverse Bay/South Portage Canal
Anglers were catching lake trout during the last week and some salmon. The salmon catch slowed down somewhat from previous weeks however some were still being caught. Most fish were caught while trolling and most boat anglers were running spoons and flies. Anglers were trolling anywhere from 50 to 170 feet of water and finding fish throughout.
Pine River
No report.
Carp River
No report.
Munising Bay
No report.
Grand Marais
No report.
Ontonagon River
Fishing on the river slowed as a result of recent weather causing poor fishing conditions and limiting the opportunities for anglers to get out. A combination of trolling and jigging yielded the best results for the anglers that were able to get out on the water. Successful trips consisted of a few walleye harvested with an occasional rock bass caught as well. Fish were reported to be caught at all times of the day.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay
Access to the lake from these ports was somewhat limited over the past week. This was due to occasional storms along with recent winds that caused rough waters for fishing. On some of the nicer days, anglers were able to find respectable numbers of lake trout with a few coho salmon thrown in the mix. Angler reports showed that successful trips involved trolling artificial lures across a wide range of depths. Catches occurred at all times of the day.
Black River Harbor
Over the past week, the harbor had lower fishing efforts. This was perhaps due to recent winds on the lake limiting accessibility for smaller vessels. Despite the weather, fishing was relatively good with consistent lake trout and coho salmon catches. Anglers found success in trolling artificial lures across a wide variety of depths and at all times of the day.
