| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, September 29, 2005 Closure Notes: Type 1 and Type 2 rivers and streams along with Type A and Type D inland trout lakes will close to fishing on September 30th. Lake trout fishing on Lake Huron and Lake Michigan will also close on September 30th. The season to take lake sturgeon on Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River closes on September 30th. Anglers are reminded again that snagging is not a legal method of take in the state of Michigan. You may not retain any species including trout or salmon that have not been hooked in the mouth.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula Strong winds have stirred up the waters on Lake Erie so the fishing has been slow and spotty. Most anglers have been lucky to bring in a dozen or so yellow perch. Try fishing some of the better spots such as Stony Point, straight out from Bolles Harbor in 22 feet of water or in the deeper waters outside of Brest Bay. Smallmouth bass have been caught at Luna Pier and Sterling State Park. In the Detroit River, a few walleye have been caught near the southern end of Celeron Island. Try crawlers and bottom bouncers. Near Trenton and Wyandotte, a few yellow perch were caught in 10 feet of water off Stony Island when fishing minnows along the weedbeds. On the north end of the river, smallmouth bass have been caught near Peche Island when using tube jigs in 15 to 20 feet of water near the slopes and rock piles. In Lake St. Clair, strong winds have stirred up the waters, and made fishing a little more difficult. Smallmouth bass have been caught along the Shipping Channel. Largemouth bass have been caught when casting tubes or spinner baits between Selfridge and Harley. For Musky, boats are trolling near Grassy Island and off 8-Mile and 9-Mile Roads with crank baits. The season to take lake sturgeon on Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River closes on September 30th. Salmon are starting to show up in most of the harbors including Lexington, Port Sanilac, Harbor Beach and Port Austin. Surface water temperatures are still near the 70 degree mark, so none of the harbors are red-hot as of this report. Boats are starting to troll closer to shore in 20 to 80 feet of water. The fish are hitting on fire-tiger body baits. A few northern pike were caught at Lexington. Boats are taking lake trout out of Port Austin, but that fishery will close on September 30th. In Saginaw Bay, weather and wind conditions have caused overall fishing to slow. A few yellow perch are still being caught near Buoy 15 and at the mouth of the Saginaw River. No walleye to report. Near Quanicassee, when boat anglers can get out, they have caught yellow perch at the Spark Plug. Off Caseville, good perch fishing was reported in 40 feet of water off Oak Point. Most fish averaged 8 inches or larger. White bass have been caught with some limits reported. Southwestern Lower Peninsula At St. Joe, boats are tolling with spoons and J-Plugs in 20 to 40 feet of water and catching chinook. Use anything that glows in the early mornings and late evenings. Most are trolling between the piers or in the river. Pier anglers have caught salmon and steelhead on spawn or small spoons. Hot colors have been silver, orange or green. On the St. Joe River, good numbers of salmon and steelhead are in the river system. Anglers are having some success drifting flies up at the Berrien Springs Dam. Boat anglers are working plugs in the holes and using spawn. Walleye and smallmouth bass were caught from Niles to Buchanan when drifting crawlers. Those fishing from Buchanan to Berrien Springs have caught walleye. Steelhead have been caught in the Dowagiac River. In the Kalamazoo River, chinook have been caught up by the Allegan Dam on flies or spawn. A few boats are trolling or casting while others are anchored above the deep holes or in front of the creeks. A few walleye have also been caught at the dam. Smallmouth bass are hitting on crawlers, minnows, crayfish or spinners. On the Grand River at Grand Rapids, recent rains have increased water levels. Chinook along with a few brown trout and small coho have been caught up near the Sixth Street Dam when floating spawn or flies in the early mornings. The few brown trout caught seem to be hitting at night on spawn, spoons or spinners. Some are even floating a small jig or teardrop with wax worms. Closer to Lansing, a few chinook have been caught at Lyons and Muir. Walleye and catfish continue to bite at the Moore’s Park Dam. Fair to good numbers of walleye have been caught in the Thornapple River by those fishing near Cascade and Ada. Fall fishing has started to pick-up on the inland lakes. Crappie and largemouth bass have been caught in Millennium Park. Bluegills, yellow perch, crappie and northern pike were caught in Reeds Lake. Good crappie fishing was reported in Morrison Lake, and northern pike can be found in Paw Paw Lake. At Grand Haven, chinook salmon are still staging at the mouth of the river. More rain and cooler temperatures should produce a good run of fish. Boats trolling in 25 to 50 feet of water have caught some large chinook salmon. Boats trolling out in 200 to 240 feet of water reported taking very good catches of chinook and steelhead on spoons. Orange and green seem to be the hot colors. At Muskegon, salmon, steelhead and lake trout are also out deep. Spoons and J-Plugs have caught fish. Chinook can be found around the pierheads and in the channel. Anglers are still jigging off the short pier. Boats are trolling for salmon in Muskegon Lake. In the Muskegon River, a few early run salmon have been caught in the deep holes near Newaygo. Northeastern Lower Peninsula At Rogers City, most of the action has been directly out from Swan Bay and even in the bay. The majority of anglers have been using planer boards with lead core and J-Plugs in green glow, blue glow, and mother of pearl. A white fly or squid trolled down a little deeper has also worked well. In Presque Isle, anglers fishing Stoneport have been doing well. The best depths have been 30-80 feet of water fishing the top 65 feet. They have been using an assortment including J-Plugs, spoons and flashers with squid and flies. Good colors have been green, white and pearl, or anything that glows in the early mornings or late evenings. Salmon have entered the Ocqueoc River. Light numbers of salmon have entered Swan Bay and the weir; however, they’re just not staying put. Water temperatures are still in the low 60's on the surface. We need some rain and cooler temps for salmon to run the rivers in this area. At Rockport, not many fish are stacked up as surface water temperatures are in the low 60’s. A few chinook salmon were caught off the south side of the pier when casting spoons and Rapalas. Boats are trolling along the shoreline from the access site to just up around the point where the underwater “sinkhole” runs in 60 feet of water and quickly shallows up to 40 feet deep right off Middle Island. Lake trout can be found right off the bottom in 85 feet of water around Middle Island. Near Alpena, boats are launching on the river or at the marina and trolling from the mouth to the Buoy in Thunder Bay. Others are trolling from the mouth to the Second Street Bridge in the early morning before the sun comes up. Fish have been marked, but not many have been caught. Salmon seem to be moving up into the river at a slow pace. Shore anglers are fishing along both sides of the Ninth Street Dam, and some are jigging off the Ninth Street Bridge. A few fish are jumping up by the dam. Anglers are drift fishing with flies and spoons, but will most likely change to spawn soon. Inland, only a few boats have been out on Black Lake. Those casting crawlers have caught yellow perch in 3 to 10 feet of water along the north end of the lake. Good fishing on Fletchers Floodwaters for perch and panfish. The best spots seem to be the southeast and southwest shorelines. Northern pike and bass fishing picked up when using top-water baits in the colors green, white and black. At Tawas, salmon have been caught on spoons and J-Plugs when trolling around the harbor and at the mouth of the Tawas River. Shore and river anglers have caught salmon when casting spawn or small spoons. A few 7 to 10 inch yellow perch have been caught off the pier. Anglers have caught some salmon off the Singing Bridge when casting spawn and spoons. At Au Gres, salmon have been caught on J-Plugs, spoons and spawn in the harbor as well as the Au Gres River. Yellow perch have been caught in 42 to 50 feet of water in the Shipping Channel. Northwestern Lower Peninsula Anglers in Petoskey and Charlevoix saw generally slow fishing for salmon this past week. Warm water and balmy weather has made for lethargic fish. The best results came from small boats trolling in shallow waters with flies and plugs or when casting from the piers with body baits and spoons. Shore anglers are fishing spawn under a bobber near the Cement Plant in Charlevoix. Most of the larger boats have called it quits for the season. Salmon fishing has slowed at Traverse City as a large number of fish have started to enter the river systems. On the East Bay, anglers were catching a few salmon along the south bank and off Elk Rapids when trolling 65 to 80 feet down in waters 100 to 120 feet deep. Most are trolling glow-in-the-dark spoons and J-Plugs. A few salmon were also taken below the Elk River Dam on spawn bags at first light. On the West Bay, boat anglers are still catching a fair number of salmon at the mouth of the Boardman River. Salmon are in the Boardman River. The DNR may start harvesting fish the beginning of next week. Several chinook ranging from 15 to 32 inches were recorded below the weir. Anglers are using orange or red spawn, imitation spawn, green yarn flies, spinners, small spoons and crawlers. In the Upper River, anglers have tried everything but only a few trout ranging from 6 to 8 inches have been caught below Sheck’s Campground. Rainbow trout and smallmouth bass have been caught on flies in Sabin Pond. In Platte Bay, activity has been a bit slow. Those surfcasting near the mouth of the river have managed to catch chinook and coho when casting spawn or small spoons near the sandbar. Salmon have been passed at the Lower Platte Weir. Anglers can call 231-775-9727 (Ext. 6072) for updated information which only changes when fish have actually been passed. Near Frankfort, pier fishing for chinook and coho has been good in the very early morning or late evening hours when casting spawn or spoons. Light numbers of steelhead have also been caught. Boat anglers have caught decent numbers of chinook along with an occasional coho when trolling spoons or plugs in green, yellow, or blue. Boats are trolling in 40 to 100 feet of water from the Herring Hole to Point Betsie. Closer to Arcadia, no fishing on the big lake, but a few boats have managed to catch a few chinook salmon when trolling Hot-n-Tot’s in Arcadia Lake. At Onekama, a few small chinook have been caught just in front of the resort when fishing the deep hole with light colored spoons. Most boats reported slow fishing with only light numbers of chinook and coho caught in 80 to 120 feet of water. Pier fishing has also been slow, but a few panfish have been taken off the Portage Lake end of the south pier. Fishing at Manistee has been slow for boat and pier anglers. A few fish have been caught off the pier or taken off the shelf. North winds would cool the water temperatures and allow anglers to catch fish in close to shore. Fish have been caught in the Big Manistee River at Tippy Dam, however; most anglers are still waiting for more fish to come in. For information at the Little Manistee Weir, call 231-775-9727 (Ext. 6072) for regular updates when fish have actually been passed. At Ludington, boat and pier anglers reported slow to fair fishing. North winds are needed to turn the lake which will produce some better fishing in the basin or in Pere Marquette Lake. Shore anglers have managed to catch a few fish near the mouth of the Pere Marquette River. Salmon were reported in the Big Sable River. Upper Peninsula Fishing was slow to fair from Baraga to Copper Harbor, with only light numbers of coho and lake trout caught in Keweenaw Bay. A few chinook and coho were reported in the Fall’s River. In the Menominee River, smallmouth bass and northern pike fishing has been fair below the Grand Rapids Dam and the White Rapids Dam. A fair number of sturgeon have been caught, but most do not meet minimum size requirements. Good walleye fishing above the White Rapids Dam. For Marquette, light numbers of chinook salmon have moved up the Dead River and have been seen near the County Road 550 Bridge. A couple chinook were caught upstream in the Carp River while the occasional coho have been caught in the Chocolay River. Boat anglers on Lake Superior have managed to catch chinook weighing 3 to 15 pounds. Fair lake trout fishing in Munising Bay, as lake temperatures are still near 65 degrees. Off Grand Marais, salmon have not started running as of this report, but recent rains should help improve fishing conditions. Weather has limited the lake trout fishing. Fishing along the Tahquamenon River has been slow, but should start to pickup soon. In Detour, the catch is slow, perhaps due to low angler pressure. The few anglers targeting salmon are fishing the Shipping Channel to the #3 Green Can by the Lighthouse. Silver dodgers, green squid and black and white spoons have been picking up a few pink and chinook salmon. At Cedarville, salmon fishing was fair when using J-Plugs and stick baits in 30 feet of water. Good locations include the Dolomite Shipping Channel and right in front of the Dolomite docks. Those targeting salmon near Hessel are fishing near Goose Island with fair results. Northern pike and smallmouth bass have been caught when casting with chubs or shiner minnows in shallow waters. Best places to fish have been Government Bay, Cedarville Bay, off Connors Point in Musky Bay, Middle Entrance through Snows Channel, and Hessel Bay. Yellow perch are quite active and hitting on minnows, garden worms, crab meat and crawlers in the Moscoe Channel, Musky Bay and around Little Joe Island. Salmon are in the Carp River. They range from the mouth of the river, upstream to Towerline Rapids and McDonalds Rapids. Anglers are using green J-Plugs and small Cleo's in the early mornings or late evenings. Salmon have also begun moving into creeks such as Nunns Creek, McKay Creek and Bush Creek. No reports have come in from Beaver Creek yet. Common baits in the creeks include flies with red or a single artificial salmon egg. Off St. Ignace, a few boat anglers reported fair fishing around Mackinaw Island and near the Coast Guard Station. Most fish have been caught on spoons and plugs in the colors green, white and yellow. |
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