| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, May 5, 2005 Recreational Fishing Report The recent cold front lowered lake temperatures to the point where most panfish retreated to deeper waters. Fishing should pick up every day this week with warmer temperatures in the forecast. Panfish will return to the shallows once water temperatures get back into the 60’s. Both pier and boat anglers should start to see more fish caught with warmer weather as well.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula With walleye season closed in the Michigan waters of Lake Erie, boats are traveling to Ohio waters. Walleye fishing slowed between the Toledo Lighthouse and Turtle Island with the cold front, but the action should get better with warmer weather. Anglers are starting to catch white bass near the Banana Dike. The walleye opener was fair on Belleville Lake in Wayne County. Boats are trolling or casting near the Rawsonville Road Bridge with Rapalas, Rattle Traps or leeches. On the Detroit River, anglers caught walleye when jigging between Wyandotte and Ecorse. Walleye have been caught up near Mud Island. Anglers are still taking some limits when hand-lining at night in the Trenton Channel. In Oakland County, Maceday and Lotus Lake saw water temperatures drop to 48 degrees. The canals are a bit warmer at 50 degrees. Crappie were caught on jigs with minnows in 3 to 6 feet of water. In Lotus Lake, try fishing in 4 to 8 feet of water near the stumps. Bluegill and pumpkinseed are suspended right now. A few splake were caught in shallow waters on Maceday Lake. In the St. Clair River, walleye have been caught when trolling or jigging near Algonac, Marine City and Marysville. Warmer weather should improve the fishing. At Lexington and Port Sanilac, a few brown trout were caught in waters 10 feet deep using planer boards with bright colored body baits. On Saginaw Bay, walleye anglers have done well fishing in 4 to 7 feet of water off Hoyle’s Marina at Linwood. Walleye were caught off the mouth of the Kawkawlin River, the Saginaw River, and off Spoils Island when using jigs with minnows or crawlers in the rivers. Fishing was slow on the east side of the bay, with only a couple walleye caught in the Lower Quanicassee River. The walleye opener was good on both the Saginaw River and the Tittabawassee River. A good number of boats were reported getting their limits. Some sorting was necessary as a good number of 12 to 14 inch fish are in the rivers. Fishing success drops off quickly after the opener, so anglers will want to get in as much fishing as they can in the next 10 days. After about May 15th, most of the walleye will be back out in Saginaw Bay. Good fishing was reported in the Shiawassee River between St. Charles and Chesaning, and in the Flint River around Flushing and Montrose. A couple steelhead were caught below the dam in St. Louis on black and yellow spinners. Southwestern Lower Peninsula Warmer weather should help to improve fishing by the weekend. Pier anglers have been few, but some boats have been trolling in front of the piers for trout and salmon. Cooler weather slowed walleye fishing in the St. Joe River. Anglers are still taking light numbers of steelhead when drifting flies or spawn bags near the Berrien Springs Dam. While strong winds slowed the fishing from South Haven to Holland, more anglers are starting to return to the piers and the lake. Boats are trolling around the piers and close to shore in the early mornings then moving out to deeper waters. Most are using spoons in a variety of colors. Inland, perch and crappie have been caught in Lake Macatawa. Near Grand Haven, boat anglers have caught chinook, coho and steelhead when fishing in waters 50 to 145 feet deep. A few brown trout have been caught when trolling between the south pier and Brucker Street. Pier anglers have caught some brown trout off the north pier using spawn. The muskie opener was good on Murray Lake, Kent County. The fish caught ranged from 22 to 35 inches. Light numbers of bluegill and rock bass were also caught. On the Grand River near Grand Rapids, anglers are floating spawn bags or flies for steelhead. Yarn in chartreuse and pink has also worked well. Anglers are using half a bluegill or suckers to catch catfish. Those fishing Millennium Park (take I-96 to Wilson Road near Johnson Park) have caught bluegills and crappie. Fishing has been slow near Lansing. Bluegill catches are on and off, and the sucker runs are slowing down. Catfish and carp have been caught on crawlers and dough balls. Steelhead can found in the Rogue River. Good numbers of walleye are in the Thornapple River. Anglers are drifting crawlers near the Cascade Dam and the Ada Dam. At Muskegon, boats are trolling for trout and salmon. Most are starting out close to shore in the early mornings, then heading out to deeper waters. Walleye fishing has been slow, but a few fish have been caught off the short pier. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Near Cheboygan, a few anglers have been fishing for walleye on Black Lake. Fish were caught when trolling or jigging for minnows near the mouth of the Rainy River which is located in the southeast corner of the lake. Some are trolling along the drop-offs in the south end of the lake. Muskie fishing was slow. Little has changed at Rogers City. Brown trout have been caught near the Swan River, where water temperatures are still cold. The brown trout seem to be full of gobies, so try fishing the shallow rocky areas with orange and gold or silver and black body baits. Those fishing off the breakwall have caught a couple brown trout or walleye when casting Cleo’s. Lake trout season is open and anglers fishing in Rogers City are reminded that the minimum size limit is 15 inches and the maximum is 19 inches. Fish less than 15 or greater than 19 may not be possessed, except, one fish in the daily possession limit may be 34 inches or greater. At Presque Isle, the minimum size limit for lake trout is 22 inches. Boat anglers are trolling cowbells with Spin-Glows or Dodgers in shallow waters 10 to 20 feet deep. At Rockport, anglers are trolling for brown trout on the deep side of Middle Island with a variety of spoons. A few die-hard anglers can still be found fishing for steelhead at the Ninth Street Dam. Anglers are drifting fresh spawn or flies in the current but the bite was slow and landing them was difficult. Most of the fish can be seen jumping in a swirling pool of water that was created when one of the floodgates was opened. Those wading will want to use caution in this area of the river. The walleye moved out of the Upper River and can be found near the mouth. Anglers should try trolling from the Lighthouse to the First Buoy. Use anything that would resemble a goby. The fish cleaning station at the marina is still closed. Near Oscoda, water temperatures on the Au Sable River below Mio were just below 50 degrees. Conditions were too cold for anything to happen. Almost no Mayflies could be seen. The Hendrickson hatch should be in full swing near Mio by the weekend, as this hatch always peaks the first two weeks of May. Good lake trout fishing is expected this year in Lake Huron. Pier anglers fishing Tawas Bay have caught a mix of walleye, northern pike, and brown trout when still-fishing with minnows or casting spoons and body baits. Boat anglers are trolling for brown trout and walleye in 10 to 15 feet of water with planer boards and body baits. Steelhead were caught in the Tawas River. Those fishing near the Singing Bridge have caught steelhead in the river and while surf-casting with spawn bags. Walleye have been caught when casting Rapalas in the surf at night. Near Au Gres, good numbers of walleye were taken when trolling in 10 to 20 feet of water. Large lake trout have been caught when trolling on Higgins Lake. Boats are trolling with Rapalas or gray minnows in waters 100 feet deep. Brown trout are suspended 45 to 50 feet down in waters up to 90 feet deep. On Houghton Lake, crappie were caught on minnows and wigglers. Walleye are starting to bite on leeches. Northwestern Lower Peninsula Up near Petoskey, boat anglers trolling for brown trout in shallow waters off Bay View have caught some lake trout. Steelhead are in the Bear River, but the bite was slow. A few suckers can still be found in both the Boyne River and the Pigeon River. Anglers on Burt Lake reported slow fishing. Slow fishing in both Bays at Traverse City. Some large perch were caught on minnows in the East Bay near Elk Rapids. Those fishing the Elk River for steelhead are using wax worms, wigglers, or spawn fished under a bobber. In the West Bay, brown trout and lake trout were caught near the mouth of the Boardman River. Anglers are using spawn bags on the bottom. Fishing pressure on the Lower Boardman River has been constant with most anglers fishing from the Union Street Dam down to the mouth as the steelhead are spawning in this section. Fewer fish were reported and that could be due to the cold weather and lack of rain during the spawning period. Anglers fishing the upper river caught brown trout on spinners and crawlers and brook trout on spinners, crawlers and dry flies. Good action reported near Shecks Campground and Forks Campground. White suckers are spawning in the river as well. At Leland, the fishing was sporadic. Steelhead were caught when drifting spawn or wax worms off the pier. Moderate numbers of panfish were caught in Lake Leelanau and Little Traverse Lake. At Glen Arbor, anglers are starting to venture out for brown trout. Closer to Frankfort, shore anglers fishing Platte Bay have caught brown trout and lake trout when casting spoons. Boat anglers have taken brown trout when trolling black and gold or silver and gold body baits. Anglers trolling near Arcadia have caught lake trout, brown trout and coho. The better fishing seems to be when the wind is out of the west, as water temperatures are still cold. From Manistee, the better fishing has been off the South Pier when using spawn or spoons. Perch fishing off the North Pier was slow. Boats are trolling with body baits or spoons for brown trout and lake trout. At Ludington, a light number of anglers have been fishing off the North Pier. Those floating spawn or casting Cleo’s have caught some brown trout. Boat anglers had better luck when trolling body baits close to shore. Upper Peninsula Steelhead fishing was slow. Many of the early fish have spawned, but rain should bring another good run of fish as it appears not all the fish have entered the river systems. It was a better than normal opener for brook trout and brown trout as low water levels made it easy to fish. Sucker runs are not yet underway. In Keweenaw Bay, anglers had fair to good success when trolling for coho and chinook. Some were lucky enough to catch an occasional steelhead or lake trout. In Traverse Bay, lake trout were caught by those trolling or jigging. Heavy angler pressure was reported on both the Brule River and the Paint River in Iron County. Water temperatures are still a bit cool, but fishing should pick up as waters start to warm. In the Lower Menominee River, shore anglers caught brown trout when casting Rapalas between the Train Bridge and the First Dam. Walleye were hitting between the Lighthouse and the Government Piers. Those fishing the upper portion of the river between the McAllister Bridge and the Grand Rapids Dam have caught walleye when jigging minnows or casting Rapalas. They have also caught walleye below the Chalk Hills Dam. Slow fishing in Little Bay De Noc. Good numbers of steelhead were reported in the Day’s River, with most fish north of US-2. Anglers reported steelhead and suckers in the Ford River and Whitefish River. In the Escanaba River, splake fishing slowed due to high numbers of walleye in the river. In Big Bay, anglers are starting to target splake while trolling in Garden Bay and Snail Shell Harbor. With the walleye and pike opener just two weeks away on May 15th, many are anticipating a good start to the season. Steelhead and suckers can be found in the Sturgeon River. Conditions for smelt should be good, but no reports have been made to date. Near Au Train and Munising, the coho fishing ranges from slow to fair in both bays. Fair steelhead fishing was reported, but the brown trout fishing was slow. On days when the salmon are not biting, anglers have managed to catch a few lake trout in deep waters. Near Grand Marais, steelhead fishing was slow on the Sucker River as clear and low water levels kept many fish undercover. No whitefish have been caught. At Cedarville and Hessel, there has been no sign of perch. Splake have been caught off the pier at Hessel when using live minnows or artificial bait. Light numbers of smelt were taken in Nunns Creek, but the run seems to be done for the most part.
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