| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, May 26, 2005 Recreational Fishing Report With warmer temperatures expected by the weekend the upcoming bass season opener should be a good one. Anglers are reminded that bass season remains closed until the 3rd Saturday in June on Lake St. Clair, St. Clair River and the Detroit River. All other waters in the state including the Great Lakes will open to bass fishing on Saturday May 28th. Anglers may not take or attempt to take any species during the closed season.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula Anglers fishing Lake Erie have caught walleye in Ohio waters. Boats are trolling northeast of West Sister Island while drifting crawler harnesses. Those fishing around Brest Bay have taken a few perch in waters 20 feet deep using minnows. White bass and catfish have been caught as well. On Belleville Lake in Wayne County, boat anglers have caught walleye while trolling with crank baits or jigging with crawlers. Boats are trolling near the Rawsonville Road Bridge with crawler harnesses and leeches. On the Huron River, shore anglers are catching white bass with minnows and leeches. Boat anglers have caught walleye while trolling upstream from the mouth with Rapala’s. On the Detroit River, boat anglers caught walleye and white bass in the lower Trenton Channel. Northern pike have been caught at the bottom end of the river using shiners under a bobber or crank baits. In Oakland County, Maceday and Lotus Lake saw water temperatures rise to 61 degrees. On Maceday Lake, boat anglers have caught good numbers of bluegill, crappie and pumpkinseed near the state boat launch in waters 4 to 10 feet deep. At Lotus Lake, boat anglers are having luck catching bluegill and crappie on the north end of the lake in waters 8 to 15 feet deep. In the St. Clair River, shore fishing has been good. Walleye have been caught near St. Clair Shores, Marysville and Port Huron while casting Twisters. Boat anglers are having luck using Pencil Plugs in the evening hours. In Lake Huron, the lake trout numbers have been good. Boat anglers are fishing near Port Huron in waters 20 to 120 foot deep using spinners and Silver Streaks. On Lake St. Clair, boat anglers have caught walleye near the 400 Club. Shore fishing for perch has been good with crawlers. On Saginaw Bay, walleye anglers have done well fishing in 12 to 18 feet of water from Linwood up to Standish. The best catches came from drifting crawlers or casting Rapala’s. In the Black River, a few northern pike have been caught by shore anglers using spinners and body baits. Fishing was slow on the east side of the bay, with only a couple walleye caught in the Quanicassee River. Southwestern Lower Peninsula At New Buffalo, pier fishing is slow. Boat anglers have caught chinook while trolling in waters 40 to 60 feet deep. Overall fishing is slow on the St. Joe River. Anglers continue to catch light numbers of steelhead near the Berrien Springs Dam. Most are drifting Wobble-Glo’s and flies. Boat anglers caught chinook out from the pier heads at St. Joe in waters 40 to 60 feet deep while trolling spoons or Rapala’s. On the Kalamazoo River, anglers are drifting live bait for walleye. Those night fishing off the Holland Pier have caught walleye while casting Rapala’s. From Port Sheldon to Holland, quite a few chinook were caught in waters 80 to 150 feet deep while fishing 30 to 60 feet down. The bait of choice is blue and green spoons or body baits. Good numbers of drum are being caught with bright colored spoons. On Hutchins Lake, crappie have been caught in the weeds using minnows. Light numbers of bluegill were caught at the drop-off in waters 8 to 10 feet deep. Near Grand Haven, fishing is slow. On the Grand River near Grand Rapids, anglers are floating flies for steelhead at the Sixth Street Dam. Those fishing Millennium Park (take I-96 to Wilson Road near Johnson Park) have caught a few bluegills. Fishing has picked up near Lansing. Walleye and catfish are being caught using leeches and lures. Northern Pike seem to be hitting on minnows. Good numbers of walleye are being caught in the Thornapple River. On Reeds Lake (Kent County), bluegills are being caught in the shallows on wax worms and leeches. At Muskegon, boats are trolling for Chinook 40 to 60 feet down in 100 to 140 feet of water. Spoons of various colors are being used with the best results on blues and greens. The main road to the Snug Harbor boat launch at Muskegon State Park is closed for repairs. The boat launch is open; however, anglers will need to follow the detour route. On Muskegon Lake, bluegill and perch have been caught in waters 6 to 10 feet deep. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Fishing was slow near Rogers City. Those fishing in the port have caught a few lake trout. Pier anglers at Rockport have caught walleye while fishing in the evening hours. Boat anglers have caught lake trout while trolling off Middle Island in the early morning. At Alpena, boat anglers fishing in Thunder Bay have caught walleye near the mouth of the Thunder Bay River. Trolling with Rapala’s in the evening worked best. Anglers have caught lake trout in Thunder Bay in water 40 to 50 feet deep using spinners. Fishing is slow at Harrisville. A few lake trout and salmon have been caught. Inland fishing was slow, but should improve with warmer weather. Near Oscoda, pier anglers are catching good numbers of walleye near the mouth of the Au Sable River while drifting crawlers and casting Rapala’s. A few steelhead still remain up river on the gravel beds. Near Grayling, the water levels are good and the Hendrickson and Sulpher hatches are in full swing. Those fishing Van Ettan Lake report good catches of walleye. At Tawas, anglers have caught good numbers of brown trout in Tawas Bay. A few steelhead are left in the Tawas River and at the Singing Bridge. Inland, fishing was slow. Those fishing Tawas Lake have caught bluegill while using wax worms and crickets. With turbid water making for poor fishing on Houghton Lake, only a few catches of crappie have been reported. Northwestern Lower Peninsula At Harbor Springs, lake trout have been caught in waters up to 130 feet deep while fishing 60 to 119 feet down. Those fishing near Petoskey have caught lake trout while long lining in shallow waters off Tannery Creek. On Burt Lake, anglers have caught good numbers of walleye and perch using minnows. Northern pike have been caught on Crooked Lake using crawlers. In Lake Charlevoix, walleye have been caught in the south arm and around the points. At Traverse City, lake trout fishing has been good in both bays. Those fishing the East Bay have caught whitefish in waters 70 to 80 feet deep. Fishing pressure on the Lower Boardman River has been constant with most anglers fishing below the Union Street Dam. Although steelhead numbers are low, a few have been caught below the dam. Suckers are still spawning and can be found from the mouth to the Union Street Dam. Anglers fishing the upper river caught brook trout on crawlers, spinners and dry flies below Forks Campground and above Shecks Campground. Anglers have caught bluegill on Brown Bridge Pond with crawlers. In Platte Bay, those trolling the mouth of the Platte River have caught brown trout using silver and black Rapala’s. Chinook fishing in Lake Michigan has been phenomenal with limit catches averaging from 8 to 19 pounds. At Frankfort, boat anglers have caught chinook and lake trout while trolling around the pier heads in waters 40 to 50 feet deep. Pier anglers have caught a few brown trout casting spoons off the ends of the pier. At Onekama, pier fishing has been slow. A few northern pike have been caught at night off the south pier. Boat anglers have caught good numbers of chinook to the north of the pier in waters 35 to 40 feet deep. Light numbers of steelhead and coho are being caught south of the pier. Those fishing Portage Lake have caught walleye using crawlers after dark. At Manistee, boat anglers trolling for brown trout near the shore and in the harbor have done well. Chinook have been caught out in deeper waters 70 to 100 feet deep. Pier fishing has been slow, with brown and lake trout being caught off the north pier. At Ludington, pier fishing is slow. Boat anglers have caught chinook while trolling with spoons near the shore. Upper Peninsula In Keweenaw Bay, boat anglers have had good success when trolling for chinook in waters 30 to 50 feet deep. Some were lucky enough to catch an occasional lake trout near Pequaming. In Traverse Bay, lake trout were caught while trolling or jigging. Water temperatures are still a bit cool, but fishing should pick up as waters start to warm. In the Upper Menominee River, good numbers of walleye have been taken near the Chalk Hills Dam with the best catches being below the Dam. Anglers should use caution as water levels are low and several boats have had prop damage. Those fishing at the Grand Rapids Dam have caught good numbers of walleye and crappie. Fishing is picking up in Little Bay De Noc. Good numbers of walleye were caught in waters 30 to 40 feet deep while jigging or drifting crawlers and leeches. The best catches were taken while trolling stick bait after dark in waters 18 to 20 feet deep. Near Gladstone, anglers have caught some nice perch and walleye while jigging in waters 10 to 35 feet deep. Fishing pressure is low in Big Bay De Noc. Most anglers are concentrating on the head of the bay just north of Nahma. The best catches have been taken while drifting crawlers in waters 13 foot deep early in the morning or at dusk. Near Au Train and Munising, the coho fishing is slow. Fair lake trout fishing was reported. Anglers have been catching good numbers of chinook in both bays at Au Train and Munising. Near Grand Marais, the whitefish are starting to pick up. Anglers have had good success still fishing off the pier in the early morning and late evening hours. Boat anglers fishing out of Grand Marais have caught lake trout while trolling spoons in waters 300 feet deep. In the St. Mary’s River, water levels are up about 5 inches from last year. Walleye fishing was slow in Munuscong Bay. Water temperatures are around 50 degrees. At Drummond Island, walleye have been caught while trolling in Scott’s Bay with a crawler harness. Northern pike have been caught in Pikes Bay while fishing off the bottom with chubs in waters 4 to 6 feet deep. In Detour, anglers are catching Atlantic salmon and chinook while trolling the shipping channel to and around the lighthouse. The best results have been using spoons in green and silver or blue and silver. At Hessel, splake have been caught off the pier when using live minnows. Good numbers of northern pike were taken in Hessel Bay while trolling with stick baits in waters 4 to 11 feet deep. Light numbers of steelhead have been caught at the mouth of the Carp River using spawn. |
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