The County Press

FISHING REPORT


SOUTHWEST LOWER PENINSULA
Overall: Most of the inland lakes have
bluegills and sunfish up in the shallows.
Anglers have done well with flies, wax
worms or a leaf worm in waters up to
eight feet deep. Crappie fishing was
good. Largemouth bass were guarding
the beds. Aquatic vegetation has sprung
up and many lakes have been or are
currently being treated. Please report any
associated fish kills to the DNR’s Eyes in
the Field application. Walleye, pike, bass
and suckers have been caught in the
rivers.
St. Joseph: Boat anglers were still taking
a good number of fish. It seems the
salmon have moved slightly north and
were caught on spoons in 90 to 120
feet. A few coho were taken in 40 to
60 feet. Pier anglers casting spoons or
spinners caught freshwater drum. No
perch to report.
South Haven: Boat anglers targeting salmon
reported decent catch rates. A mixed bag
of trout and salmon were caught in 100
to 130 feet. Spoons were the ticket. Pier
anglers caught freshwater drum. Perch
fishing was still slow.
Lake Allegan: Bass and bluegills were
caught on jigs, spinners, crawlers or
leeches.
Grand Haven: Boats are catching a mix of
lake trout and Chinook salmon 30 to 120
feet down in 60 to 120 feet. Lake trout
were hitting green and yellow spin-glo’s
while the salmon were hitting orange,
green and blue spoons. CAUTION: Water
levels are high and there is water up into
the Harbor Island boat launch parking lot,
but the docks were still accessible.
Grand River at Grand Rapids: Water
levels were still up but should recede
by the weekend. A fair number of pike,
smallmouth bass and channel cats
have been caught. Shore anglers caught
walleye off the wall.
Grand River at Lansing: Was producing
bass, pike, rock bass, channel cats,
bluegills and crappie. Good bluegill,
crappie and channel cat action between
Lansing and Dimondale. In Grand Ledge,
pike and smallmouth bass were caught at
Fitzgerald Park.
Jackson County: Anglers reported decent
catches of panfish, bass and pike on the
inland lakes.
Muskrat Lake: Was producing bluegills and
crappie.
Morrison Lake: Anglers were getting
bluegills and crappie. For walleye, try
crawlers or leeches. A few largemouth
bass have been caught.
Muskegon: Chinook were caught 30 to 80
feet down in 50 to 120 feet with orange
and blue spoons. Lake trout were caught
off the bottom when trolling yellow spinglo’s. Freshwater drum were caught off
the pier when casting spoons.
Muskegon Lake: Bluegills were either on
the beds or getting ready to move onto
the beds. Crappie fishing was been hit-ormiss. Catch rates for walleye are picking
up throughout the lake as more fish move
in from the river.
Muskegon River: Water levels remain high
but should start to recede. There are
reports of a mayfly hatch and those fly
fishing have caught trout. A good number
of smallmouth bass were caught. Further

upstream near the Reedsburg Dam,
those targeting panfish did well in the
Reedsburg Flooding.
White Lake: Was producing bluegill, crappie
and a small number of yellow perch.

NORTHWEST LOWER PENINSULA
Wilderness State Park: Anglers were getting
limits of smallmouth bass out of Goose
Bay when casting tube baits, crank
baits and soft plastics or when jigging
minnows, leeches and worms. Crayfish,
goby colored tube baits and live bait
worked best. A few pike were taken on
crank baits.
Harbor Springs: The midge hatch is bad
at all ports! Boat anglers caught lake
trout at Harbor Point and to the north.
The fish were both suspended or just off
the bottom in 110 to 120 feet and were
hitting spoons, plugs and spin-glo’s. A
few were looking for smallmouth bass but
had no luck.
Petoskey: Few boats had been out. The
Bear River is still running high and fast.
The steelhead action was slow. A couple
anglers fishing the mouth of the river
and D Pier caught carp, pike, smallmouth
bass and freshwater drum.
Charlevoix: Boat fishing was still slow, but a
few anglers did manage to get lake trout
around North Point in 120 feet. Most fish
were suspended about halfway down. In
the channel, some cisco were caught by
those jigging anything flashy. Smallmouth
bass and carp were also seen in the
channel.
Lake Charlevoix: The Charlevoix Ironton
boating access site closed for
construction on June 3. The project
has an anticipated completion date of
August 16. Until then, anglers can use
the launch in Dutchman’s Bay or the
municipal launches in Charlevoix and
East Jordan.
Traverse City: Anglers found cisco in the
East Bay just south of Deepwater Point
in 50 to 60 feet, off the M-37 launch,
near the State Park, just south of the
Acme launch and Elk Rapids in the harbor
and near the end of the piers. The Elk
River remains slow, but some nice bass
were caught with crawlers or leeches
from the 3rd platform out to the end of
the walkway. Walleye were caught in the
evening. A couple nice fish were caught
in the kid’s pond. In the West Bay, cisco
were caught along the peninsula north of
Bryant Park and around Power Island in
50 to 60 feet. Catch rates for bass were
hit-or-miss at Northport, Sutton’s Bay and
south toward Power Island. The better
action was at the mouth of the Boardman
River with crawlers or leeches. Carp,
suckers and rock bass were caught in the
lower river.
Frankfort: The Chinook salmon have arrived
in Northern Michigan! Good catches
were reported in the top 30 to 50 feet
of waters 130 to 150 feet deep. Green
and blue were good colors in the early
morning.
Onekama: Chinook were caught 60 to 80
feet down in 150 to 170 feet. The best
activity was in the early morning and
green was the hot color.
Portage Lake: Bass anglers working the
beds reported good numbers. Perch
anglers are sifting through several small

ones.
Manistee: Surface water temperatures
inched up to near 50 degrees. Chinook
salmon fishing was on fire with most fish
taken with spoons 60 to 80 feet down
in 150 to 200 feet. A small number
of steelhead and lake trout were also
caught. Pier fishing is slow.
Hamlin Lake: Crappie were caught in front
of Indian Pete’s Bayou when drifting
minnows or plastics. The bite in front of
the scout camp slowed. Bass anglers
did well throughout the lake with mostly
largemouth taken. Bluegill fishing
remained slow as water temperatures
were about 63 degrees.
Ludington: Water temperatures were a bit
warmer at 52 degrees. Chinook salmon
fishing was on fire here as well with fish
taken on spoons and flies 60 to 90 feet
down in 140 to 190 feet. The occasional
steelhead or lake trout were also caught.
Pier fishing has been difficult because of
the highwater levels.

UPPER PENINSULA
Copper Harbor: A couple splake, steelhead
and brown trout were caught by those
trolling but most of the splake were
small. Eagle Harbor had fewer anglers.
Keweenaw Bay: Had good fishing for
Chinook, coho, lake trout, brown trout and
splake when trolling flat lines and lead
core in the top 15 feet as well as stick
baits, spoons or a flasher/fly combo. The
best bite was in the morning when trolling
throughout the water column.
Marquette: Water temperatures were
still cold at 45 degrees. While the bite
slowed, anglers were still catching fish.
Boats did best near Shot Point in 50 feet
or less. Those fishing the Lower Harbor
and near the Chocolay River caught
Chinook, coho, lake trout, brown trout
and steelhead. Those targeting lake trout
near Granite Island and the white rocks
have done well. Charter boats going out
to Stannard Rock caught large fish but
fewer fish.
Little Bay De Noc: Water temperatures were
still cold in the mid 50’s. Walleye anglers
reported the best action near Garth Point
in 15 to 30 feet with a crawler harness.
Limit catches were reported. Catch rates
were fair off Breezy Point in 14 to 20
feet. Fair catches were taken between the
Escanaba River and the “Black Bottom”
but most fish were too small. Walleye and
a few perch were caught at the “Narrows”
in 25 to 35 feet with a crawler harness.
Smallmouth bass anglers had mixed
results. The best areas were Garth Point
in eight to 12 feet, Gladstone along the
west bank in four to six feet and along
the rocky edges at the mouth of the Ford
River when casting crawlers or plastics.
Good pike action in the Escanaba River
with crawlers or crank baits between the
mouth and the old train bridge. The Rapid
River was producing some walleye.
Manistique River: The fish cleaning station
at the boat launch was still down.
Steelhead season is coming to an end.
The lamprey weir is still in at the dam,
so water levels in the lower river were
extremely low. Walleye fishing was fair
to good from the mouth up to the fast
water when drifting crawlers or leeches.
A couple smallmouth bass were starting

to show up. Catch rates were fair when
casting crawlers or plastics.
Manistique Lake: Was producing some
walleye.
Munising: A few Chinook and brown rout
were taken towards Au Train. The best
lake trout action was towards the White
Rocks and Wood Island Reef when trolling
in 120 feet. The fish caught were perfect
eating size. While the coho action slowed,
more Chinook were caught on spoons.
Coho and lake trout that were caught 30
feet down in 200 feet had bellies full of
smelt. Splake fishing was slow for boat
and shore anglers. Surface waters were
in the mid to upper 40’s in the bay and
the low 40’s outside Grand Island.
Grand Marais: Catch rates for coho were
slow however more Chinook salmon
have been caught along with some big
steelhead up to 25 inches and brown
trout over seven pounds. Trolling west of
the harbor appears to be slightly better in
20 to 30 feet. Lake trout fishing was hot
with limits reported. Most fish averaged
four pounds and were hitting black and
white spoons. Some big lake trout were
spotted nearshore in less than 30 feet.
Pier anglers reported slower catch rates,
but a few limits of whitefish were taken
on a single egg.
St. Marys River: Walleye fishing was
consistent as water temperatures
increase. Pike and smallmouth bass have
also been caught.
Detour: Surface water temperature at the
Detour Reef was 52 degrees. Prevailing
north east winds prevented most salmon
and trout anglers from heading out but
the few that were able to, did mark fish
with lots of bait fish, but could not get a
bite. Catch rates should improve as water
temperatures get up to between 58 and
62 degrees.
Cedarville and Hessel: The boat launch and
parking lot at Cedarville is currently under
renovation and there is no access. Boats
can launch and fish out of the Hessel
Marina and Public Boat Launch. Good
pike action in Musky Bay and Snows
Channel in the early morning when trolling
spoons with a red eye in four to six feet.
Bigger fish were caught between Little La
Salle Island and Peck Bay when drifting
or still-fishing with frozen smelt or large
creek chubs 18 inches off the bottom
in 14 to 20 feet. Large and smallmouth
bass were caught at the mouth of Duck
Bay with orange and brown tube jigs in
two to four feet. At Hessel, no perch were
caught at the finger docks in the marina
but splake were caught in the early
morning with frozen smelt and spawn 18
inches off the bottom in six to eight feet.
For boat anglers, try trolling southwest
of the marina from Cube Point to Haven
Island and Goat Island with blue and
chrome or blue and white stick baits.
For pike, try one mile east of the marina
when trolling or casting spoons and
crank baits around St. Ledger Island and
Echo Island both early morning and late
evening. Good smallmouth action from
6 pm until dark with brown and green or
brown and orange tube jigs off the rocks
near the flag at the west end of the pier.
Brevoort Lake: Anglers were getting some
walleye.