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.
Fishing tip:
Fall is a great time to target smallmouth bass with Great Lakes pier fishing, a tactic underutilized by many anglers. As the lakes and rivers cool, minnows will congregate around the piers. Large, educated river smallmouth migrating downstream in the fall often will drop their guard when gorging on minnows at the river mouth, allowing some very nice fish that otherwise would be very slow to bite to be taken on minnows.
Little Bay de Noc
Some salmon remained in the tributaries. Fishing pressure on the lake was noticeably down. Anglers targeting walleye reported fair fishing. Methods used included drifting and trolling crawler harnesses, as well as jigging reaction baits or jig heads. Yellow perch fishing was reported as fair to good.
Big Bay de Noc
Angler activity was down. Those who did venture out reported good smallmouth bass fishing. Anglers reported catching small numbers of yellow perch, but they had to work hard for those bites.
Carp River and Nunns Creek
No report.
Fairport
No report.
Marquette
Anglers reported that the best place for catching lake trout was near the north side of the White Islands. Anglers who trolled in 120 to 140 feet of water caught the most lake trout near the White Islands. Anglers who trolled for lake trout around Granite Rock had the most luck trolling or jigging at around 140 to 200 feet of water. The numbers of Chinook and coho salmon caught began to rise, and they were caught between 40 to 70 feet of water mostly by the Chocolay River and out toward Shot Point. Pink salmon were still being caught at the mouth of the Carp River. Anglers reported watermelon, multicolored spoons, Bite Me Elmo, and bright green as being good lures for lake trout while gold spoons, bright lime or orange, and moonshine glows were good colors for salmon.
Au Train
Au Train saw a major decrease in anglers, but almost everyone who did make it out seemed to catch near their limit of lake trout. The coho and Chinook salmon started to see a resurgence in numbers being caught. Anglers seemed to have the most success when focusing their fishing in 40 to 70 feet of water. The best places for anglers to catch fish were near the northwest side of Au Train Island and out toward the Shelter Bay Flats. Anglers trolling between 70 to 120 feet of water saw excellent lake trout numbers, while anglers fishing for salmon were in the 40 to 70 feet of water depth range. Anglers reported trolling or jigging bright green or orange/silver spoons or green flasher flies as working well.
Manistique
No report.
St. Ignance
No report.
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay
No report.
Les Cheneaux/Detour
Fishing in both ports was extremely slow. However, there were some reports of Chinook and pink salmon swimming around the marina in Hessel.
Big Traverse Bay/South Portage Canal
No report.
Pine and Rivers
No report.
Munising Bay
No report.
Grand Marais
No report.
Ontonagon River
Inclement weather limited opportunities for those looking to fish the river. The few anglers who did get out had some luck in finding walleye. Successful trips occurred throughout the day when conditions permitted. Reports show that the methods of jigging and trolling yielded similar results.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay
These ports saw little fishing effort due to recent rains and high winds on the lake. Anglers who took advantage of weather windows brought in good numbers of lake trout. Trolling artificial lures across a variety of depths was the key to success, as anglers reported catching fish throughout the water column. Anglers caught fish at all times of day when the weather permitted.
Black River Harbor
Fishing efforts out of the harbor were very low as a result of recent harsh weather. Very few anglers made it out on the lake, but those who did reported catching decent numbers of lake trout. These successful trips occurred at all times of day, weather permitting. Reports show that fish were caught in a variety of depths when trolling artificial lures.
Escanaba
No report.
