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 fair to good fishing at black bottom, as well as the Escanaba River. Trolling crawler harnesses along the bottom produced good eater-sized walleye. A few perch were harvested.
Big Bay de Noc
Smallmouth bass fishing improved. Drop shot rigs and tube jigs were all producing fish.
Fairport
Salmon and steelhead were caught, with some large fish in the area. Divers and down rigger rods with flashers and flies, and long lines with spoons were reported to have bites. Anglers with an understanding of how the currents affect their lures action had more bites.
Marquette
Over the past week there was a wide range of weather from fair to bad. The weather in Marquette that gave way to the most fish was fair to moderate the day before thunderstorms. The best places for anglers to catch fish was by Granite Rock and between Presque Isle Pier and the White Islands. Anglers trolling around 45 to 60 feet of water were harvesting the most lake trout, Chinook salmon, and coho salmon near the White Islands. While anglers trolling around Granite Rock were having the most luck for lake trout were 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 reddish flasher flies were popular for lake trout near the White Rocks.
Au Train
The weather in Au Train was similar to Marquette and the days before thunderstorms yielded the most fish for anglers. The best places for anglers to catch fish was by the east side of Grand Island and the northeastern part of the Big Reef. Anglers trolling or jigging around 60 to 80 feet of water near Grand Island were harvesting the most lake trout. Anglers trolling around the Big Reef were having the most luck for lake trout when trolling at around 60 to 120 feet of water. Live bait with bright green colored cow bells where popular out by the Big Reef while jigging with live bait was popular by Grand Island along with trolling bright green and orange crankbaits.
Manistique
No report.
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay
Some anglers continued to have good catches of lake trout while other anglers reported that salmon may have started moving out of the bays and heading north. Anglers who were able to land salmon and lake trout in the bays were successful while trolling with artificial lures such as spoons, body baits and flies. Fish were reported to have been caught mostly in waters deeper than 60 feet and suspended in the water column.
Les Cheneaux/Detour
No report.
Big Traverse Bay/South Portage Canal
Over the last week, a lot of salmon, specifically coho, were seen and caught while trolling. Lake trout catches stayed steady as the main catch being found in waters from 30 feet down to the bottom of the water column in a range of depths. Anglers were using large spoons and flasher flies on successful trolling trips. Trips where anglers were catching fish took place during at all times of the day. Catches were scattered throughout the day.
Pine River
Both the Pine and Carp rivers were producing some walleye, but neither were very busy. The Carp River had more walleye now than a few weeks ago but the Pine River was more productive overall. Good numbers of lake trout and Chinook salmon were caught in the Straits area and around the various islands. The salmon fishing picked up earlier in the summer compared to last year. The occasional Atlantic salmon, steelhead, pink salmon or coho was also caught.
Carp River
See Pine River.
Munising Bay
Fishing pressure was low for boat anglers. Most fishing activity occurred in the early morning when anglers were mainly targeting coho, Chinook salmon and secondary lake trout. Coho and Chinook salmon fishing continued to be good with nice quality coho averaging around 4 pounds or better with Chinook running from 8 to 12 pounds. Depths varied while some suspended 70 to 100 feet or more. Large amounts of baitfish were still present in bay. Spoons appeared to work the best. Lake trout anglers reported good catches fishing from White Rocks/Grand Portal/Grumps Hump/Wood Island Reef and Big Reef. Anglers were fishing the edges around 150 to 200 feet.
Grand Marais
Fishing pressure was low. Most boat anglers were targeting lake trout with best areas being near Five Mile Reef and AuSable Point.
Ontonagon River
River water conditions were quite dirty with limited visibility due to consistent rains over the past week. On nicer days, anglers had luck in finding some walleye and rock bass by using a combination of trolling and jigging. However, jigging seemed to be the preferred method among most and reportedly yielded higher success. Mornings were the most popular time to fish on the river, but fish were caught at all times of day.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay
Despite some poor weather conditions, anglers had no issues finding respectable numbers of lake trout with a few coho salmon thrown in the mix. Anglers reported windows of high action occurring in spurts randomly throughout the day. Successful trips involved covering a lot of water while trolling artificial lures as fish were caught across a wide range of depths.
Black River Harbor
Fishing from the harbor was good over the past week with an uptick in numbers of lake trout and coho salmon caught. Anglers were trolling artificial lures and reported fish being caught in a variety of depths and at all times of day. The most successful trips were the result of long days spent on the lake.
