Fishing Report

Boat anglers fishing out near the Nordmeer Wreck have caught trout and salmon. Those trolling the deeper waters up to 140 feet deep just east of the Wreck have caught a nice selection of lake trout on spoons, dodgers and squid, flashers and squid and cut bait. Those willing to make the trip have caught some large lake trout along the drop off near the Trout Refuge. Those staying closer to shore have caught smaller fish in Thunder Bay. Walleye were taken off Middle Island, Scarecrow Island and North Point.

Boat anglers are fishing straight out, south towards Calcite or north of the port up to Forty Mile Point as the fish are scattered. Good depths have been 60 to 120 feet deep depending on water temperatures. Downriggers, planer boards, lead core and dipseys have worked well with spoons in a variety of colors, dodgers, flashers, squid and cut bait.

The walleye fishery seems to be moving out to deeper waters as many are fishing all the way out to Buoys 1 and 2. Trolling Hot-n-Tots or crawler harnesses in 25 to 30 feet of water seemed to catch the most fish. Some are fishing in 10 to 13 feet of water near the Callahan Reef. At Sebewaing, anglers are fishing in 10 to 12 feet of water along the Slot. Up at Bay Port, some nice catches have come in 7 to 9 feet of water around North Island. At Caseville, they are fishing in 15 to 20 feet of water around the Charity Islands.

Has fair salmon fishing straight out and north of the harbor when fishing the top 70 feet of waters up to 120 feet deep at first light or late in the evening. Try magnum spoons and dodgers with squid off downriggers and dipseys. Spin Doctors and flies have also been working. Best colors have been green and white, black with glow, and green or blue sparkle. Good lake trout fishing using cowbells and dodgers with Spin-n-Glows or cut baits on the bottom. For steelhead, try long lines with bright orange, green or yellow lures.

Lake trout, salmon, and steelhead have been caught in 80 to 100 feet of water with a good temperature break within 20 feet of the bottom. Perch fishing slowed with the windy weather, but should pick back up. Pier fishing was slow.

Anglers continue to fish for walleye from Algonac to Port Huron, with the better catches coming between Marine City and Maysville when trolling with crawler harnesses or jigging near the bottom. Look for the weed beds in 12 to 20 feet of water. Hot colors have been orange, chartreuse and gold.

Boats trolling the north end of the lake have caught walleye in Anchor Bay. Try crawler harnesses and bottom bouncers, jigs, or body baits when fishing near the North and Middle Channels. Fair to good bass fishing was reported between Nine Mile Road and the 400 Club. Fish the weed beds with purple crawlers or tube jigs.

The better walleye fishing has been up in the north end of the river. Anglers are fishing the areas with weed beds and structure near the drop offs, as the fish are holding in cooler waters. Try slow trolling or drifting with bottom bouncers. Some are hand-lining at night with crank baits. Good colors are orange, chartreuse, and copper. Smallmouth bass are hitting on jigs tipped with crawlers and the perch are hitting on jigs and minnows.

Walleye fishing in the central basin has been excellent. Fish have been caught on Ruggles Reef, between Beaver Creek and Lorain in 35’ of water, on the N end of the Sandbar between Lorain and Vermilion, 6 miles N of the Cleveland Crib in 58‘ of water, 8 miles N of Eastlake in 62’ of water, 7 to 8 miles NW of Fairport Harbor in 70 to 74’ of water, and 7 to 8 miles NW of Geneva in 70 to 74’ of water. Fish have been caught on worm harnesses or monkey puke, bloody nose, watermelon, killer bee and copper/back spoons trolled with dipsy divers or trolled with jet divers off planer boards. Some anglers are also drifting worm harnesses. Fish are suspended and anglers are fishing down 30 to 50'. Yellow perch fishing has slowed down this past week and just fair catches have been reported. The best areas are 4 to 5 miles N of Ashtabula in 50-58’ of water, and 4 to 5 miles N of Conneaut in 54-56’ of water. Fish have ranged from 7 to 11 inches. Perch spreaders with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish. Smallmouth bass fishing has been excellent on Ruggles Reef between Huron and Vermilion, and along the shoreline from Fairport Harbor to Conneaut in 15 to 25’ of water. Fish have been caught on goby color tube jigs, goby color drop shot rigs, jigs tipped with minnows or leeches, or by trolling crankbaits. White bass fishing has been good 1/2 mile N of Eastlake CEI power plant. Anglers are using agitators with white, yellow and green twister tails. Shore anglers are also reporting good catching of white bass at the Eastlake CEI, Wildwood State Park, Rocky River, Avon Lake and Lorain piers, using agitators with white, yellow and green twister tails and small spoons. Lake Erie surface temperatures range from 72 to 76 degrees.

Walleye fishing continues to be excellent with many limits being caught. The best fishing has been nearshore from the Toledo water intake to Crane Creek in 19 to 21’ of water, N of West Sister Island, west of Green and Rattlesnake Islands, W of the SW corner of Kelleys Island, and on the dumping grounds N-NE of Cedar Point. Drifters are using mayfly rigs or worm harnesses with bottom bouncers, while trollers are using worm harnesses with inline weights or bottom bouncers and jet or dipsy divers with spoons. The best spoon colors have been patterns that include gold and purple or red. The best yellow perch fishing in the western basin has been around the Toledo water intake and NE of Ballast Island. Perch spreaders with shiners fished near the bottom produce the most fish.

Walleye fishing is still pretty good for this late in the season. Anglers can still have a decent day of walleye fishing, just expect slower catch rates. Most of the fish caught were taken between the Fermi Power Plant and the River Raisin Buoys, off Stony Point, Luna Pier and out near the Sputnik. Try using crawler harnesses, spoons and thin crank baits such as reef runners. Some are using planer boards with small orange and gold spoons. Those slow trolling have done best as the fish seem to be holding close to the bottom.

Slow trout and salmon action off Menominee with only a few fish taken near Green Island. Fair to good perch fishing was reported off both the Lighthouse Pier and Government Pier. Up near the Cedar River, salmon and brown trout were caught 65 feet down in waters 110 feet deep when trolling along the Whaleback Shoal.

Boat anglers have caught chinook and steelhead straight out from the harbor or just to the south when trolling the top 50 feet in waters 65 to 120 feet deep. High lines and dipseys seem to have more success than downriggers. Hot colors are blue, green and orange. Some are trolling green glow and white glow flies.

Fishing has picked up. Boats are trolling in 45 to 180 feet of water, with the deeper water being more productive later in the afternoon. Most of the fish are coming within the top 40 feet of water where a good temperature break has finally occurred. Try glow spoons in the morning, and switching over to blues and greens in the afternoon.

On the East Bay, anglers continue to catch good numbers of lake trout along Yuba, Willow Point, and along the South Bank. Cowbells and spoons produced the most fish when trolling 30 to 40 feet down in waters 90 to 110 feet deep. Good lake trout fishing along the White Walls and near the Gravel Pit.

In Lake Michigan, the salmon are drawing more attention with more and more boats heading out all the time. Anglers are finding good schools of baitfish and catching some nice chinook up to 20 pounds or more when fishing anywhere from 75 to 110 feet down from the South Point up to the North Point. Pier and shore anglers are doing well for panfish.

Those fishing the waters of Little Traverse Bay have caught salmon and lake trout in the waters off Northern Michigan Hospital. Spoons, dodgers and flies or squid have caught fish. Pier and shore anglers have caught smallmouth bass and other panfish using worms, minnows and leeches. The fish are small, but the good action is great for kids.

Salmon, lake trout and some steelhead have been caught when trolling at various depths from Duck Lake down to Pentwater.

Good trout and salmon fishing 30 to 120 feet down in waters up to 120 feet deep. Some chinook salmon have been caught right off the bottom. A few boats are heading north out of the harbor to find fish. Green and white along with blue have been good colors.

Boat anglers are catching chinook, steelhead and lake trout around the nets located between Grand Haven and Muskegon. Anglers are reminded to use caution when trolling around the nets which are marked with floats or flags. Be sure to give wide berth as anchor lines may extend several hundred feet in any direction. The fish have been 30 to 120 feet down in 70 to 120 feet of water. Early morning and late evening are best. Yellow perch have been caught off the South Pier.

Boat anglers continue to take good numbers of chinook, steelhead and lake trout when fishing about 65 feet down in waters 70 to 110 feet deep. Hot colors for spoons have been green and chartreuse while glow green and aqua blue were good for dodgers and flies. Perch are right on the bottom in 18 to 30 feet of water.

Boats targeting steelhead are fishing in waters 60 to 85 feet deep while the lake trout can be found way out in waters over 80 feet deep. Some are trolling just south of the port towards Michigan City, while others are heading straight out from the Rock Pile, which is just south of the Galien River. Yellow perch were caught just off the bottom in waters 15 to 35 feet deep.

Fishing pressure has been down yet again this week with most boaters just out for a cruise. Those fishing had fair success for lake trout when trolling in waters 150 to 200 feet deep. Flies and spoons with cut bait did the best.

A fair number of boaters have been heading out for lake trout with fair catches reported. Those putting in a good amount of time have reported taking some limits east of the Upper Harbor break wall in waters up to 200 feet deep. A few coho were also caught.

Those trolling from Sand Point north to Carla's Cafe on U.S. 41 have caught coho 30 to 70 feet down in waters 40 to 80 feet deep. Best time to fish has been 5 to 9am with green, gold, purple or blue spoons. Anglers have done well jigging for lake trout in 230 to 260 feet of water using 1 to 1 ½ once barracuda type jigs with cut bait.