Fishing Report

Walleye are being taken by Allegan Dam on minnows. Steelhead are biting on spawn and wax worms.

The fish ladders were opened on March 12. The river is high and there are not many steelhead left in the river.

St. Joesph is fishable by boat. There are some Brown Trout being caught. Lake temp is 33-34 degrees. Some steelhead and brown trout are being caught off the piers.

Some walleye are being taken on 1/8 ounce jigs tipped with minnows. The ice is now out of the river from Caldwell boat launch at Gordonville Road to Dow Dam.

Many fishermen were on the river but several were falling through the ice due to poor ice conditions. At Independence Bridge anglers were catching walleye jigging rapalas but had to be very careful of where they were stepping. Ojibway Island catch reports were fair but ice conditions were still the number one concern.

Ice conditions are expected to deteriorate quickly with the warm sunny forecast for the week. Cracks will be opening up and areas with current will quickly erode. Shorelines will also become hazardous.

Yellow perch are being taken in the bottom end of the river in the bays and canals with shiner minnows. The south end of Grosse Isle and Gibraltar are also producing nice catches of perch. Good pike action in the bays using sucker minnows.

Good steelhead action in the Rockwood area on wax worms, spawn, flies or plugs. Fish should begin moving up to Flat Rock soon. A few perch and crappie have been taken in the back channel on minnows.

The river is fishable but deep snow, wind chill and slush ice are making fishing difficult. Steelhead are being taken near Lock 7 and off the high wall. Suggested baits include egg sacks or pink worms under a float or white buck tail jigs tipped with a grub or minnow.

There are fair numbers of steelhead in the river but difficult fishing conditions currently exist (deep snow, slush ice and wind chill). An occasional steelhead is being taken by bottom bouncing flies or egg sacks or float fishing with egg sacks or pink worms. Suggested patterns include pheasant tail or hare’s ear nymphs and black or olive stoneflies.

Steelhead fishing slowed with the return of arctic temperatures, but warm weather by the weekend should produce some good opportunities as there are plenty of fish in the river.

Anglers are fishing up near the Rockford Dam. Waters below the Childsdale Dam are iced up.

Walleye fishing has started to heat up when fishing off the East Wall in the early morning or late evening with minnows, bucktail jigs, paddle tails and twister tails. Good steelhead action was reported when using Wobble Glows. Peach and glow-in-the-dark with pink dots were good colors. Pink and white spawn bags have caught fish when dead drifting with a 6 to 8 foot leader or when floating under a bobber.

Boat and shore anglers have caught steelhead up near the Allegan Dam.

It sounds like the river is now open from Berrien Springs down to just short of the mouth. Good steelhead fishing continues for boat anglers when using Hot-n-Tots or flat fish. Shore fishing was fair to good but has not been consistent. Walleye fishing should pick back up before the season closes.

Steelhead have been caught in the lower river down towards Foote Dam when using wax worms or spawn bags in the deeper holes. Rain in the forecast should produce better catch rates.

A good number of people are fishing the lower river for several species including perch, walleye, steelhead, brown trout, and whitefish. Ice conditions on the river are spotty.

The ice is deteriorating by the minute. Several anglers and one ATV went through the ice near the Coast Guard station and others have gone through near some of the bridges. Recent heavy rains have raised the rivers and increased the current under the ice. Rain and snow have created slushy conditions so the ice is now deteriorating from both the top and the bottom.

Rain and strong winds have made ice conditions extremely dangerous. Strong southwest winds blew a lot of the ice out of the inner bay and created large pressure cracks. There have been reports of several driving their ATV's and snowmobiles into open water at various locations around the bay.

Is experiencing some medium to slightly heavy ice flows that reach all the way down to Wyandotte. A southeast wind will keep the ice up against the shoreline and prevent access to boat anglers. Perch fishing has been good in the lower river in both Michigan and Canadian waters. Be ready to sort out the small ones. So far, boat anglers are launching at Gibraltar.

A couple steelhead were taken in the deep holes around Rockwood.

Anglers are reporting about 10 to 12 inches of ice, however warm temperatures and rain by the weekend could weaken the ice in many areas. Walleye have been caught in Brest Bay when jigging rapalas and minnows in 19 feet of water. The fish are running small, but are still keepers. Those fishing around the marinas have caught bluegill and perch.

Steelhead fishing has been very good with plenty of fish coming from the lock 7 area and off the high wall. Egg sacs and pink worms under a float are taking most of the fish but white bucktail jigs tipped with a mousy grub or minnow are a good go-to bait. The harbor is about locked up with ice, but areas just above and below the 104 bridge are giving up a few post spawn brown trout. Again, jigs tipped with minnows are the best choice in the lower river. There are a few panfish and perch being caught at Wrights landing, but deep snow continues to hamper the ice fishermen there.

Anglers are reporting catching fish in the upper and lower sections of the river, but success varied. The Douglaston Salmon Run reported some steelhead action using white egg sacs. Overall the most productive techniques have been bottom bouncing with flies or egg sacs and float fishing with egg sacs or pink worms. Suggested patterns: Pheasant tails, Rusher nymphs, Hare's ear, Caddis and black or olive stoneflies.

A good number of lake trout have been caught just off the bottom in 90 to 100 feet of water. Smelt are hitting on jigs and wax worms off the North State Park and near Big Creek. Evenings have been best, and the fish can be found top to bottom in waters 25 to 50 feet deep. Rainbow trout can be found in shallow waters in front of the Conference Center and off Big Creek. Perch have been caught off Flag Point and Point Detroit when using minnows or wigglers in 15 to 50 feet of water.