Lake trout season on Lake Michigan and Lake Huron will close on September 30th. For Lake Huron, splake season will also close on the 30th. On the inland waters, all Type 1 and Type 2 rivers and streams along with Type A and Type D inland trout lakes will also close to fishing on September 30th.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Lake Erie - Fishing is slow but improving. Small perch were hitting on perch rigs in 26 feet of water off of the Fermi Plant. White perch and freshwater drum were also caught. Walleye fishing remains slow but some channel catfish were caught around the Hot Ponds near the Raisin River.
Huron River - Water levels are coming down and anglers are finding steelhead.
Lexington - Fishing has been quite slow. No salmon have shown up in the harbors yet, but those casting for salmon have caught a lot of pike.
Port Sanilac - Lake trout fishing has slowed and anglers are still waiting for the salmon to come in.
Harbor Beach - Chinook salmon are hitting straight out and north of the harbor in 50 to 90 feet of water. Morning and evening is best. Fish top to bottom with green Spin Doctors with green action flies, small and medium J-plugs or regular and magnum spoons. Salmon were jumping close to the harbor so try trolling with J-plugs. Lake trout action was fair in 90 to 126 feet of water. Steelhead fishing is good in 60 to 120 feet of water with spoons. Don’t fish too deep, as the fish have been coming in the top 10 to 40 feet. Good colors were orange, yellow and bright pink. A few walleye are still hitting in all directions. Try a crawler harness, small spoon or Hot-n-Tots.
Grindstone City - Limits of lake trout and some steelhead were caught in 90 to 110 feet of water.
Port Austin - Fish 110 feet of water for limits of lake trout and some steelhead.
Saginaw Bay - Perch were caught from a variety of locations including the Spark Plug, the Callahan Reef, and 2.5 miles north of the Quanicassee River. Perch were also caught in 50 feet of water off Oak Point which is up near Caseville. Walleye fishing is quite slow, as it always is this time of year. A few channel cats were taken at the Hot Pond.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
St. Joe - Anglers are catching mostly chinook with some lake trout mixed in when trolling in waters up to 140 feet deep northwest off the piers. Perch were taken south of the piers in 40 feet of water.
St. Joe River - Is still running a bit high. Anglers may want to check with local bait shops for current conditions regarding access sites and fishing conditions.
Dowagiac River - Has water flows more favorable for fishing.
Black River - Waters here should be good for fishing.
Paw Paw River - Has water flows more favorable for fishing. Coho fishing should pick up especially with rain in the forecast for next week.
Kalamazoo River - Is still running a bit high. No reports on fishing activity.
Grand Haven - Salmon are still out deep and scattered. Pier fishing is slow and no perch to report.
Grand River at Grand Rapids - Water levels are still a bit high and fast so anglers will want to use caution. There have been reports of salmon caught up near the Sixth Street Dam.
Grand River at Lansing – Water levels are receding slowly. Some are taking the occasional salmon up near the North Lansing Dam however anglers will most likely find more fish downriver. Start here and fish the dams downstream. Prairie Creek near Ionia would be a good bet. Catfish are biting once again.
Muskegon - Catch rates have been very slow as the salmon are out deep and scattered. Pier anglers had no luck and the perch fishing shut down.
Whitehall - Salmon fishing has been slow for boat and pier anglers.
White Lake - Boat anglers trolling or casting plugs in front of the launch site at Montague are catching salmon.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Rogers City - Look for action around Swan Bay, Adams Point and Calcite. Shallow waters 25 to 60 feet deep were the most productive. Try J-plugs and bombers 75 to 150 feet off the boards. Good colors were green, blue, purple, and anything that glows early or late. A few fish have stared to move however most are still staging. Salmon, lake trout and steelhead can still be found in deeper waters. Some are fishing close to shore because that is where the baitfish are located.
Presque Isle - Lots of silver colored salmon have been caught close to shore in 40 to 65 feet of water. Boats are still heading straight out off the Red Can and north between the two lighthouses. Good colors were blue and silver, greens and oranges.
Rockport - Anglers are beginning to catch salmon off the pier and chartreuse was the hot color. Fish were caught 70 to 80 feet down in 100 feet of water. Boats trolling stick baits found salmon in 20 feet of water.
Grand Lake - Anglers looking for smallmouth bass will want to try the waters off Whiskey Point and the east side of Black Bass Bay. For pike, try 10 to 15 feet of water in the bays. For walleye, try trolling around Green Island.
Long Lake - Is producing fair to good catches of smallmouth bass. Try the shallow waters in the East Bay and along the shoreline.
Alpena - Walleye were hitting around North Point in 30 to 40 feet of water. Reef runners were the ticket.
Thunder Bay River - Has been extremely slow this week with only a few anglers catching salmon one at a time. Any lures that glow have caught fish.
Harrisville - Those trolling and casting inside the harbor and trolling just outside the harbor wall are catching salmon. Try silver J-plugs when trolling or silver spoons when casting from boats or shore. A few walleye were caught on body baits just outside the harbor in the early morning and late evening.
Van Etten Lake - Those trolling with rapalas have caught a few walleye and pike.
Oscoda - Boats don’t have to go far as salmon have been caught in the bay and just off the mouth of the river. Word of caution for boats, the bottom soil pumped out of the river was spread in the bay south of the river so be alert to water depth changes. A few salmon have been caught off the pier.
Au Sable River - The dredging is done and fishing conditions should improve. East of Grayling, those fly fishing have caught brook trout and brown trout. Rain in the forecast for next week should improve conditions as the better fishing has been on the days that it is raining.
Tawas - A few small perch and a couple of walleye were taken off the pier.
Tawas River - Salmon are being caught in the lower river.
Au Gres - Some nice 7 to 10 inch perch were caught. At the Singing Bridge, salmon have been caught in the surf when casting hardware or floating spawn. Construction at the access site, but those surfcasting will find parking near the lake shore.
Au Gres River - A few salmon were caught in the lower river.
Higgins Lake - Boat anglers are still taking a few lakers when trolling in 80 to 100 feet of water. Perch anglers are doing well when using shiners.
Houghton Lake - Pike fishing continues to improve. Try minnows or large crank baits. Walleye are hitting on minnows or Hot-n-Tots.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Petoskey - Salmon have been caught around the marina entrance when using spawn, glow spoons or body baits. There should be more fish in the rivers about midweek if we get rain. Everything is running later than usual but fish are staging offshore and the action should pick up soon.
Charlevoix - Salmon have been caught off the Cement Plant.
Lake Charlevoix - Anglers are catching small perch.
Glen Lake - Has excellent perch fishing with limits reported. Several fish were in the 10 to 12 inch range. Wigglers seem to work best for the bigger perch but shrimp, minnows and worms also took fish in 30 to 40 feet of water. The best time is early morning as the bite shuts down after lunch. The rainbows are active and feeding at the surface. Lots of rock bass were caught.
Frankfort - Chinook and steelhead are hitting on spoons and flies in 170 to 300 feet of water. Water temperatures are warm so the fish deep. Pier fishing was slow with only a few fish taken at dark. Platte Bay produced some chinook however the coho action was slow. The main run of coho should show up just about any day.
Betsie River - Is still fairly high but fish are being caught on spoons, squid, and spawn from the M-22 Bridge up to and just past the Homestead Dam. The best stretch is still Upper River Road to the Dam.
Onekama - Fishing out past the Shelf in 150 to 210 feet of water has started to produce light catches of chinook and steelhead. Trolling the Barrel and in front of the piers early and late produced bigger fish. Close to shore try green or glow J-plugs and out deep try spoons with green, white, silver and blue flies.
Portage Lake - Good catches of large and smallmouth bass have come from the south shoreline on tubes and crank baits. Good numbers of rock bass, northern pike, and a few chinook were caught by anglers casting along the drop-offs and docks.
Manistee - Salmon and trout action has been fair off the Shelf but has slowed around the pierheads with only a few fish taken on glow spoons in the early morning.
Manistee Lake - Boat anglers are catching chinook when jigging spoons or casting body baits.
Manistee River - Salmon fever continues as the run is getting closer to peak conditions with more fish hitting the gravel everyday. Depending on the weather and water levels, the river typically peaks right around the beginning of October.
Hamlin Lake - Big bluegills can be found on Upper Hamlin in 5 to 10 feet of water. Try wax worms on ice fishing jigs or crawlers on a single hook fished a couple feet off the bottom. Bass fishing remains good.
Big Sable River - Fishing pressure has moved up by the dam where anglers are taking limits of chinook when using spawn.
Ludington - Salmon and trout are being caught in 80 to 160 feet of water between the Bath House and the Point. Good baits have been white spinnies and white flies. Pier anglers and those surfcasting off Ludington State Park reported slow action.
Pere Marquette Lake - Boat anglers are catching some chinook salmon.
Pere Marquette River - Is getting closer to the peak as well. More fish are showing up on the gravel everyday.
Pentwater - A few fish have been caught off the pier but more were caught from Longbridge Road and the marsh.
Upper Peninsula
Keweenaw Bay - A couple lake trout were taken when jigging in 220 feet of water out from Pequaming. Those trolling for salmon took a few fish in 30 to 50 feet of water off the dock next to the marina in L’Anse. In Traverse Bay, lake trout were caught when trolling in 90 to 150 feet of water near Big Louie’s Point. Lake trout were caught in 220 to 240 feet of water and chinook and coho in 145 feet.
Falls River - A few coho and one steelhead have been caught.
Ottawa Lake - Has good smallmouth bass fishing.
Hagerman Lake - Has good smallmouth action.
Marquette - Not many lake trout have been caught. Salmon action was spotty with fish caught near the mouth of the Carp and Chocolay Rivers.
Dead River - Salmon are in the river but they are not biting.
Carp River - Has salmon in it, but the bite is slow.
Green Bay - Salmon fishing was slow. A few were caught off the pier near the lighthouse when casting Cleo’s. Smallmouth bass were caught.
Menominee - The salmon are jumping but the bite is slow. No walleye were seen but freshwater drum and rock bass were caught.
Ford River - Shore anglers caught salmon when casting spoons or crank baits near the mouth. We could see the peak of the run real soon.
Cedar River - There has been a few salmon caught early or late when using different colored spoons. Walleye fishing picked up for night anglers trolling the shoreline with harnesses. Bass fishing was fair but small fish were caught.
Little Bay De Noc - Walleye catches were down with a few fish taken between Garth Point and the Second Reef or south of the Black Bottom when trolling or drifting crawlers in 10 to 20 feet of water. A few perch were caught around Butler Island. Good smallmouth action between Hunters Point and Garth Point.
Big Bay De Noc - Bass fishing was fair with most of the fish taken around Garden Bluff when drifting minnows in 10 to 20 feet of water. It is still a bit early for the really good bass fishing that anglers are accustomed to in the fall. No salmon off Fairport as most of the fish are moving into the rivers.
Manistique River - Anglers have caught chinook and pink salmon. Last week there was a good number of salmon in the lower river so by this week; there should be lots of fish in the river.
Grand Marais - Had light fishing pressure. Coho and steelhead were caught when trolling around the bay and along the shoreline as the fish are stacked up in 15 to 20 feet of water.
Lake Nawakwa - A few pike and walleye were taken by those trolling and drifting crawler harnesses or spinners with leeches.
De Tour - Anglers have caught chinook, atlantic and lake trout on yellow flies with silver and green dodgers, white spoons with pink stripes or silver J-plugs. Perch were found near Ashman Island, Harbor Island and the back side of Lime Island.
Cedarville and Hessel - A few salmon have been caught in 30 to 45 feet deep. Lots of splake were seen along the shoreline in Hessel Bay. Pike fishing has still been good along the weeds in 6 to 8 feet of water. Perch fishing continues to be good and the smallmouth bass have started to bite, especially around the points and shallow bays. Small spinners and tube baits are taking fish. Largemouth are hitting in shallow waters on the east end of Hessel Bay.
Nunn’s Creek - Anglers are starting to catch chinook and pink salmon.
Bush Creek - Anglers are starting to see salmon here as well.
Carp River - Chinook and pink salmon have been caught near the mouth and the Mackinac Trail Bridge. Try silver J-plugs or small white and green spoons. Spinners are also taking fish. Good colors were pink and black, yellow and gold or black and silver.
