Here’s a look at this week’s fishing report from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources:
Little Bay de Noc: Walleye anglers reported slow fishing with some anglers targeting Black Bottom and the Narrows. Perch anglers were having good success around Butlers Island. Anglers targeting smallmouth were catching fish throughout the bay while casting soft plastics. Northern pike were caught near the water treatment plant.
Manistique: Salmon anglers reported fair to good fishing. Anglers were targeting areas near the red can and Pointe aux Barques. Flasher flies and spoons were both catching fish. Walleye anglers were having some success in the river.
Les Cheneaux/Detour: In the Les Cheneaux area, anglers were trying for perch off the pier, however having little luck. They were catching some pike early in the mornings. Anglers also reported some splake showing up in the area. A few walleye were caught within snows channel while trolling with crawler harnesses. In the Detour area, anglers were going out and catching Atlantic salmon, lake trout, Chinook salmon and coho salmon near the lighthouse while trolling with spoons. A few pink salmon were caught as well. Some anglers were going up to Drummond to catch walleye.
Marquette: Anglers fishing in the Marquette area reported catches of lake trout. The best areas for lake trout were around Shot Point and near White Rocks. For Shot Point, try trolling in 50 to 70 feet of water while using multi-color spoons or flickers. For fishing around White Rocks, try trolling in 150+ feet of water while using colorful spoon combinations. Anglers jigging with cut-baits were also successful in deep water near white rocks.
Carp & Pine rivers: Walleye fishing was up and down in both rivers on a given day, but the Pine River seemed to be producing more fish. There were more perch located at the Pine River, especially near the mouth and there were more pike at the Carp River, especially downstream of the fishing dock.
Munising: A few boats were targeting splake/salmon and reported very slow fishing. Boat anglers also reported good catches of lake trout towards Wood Island.
Grand Marais: Very low fishing pressure with only a few anglers making casts off the pier with no results. A few of the charters and one local boat did report some nice limits of lake trout mainly fishing west towards the Hurricane and AuSable area.
Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Anglers were catching a fair number of lake trout while fishing in the deeper waters of Keweenaw Bay and Huron Bay. Some anglers were also fishing successfully for smallmouth bass and northern pike in the near shore waters of both bays. Anglers anticipate coho moving into the bay in the coming weeks.
Traverse Bays/ South Portage Entry Canal: Anglers were fishing for lake trout and salmon. The lake trout fishing was successful, and anglers had high hopes for the upcoming coho and salmon fishing. Some anglers reported large catches of northern pike and bass. Lake trout fishing was divided between jigging and trolling which were equally successful. While trolling, most anglers were using medium sized spoons of varying colors. While jigging, anglers were mostly using cut suckers as bait.
Au Train: Anglers fishing the Au Train area had success catching lake trout. Lake trout was the only species reported from anglers fishing out of the Brownstone Boat Launch. The best area to fish was around Au Train Island while fishing the flats or fishing deeper water. Try finding water depths of 100 to 170 feet for best success. Anglers trolling spoons or jigging cut-baits in deep water reported the best success with catching lake trout.
Upper St. Mary’s: Anglers above the Soo Locks were targeting rainbow trout and whitefish with limited success. Anglers reported good mayfly hatches. Anglers have been using crawler setups deep or fly setups floating on the surface of the water. Near Waishkey Bay, anglers had very good success fishing for Chinook and coho salmon. Fishing in 120 feet of water, around 60 feet deep with spoons produced the best results.
Whitefish Bay: Salmon fishing in Whitefish Bay remained slow but consistently produced. Mainly coho salmon were caught but a few scattered Chinook were also caught. Fishing in 100 feet of water at around 40 feet deep produced the best results. Lower Tahquamenon River produced slow limits of pike and the occasional perch.
