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Archive for April 9th, 2009
Map of Maumee River Fishing Spots
Thursday, April 9th, 2009Maumee River Walleye Report: 4/9/09
Thursday, April 9th, 2009| Temp: 42°F
Level: The river is up about 5-feet. The river crested yesterday and it is starting to drop. Water temperature dropped 5 degrees in the past two days. Anglers can NOT cross over to Blue Grass Island.
Fishing Effort: low
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FISH BEING CAUGHT
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Walleye fishing continues to be slow with the high water and cold front. Anglers are sill catching a few walleye. | |
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BEST BAITS
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The best bait to catch walleye are floating jig heads tied about 18-24 inches above a weight. The amount of weight depends on the amount of flow. At low flow try 3/8 oz weight; at high flow try 3/4 0z weight. Tip the jig with a brightly colored plastic tail–pink, green, yellow–fluorescent colors seem to work the best. |
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BEST LOCATIONS
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The best areas to fish with the high water are Orleans Park and White Street. | |
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OUTLOOK
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As the water starts dropping walleye fishing should improve. It should start picking up tomorrow and it should be good by Friday and Saturday. | |
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COMMENTS
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The higher water should bring more walleye into the river. As the river drops and warms fishing should be very good this weekend. |
Michigan’s AAA Fishing Report: 4/9/09
Thursday, April 9th, 2009The weather forecast is looking good for anglers planning to fish over the Easter holiday weekend. Before heading to your fishing destination, visit www.AAATraffic.com for the latest traffic, construction, weather and road conditions that may affect your route.
Bergland anglers are doing well for perch pretty much all over and around mud flats. Ice is still strong enough to hold a four-wheeler.
Off of the Marquette area, a few Coho are being caught by anglers in small boats fishing in 25-feet of water. Otherwise angling activity is slow overall.
Around Escanaba the ice is deteriorating fast and anglers are just not getting out at this point. Angling action is in a transition period at this point.
Weather around Drummond Island has created poor fishing conditions. There is still plenty of ice on the Bays and a few perch are being caught on Whitney Bay.
Around the Manistique area, poor conditions exist for Lake Michigan and Indian Lake. Ice is in bad shape and unsafe. Steelhead action is picking up on the Manistique River.
Around Sault Ste. Marie the weather has been miserable with snow and cold temperatures causing for very limited angling opportunities. The St. Mary’s River is still covered with ice. Lake George the ice is very skeptical, but a few anglers are pulling in some perch.
Near Brimley, a few anglers are fishing through the ice at the mouth of Pendills Creek when the wind is blowing in the right direction.
Munuscong Lake is giving up a few perch and the ice is still good.
There is perch to be caught around Cedarville, however the ice is very uncertain and a few anglers have fallen in this past week. The smelt run should be starting very shortly around St. Ignace.
Information Providers: Bayview Bait & Tackle-Escanaba; Gogebic Grocery-Marenisco; Top O’Lake Sport-Manistique; Gander Mountain-Marquette; Hank’s Sporting-Sault Ste. Marie; Johnson’s Sports-Drummond Island; Wilderness Treasurers-Munuscong Bay and ACE Hardware-St.Ignace.
Northwest:
Burt Lake is giving up a few suckers on crawlers and Crooked Lake has open water and boats can now get out. River fishing is starting to get in gear.
Frankfort area anglers are starting to catch steelhead from the Betsie River and steelhead are starting to show up on Crystal Lake where anglers fishing off shore are working very hard for the fish.
In the Kalkaska area good action taking place for smelt on Twin Lake and the Boardman River is giving up good counts of steelhead on wax worms and spawn.
The Boyne, Jordan and Sturgeon rivers are plentiful with steelhead. Fly fisherman are using egg and nymph patterns and bait anglers are using spawn sacks. Fly Fishing with streamers is taking place on the open branches of the Manistee and Au Sable river systems with good results.
Near the Cadillac area, Pine and Manistee rivers are giving up good numbers of steelhead on spawn and flies. Mitchell Lake has open water now and a few perch and crappie are biting.
Information providers: Alphorn-Gaylord; Backcast Fly Shop-Frankfort; Jack’s Sports-Kalkaska; Pilgrim’s Village-Cadillac and Young’s Bait Shop-Alanson.
West:
Windy and cold weather this week in the Ludington area has slowed the fishing activity a bit. Anglers that are fishing off the north and south piers for steelhead and brown trout are finding decent results. The Pere Marquette River is producing some catches of steelhead.
Lake fishing in the Baldwin area is not so great this week due to cold weather. Fly fishing is good on the Pere Marquette near the river beds. The weekend is expected to be very good as the warmer weather returns.
Muskegon anglers fishing Lake Michigan off the break wall are doing well for steelhead using spawn. Muskegon River and White River are both giving up steelhead catches on spawn on the higher sections of the rivers. Anglers fishing Muskegon Lake and using minnows are getting larger fish, using spikes gets a lot of fish but a lot of sorting is also necessary. The perch action is great for anglers fishing in small boats around the channels and the Sand Dock. Perch seem to be biting on everything and the average per boat is 30-40 fish but a lot of sorting is needed.
The action is hot on Chippewa Lake for speckled trout. The lake has wide open water and anglers are pulling in limits easily. The average fish is eight or nine inches and minnows are doing the trick.
In the Grand Rapids area, good action continues on the Grand River near the Sixth Street Dam where the steelhead are hitting on spawn, flies, and wobble glows.
On the Rogue River in Rockford the cold water tributary is also producing nice counts of steelhead on wobble glows, spawn and flies.
Off of the White Hall and Holland piers the walleye action is good when using Rapala Husky Jerks
Information providers: P.M. Sports-Ludington; King Sports-Baldwin; East Bay Store-Chippewa Lake; Shoreline Bait & Tackle-Muskegon; Gander Mountain-Grand Rapids and Wolf Lake Motel & Resort-Baldwin.
Southwest:
Off of the Benton Harbor pier anglers are pulling in some nice Coho and brown trout. KO Wobblers, Thin-Thin Spinners and spawn seem to be working well. Otherwise the cold weather has slowed activity in the area.
Angling activity has not been so good around the New Buffalo area thanks to cold weather and windy conditions. The rivers are muddy and lakes dirty, however with warmer weather in the forecast for the weekend, angling action should be good.
Kalamazoo had some rotten weather this week slowing angling action. Some steelhead are hitting just below the Allegan Dam on the Kalamazoo River. The walleye are really coming in and averaging 8-10 pounds and anglers are getting 5-6 per person, however fish must be released at this time. Fishing on the St. Joe River near Berrien Springs Dam is good for steelhead. Fish are hitting on Storm Wiggle Warts and spawn sacks.
Off of the St. Joe pier anglers are getting a few Coho and brown trout, but the anglers trolling in boats along the shoreline are doing the best. Gotcha flies and small stinger spoons are working well.
Hogset Lake is producing some blue gill with anglers fishing in 15-feet of water and getting the fish in 2-feet of water just under the surface on spikes.
Lake Cora is producing perch on wigglers and minnows in 25-feet of water.
Around the Three Rivers area Corey and Hardwood lakes are decent for blue gill and crappie with minnows and red wigglers working well.
Information providers: Tackle Haven-Benton Harbor; D.& R. Sports-Kalamazoo; Fisherman’s Luck-Three Rivers and Captain Cook’s-New Buffalo.
Northeast:
Anglers fishing just below the Foote Dam Pond in Oscoda are doing ok for steelhead using wax worms, spawn and flies.
Poor angling conditions on Houghton Lake due to ice floating. The canals are open but the water is extremely cold and not much moving just yet, overall a transition time of year. It is a week or so away for crappie fishing.
Higgins Lake has ice breaking up and floating. No activity at this time.
Fishing has slowed this week in the Au Gres area thanks to cold weather. Anglers are pulling in a few walleye from the mouth of the river and from the boat launch on Rapala Husky Jerks.
Information providers: Lyman’s-Houghton Lake; Sports Barn-Higgins Lake; Wright’s Sport Shop-Au Gres and The Dam Store-Oscoda.
East:
The Rifle River is good for suckers on worms. Quanicassee is decent for small perch around the Iron Bridge, boat launch, Akron Road and Palmer Road. Anglers getting out in small boats are finding some action around Bay Harbor Marina.
Pink perch rigs are working well for anglers fishing for perch on Eagle Bay in the Standish area.
Lexington, Port Sanilac and Port Huron angling action is picking back up after a few days of very heavy north winds. Around Lexington the Coho action is good in 10-15 feet of water on body baits, popular color is orange. The Boardwalk in Port Huron has some nice activity from the Thomas Edison Inn to the Black River. Red eye spoons and big Emerald shiners are working well. Smelt action is good at night and bringing in a lot of other fish.
Information providers: Anderson’s Pro Bait-Port Huron; Michigan Sportsman-Bay City and Eagle Bay Marina-Standish.
Central:
Angling activity has been extremely slow this week due to snow and cold weather. Suckers continue to be plentiful on the Chippewa River.
Despite adverse weather Lansing fishing remains good for big carp and nice catches of steelhead near the Eckert Power Station at the Moores Park Dam.
At best, mediocre fishing taking place on Devils, Wamplers, Vineyard, Clark and Sand lakes. Snow and cold temperatures hindered angling opportunities earlier this week. By the weekend warmer temperatures in the forecast should improve crappie conditions.
Information providers: Knutson’s Live Bait-Brooklyn; Jakes Outdoors-Mt. Pleasant and Grand River Bait and Tackle-Lansing.
Southeast:
Near Metro Beach the blue gill and crappie action is good. Around Harrison Township walleye and perch activity is good in front of Beacon Cover and the spillway. St. Clair Shores anglers are finding murky waters and tough fishing due to the high winds and adverse weather earlier this week. The Detroit River is giving up nice numbers of walleye vertical jigging.
Anglers fishing the Detroit River are killing the walleye in the lower Trenton channel averaging 10-20 per boat. Anglers seem to be doing the best in shallow water jigging with pink, gold and chartreuse lures, stinger hooks, walleye minnows, four-inch Finesse Tails and gulp grubs. A few walleye caught have weighed 11 and 12 pounds. Walleye activity is also hot from Trenton to Wyandotte in the early morning hours or late evening hours with some anglers limiting out. Those anglers are using a jig with artificial worms. The Detroit River is also giving up some pike on pike suckers under a bobber.
Anglers fishing around Grosse Ile are finding spotty perch action while some perch and blue gill are being caught around south Gibraltar. Around Rock Wood the Huron River is doing well for dip netting suckers and steelhead. Flies, spawn, minnows and Cleo’s are working well.
In the Flat Rock area the Huron River is producing steelhead at the dam on flies and spawn. Between the two dams anglers are using a jig with a wax worm. Suckers are hot just below the dam on flies and jigs.
Off of the Monroe area, Silver Creek near Pointe Mouille is producing blue gill and perch. Bolles Harbor anglers are fishing off the pier and pulling in some decent number of bullhead, perch and crappie. Minnows are doing the trick. The Huron River in the area is dirty.
Belleville Lake is producing nice catfish on pike chubs. Ford and Belleville lakes are both doing well for perch and crappie and the hot spot is near Rawsonville Road. The weekend should be really good for pan fish, steelhead and crappie. Little jig heads with pink and green flies and a hologram sparkle are working well. The Huron River is giving up a few steelhead. Most ponds in the area are hot for fishing.
In Ohio the Maumee River continues to be super hot for walleye, as well as Crain Creek and around Turtle Island.
Information providers: Pro-Fishing & Archery-Harrison Township; Little Dipper Bait & Tackle-Flat Rock; Erie Party Shop-Monroe; Lakeside Fishing Shop-St. Clair Shores; South Street Tackle-Belleville; Gander Mountain-Taylor and Bottom Line Bait & Tackle-Rock Wood.
Michigan DNR Fishing Report: 4/9/09
Thursday, April 9th, 2009Anglers are getting anxious as we move into open water fishing. Steelhead runs should improve with warmer weather. The sucker runs have started in the Lower Peninsula. Boats are heading out into the Great Lakes for trout and salmon.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
Huron River - Those fishing around the coffer dam are still taking steelhead.
Detroit River - Boat anglers are taking walleye when jigging or handlining up near Gibraltar and the Edison Plant. Orange has been a good color. Those fishing the cuts, canals, and marinas are finding perch.
St. Clair River - A good variety of fish including steelhead, whitefish, coho, walleye, and suckers were caught in the upper river near Port Huron.
Lexington - Lots of perch have been caught inside the harbor but many are small. Keepers are running 7 to 9 inches. Coho and steelhead were also caught on minnows, crawlers and body baits. Boats are trolling planer boards with body baits in 8 to 18 feet of water and taking coho, steelhead, walleye and a few chinook salmon.
Saginaw Bay - Boat anglers fishing out around the commercial nets were getting some nice catches of perch. Shore anglers are catching small perch from the cut at the end of Palmer Road and off the docks at the Linwood Marina. Boat anglers fishing off the mouth of the Saginaw River had mixed results. Fishing here should pick up in the coming weeks as post-spawn walleye drop back down the Saginaw River system and re-enter the bay. The Hot Ponds were muddy so only a couple catfish were caught. Not much to report at Bay Shore Marina near Bay Port however keep an eye on this spot for perch and crappie.
Saginaw River - Slow perch fishing in the marina basins, and canals.
Quanicassee River - High muddy water made for slow fishing.
Sebewaing River - Lots of small perch are being caught in the river and the marina.
Pigeon River - The water is high and muddy. A few small perch were caught.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
St. Joe - Good numbers of coho have been caught by those still-fishing with spawn. Steelhead and brown trout were also caught.
St. Joe River - Steelhead and brown trout are being caught by boat anglers fishing along the mud lines.
South Haven - Pier anglers are catching some coho.
Kalamazoo River - Has fair to good steelhead action.
Grand Haven - Pier anglers have caught steelhead and brown trout. Some days have produced more fish than others. Spawn has been the bait of choice.
Grand River at Grand Rapids - Steelhead fishing continues with shore anglers fishing below the dam taking some nice fish on Wobble Glo’s or yarn. Boat anglers have done well on choker bags under a float. Good colors have been orange and red or lime and glow. Fish are on the gravel above Fulton Street. Bluegill and crappie were caught at Millennium Park and Riverside Park.
Grand River at Lansing - Anglers are taking the occasional steelhead over at Moore’s Park Dam when fishing crawlers right on the bottom or floating them under a bobber. Fish are being caught all the way up to Lansing however the better numbers are still in the Grand Rapids area. Carp are hitting on crawlers and corn.
Reeds Lake - Crappie can be found in the shallows on sunny days. Perch and bluegill have been caught.
Muskegon - Pier anglers are catching steelhead and brown trout when using spawn. Some are surfcasting and taking fish.
Muskegon Lake - Perch anglers are fishing the along the west side of the lake between the channel and the Sand Docks in 42 to 49 feet of water. Be ready to sort out the small ones.
Muskegon River - Steelhead have been caught up near Bridgeton.
Whitehall - Pier fishing was slow for steelhead and brown trout.
White Lake - Perch fishing has been good where the channel meets the lake.
White River - Boat and shore anglers are catching steelhead in the upper half of the river near Hesperia.
Northeast Lower Peninsula
Ocqueoc River - Steelhead were caught when floating spawn near the launch site or up toward the weir.
Rogers City - Enough ice has cleared from the harbor that boat anglers could head right out in front of the harbor and hit the brown water or head towards Swan Bay and Calcite Harbor to fish the wall. Find the warmest water possible which will be very shallow this time of year. Try minnow imitating lures like bombers and rapalas. Bright orange and yellow are good colors to use in stained waters. Most are targeting brown trout and atlantic salmon. Lake trout season does not open until May 1st. Along the breakwall the rocks are dangerous because of ice and snow.
Alpena - Boat anglers had little luck. The launches are not in yet. A few atlantic salmon were caught off the pier when casting or still-fishing with large minnows.
Thunder Bay River - Anglers fishing at the Ninth Street Dam have caught some steelhead. There was quite a bit of water flowing over the dam which made fishing a little more difficult. Fish were caught when casting or still-fishing with spawn bags and neon orange yarn. Brown trout were caught on rapalas at the mouth and in the canals behind Lafarge.
Harrisville - The boats that can get out have picked up some walleye.
Higgins Lake - The shoreline has opened up about a quarter mile out. Any remaining ice is not safe and should be avoided.
Houghton Lake - Still has ice, but no safe ice. Wait for the open water.
Oscoda - Pier anglers are taking some walleye in the waters of Lake Huron.
Au Sable River - Steelhead are being caught from the mouth up to Foote Dam when bouncing spawn or wax worms off the bottom. The river was a bit high.
Tawas - Lots of perch are being caught inside the harbor but anglers will need to do some sorting. Pier anglers casting lakeward are getting a few brown trout, walleye and steelhead. Boats trolling with planer boards and rapalas in 10 to 20 feet of water are also catching fish.
Tawas River - Anglers are taking steelhead and suckers.
Au Gres - Those trolling off the mouth of the Au Gres River are getting some walleye when using planer boards with body baits.
Au Gres River - Surf anglers are catching a good number of steelhead when floating spawn bags. Water levels on the East Branch were high and muddy.
Rifle River - Sucker fishing continues to be very good.
Northwest Lower Peninsula
Petoskey - Steelhead fishing was fair with fish caught despite the cold weather. Early mornings are best. Locals were taking on average one or two fish per day.
Traverse City - A few boats are making it out on the West Bay and searching for steelhead and perch. Most of the launches still have some ice. The East Bay is ice free so boat anglers are out looking for steelhead, whitefish, and brown trout.
Elk River - Catch rates have been hit-or-miss because so many fish were turning around and heading back out. Fishing will improve once the temperature goes up.
Boardman River - The bite was slow however a couple steelhead were caught.
Frankfort - Pier anglers are catching steelhead and brown trout.
Betsie River - Steelhead fishing has been good and should only get better.
Manistee - Pier fishing has been slow. Boat anglers and those surfcasting will want to look for brown trout in the shallows.
Manistee River - Steelhead fishing is going full bore right now.
Ludington - Steelhead and brown trout action off the piers was slow.
Pentwater River - Good numbers of steelhead can be found in the flats which are located just before the river dumps into Pentwater Lake. Walleye are in the river however the season is closed until the Last Saturday in April.
UPPER PENINSULA
Lake Gogebic - Anglers are catching a few perch.
Portage Lake - Limits of crappie have been reported.
Keweenaw Bay - Anglers are picking up some coho out from the V.F.W. Hall in L’Anse however ice conditions are not good and the shoreline is deteriorating quickly.
Fall’s River - Is low and clear which makes for slow catch rates.
Marquette - Fishing was good for boat anglers in the Upper Harbor. Most are trolling flies or casting jigs with pink twister tails for chinook, coho and steelhead. Those in the Lower Harbor are using spawn bags off the docks at the Power Plant.
Menominee - The ice should be gone soon and anglers will be open water fishing.
Menominee River - Walleye fishing has been spotty. When the sun comes out and winds die down, some nice fish have been caught by boat and shore anglers when jigging a minnow. Those fishing off the Cat Walk are mainly drifting zip lures and other plugs. Good colors were orange, blue and silver or perch. Those wading near Boom and Stephenson Island are still picking up some healthy brown trout when using spawn, yarn and orange lures.
Cedar River - Still has ice at the Stony Point boat launch. Shore fishing is possible now and with a few nice days, the other launches should open up.
Little Bay De Noc - The northern half of the Bay still iced over but conditions are poor. A few were ice fishing for perch but conditions are dangerous.
Escanaba River - The lower river is completely open for shore anglers.
Big Bay De Noc - The Fish Dam River is open but the entire Bay remains iced over with dangerous ice conditions. A few anglers were ice fishing for perch in Kates Bay in 20 feet of water but anglers would be better off waiting for open water because ice conditions are not safe.
Munising - The shoreline ice is starting to break up so anglers need to use extreme caution. The ice was still holding off Sand Point and near the mouth of the Anna River. Coho, steelhead and whitefish were taken near the Grand Island Ferry Dock.
Two Hearted River - Steelhead are in the river.
Manistique Lake - Is producing some perch and bluegill.
Manistique River - Steelhead are moving up into the river.
Cedarville and Hessel - Perch fishing improved in Musky Bay but the ice is deteriorating quickly. Anglers need to use extreme caution! Try 10 to 12 feet of water with wigglers, wax worms mousies, or spikes.