| Weekly Fishing Report | |
|
Thursday, March 17, 2005 Recreational Fishing Report Walleye, northern pike and musky season closed on March 15th on the Lower Peninsula inland waters not otherwise closed to fishing. The season will re-open on the Last Saturday in April, which will be April 30, 2005. On the Michigan waters of Lake Erie, the season for walleye will open on June 1, 2005.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula Anglers are reminded that walleye season in the Michigan waters of Lake Erie will close on March 31, 2005, and will not re-open until June 1, 2005. Good perch fishing was reported near the Banana Dike. Jumbo perch were also caught. Walleye were caught, but some of the fish are running small. Due to unsafe ice conditions in the marsh, anglers should stay on the dikes when crossing. On the Detroit River, northern pike and perch have been caught in Canadian waters southeast of Sugar Island. It appears to still be early to find big walleye in the river. Good numbers of panfish were caught in the marina at Metro Park. Walleye season is closed on the Huron River. Anglers continue to catch steelhead between Flat Rock and Rockwood. Anglers are using a variety of baits including small jigs, crankbaits, wax worms and spawn. Those fishing around the marinas on Lake St. Clair continue to catch bluegill, perch and crappie. Some large jumbo perch have been caught when jigging minnows in 6 to 10 feet of water off Fair Haven. Cold temperatures at night have slowed the walleye fishing. Northern pike and brown trout have been caught near Port Huron in the St. Clair River. Walleye and northern pike fishing is open all year on the Lower Peninsula Great Lakes, which includes all of Saginaw Bay. Anglers are fishing in 7 to 10 feet of water off Hale Road. A few walleye have been caught in 14 feet of water off White’s Beach and in 8 to 12 feet of water off the Bay City State Park. Slow perch fishing from Sebewaing to Caseville, with only a few fish caught in 9 feet of water out by North Island. Anglers are reminded to use caution when fishing around the mouth of a river, as spring run-off is making unsafe ice conditions. Southwestern Lower Peninsula Good fishing was reported on the St. Joe River. Water levels were up a bit, but are receding. Shore anglers are catching steelhead when fishing spawn below the Berrien Springs Dam. Boat anglers did better when bouncing spawn. Most of the fish have been caught midday. Steelhead are just starting to bite in the Galien River. Good bluegill fishing was reported on many of the inland lakes in the region. In Cass County, crappie are starting to bite in Magician Lake, and Indian Lake. In Van Buren County, anglers will find crappie in Grand Lake and Reynolds Lake. Panfish have been caught in Paw Paw Lake when fishing with mousies. Smelt are starting to bite in Gull Lake. Those fishing the Grand River near Grand Rapids have managed to catch light numbers of steelhead up near the Sixth Street Dam. Most are drifting spawn or flies in the deeper holes because the colder temperatures at night have slowed the bite. With walleye and northern pike season closed, very few anglers were fishing the river at Lansing. Bluegill, crappie and rock bass are starting to bite, and the fishing will only get better with warmer temperatures. Pier anglers at Muskegon have caught steelhead and brown trout when floating spawn off the piers. On Muskegon Lake, bluegills were caught near the State Park. It was reported that a tug and barge from Lake Michigan could be coming into Muskegon Lake Thursday evening. The boats will open up the ice in the center of the lake all the way to Fisherman’s Landing. Anglers will want to use caution and avoid this area of the lake. Another area to avoid is the northeast corner of the lake near the hot water discharge where there is open water and boats can be seen fishing. Steelhead are in the Muskegon River, but few anglers have been out fishing for them. Along the White River, winter run steelhead have been caught from Pines Point up to Hesperia. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Anglers are reminded that the inland season for walleye, northern pike and musky closed at midnight on March 15th, and will re-open on Saturday, April 30th. Walleye and northern pike fishing on the Great Lakes including Saginaw Bay remains open all year. Fishing has been slow on the inland lakes. Most lakes in the region still have a good amount of snow cover. Perch can still be caught, but anglers will need to move around to locate schools of fish. Try fishing in 7 to 10 feet of water with live bait fished off the bottom. Near Alpena, steelhead and brown trout have been caught when fishing spawn or crawlers under a bobber. At Tawas, walleye fishing picked up with good numbers taken out by the pressure crack and near the mouth of the Tawas River. A few brown trout and whitefish were also caught. Walleye fishing also picked up at Au Gres. Good numbers of fish including some limits were taken when fishing in 25 to 30 feet of water. Inland, smelt continue to be caught on the north end of Higgins Lake near the State Park. Lake trout continue to hit on tip-ups with minnows, and rainbow trout along with some brown trout have been caught in front of the Conference Center when fishing with minnows or wax worms. Bluegills are biting on Houghton Lake. Black crappie are starting to bite off West Shore Drive near Long Point in 4 to 8 feet of water. Northwestern Lower Peninsula In Little Traverse Bay up near Harbor Springs, anglers are catching perch just off the point in waters of Lake Michigan. On Lake Charlevoix, the better perch fishing can usually be found in the South Arm of the Lake. Tip-ups with minnows or jigging Swedish Pimples worked best. Near Elk Rapids, whitefish have been caught in Elk Lake. Anglers are jigging with minnows or a single egg. At Traverse City, the East Bay has open water, but shore ice is preventing anglers from launching boats. The West Bay also has open water. Boats can launch via the Boardman River, but the cold nights have produced skim ice at the launch site. Steelhead fishing has been hit-or-miss in the Boardman River. Near Frankfort, a few perch have been caught in Crystal Lake. Those fishing off Lobb Road reported fair to good catches of smelt and burbot. Most fish were caught on wax worms, minnows or wigglers. Lake trout and whitefish have also been caught. From Manistee, bluegills were caught just off Sengs Point in Manistee Lake. Steelhead can be found in the Big Manistee River. Light numbers of brown trout have been caught when floating minnows under a bobber up near Tippy Dam. Portage Lake has been fair for perch, but the fish are small. Fair fishing continues on both Lake Cadillac and Lake Mitchell. Perch and bluegills have been caught, but the better bluegill fishing can be found in Lake Mitchell. Perch and black crappie can be found just off Mitchell State Park. At Ludington, light numbers of perch were caught in Pere Marquette Lake. No fishing on the big lake as the ramps are still iced in. Those fishing the Pere Marquette River reported catching some steelhead in the lower river between Ludington and Scottville. Most fish were caught when floating spawn bags. Bluegills are biting on Upper Hamlin Lake. Upper Peninsula Anglers had fair to good success when fishing in Keweenaw Bay. Coho and lake herring have been caught off Sand Point. Those seeking lake trout are fishing out from the old Tribal Center and off Pequaming. Anglers are still ice fishing on the inland lakes. Conditions are good for panfish with most anglers reporting mixed results with some good catches of panfish along with some nice perch starting to show up. There have been several reports of perch 14 inches or larger caught, and this action tends to pick-up later in the spring. No reports this week on trout fishing. Conditions are more like late winter than spring and the fish are not in normal spring patterns yet. Fishing has been slow along the entire Menominee River. There is still ice cover on most of Little Bay De Noc, however; ships have started to move in to the docks at Escanaba. They are opening channels in the ice, so anglers need to use extreme caution and stay well outside the whitefish areas. The cold night temperatures seem to slow the perch fishing. Whitefish have been caught off Sand Point in 65 to 80 feet of water using spawn and minnows. A few perch were caught on wigglers in 18 to 21 feet of water near the Coal Docks off Kipling. A good number of small perch were caught in 5 to 10 feet of water around Butler Island. Anglers have been out on the flats past Aronson Island looking for splake, but there were no reports of any fish caught. Near Marquette, open water remains in the Upper Harbor. Boats are still fishing for chinook, coho and herring, but catches were spotty. Slow fishing was reported at Munising. Strong winds have blown the ice out of Trout Bay. Near Au Train, the ice is holding, but anglers need to use extreme caution if they plan to travel across the ice. Closer to Sault Ste. Marie, whitefish have been caught on the St. Mary’s River. Anglers are jigging minnows, wax worms or a single egg. Low angler activity reported at Munuscong and Raber Bay. Anglers are jigging for perch in shallow waters, but the bite was slow. At Cedarville, perch fishing was fair in Musky Bay. Anglers are jigging with minnows in 4 to 8 feet of water. Light numbers of perch were caught in Moscoe Channel, but most of the fish were undersized. |
Click Here To Return To The Previous Page
