Southwest Lower Peninsula
St. Joseph: Boat anglers targeting salmon were catching lots of lake trout in 120 feet. The occasional coho was caught even deeper. Pier fishing was slow. Some perch were caught in 30 feet before the storms moved in.
St. Joseph River: Despite the warm weather, a light number of steelhead were moving through the fish ladders but no salmon yet. Anglers caught steelhead at the mouth of Townsend Creek into Lake Chapin.
Nearby Bait Shops Include:
Fishin Hole (269) 982-3474
Tackle Haven (269) 925-0341
Great Lakes Tackle (269) 208-6178
South Haven: Pier anglers caught the occasional steelhead. Boat anglers should be able to catch lake trout just off the bottom in 80 to 100 feet. Perch fishing was slow.
Grand Haven: A few salmon were caught 65 to 120 feet down in 110 to 180 feet. Lake trout continue to be caught near bottom on yellow or green spin-glo’s. Pier anglers are catching freshwater drum and channel cats on gizzard shad.
Grand River at Lansing: Anglers had success with smallmouth bass especially in the stretch south of Portland. A few walleye were caught below the Webber Dam.
- For a more accurate report on the Grand River at Lansing I suggest reaching out to the people at Grand River Bait & Tackle. Phone: (517-482-4461)
Shiawassee County: A few smallmouth bass were caught in the Shiawassee River near the Corunna Dam and Shiatown Dam. Anglers have caught largemouth bass on Lobdell Lake.
Ionia County: Jordan Lake was producing some large panfish. Some anglers were taking limit catches including some bluegills as big as 10.5 inches. Anglers on Sessions Lake and Woodard Lake had limited to no success.
Muskegon: Boats reported slow salmon fishing with only a few caught 55 to 120 feet down in 100 to 180 feet with orange spoons and green meat rigs. Pier anglers caught large and smallmouth bass.
Muskegon Lake: Walleye were caught between the state park and Bear Lake Channel when trolling a crawler harness with a bottom bouncer during the day or a husky jerk at night. Fish were also caught in the channel leading to the big lake when jigging off the wall. Boats trolling in the channel caught salmon on J-plugs.
- For a more accurate report on the Muskegon Lake & the Muskegon River I suggest reaching out to the people at Snug Harbor Outfitters. Phone: (231-719-0759)
Muskegon River: Walleye and bluegill fishing increased in Croton and Hardy Ponds.
Whitehall: Changing water temperatures made for inconsistent salmon fishing. Boats trolling 35 to 80 feet down in 50 to 130 feet caught Chinook, lake trout, and the occasional steelhead on flashers and green flies, green plugs, and green or purple spoons. Boats trolling glow-spoons and plugs well before sunrise in 50 to 90 feet caught better numbers of mature salmon. Pier anglers using casting jigs or spoons in the early morning or late evening caught the occasional Chinook.
White Lake: Bluegill fishing was inconsistent however some boats managed to catch a good number of fish when drifting red worms or wax worms in 15 to 20 feet.
For more bait shops in the southwest lower peninsula follow the links below:
Kalamazoo County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Berrien County Bait Shops: Click Here!Allegan County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Ingham County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Your area may not be listed within this fishing report so below is a list of links to pages in Southwest Michigan to help guide you to public lakes in your county.
Allegan County Public Lakes: Click Here!
Barry County Public Lakes: Click Here!
Calhoun County Public Lakes: Click Here!
Cass County Public Lakes: Click Here!
Clinton County Public Lakes: Click Here!
Jackson County Public Lakes: Click Here!