| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, March 24, 2005 Recreational Fishing Report Ice fishing continues around most of the state. The ice will deteriorate quickly with the next warm-up, so anglers need to use extreme caution, especially in the southern portions of the state. Many of the rivers in southern Michigan have opened up as well. Warmer temperatures will be needed to get the spring fishing season underway.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula Anglers fishing Lake Erie have managed to catch walleye and perch when fishing out near the Banana Dike. Extreme caution should be used on any remaining ice in the area. Avoid the unsafe ice conditions in the marsh as well as areas near open water. On the Detroit River, boats are catching northern pike and perch when fishing in Canadian waters southeast of Sugar Island. Panfish can still be found in the cuts and canals along the river. Some anglers are hand-lining for walleye, but the fish are running on the small side. Anglers need to use caution and watch for ice flows. On the Huron River, steelhead fishing was slow, but some fish have been caught in the deep holes between Flat Rock and Rockwood. Anglers are drifting spawn or casting spoons and crankbaits. Fishing continues on Lake St. Clair. Panfish have been caught in and around the marinas. Those fishing near Fair Haven reported fair to good perch fishing with some large fish caught. A few suckers have been caught in the Clinton River. Brown trout along with an occasional steelhead have been caught in the St. Clair River near Port Huron. The ice is still holding in Saginaw Bay. Anglers fishing off Palmer Road near Standish have caught walleye when fishing up to three miles out in 7 to 10 feet of water. Walleye and small perch have been caught off White’s Beach. Those fishing just off the Bay City State Park have caught walleye in 8 to 12 feet of water near the first crack. Small perch have been caught off Bay Port. A few brown trout and steelhead were caught near Caseville when jigging Rapalas. Small perch have been caught in the harbor. Southwestern Lower Peninsula Pier anglers at St. Joe reported good catches of brown trout when fishing from the South Pier. Those drifting spawn on the river side have caught the most fish. Coho fishing seems to be picking up when fishing just off the bottom with spawn on the lake side off the South Pier. A few whitefish have been caught, but they will soon be gone when the waters start to warm. Overall fishing on the St. Joe River has been slow since last week. Some steelhead have been caught when drifting spawn or flies below the Berrien Springs Dam. Boat anglers seem to be doing better than shore anglers as many of the fish are holding in the deeper holes. Inland, ice fishing continues on many of the inland lakes. Anglers are reminded to use caution when traveling or fishing on the last ice of the season. Fishing has been slow, but should pick-up once the waters start to warm. In Paw Paw Lake, small bluegills and crappie have been caught on jigs tipped with spikes. Some nice smelt have been taken in Gull Lake. Mixed reports are coming from the Grand River at Grand Rapids. Some reported very slow fishing while others have managed to catch some steelhead when fishing off the wall. Boat anglers are doing fair up near the Sixth Street Dam. Closer to Lansing, anglers are catching steelhead when fishing Prairie Creek, Ionia County. Anglers are reminded that it is unlawful to snag fish or retain any fish not hooked in the mouth. Inland anglers are fishing as long as the shoreline ice holds up. Panfish are starting to move up into shallow waters. Fair to good fishing for bluegill and crappie were reported on Morrison Lake and Jordan Lake. Those fishing from the piers at Muskegon continue to catch steelhead and brown trout when floating spawn or casting small spoons. Not much angler activity on Muskegon Lake as those fishing have only managed to catch light numbers of bluegill. In the Muskegon River, anglers have managed to catch some steelhead. Most of the fish are dark, but some fresh fish are also starting to show up. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Ice can still be found on the inland lakes in this region of the state, but the fishing has been slow. Snow cover on the ice is also making travel more difficult. Only a few anglers have been fishing Long Lake as the fishing has been slow. Closer to Alpena, anglers have caught some steelhead when fishing the Thunder Bay River. Anglers are floating spawn or crawlers under a bobber up near the Ninth Street Dam. Some are starting to fish near the mouth of the river. At Tawas, the walleye action has been good. Anglers are fishing in 22 feet of water out near the pressure crack or near the mouth of the Tawas River. The ice was blown out of the Tawas River. A few whitefish along with an occasional brown trout have been caught. Good walleye action was reported at Au Gres. Anglers are fishing in 12 to 20 feet of water off the Point. Walleye can also be found in 25 to 30 feet of water in the Bay. Near Omer, the annual sucker run in the Rifle River has not started yet. The spring spawning run is usually the first or second week of April. Warmer temperatures are needed to get the run started. The ice is holding on Higgins Lake. Anglers are catching smelt when fishing day or night. The better catches were taken when jigging wax worms or spikes in 25 feet of water on the north end of the lake near the State Park. The bigger perch have been caught in 20 to 50 feet of water out by Treasure Island. Lake trout are hitting in 100 feet of water and rainbow trout can still be found in front of the Conference Center. Houghton Lake has bluegills. Northwestern Lower Peninsula Perch have been caught just off the point at Harbor Springs. Anglers need to move around until they find schools of fish. Perch are still hitting in the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix. Whitefish catches slowed in Elk Lake. Closer to Traverse City, ice along the shoreline in both the East Bay and the West Bay is preventing boats from launching. Steelhead fishing slowed in the Boardman River. Perch have been caught in South Lake Leelanau. Lake Skegemog was producing good numbers of perch, but anglers will need to do some sorting. Near Frankfort, perch are hitting in Crystal Lake. Smelt and burbot are hitting on wax worms. Anglers reported catching large smelt in 45 to 55 feet of water when fishing at night. Lake trout and whitefish have been caught in deeper waters, but the bite was slow. At the port of Manistee, brown trout have been caught when floating spawn off the piers. Steelhead are starting to move and have been caught on spawn near the mouth of the Big Manistee River. Brown trout have been caught up near Tippy Dam. At Ludington, perch have been caught in 20 to 30 feet of water in Pere Marquette Lake. Anglers reported catching large fish, and some limits were caught in recent days. Steelhead have started to move in the Pere Marquette River. Anglers are fishing with spawn near the mouth. Those ice fishing are still taking fair to good numbers of bluegill in Upper Hamlin Lake. The ice on Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell is holding on. Anglers are catching perch and bluegill in Lake Cadillac. Lake Mitchell was good for bluegill, perch and black crappie. Anglers are fishing in 8 to 10 feet of water off Mitchell State Park. Upper Peninsula Those fishing Keweenaw Bay for lake trout reported fair success. Those fishing off Sand Point and the Light House for coho also reported fair fishing. Light numbers of herring were caught. Those fishing on Newton and Big Reef reported fair to good fishing. Ice remains on most waters across the Upper Peninsula. While fishing has been slow, they are catching a few trout on waters open to trout fishing when using jigs with wax worms or tip-ups with small minnows. Yellow perch have been caught in Lac Vieux Desert and several other inland lakes, but the fish are running on the small side. In the lower stretch of the Menominee River, crappie were caught near River Park. Small perch were caught in the Menominee Marina. Anglers have caught crappie in the upper river off Mason Park. In Little Bay De Noc, anglers continue to ice fish. Small perch have been caught on wigglers or minnows in 6 to 17 feet of water around Butler Island. A few large perch were caught when jigging in 25 feet of water off Gladstone. Some are still fishing in 65 to 80 feet of water off Sand Point for whitefish. Burbot seem to be very active in this area, as many whitefish anglers reported catching them. A fair number of boat anglers are catching coho in the Upper Harbor at Marquette. Most fish have been caught when fishing near the discharge pipes from the Power Plant. Light numbers of herring were caught. The Lower Harbor is still ice covered, but conditions are questionable. Coho fishing has been good in the bay off Munising with some limit catches reported. Whitefish, lake trout and splake fishing has been slow. Anglers fishing off Au Train reported limited success. North of Sault Ste. Marie, whitefish have been caught in Mosquito Bay. Near Munuscong, anglers are jigging wigglers and wax worms in shallow waters for yellow perch. Some are fishing Raber Bay. At Cedarville, perch anglers have caught some perch in Musky Bay and Cedarville Bay. Most are jigging wigglers and wax worms in 5 to 8 feet of water. The ice is still holding in this area of the state, but all the snow is making travel on the ice a bit rough.
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