Wednesday, August 30, 2023

8/30/23 Northwest Lower Peninsula Michigan Fishing Report

 



Northwest Lower Peninsula

West Grand Traverse Bay: The thermocline varied with strong north and south winds; however, it was anywhere from 60 to 100 feet down. Salmon fishing was good in the hole in front of the Boardman River. Fishing near the white walls slowed down, but anglers reported a few salmon caught there. Using plugs, white flasher with flies, meat and spoons all caught fish. Anglers reported catching a few coho. Smallmouth bass fishing was good in 20 to 40 feet of water; bass were still deep. Very few salmon were reported in the Boardman River.

East Grand Traverse Bay: Like West Bay, the thermocline varied anywhere from 60 to 100-plus feet down. Salmon fishing was good on the south end of the bay from the Center Road Launch to South Bank, and up the east side to Deepwater Point. Flasher fly, meat, spoons and plugs all worked well.

Petoskey/Harbor Springs: Salmon fishing on both the north and south side of Little Traverse Bay was productive depending on the day. Both the mornings and evenings provided success. Trolling anywhere in 75 to 150 feet of water at half the water column landed fish. Chinooks, cohos and lake trout were reported. Trolling green, black and silver spoons and flies was the most successful; however, the plug bite was getting better. Those fishing the Bear River reported the occasional Chinook and coho bite.

Frankfort: The Chinook numbers were good, with anglers also reporting good sizes. Anglers were in 100 to 150 feet of water and worked the top 50 to 70 feet early in the morning and a bit deeper as the sun moved up. The pier and jigging slowed, with anglers reporting low numbers, but the Chinooks that moved into the bay were not running up the river. Anglers reported coho in the area, and they were hitting on three-color or sliders around 25 to 35 feet down.

  • For a list of bait and tackle shops in the Frankfort area: Click Here!

Onekama: Straight out and heading north, anglers in 90 to 120 feet of water who worked the top 70 feet reported good numbers of Chinook in the early morning and at sunset. Meat rigs landed good numbers, with black and greens working best.


Below are links to bait shop listings organized by county: 

Your area may not be listed within this fishing report so below is a list of links to pages in Northeast Michigan to help guide you to public lakes in your county.
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8/30/23 Northeast Lower Peninsula, Michigan Fishing Report

 



Northeast Lower Peninsula

Presque Isle: Anglers reported good trout fishing straight out of the harbor in depths of 90 to 120 feet of water. Spoons and dodgers with spin glows worked well 40 to 60 feet down. A few Chinook and walleyes were caught on lead cores that were run from 20 to 40 feet. North of the lighthouse to Thompson Harbor had decent catches of Chinook, steelhead and trout. With temperatures in the 40s, anglers reported most fish being caught in the top 45 feet of water in depths of 60 to 110 feet. Those targeting walleye reported fishing as slow and scattered. 

  • For more public lakes in Presque Isle county: Click Here!

Cheboygan River: Most boat anglers trolled between the channel buoys and the pier head. Salmon were caught, but not in great numbers. Shore anglers had the most success casting spoons off the pier. Fish were caught at the dam, though numbers were low. Early morning continued to be the time when the salmon were most active. Smallmouth and pike were still available in the lower stretches of river, though few people were targeting them. 

Rockport: Anglers going out around Middle Island caught good amounts of walleye, as well as the occasional Chinook, steelhead and lake trout in depths varying from 70 to 100 feet of water. Near Stoneport in 80 to 90 feet of water was the best spot for anglers targeting Chinook. Anglers reported having the best luck using spoons and meat rigs.

Alpena: Cool water moving into the bay brought in Chinooks. Anglers reported salmon to be scattered across the bay in depths of 25 to 40 feet of water. J-plugs and spoons caught a few fish when run 10 to 20 feet down. Green, blue and silver baits had the most success. Walleye were reported to be scattered, with the most consistent catches coming from 40 to 50 feet of water toward Scarecrow Island and the Thunder Bay Islands. Crankbaits and spoons worked best in the middle of the water column. A few catfish, pike and bass were caught fishing the pier head, Grass Island and the shallows around Sulphur Island.  

Thunder Bay River: Anglers targeting Chinook reported slow fishing, with only a few being caught while trolling plugs early and late in the day. A few fish were seen surfacing from the pier head to the 9th Street dam. Walleye and smallmouth bass were caught around Lamar Park floating crawlers late in the evenings. Spinner baits and large spinners were productive on pike along the pier and boat harbor.

Tawas/Au Gres: Both Tawas and Au Gres saw low fishing pressure due to weather. Walleye and perch catches were come and go. Anglers reported that the fish were out there, they just weren’t biting. Some anglers reported seeing a few sheepshead, an occasional bowfin, as well as some catfish. Bluegill and crappie fishing was decent for anglers fishing from the shore of tributaries in the Au Gres area.

Oscoda/Au Sable: Due to rough water, fishing pressure was down. Some anglers reported catching a few Chinook off the pier in the morning using spoons and stick baits.

Rogers City: Anglers mostly fished Swan Bay as the Chinooks were staging. They were fishing anywhere from inside the bay out to 90 feet of water. Anglers used downriggers, planer boards with lead core and copper, and dipsies, and ran lines throughout the water column for best results. Anglers fished with spoons, J-plugs, flashers with squids and flies, and meat rigs. Good colors to use were greens, oranges, black and white, yellow, and glow stuff early and late. The salmon bite was the best after sunset or in the early morning hours before sunrise. Anglers were heavily focused on fishing salmon, with low fishing pressure for other species.


Below are links to bait shop listings organized by county:


Your area may not be listed within this fishing report so below is a list of links to pages in Northeast Michigan to help guide you to public lakes in your county.

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8/30/23 Southwest Lower Peninsula, Michigan DNR Fishing Report

 


Southwest Lower Peninsula

Muskegon: Boat anglers found the action to be slow for salmon. Anglers had the most success fishing for salmon 55 to 100 feet in 70 to 130 feet of water. Glow spoons, meat rigs and J-plugs seemed to work the best.

  • 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)

Grand Haven: Boat anglers reported salmon action as good in 40 to 80 feet of water. Glow or chrome J-plugs worked well, along with white flasher/flies. Pier anglers caught a few salmon while casting spoons in low light conditions.

South Haven: Poor weather limited fishing activity. When boat anglers made it out, the salmon fishing was pretty good. The best fishing was in around 100 feet of water. Anglers did well from 90 to 120 feet of water. Using meat rigs, rotators and flies seemed to catch the most fish. Perch fishing was inconsistent. The beginning of the week, anglers were doing well in 30 feet of water, but they struggled toward the end of the week. Pier fishing was slow for all species except sheepshead. Anglers trolling the Black River for salmon also had a very slow week.  

St. Joseph: Due to poor weather, very few anglers made it out salmon fishing. Boat anglers were targeting 90 to 100 feet of water when they made it out. Perch fishing was also slow due to weather. Pier anglers who targeted trout and salmon had slow fishing. There were a few smallmouth bass and sheepshead caught.

Note: At any time you can view the Berrien Springs fish ladder cam by go to this link or following their youtube channel. Subscribing to their channel helps fund the fish ladder cam. 

Nearby Bait Shops Include: 
Fishin Hole (269) 982-3474
Tackle Haven (269) 925-0341
Great Lakes Tackle  (269) 208-6178
Fishing Hole 2 (269) 468-7522 

For more bait shops in the southwest lower peninsula follow the links below:
Berrien County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Allegan County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Ingham County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Branch County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Barry County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Montcalm County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Kalamazoo County Bait Shops: Click Here!
Kent 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! 
Kalamazoo County Public Lakes: Click Here!
Oceana County Public Lakes: Click Here!
Ottawa County Public Lakes: Click Here!
Van Buren County Public Lakes: Click Here!
Barry County Public Lakes: Click Here!



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8/30/23 Southeastern, Michigan Fishing Report


 


Southeast Lower Peninsula

Lake Erie: Anglers caught yellow perch out from Stony Point in 27 feet of water on minnow perch rigs, with green being the most successful color. Walleye were few and far between unless fishing Ohio or Canadian waters. Smallmouth bass were caught in 20 feet of water using crawlers. Largemouth bass were caught using soft plastics closer into shore.

  • If you're planning on fishing out of Sterling State Park or the Brest Bay area you can pick up tackle from the nice people at Jeff's Bait & Tackle

  • If you're planning on fishing any of the canals near Lake Erie Metro Park or Point Mouillee State Game Area you can get all of your bait & tackle needs met at  Bottom Line Bait & Tackle.

Lake St. Clair: Anglers reported smallmouth bass action as slow, but using dark green baits worked well. Anglers did well in front of the Lake St. Clair Metropark in 12 to 14 feet of water. Perch anglers did fair in the Sny in 13 feet of water while fishing with artificial bait and crawlers. Walleye were caught in deep water in the channel mouths in approximately 26 feet of water.  The water was muddy in many areas due to heavy rainfall. Angers who fished near the 30 can and the St. Clair lighthouse caught some walleye and smallmouth bass. Musky anglers did not have much success but did report catching sizable northern pike in the mouth of the middle channel. 

Saginaw Bay: Heavy wind and rain kept anglers off the bay. Anglers who were able to make it out near Quanicassee struggled fishing for walleye and perch. The Sebewaing to Caseville area was also slow for walleye, with very few anglers out. 

Lower Saginaw Bay: Boat anglers fishing in the lower part of the Saginaw River were successful in catching small numbers of yellow perch using perch rigs with minnows.

Below are links to bait shop listings organized by county:  

Your area may not be listed within this fishing report so below is a list of links to pages in Southeast Michigan to help guide you to public lakes in your county.

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    Saturday, August 19, 2023

    8/16/23 Southeast Lower Michigan DNR Fishing Report

     


    Southeast Lower Peninsula

    Lake Erie: Yellow perch fishing was decent out in the dumping grounds on the northwest side in around 17 feet of water. Anglers were catching yellow perch anchored using minnows around a foot off the bottom. Walleye were reported to have somewhat come back in deeper waters near the Michigan-Ohio line straight out from the Sterling State Park boat launch. Anglers were having success trolling crawler harnesses. Smallmouth bass were elusive lately, but largemouth bass were caught on artificial lures in the channels out of Bolles Harbor and at the hot ponds.

    • If you're planning on fishing out of Sterling State Park or the Brest Bay area you can pick up tackle from the nice people at Jeff's Bait & Tackle

    • If you're planning on fishing any of the canals near Lake Erie Metro Park or Point Mouillee State Game Area you can get all of your bait & tackle needs met at  Bottom Line Bait & Tackle.

    Lake St. Clair: Walleye were caught while trolling crawler harnesses or using swim jigs. Some locations were producing walleye near Anchor Bay, New Baltimore, Strawberry Island, and straight out from the Clinton River. Depths to target were in 10 to14 feet of water and some walleye were even caught in 8 feet of water. Large smallmouth were caught on dropshot baits, tubes, and live minnows near the St. Clair lighthouse and along the metro flats straight out from the St. Clair Metro Park. Yellow perch were also caught near the St. Clair lighthouse in 18 to 20 feet of water using live minnows or while trolling using crawler harnesses at a slow speed.

    • For a more accurate report on Saginaw Bay I suggest taking a look at the weekly Saginaw Bay Fishing Report given to you by Saginawbay.com

    Saginaw Bay: Yellow perch were caught in 10 to 12 feet of water out in front of Gambill’s Marina. A few yellow perch were starting to bite on both worms and minnows while using perch rigs. Bass anglers were catching some smallmouth bass in the lower part of the Saginaw River. There was little activity on the east side of the bay due to the wind and rain. An occasional walleye was caught out in the slot around 14 to 15 feet of water on both body baits and crawlers. Only a few boat anglers tried for perch from Quanicassee to Sebewaing and reported slow fishing. 


    Port Sanilac: A few walleye were caught in Port Sanilac while trolling straight out in 90 feet of water and fishing deep. Anglers reported that they could not find a temperature break anywhere which made fishing difficult.

    Port Austin: Walleye were caught in a little deeper water, 50 to 60 feet with mostly lures.

    Harbor Beach: A few anglers were heading out to 160 to 170 feet of water for salmon and trout using downriggers with spoons. Anglers reported bringing in a good mix of lake trout, steelhead, coho and a few Chinook salmon. Walleye were scattered with most caught in 60 to 80 feet trolling with artificial lures. Smallmouth bass were caught inside the harbor from boat anglers casting lures; tubes were used a lot.

    Below are links to bait shop listings organized by county:  

    Your area may not be listed within this fishing report so below is a list of links to pages in Southeast Michigan to help guide you to public lakes in your county.







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                Friday, August 18, 2023

                Alaska Fisherman Catches Record Sized Rockfish in 1,000 Feet of Water

                 


                Photo & Source Credit: Field & Stream 


                On July 28th charter captain Kieth Degraff, while fishing in 1,000 feet of water within Alaskas Prince William Sound, landed a huge shortraker rockfish that could've been the new IGFA world record. The giant rockfish unofficially outweighed the current IGFA world record, set by Angelo Sciubba in 2017 at 44.1 pounds, by 4 pounds weighing in at 48 pounds when weighed lodge where the angler was staying.  Furthermore having bled the fish out, three days later the fish weighed in at 42.4. pounds on an IGFA certified scale. 

                Captain Degraff was fishing with his fiancee, Betsey Wilson, and some other friends on the day he landed the rockfish when he thought he'd hooked in to a halibut.  For this reason captain Degraff says, "Because I thought it was a halibut, I didn’t want to fight it out of the rod holder" and "As soon as I threw it in the rod holder, that immediately disqualified it from setting a world record."  I think most anglers would care less about the IGFA rules as this is still the catch and memory of a lifetime.  Besides, once the paperwork is filed captain Degraff's rockfish is still likely to overtake the current Alaska state record set by Henry Liebmann at 39.1 pounds.

                Congratulations Captain Degraff and tight lines! 








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                Thursday, August 17, 2023

                8/17/23 Northwestern, Michigan Fishing Report


                 

                Northwest Lower Peninsula

                Leland: Anglers were starting to see more Chinook salmon and a handful of coho filter into the harbor. They were also seeing a lot of mature Chinook salmon this summer already. Water temperatures were sitting at about 70 degrees at the surface. Meat rigs and deep divers were very successful while trolling in 150 to 200 feet of water. Anglers who fished very early or at dusk were seeing the best results.

                West Grand Traverse Bay: Anglers were reporting successful lake trout fishing with the occasional Chinook salmon coming in as well. Not much for bait fish being reported in the bay and a lot of fish sampled had empty stomachs. Some anglers were catch and releasing steelhead on the bay as well. Most anglers were fishing north of Old Mission peninsula and were having great luck. Bloody nose and Happee Meal were hot colors for catching lake trout.

                Charlevoix: Anglers targeting salmon had successful bites in both the morning and the evening hours. Trolling in 75 to 125 feet of water anywhere around Fisherman's Island to North Point was showing results. Flies, spoons, and the occasional meat bite produced Chinook salmon and a few coho bites. Anglers fishing the Charlevoix piers continued their success targeting smallmouth with natural bait including wrigglers, leeches and minnows.

                Petoskey/Harbor Springs: Salmon anglers fishing Little Traverse Bay reported hit or miss on both the evening and morning bites. Water temperatures in the past week dropped steadily to 45 degrees roughly 60 feet down with surface temperatures still in the low 70s. Trolling artificial lures along the north and south side of Little Traverse Bay produced slow but steady results. Chinook salmon, lake trout, and some coho were all reported in the bay. Anglers fishing the Bear River reported the occasional Chinook salmon, rainbow trout and brown trout.

                Frankfort: The Chinook salmon were biting well. The early morning bite out front was producing very good numbers and sizes on plugs, flies and spoons. Anglers were targeting 25 feet down. Pier anglers reported great activity from 3 a.m. to daylight on glow spoons. Coho were also getting picked up in the same areas on mostly spoons.

                Onekama: Anglers were heading straight out from the pier heads to 80 to 100 feet of water and trolling the top 35 to 45 feet down to land some nice Chinook salmon on flies and spoons. The early morning bite was landing more but the evening bite was not bad.

                Portage Lake: Bass anglers were reporting low numbers of largemouth bass in deeper waters as water temperatures were still moving up.

                Below are links to bait shop listings organized by county: 

                Your area may not be listed within this fishing report so below is a list of links to pages in Northeast Michigan to help guide you to public lakes in your county.
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                8/17/23 Northeast Lower Peninsula, Michigan Fishing Report

                 





                Northeast Lower Peninsula

                Presque Isle: Weather conditions limited the amount of activity. Anglers who made it out caught lake trout and salmon straight out of the harbor in 70 to 150 feet of water. Fish were scattered throughout the water column so running lines at different depths worked best. The waters from the lighthouse to black point were giving up trout, Chinook salmon, steelhead and a few Atlantic salmon. Bright colored spoons ran high were taking steelhead and Atlantic salmon while watermelon-colored spoons worked well on trout and Chinook salmon lower in the water column. Walleye were reported to be scattered 20 to 35 feet down in 50 to 100 feet of water.

                Cheboygan River/Lake Huron: Smallmouth bass and pike were caught in the river with most of the pike being around or downstream of the foot bridge. Freshwater drum were still around and the first numbers of salmon should begin to enter the river soon (1-2 weeks most likely).

                Rockport: Anglers reported decent numbers of lake trout, Chinook salmon, coho and Atlantic salmon near Stoneport south to Middle Island. A wide variety of spoons and flasher/fly combos were catching fish 30 to 70 feet down in depths of 60 to 120 feet. Walleye were found suspended along the reefs and were caught on spoons and deep diving crankbaits. 

                Alpena: Anglers who fought the winds reported slow fishing as in the bay. A few walleye were caught on crankbaits in the late evenings near North Point and south near Scarecrow Island. Anglers using jigs and leaches found a few fish along the shipping channel to the mouth of the Thunder Bay. Pier anglers reported catfish and bass were caught while using crawlers and a few northern pike were caught while using crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

                Thunder Bay River: Anglers reported low fishing pressure on the river. Several anglers targeting catfish had success near Mill Island Park and below the 9th Street Bridge. Crawlers and minnows worked the best. A few were caught throughout the river on crawlers and tube jigs.

                Tawas: Anglers were targeting 60 to 65 feet of water and catching walleye, just not as many. Harvests were essentially cut in half as anglers were coming in with 3 or 4 walleye. Shore fishing at Gateway Park was producing catfish for the few anglers out there. Later in the evening, anglers were catching a walleye or two when fishing off the pier.

                Oscoda/Au Sable: Fishing pressure was low but the anglers that did make it out were fishing around 140 feet of water. Anglers were catching a couple walleye and steelhead. Anglers fishing off the pier in the early morning had the occasional luck of a walleye, but mainly caught smallmouth bass. More anglers were taking boats in the river and catching smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, pike, and at times got lucky with a walleye. Most of the catches in the river occurred in the early morning.

                Rogers City: Anglers were mostly fishing south between Calcite and Adams Point. The Chinook salmon were there but getting them to bite was difficult. The water was warm top to bottom. Anglers reported that the best fishing occurred very early or very late. Anglers were using a variety of lures from spoons to J-Plugs to attractors with flys, squids and meat rigs. Meat was starting to be very effective now with the adult salmon starting to show up. Anglers were deploying downriggers, lead core, dipseys, and copper to spread lines throughout the water column. Good colors were greens, blues, black and white, glow stuff early and late. 

                Below are links to bait shop listings organized by county:


                Your area may not be listed within this fishing report so below is a list of links to pages in Northeast Michigan to help guide you to public lakes in your county.

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                8/17/23 Southwest Lower Peninsula, Michigan DNR Fishing Report

                 




                Southwest Lower Peninsula

                South Haven: Boat anglers had another successful week of fishing. Salmon and trout were caught in 80 to 100 feet of water. Rotators and flies along with meat rigs were performing very well. Perch anglers had some decent catches. The most productive depth was around 30 feet of water. Pier fishing was a little slow for all species. 

                St. Joseph: Perch were caught in 35 feet of water. Most of the fishing pressure was south of the piers. Salmon anglers had rough conditions. There were some trout caught and a few salmon inside of 80 feet of water. Pier fishing was also compromised by the rough waves. Fishing for all species was slow. 

                Note: At any time you can view the Berrien Springs fish ladder cam by go to this link or following their youtube channel. Subscribing to their channel helps fund the fish ladder cam. 

                Nearby Bait Shops Include: 
                Fishin Hole (269) 982-3474
                Tackle Haven (269) 925-0341
                Great Lakes Tackle  (269) 208-6178
                Fishing Hole 2 (269) 468-7522 

                Muskegon: Boat anglers were catching a good mix of Chinook and coho salmon 30 to 80 down in 50 to 120 feet of water. Glow plugs and glow spoons have performed well.

                • 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)

                Grand Haven: Boat anglers were finding the salmon to be scattered but good catches were reported. The best action was 40 to 90 down in 70 to 150 feet of water. Pier anglers who were casting spoons found the freshwater drum and salmon bite to be slow. Glow spoons and plugs worked well. The best bites occurred in the early morning and late evenings.


                For more bait shops in the southwest lower peninsula follow the links below:
                Berrien County Bait Shops: Click Here!
                Allegan County Bait Shops: Click Here!
                Ingham County Bait Shops: Click Here!
                Branch County Bait Shops: Click Here!
                Barry County Bait Shops: Click Here!
                Montcalm County Bait Shops: Click Here!
                Kalamazoo County Bait Shops: Click Here!
                Kent 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! 
                Kalamazoo County Public Lakes: Click Here!
                Oceana County Public Lakes: Click Here!
                Ottawa County Public Lakes: Click Here!
                Van Buren County Public Lakes: Click Here!
                Barry County Public Lakes: Click Here!


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