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:

Many anglers will tell you that, as fall rolls in, the fishing gets better and better. But why is this?

There isn’t much formal research to answer that question, but several factors could be contributing to this influx of angling opportunities: forage availability, dropping water temperatures, fish movement, or oxygen availability.

Some say it could just be related to less fishing pressure and/or better angling techniques.

The bottom line is, that if you don’t consider fall to be an ideal time to go fishing, you may want to rethink that sentiment. Some of the biggest crappie, muskellunge, walleye, and smallmouth bass can be found in the fall – don’t you want to experience that?

Little Bay de Noc

Northern pike anglers reported mixed results and encountered fish both in the shallows and deeper waters. Anglers targeting yellow perch were contacting a few schools, but fishing was slow overall. Anglers fishing near drop-offs or in shallow areas near aquatic vegetation had limited results. Anglers targeting walleye reported slow action but anticipated fishing to improve as walleye transition into their typical fall patterns. Some salmon were reported in the tributaries.

Big Bay de Noc

Smallmouth bass anglers reported tough fishing conditions that made it difficult to stay on a good bite. However, anglers who were able to find fish reported catching quality-sized fish. Yellow perch fishing was slow.

Carp River and Nunns Creek

Both the Carp River and Nunns Creek were producing fish, but Nunns Creek was more popular for fishing. Anglers used lures such as jointed crankbaits or spoons while wading at Nunns Creek, though fresh spawn was equally as effective. At the Carp River, lures were much less productive than drifting spawn. Many anglers saw lots of Chinook while wading the Carp River but struggled to get them to bite.

Fairport

Anglers reported some perch activity, but success varied day to day.

Marquette

Anglers reported that the best place for catching lake trout was near the northeast side of the White Islands. Warm weather seemed to push fish back out into deeper waters. Anglers who were trolling in 120 to 180 feet of water caught the most lake trout near the White Islands, while anglers who trolled for lake trout around Granite Rock had the most luck trolling or jigging at around 120 to 200 feet of water. Anglers reported catching Chinook and coho salmon in 100 or more feet of water. Watermelon, silver and red multicolored spoons, cowbells, and bright green and blue flasher flies were good lures for lake trout while gold spoons, lime or green crankbaits, and moonshine glows were hot colors for salmon.

Au Train

Several anglers reported catching near their limit of lake trout. Fish were being caught in deeper water, with the best places for anglers to catch fish being near the northwest side of Au Train Island and out toward the Shelter Bay clay banks. Green spin and glows at around 80 to 120 feet were successful for lake trout by the clay banks. Anglers who were trolling or jigging in 70 to 120 feet of water or were trolling along the flats caught the most lake trout. Also, trolling cowbells in around 145 feet of water with sucker meat or smelt had good success for some anglers north of Au Train Island. Chinook and coho salmon were caught at around 70 feet of water while trolling at a slower speed of around 1.8 mph. Anglers reported that black/gold or orange spoons and a pink flasher fly were hot for the coho and Chinook.

Manistique

No report.

St. Ignance

No report.

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay

Anglers were mostly catching lake trout, with some salmon species caught but in fewer numbers. Angling pressure declined; however, those who caught fish were trolling mostly with artificial lures and fished through all hours of the day. Anglers found fish near the top and bottom of the water column!

Les Cheneaux/Detour

No report.

Big Traverse Bay/South Portage Canal

Fishing pressure was down, but anglers were still catching good numbers of lake trout when targeting them. Anglers who trolled for lake trout and salmon caught less salmon compared to lake trout. Most fishing was done with artificial lures such as spoons and flies. Anglers reported the mornings as being the most successful time to fish, with fishing beginning to slow around 11 a.m.

Pine and Rivers

No report.

Munising Bay

Fishing pressure was low, with few boats making it out. Anglers had low success, with very few coho reported. Splake success continued to be low. Shore anglers off the Anna River and Bay Furnace reported poor success as well.

Grand Marais

Fishing pressure continued to be low. A few local boat anglers made it out, but success was very low for coho. Anglers did report catching a few lake trout.

Ontonagon River

Fishing on the river was somewhat slow. Some anglers had luck in finding a few walleye and the occasional yellow perch. Jigging and trolling yielded similar results for the majority of anglers. Successful trips occurred mostly in the morning hours, with the bite seeming to slow as the day went on.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay

Fishing was good from these ports, with anglers bringing in mixed bags of lake trout, coho salmon and the occasional brown trout. Reports show that anglers had luck catching fish at all times of the day. Trolling artificial lures across a variety of depths was the key to success for many, as it seemed the fish were dispersed randomly throughout the water column. 

Black River Harbor

Anglers had good luck fishing from the harbor, with good numbers of lake trout and an occasional coho or Chinook salmon being caught. Fish were caught by anglers in a variety of depths while trolling artificial lures. However, shallower waters seemed to yield slightly more success. Reports show that successful trips occurred at all times of the day. 

Escanaba

No report.

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