Fishing Report

Not many anglers coming out of the marina recently as rain and strong winds have kept most boats on shore. No reports of any walleye taken.

Poor weather with east and southeast winds have made it really tough for boats to get out. Afternoon and evening fishing has been impossible. Those able to make it out have caught brown trout and walleye when trolling with planer boards in shallow waters around Calcite Harbor and Swan Bay. Anglers casting from boats in Swan Bay are using lures in the colors green and silver, fire tiger, perch and rainbow. Look for areas with any kind of structure in water 6 to 15 feet deep. For lake trout, try waters 10 to 50 feet deep straight out of Rogers City, off Sea Gull Point, and south to Adams Point and Swan Bay.

Anglers reported a good to excellent walleye opener as a good number of 17 to 21 inch fish were caught near Freeland.

Channel catfish have been caught on shrimp near the Hot Ponds. Near Essexville, a few yellow perch were caught off Knight Road and some channel catfish were taken in 5 feet of water off Finn Road. Those fishing the Callahan Reef have caught walleye using Hot-n-Tot?s in 8 feet of water. Not much action near Quanicassee, with only a couple bowfin and catfish caught. Slow action off Sebewaing with only a few catfish taken in 4 to 5 feet of water. At Bay Port, there have been rumors of walleye caught while fishing at night near North Island. Boat anglers are drifting in waters 6 to 18 feet deep off Sand Point for walleye.

Light numbers of chinook, coho, lake trout and walleye have been caught when fishing about 2 miles to the north of the port. Most fish were taken on body baits in 10 to 15 feet of water. A few whitefish have also been caught when slow trolling with smaller body baits.

Boat anglers continue to catch light numbers of chinook, coho, brown trout, walleye and whitefish when trolling body baits in waters up to 20 feet deep.

Weather permitting, boat anglers trolling near Algonac and Marysville have caught walleye.

Walleye have been caught when jigging near Wyandotte and up near Mud Island. Some are handlining at night in the Trenton Channel. Those fishing a jig and a minnow with stinger hooks have done the best.

Slow fishing to report this week due to the cool, overcast and windy conditions. A few walleye were caught off Luna Pier, the Dumping Grounds, and Sterling State Park. Moderate numbers of white bass were caught in the hot water discharge which is south of the River Raisin.

Boat anglers reported taking some limits of coho. Splake and steelhead have also been caught. There have been rumors of smelt dipping near Munising.

Light numbers of lake trout have been caught in waters 20 to 60 feet deep near the mouth of the both the Carp River and the Chocolay River. Boats trolling spoons and crank baits near the harbors have taken some chinook and coho. Those fishing the deeper waters 140 to 200 feet deep reported taking fish up to 4 pounds, while those fish caught in shallow waters seem to be running a little bigger. Whitefish have been caught in the Upper Harbor while coho and splake have been caught in the Lower Harbor.

Walleye fishing has been slow but boat anglers had some success jigging near the mouth. Pier anglers fishing late caught fish when casting from the both the Lighthouse and Government Piers. Yellow perch were caught inside the Menominee Marina, but the fish were running small. Some steelhead and brown trout were also caught. Fair walleye and brown trout fishing in the evenings off the Stony Point launch site.

Slow action when fishing off the pier or trolling for salmon. Anglers jigging for lake trout had fair catches when fishing in waters 180 to 240 feet deep. In Traverse Bay, lake trout were caught when jigging in waters 130 to 175 feet deep.

Those fishing off the piers reported slow fishing. Boat anglers fishing inside the pier heads and to the north are catching a few brown trout and steelhead when trolling with body baits.

Boat and pier anglers continue to catch a few brown trout.

Boat and pier anglers continue to catch a few brown trout.

On the East Bay, whitefish were caught in 240 feet of water off Elk Rapids. About 5 to 10 fish per boat were taken on white spoons or jigs. In the West Bay, good numbers of lake trout were caught when jigging spoons in 120 to 150 feet of water along Old Mission Peninsula.

Boat anglers have caught chinook and brown trout in waters up to 60 feet deep. Yellow perch fishing seems to have shut down.

Anglers have seen a big reduction in perch catches as it seems the fish are now scattered. Pier fishing has been slow. Those casting small spoons or crank baits have managed to catch some chinook and brown trout. Boat anglers are doing well when they can get out as the fish can still be found in waters less than 40 feet deep.

No pier fishing to report, as dredging is being done in both the inner harbor and the channel. It is hoped the project will be done by the weekend. Boat anglers have started to catch chinook and coho when fishing 30 to 50 feet down in waters 90 to 140 feet deep.

Bluegill and crappie have been caught in the canals. The larger fish are now staging in front of the canals where water temperatures are a bit cooler. Most anglers are getting ready for the pike and walleye opener this weekend.

Boat anglers are getting brown trout when trolling along the drop-off. Some good sized lake trout have also been caught. Yellow perch averaging 8 to 10 inches were caught around the Sunken Island

Trout fishing this weekend looks good as steelhead can be found throughout the entire river system. Anglers should be able to wade the artificial flies only section between Burton?s Landing and Wakeley Bridge. Spawn or flies seem to work best.

Fishing action has started to increase as boat anglers are fishing later in the evening for walleye. Most are trolling body baits near the mouth of the river or around Grass Island. Those seeking brown trout are trolling with various spoons. The discharge waters behind the cement plant can be a good place to fish.

Brown trout have been caught, but getting them to hit or landing them has been difficult as the waters have cleared and the fish are easily spooked. Try fishing shallow waters 6 to 15 feet deep along the shoreline while heading south towards Calcite Harbor and Swan Bay using small in-line planer boards and running lures about 70 feet back. Hot colors have been blue and silver, chartreuse and silver, black and gold, fire-tiger and rainbow. Brown trout were caught when casting off the pier. Early morning, late evening or cloudy overcast days seem to be best. All the docks are in and the marina is open, however; the fish cleaning station and the bathrooms are not yet open.