Upper Peninsula Weekly Fishing Report – April 12, 2023

Fishing Tip: Eyes in the Field

What’s this oily sheen in the water? If it shatters when you poke it with a stick, it’s likely due to natural bacterial processes. If it clings together, take a picture, note your location and report it to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy's Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS).

Little Bay de Noc: Anglers were done ice fishing the bay and awaiting the end of any remaining ice.

Big Bay de Noc: Shoreline ice remains in Ognontz Bay, while ice in Garden Bay was melting and will likely be open soon.

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: All ice has been cleared from Lake Superior in Keweenaw Bay and nearly all ice has left Huron Bay. Anglers were out sporadically with some luck fishing for whitefish in the mornings. All fish were caught near bottom however numbers were low. With temperatures on the rise and snow melting, anglers expect fish to be near river mouths and fishing to continue to pick up as the weather moves fully into spring.

Traverse Bays/ Portage Canal: Launches have begun to open as the waterways near the canal and the Big Traverse River are open. No successful fishing reports were reported. Anglers anticipate fishing to pick up as the water and weather warms and ice leaves the canal fully.

Au Train: The dock was in at the Brownstone and there were a couple boats out throughout the week in Au Train. Boat anglers had success catching coho salmon near Au Train Island while trolling spoons. There were no reports of any fish being caught from the mouth of the Rock River and no reports of any fish from within the river.

Les Cheneaux/Detour: The ice was slowly breaking up and started to crystalize making it unsafe. There were a couple people who fell through in Musky Bay - please use caution. The boat launches and piers were not fishable yet either.

Marquette: Fishing activity increased in the Marquette area. Boat anglers in lower harbor were successful with catching coho salmon while trolling bright colored spoons. Anglers fishing from the breakwall had some success catching coho while using spoons and spinners. In the Carp River, some coho were caught from the mouth and a few rainbow trout were caught while drifting spawn in the river.

Grand Marais: Fishing pressure was low. The pier had a huge ice cap covering the end of the pier. Most of the front section was still ice and snow covered – however with warmer weather predicted and south winds this could change in the coming weeks opening up pier area for fishing. A few boat anglers were out over the weekend with scattered reports of coho, brown trout, rainbow trout caught while trolling with small crankbaits. Anglers were mainly trolling in shallow water. A few anglers were out on the pier and reported a few catches of coho while using spawn.

Munising Bay: Fishing pressure increased over the past few days however reports were scattered. Anglers reported only a few catches of coho and herring. Ice conditions were dwindling. Ice was still present off the Anna, but a large majority of the bay was open.

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.