| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, August 11, 2005 Cooler temperatures this week will be welcomed by anglers, as water temperatures on many of the inland lakes have reached into the low and middle 80’s. Anglers targeting the deeper waters will find the bigger bluegills, crappie and even some bass.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula On Lake Erie, a few walleye have been caught when trolling south of West Sister Island. Troll east to west using Hot-n-Tot’s in chrome, gold and various metallic patterns. Walleye have been caught on crawler harnesses east of Luna Pier near the Dumping Grounds, and around Brest Bay. Perch have been caught, but the fish are running small. Better catches have come from the Sputnik and the Toledo Lighthouse. Try fishing in 16 feet of water off Sterling State Park or in 11 feet of water off Luna Pier. Western Lake Erie is currently experiencing an algae bloom. While most fish species will usually try to avoid the areas where the bloom may be especially heavy, anglers may still want to wash their fish off good before eating them. In Lake St. Clair, walleye have been caught near the shipping channel and the St. Clair Light when drifting crawlers or trolling crank baits. Try trolling in waters 15 to 20 feet deep with harnesses and bottom bouncers around Grass Island and Strawberry Island. Yellow perch were caught in 12 to 15 feet of water near the Firecracker. Good bass fishing from 8-Mile to 13-Mile Road when drifting tube jigs in 6 to 8 feet of water. Musky are starting to show up between Grass Island and Strawberry Island. In the St. Clair River, walleye can be found in the Middle Channel in 18 feet of water. Smallmouth were caught in both the Middle and South Channel on crank baits. Yellow perch were caught in the Middle Channel with a perch rig and piece of crawler or leech. At Port Huron, walleye were caught near the bridge. At Lexington and Port Sanilac, strong north winds slowed fishing. Light numbers of chinook have been caught, but the fish are small. A few walleye have also been caught. Perch have been caught in 30 to 35 feet of water when trolling crawler harnesses. At Harbor Beach, lake trout fishing is good north of the harbor in 105 to 130 feet of water when using attractors with cut bait. Try Spin Doctors or dodgers with flies on the bottom. Salmon fishing was slow, but a few fish have been caught on spoons 50 to 60 feet down in 95 to 130 feet of water. Lead lines with spoons and small Spin Doctors have worked well. Gold and green that glow were the ticket. Steelhead fishing is slow. Bass and pike continue to hit on body baits inside the harbor. Walleye have been caught off Port Hope when fishing 45 to 50 feet down in 75 to 90 feet of water with Hot-n-Tot’s. In Saginaw Bay, walleye have been taken in front of Hoyle’s Marina and near the Callahan Reef when trolling harnesses with crawlers or leeches. Yellow perch are biting near Buoys H and 18, the north end of the Black Hole, and near the Spark Plug. A few walleye have been caught off Quanicassee. Boats fishing off Sebewaing have caught walleye off Fish Point and Lone Tree Island. Perch were caught in 20 to 25 feet of water in the shipping channel. Southwestern Lower Peninsula Good fishing continues out of New Buffalo. Boats are taking good numbers of chinook along with an occasional lake trout or steelhead when trolling with orange and green spoons in 80 to 125 feet of water. Perch have been caught when drifting or still-fishing in 25 to 35 feet of water with minnows or crawlers. Near St. Joe and Benton Harbor, boat anglers caught chinook and steelhead on green, orange and purple spoons. Fish straight out from the pier in 75 to 140 feet of water. Light numbers of chinook and steelhead have been caught off the piers when fishing in the early mornings or late night. Perch anglers are out in 35 to 45 feet of water. Overall fishing on the St. Joe River has been slow. Panfish have been caught up near the dam. From Holland to Port Sheldon, fishing success has been up and down. Water temperatures are still very warm and fish are holding in the deeper waters. Chinook have been caught in the early mornings, but the fishing slows right down about an hour after sunrise. Blue and green spoons along with green, black, or purple J-Plugs caught fish. Coho and steelhead fishing were slow. Yellow perch fishing has been hit-or-miss. Lake Macatawa reported fair to good walleye fishing when trolling or drifting along the west end of the lake. Northern pike and bass can be found in shallow waters along the weed beds. Channel catfish are hitting on live bait at night. Good walleye fishing was reported in the Kalamazoo River when trolling downstream from New Richmond. Catfish have been caught at night near the Allegan Dam on crawlers, shrimp and small bluegills. Redhorse suckers and bluegills have been caught on wax worms under a bobber in the slow waters behind the dam. On the Grand River near Grand Rapids, brown trout have been caught on live and artificial neon green crawlers near the Sixth Street Dam. Catfish are hitting on shad, suckers and small bluegills in the deeper holes. Walleye fishing slowed, but northern pike have been caught on spinners and jerk baits. Near Lansing, target catfish near the North Lansing Dam and Moore’s Park Dam. Smallmouth bass are hitting on small spinners, twister tails and live bait. Large bluegills can be found in many of the inland lakes when fishing deep with light line and crickets or wax worms. On the Rogue River, those fly fishing have caught 12 to 16 inch brown trout and rainbow trout from Rockford to the Childsdale Dam. Dry flies such as the Caddis, Hoppers or black and red Ants have caught fish. Walleye fishing slowed in the Thornapple River, but crappie and bluegills are biting. Good fishing on the inland lakes. Large bluegills are hitting on jigs with wax worms or leeches in 10 to 15 feet of water on Reeds Lake. Myers Lake has bluegills, crappie and bass. Perch are hitting on fathead minnows in Wabasis Lake. Near Rockford, Big Pine Island Lake has bluegills, crappie, bass and northern pike. Walleye are hitting in Long Lake and Lincoln Lake. From Grand Haven to Muskegon, warm water temperatures are driving the fish out to deeper waters. Boats are trolling in waters 80 to 200 feet deep using flashers and flies with green and white taking the most fish. Pier fishing has been very slow with only a few freshwater drum caught during the day and catfish at night. At Whitehall, surface water temperatures are right around 73 degrees. Those fishing pre-dawn 5:00am to 7:30am have caught chinook, coho, brown trout, lake trout, and steelhead in waters 35 to 100 feet deep. As the sun gets higher, boats are moving out and fishing 65 to 115 feet down in waters 100 to 170 feet deep. Try spoons in chartreuse, blue, yellow, watermelon and orange. Glow spoons work best in the mornings. Fish catchers with green glow and bloody nose flies or cut bait rigs are taking fish. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Slow fishing from Rogers City. Boats are fishing Swan Bay, Adams Point, in front of or south of the Quarry, and north of Forty Mile Point. Try 60 to 120 feet of water depending on the time of day. Fish shallow early and move to deep waters later. White, black, green, silver, and blue spoons along with green glow, pearl or black and white J-Plugs have caught fish. At Rockport, chinook can still be found out near the Nordmere Wreck. Anglers are trolling spoons and dodgers at least 120 feet down in waters 150 to 250 feet deep. Lake trout have been caught near Middle Island, the Nordmere Wreck and the Green Buoy. Anglers are targeting bass during the evening hours around the 45th Parallel and Partridge Point. Few reports have come from Alpena this week. Lake trout are still being caught up at Thunder Bay Island and straight out from the marina about 9-miles. Fish can be found in waters from 45 to 120 deep or more. Spoons in a variety of colors with dodgers and flies have caught fish. The walleye in Black Lake can be found in shallow waters 8 to 30 feet deep. Most are trolling harnesses with crawlers or leeches. Northern pike and smallmouth bass are in the shallow weedy areas on the north side of the lake. Casting with artificial baits or large minnows while still-fishing worked best. Yellow perch and panfish have been caught while drifting or jigging worms and minnows in the deeper water near the drop-offs. Bass and northern pike fishing slowed on Fletcher’s Floodwaters. Bluegill and sunfish are hitting, but the perch action was slow. A single hook with a worm and bobber worked best. Near Oscoda, lake trout have been caught straight out a good 8 to 9 miles or southeast to Greenbush in 80 to 120 feet of water. Fish are hitting on spoons in green, silver, raspberry, orange and green or yellow and black with sliders and Cowbells. Pier anglers have caught walleye on crawlers while boats are using a pink spoon and crawler harnesses. Smallmouth bass have been caught off the pier. Catfish are active in the evening hours. >p> Good walleye fishing continues from Tawas. Try fishing 30 to 40 feet down in waters 35 to 90 feet deep using crawler harnesses with snap weights and body baits. Best fishing has been off Alabaster, near Point Au Sable, and Buoy 2. Chinook and lake trout have been taken in 35 to 90 feet of water around Buoy 2 and south. Pier anglers reported very little action. Near Au Gres, walleye have been caught 30 to 40 feet down in waters over 50 feet deep using crawler harnesses with snap weights. A few perch have started to show up straight out from the mouth of the Au Gres River near the Spark Plug and the gravelly shoals. Inland, Higgins Lake has good smallmouth bass fishing. Try fishing in 40 to 50 feet of water on the north side of the main island. Lake trout are in 100 feet of water in front of Big Creek. Lots of perch have been caught on minnows and wigglers in 40 to 50 feet of water. Some good size rock bass have been caught along the drop-off. Houghton Lake reported excellent bass fishing. Most fish have been caught in shallow waters close to shore. Walleye anglers are fishing from dusk till dawn as surface water temperatures have hit 86 degrees during the day. Bluegill and northern pike fishing has slowed. Northwestern Lower Peninsula Boats fishing off Petoskey and Charlevoix are fishing deeper waters as the fish are scattered. Both salmon and lake trout are hitting on white dodgers and flies, as well as flies in green and blue. Plain spoons have also taken fish in good numbers. Salmon are hitting on greens while the lake trout seem to prefer purple. Look for both around 100 feet down in waters over 120 feet deep. In Lake Charlevoix, anglers are targeting perch along the northwest end of the lake. Fish waters 20 and 35 feet deep using worms or minnows. Salmon fishing was fair on both Grand Traverse Bays with one to two fish per boat reported. In the East Bay, try spoons with Hootchie Mama’s in green off Yuba, and out from the M-37 launch site between Willow Point and the South Bank. On West Bay, trolling along the "Whitewalls" and around "Red Buoy 8" were the best locations. Try fishing 50 to 90 feet down in waters 100 to 200 feet deep for salmon. Lake trout are in 100 to 120 feet of water. On the Lower Boardman River, smallmouth bass are hitting on crawlers. No effort has been recorded for walleye in the last week. A few small trout have been caught at the mouth of Kids Creek and below Union Street Dam. Those using crawlers and spawn had better luck. Skamania have been seen in the river near the Union Street Dam. Along the upper river, brook and brown trout have been caught consistently. Anglers are using crawlers, hoppers, and wooly buggers. Bluegills, yellow perch, and rock bass have been caught on crawlers and poppers in the Brown Bridge Pond. Smallmouth bass are hitting on crawlers. Good perch fishing was reported in 20 to 27 feet of water on Long Lake near Traverse City, but some of the fish are small. Walleye have been caught at dusk using slip bobbers and leeches east of the beach. Smallmouth bass are hitting on leeches along the drop-offs. River levels are fairly low in this region, but fishable. Warm water temperatures have been a factor, so the better fishing can be found in the early mornings or evenings. South of Empire, fair fishing reported in Platte Bay. Boats are trolling in waters 80 to 180 feet deep with the West Bay producing more fish but the waters have been rough. At Frankfort, the best fishing is from the Herring Hole to Point Betsie. Try trolling blue and green spoons in 120 to 150 feet of water straight out from the piers. Chinook, brown trout and steelhead have been caught on alewife off the Elberta Pier. Northern pike and yellow perch have been caught off the public fishing pier near Point Betsie. Platte Lake and Crystal Lake are still producing good numbers of panfish along with smallmouth bass and walleye. Off Arcadia, fishing was hot last week but warm surface water has the fish scattered and fishing has slowed on the shelf. Blue and green spoons work best. Good bass action in Arcadia Lake when using spinners and pearl tube worms. Near Onekama, boat anglers have caught good numbers of chinook, coho and lake trout when fishing straight out from the piers or north towards Arcadia in waters 200 feet deep. Portage Lake continues to be good for bluegill and bass. At Manistee and Ludington, pier anglers and those trolling inside the harbors had no luck because of warm water temperatures. A few have managed to catch fish off the shelf to the south, but the most successful anglers have traveled out beyond 200 feet of water. If cold water can be found, the fish will be there even if that means fishing 100 feet down. Upper Peninsula Small chinook have been caught in Keweenaw Bay, but most anglers have been out pleasure boating rather than fishing. Fish are biting right at sunrise and sunset. Small lake trout were caught in over 200 feet of water in Traverse Bay. Those fishing the Inland waters reported slow fishing for trout and walleye. Bass and panfish catches remain good on surface plugs or crawlers. Many of the inland lakes in this region are starting to show signs of drought. Fair to good fishing was reported in Lake Gogebic. Walleye and yellow perch have been caught when jigging crawler harnesses with leeches in 18 to 20 feet of water. Slip bobbers with jigs tipped with live bait work good. Smallmouth bass have been caught on crank baits in the Menominee River. Walleye have been active in the area below the White Rapids Dam while jigging minnows or worms fished in the deeper holes. Work the area just above the Grand Rapids Dam for crappie, and the backwaters of the Chalk Hill Dam for nice yellow perch. Catfish have been caught along the entire upper river when fishing in the evenings. In Little Bay De Noc, anglers have caught walleye when trolling stick baits or drifting crawlers in 18 to 30 feet of water around the Center Reef. Try jigging or trolling in 10 to 20 feet of water around the Black Bottom. Anglers marked more than they caught just off Portage Point in 40' to 50' with many also reporting good catches of salmon in this area. Salmon catches have been good this week. Most boats are trolling 35 to 45 feet down in waters 50 to 80 feet deep. Yellow perch have been caught when jigging crawlers in 11 to 18 feet of water around Butler Island. Northern pike are active just off Saunders Point when trolling or casting the weed lines just north of the Point. In Big Bay, walleye action is picking up. Good catches were reported just off Garden Bluff in 15' to 30' of water when trolling stick baits. Limits were caught when drifting crawlers with bottom bouncers in the deeper waters. Work the Shoal area in waters 16' to 30' deep or try trolling stick baits in the deeper waters between St. Vitals Point and Round Island. A few nice perch have been caught when jigging or drifting crawlers in 8 to 12 feet of water in Garden Bay. Limits of salmon have been caught 40 to 50 feet down in waters 50 to 95 feet deep around the Summer Islands. Lake trout fishing has picked up at Marquette, but anglers still had to work hard to get their limits. Fish ranging from 2 to 6 pounds have been caught in waters up to 150 feet deep. Out of Munising and Au Train, lake trout have been caught by those trolling in 150 feet of water. Boats making the long trip out to the Big Reef reported good catches. At Grand Marais, lake trout continue to hit just off the bottom in waters 150 to 300 feet deep. Trolling speed is still a factor while using spoons in a variety of colors. Slow fishing for lake herring at De Tour. Good smallmouth bass fishing reported from Musky Bay west to Cedarville Bay. Salmon have been caught in 50 to 70 feet of water between Marquette Island and Goose Island out of Hessel, and the Yacht Entrance or the Dolomite Shipping Channel out of Cedarville. Try different shades of green and orange. Yellow perch have been caught off the pier at Hessel and from Cedarville Bay to Snows Channel. Northern Pike are hitting on chubs in shallow waters off the pier at Hessel, the Middle Entrance, Duck Bay and from Cedarville Bay to Government Bay. At St. Ignace, boats are trolling for chinook around Mackinaw Island and near the Coast Guard Station. Orange, watermelon, and chartreuse spoons with green and white flashers and flies have worked best. Shore anglers continue to catch northern pike and smallmouth bass on small spinners and flies on the west side of the bridge. |
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