| Weekly Fishing Report | |
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Thursday, October 6, 2005 The cold front by weeks end may slow fishing for some species, but should help push more salmon into the rivers. Fish already in the rivers will be holding in the deeper holes until the weather cools.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula On Lake Erie, the waters are still cloudy and boats will need to watch for floating weeds and debris. Perch have been caught in 16 feet of water in Brest Bay and off Stony Point. Boats are fishing around the E Buoy and the Dumping Grounds. Catch rates have been inconsistent, and anglers will need to move around and locate schools of fish. The occasional walleye were caught when trolling in 18 to 24 feet of water from Stony Point north to the Ferme Power Plant. Good numbers of smallmouth bass have been caught when casting tube baits. In the Detroit River, northern pike have been caught near Celeron Island when casting small spoons or fishing with minnows in 8 feet of water in the early mornings. A few yellow perch have been caught on the north end of Sugar Island. Musky fishing was fair when trolling out from the Wyandotte boat launch as well as near Grassy Island in 25 to 35 feet of water. Slow to fair walleye fishing in Lake St. Clair. Boats are trolling with crawler harnesses in the North Channel by Grassy Island and chugging shiners in front of Decker’s Landing. Yellow perch fishing has been slow. Boats are anchoring with perch rigs and minnows in 10 feet of water around Grassy Island. All of the ports along the Thumb except Grindstone City are producing a few salmon in the early morning or evening. Boats are trolling inside the harbors with J-Plugs. Shore anglers have started to catch light numbers of chinook when floating spawn or casting Cleo’s and fire-tiger jointed Rapalas. Slow perch fishing at Harbor Beach, but try using minnows or crawlers in 25 to 40 feet of water south of the harbor. A few perch were taken off Port Sanilac. In Saginaw Bay, fair to good perch fishing was reported at many points along the Shipping Channel, around Spoils Island, and in 10 to 12 feet of water west of Quanicassee. The fish ranged from 8 to 13 inches, and some reported 20 to 40 fish per boat. Fishing near Sebewaing and Caseville was slow. A few channel catfish were caught in the Hot Ponds. Southwestern Lower Peninsula Near St. Joe, shore anglers in Benton Harbor have caught freshwater drum, catfish and rock bass. Anglers trolling near the piers have caught some chinook and coho. Boats that were able to venture out further have caught a few brown trout. On the St. Joe River, there are good numbers of both steelhead and chinook salmon in the river, but anglers are having a tough time hooking anything. The boat anglers seem to be out-fishing the shore anglers. Most are drifting spawn or flies. Those fishing Paw Paw Lake reported slow overall fishing. A few northern pike have been caught when trolling crank baits. From Holland, boats are trolling 40 to 60 feet down in water 80 to 140 feet deep for chinook and steelhead. Those using planer boards with medium to large spoons have done best. Pier anglers have caught fish in the early mornings and late evenings. Good bluegill and crappie fishing in Lake Macatawa. Northern pike and walleye fishing slowed with the warm weather. At Grand Haven, strong winds have produced some rough seas, so most boats have been trolling or drifting close to the harbor and at the mouth of the river. Chinook salmon and steelhead have been caught, but the large fish are holding out in deeper waters 150 to 250 feet deep. In the Grand River at Grand Rapids, chinook, coho and brown trout have been caught up near the Sixth Street Dam. Anglers are presenting everything from spawn bags, flies, spinners, and flat fish below the coffer dams. Most of the coho are running small. Bluegills are biting, and some nice crappie have been caught on minnows after dark. Closer to Lansing, walleye and gar have been caught below the North Lansing Dam, while catfish and walleye are hitting below Moore’s Park. Large crappie have been caught throughout the river. Brown trout are hitting on flies in the Rogue River. Try using Stone Flies, #8 Caddis and Streamers above and below Rogue River Drive or below 10-Mile Road. Near Muskegon, boats are trolling about 38 to 60 feet down in waters 70 to 90 feet deep for chinook and steelhead. Any spoon with orange accents and spoons that glow have been working best in the early mornings or late evenings. Boats are trolling J-Plugs in the channel. In Muskegon Lake, bluegills are hitting on wax worms, crawlers or half a minnow when fishing 8 to 10 feet down in waters 10 to 15 feet deep. Yellow perch can be found on the bottom. Boats are working the ledge in the middle of the lake. Salmon have been caught on spawn and flies in the Lower Muskegon River. In the White River, anglers have managed to catch salmon in the deeper holes, as water temperatures are warm and levels are low. Most are fishing down from the Pines Point Campground. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Water temperatures are still in the upper 50’s, and the rivers are warmer yet. Lake trout season on Lake Huron closed on September 30th. All lake trout caught must be released immediately. At Rogers City, boats are trolling J-Plugs with planer boards. Most are using anything that glows early and late or bright colors during the day. Silver salmon have been caught north of the 40 Mile Point Light in waters 60 to 100 feet deep. Shore activity has been slow, but anglers have caught fish in the Ocqueoc River. At Presque Isle, the fishing remains good. Try spoons and J-Plugs in 50 to 100 feet of water south of the harbor between Stoneport and False Presque Isle. There has been a good mix of salmon, steelhead, and the occasional walleye. Slow fishing at Rockport. A few chinook salmon were caught between the shore and Middle Island. Near Alpena, the few boats trolling are not doing much better than shore anglers. Most are trolling from the mouth of the Thunder Bay River out to the buoy or from the mouth up to the Ninth Street Dam with J-Plugs, spoons and Rapalas. Walleye fishing slowed, but so has the number of anglers targeting them. Those fishing the Ninth Street Dam have caught chinook ranging from 6 to 12 pounds. Many of the fish caught have been females that still have eggs. Try drift fishing with spawn along the shoreline near the turbines or casting stick baits. Anglers are fishing spoons and Rapalas under the Ninth Street Bridge, from the Boardwalk, and Mill Island. The fall run of chinook salmon at Harrisville and Oscoda has been very slow. At Harrisville, boats are trolling in the marina or just outside the marina entrance and taking only light numbers of chinook when casting Cleo’s or trolling with J-Plugs in waters 15 to 20 feet deep. Near Oscoda, boat anglers have caught few fish for the amount of time spent fishing. Most anglers are casting Cleo’s, spoons and spawn around the pierhead. Light numbers of chinook, a few walleye and even a steelhead have been caught. Slow fishing in the Au Sable River, as not many fish are running yet. At Tawas, pier anglers caught a mix of perch, smallmouth bass, northern pike, catfish, and a few chinook salmon. Boat anglers were taking perch off the weed beds near Jerry's Marina and out near Buoy #4. Those fishing the Tawas River have caught chinook when trolling or casting in the river and at the mouth. Near Au Gres, chinook fishing in the Au Gres River has been slow. Near the Singing Bridge, light numbers of chinook and steelhead have been caught in the surf as well as lower Whitney Drain. Yellow perch have been caught in 40 to 50 feet of water. Northwestern Lower Peninsula Near Charlevoix and Petoskey, fishing for salmon has been hit and miss with the better fishing on windy and rainy days. Try fishing the shallow waters where the fish are staging. Small boats, wading, or casting from the piers has been best at sunrise and sunset with body baits or glow in the dark spoons. A few smallmouth bass, rainbow trout, and menominee have also been caught. Salmon are still being caught in the southern regions of both bays at Traverse City, as the salmon are stacking up near the mouth of the Boardman River and Mitchell Creek. Boats are trolling glow-in-the-dark J-Plugs and spoons. In the East Bay, a few salmon have been caught on spawn bags at first light below the Elk River Dam. Yellow perch have been caught in fair numbers in 35 to 40 feet of water along the South Bank and in 60 to 70 feet of water near Yuba. Use minnows and wigglers. In the West Bay, yellow perch have been caught in 25 to 45 feet of water in Suttons Bay. Just north of Frankfort, the fishing in Platte Bay has not changed except a few steelhead have now been caught. The better fishing seems to be when casting by the sandbar. Water temperatures are 60 degrees and dropping slowly. A large number of fish have already moved up to the lower weir. At Frankfort, boats have caught salmon when trolling spoons or J-Plugs on the shelf near Point Betsie and inside the piers. Chinook and coho have been caught off the piers in the early mornings. Salmon are in the Betsie River. A fair number of fish have been caught on spawn and small spoons at the Homestead Dam and at the M-22 Bridge. Near Onekama, boat anglers have caught some chinook, coho and steelhead about 45 feet down in waters 100 to 180 feet deep. The best fishing has been along the shelf from the piers to Arcadia. In Portage Lake, chinook can be found in the hole in front of the hotel. A few small perch and bluegill were caught near the sandbar. Northern pike and bass are hitting in the evenings. At Manistee, while salmon fishing is in full swing, the run has not quite peaked yet. The run is a bit late this year, as there are still large numbers of spawning chinook in the river. There were some fish up at Tippy Dam, but many are not on the gravel yet. The colder weather and rain by weeks end might bring them up on the gravel, but the warm weather will keep them in the deeper holes. Off Ludington, when boats can get out, they are trolling for chinook and steelhead in 150 feet of water. Fish have been caught off the breakwalls. Those fishing the lower stretches of the Pere Marquette River have taken fish near Custer, Scottville and the Indian Bridge. Spawn, spinners and deep diving Thundersticks have worked well. Salmon have been caught on spawn or flies in the Sable River near the State Park. Those surf-casting near the mouth are floating spawn or casting spoons. Bluegill and northern pike have been caught in Upper Hamlin Lake. Upper Peninsula In Keweenaw Bay, anglers are starting to catch a few coho, lake trout and steelhead. Try 20 to 60 feet of water off Sand Point or when trolling along the shoreline from the Falls River to the L’Anse Water Plant. Pockets of fish have been marked in 20 to 80 feet of water near the mouth of the Falls River. Coho and steelhead have been caught in the marina and off the breakwall. In Little Bay De Noc, cool evenings have lowered water temperatures which are now about 60 to 65 degrees. Angler participation for this time of year has been very low. The better walleye fishing has been at night when trolling crank baits on the reefs near Kipling, or when trolling in 12 to 30 feet of water along the break off Portage Point. Perch anglers reported limited success when jigging worms or minnows in 10 to 25 feet of water off Butler Island. Jumbo perch were caught when jigging minnows in 18 to 30 feet of water off the East Bank near Gladstone. Good bass fishing from the narrows south to the Escanaba River. Salmon have been caught at the dam in the Escanaba River and off the big rock at the mouth of the Ford River when casting crank baits. In Big Bay De Noc, bass is the species. Though the action has still been a bit slow around Snake Island, catch rates are picking up everyday. Some are fishing between Fayette and Garden Bluff. Try casting crank baits in waters up to 20 feet deep or drifting minnows near structure or along the breaks. Near Marquette, boat anglers have caught lake trout when trolling silver and orange spoons in 130 to 170 feet of water. Some of the fish are right on the bottom while others are suspended 125 to 140 feet down. Salmon anglers trolling near shore or casting off the breakwall have caught a few fish. Good flow is now present in some of the streams throughout Marquette County. Those fishing at the mouth of the Chocolay River and the Dead River have also caught fish. At Munising, fishing has been fair, but should pick up soon. Coho in the 3 to 4 pound range have been caught when trolling flies 15 to 20 feet down along the east shore. Splake fishing has been fair to good near the mouth of the Anna River when floating spawn. Closer to Newberry, anglers reported very good perch fishing in Big Manistique Lake. Most fish were caught on minnows. Walleye are biting in good numbers in the St. Mary’s River. Anglers are fishing from Sault Ste. Marie down to Neebish Island. At De Tour, boat anglers are targeting salmon in the Shipping Channel to the #3 Green Can, which is by the lighthouse. Many are using green spoons and red and white flies. A few walleye have been picked up near Squaw Island, and yellow perch and smallmouth bass near Sweets Island. Chinook salmon are in Albany Creek, but water levels are low. For Cedarville and Hessel, northern pike and smallmouth bass are providing a good fishery, but few anglers have been targeting them. Try casting with chubs or shiner minnows in shallow waters between Government Bay and Cedarville Bay, Connors Point in Musky Bay, and Hessel Bay. Yellow perch are quite active, biting on minnows, garden worms, crab meat and crawlers in Moscoe Channel, Musky Bay and around Little Joe Island. Salmon have moved into Bush Creek and Nunn’s Creek. Try using a single artificial egg with a single hook or flies with the color red. Boats fishing out of St. Ignace have caught chinook when trolling in front of the Coast Guard Station and near the Edison Power Plant. Salmon have also arrived in the Carp River in good numbers. They range from the mouth of the river, upstream to Towerline Rapids and McDonalds Rapids. Anglers are using small blue and silver or fire-tiger spoons in the early mornings or late evenings. |
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