Wind and rain has plagued anglers for several days now creating tough fishing conditions in many areas of the state. 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 seem to be in a transition period now that the ice is gone. Very minimal activity on perch and most anglers are just waiting for walleye season to open on May 15.
Marquette received 18-inches of snow last week and it has rained ever since so the rivers are crested and very muddy, most look like chocolate. Activity is slow overall slow with the exception of a few Coho on Lake Superior.
Escanaba anglers dealt with rain and wind this week that created high water levels in the rivers. All of the boat landings are open as well as trout season. Trout activity got off to a slow start in the streams. North of Gladstone some perch are being taken in the narrows. Walleye season opens May 15.
Indian Lake is producing nice numbers of perch and anglers are doing well on the majority of inland lakes. The Manistique River continues to remain strong for steelhead on spawn. So far no activity on Lake Michigan, just off of the Lake near Thompson Creek the brown trout are starting to hit.
Off of the Sault Ste. Marie area perch are biting on minnows near Sugar Island. Rain has curtailed much of the angling activity this week overall.
Around Munuscong the St. Mary’s River is producing steelhead on spawn and spoons. Pike, walleye and musky season opens May 15.
Around Drummond Island some smelt can still be found in the Lake Huron tributaries and anglers are getting some perch on minnows and perch rigs.
St. Ignace received plenty of wind and rain this week idling fishing activity, but a warm-up helped a few anglers pull in some trout. Smelt has slowed down but persistent anglers heading to the north side of the Carp River are filling their two-gallon bucket.
Information Providers: Bay View Bait & Tackle-Escanaba; Gogebic Grocery-Marenisco; Top O’Lake Sport-Manistique; Gander Mountain-Marquette; Hank’s Sporting-Sault Ste. Marie; Wilderness Treasurers-Munuscong Bay and ACE Hardware-St. Ignace.
Northwest:
Rain and adverse weather has limited fishing activity in Alanson so far this week.
Traverse City anglers are doing well on the Boardman River for steelhead. Suttons Bay is producing some perch on wigglers and perch minnows. Walleye is slow so far.
Anglers getting out around the Frankfort area are doing well on most inland lakes for blue gill and crappie. Steelhead and suckers are still running at a good pace on the Betsie and Platte rivers. Spawn and flies are working well, spin fishing, bobbers and longer leaders are also in the bag of tricks for anglers. Walleye and trout season opens in the area on Saturday.
Around Kalkaska some nice size trout have been caught despite the rain. The rain should actually bring in more steelhead into the Boardman River for the weekend.
Gaylord anglers are finding very good steelhead numbers in the Boyne, Sturgeon and Jordan rivers. Spawn, egg flies and nymph patterns are working well. Good action for walleye on Otsego Lake and Big Lake with crawler harnesses and crank bait working well. Trout streams are slow but improving.
In the Cadillac area fishing this week has been quiet with some blue gill and crappie being taking from Mitchell and Cadillac lakes. Trout fishing is good in the streams.
Information providers: Alphorn-Gaylord; Backcast Fly Shop-Frankfort; Jack’s Sports-Kalkaska; Pilgrim’s Village-Cadillac; Young’s Bait Shop-Alanson and Gander Mountain-Traverse City.
West:
Excellent trout action is taking place around the Baldwin area on the Little Manistee and Pere Marquette rivers and streams throughout the area that include rainbow, brown and brook trout. Steelhead activity is also rated good to excellent when using spawn. Inland lakes are good for pike on sucker minnows and the pan fish are biting in nice numbers too.
Good fishing for anglers in the Muskegon area for perch, trout and walleye. Muskegon Lake is producing nice numbers of perch in 42-29 feet of water on minnows and wigglers. Perch action is good on Lake Michigan in 60-70 feet of water. The White and Muskegon rivers are both giving up tremendous trout catches. Off of the Muskegon piers the walleye fishing is good using crank baits and husky jerks.
In the Chippewa Lake area the channels are providing good counts of specks and Chippewa Lake is producing a few walleye on minnows.
Rain, rain and more rain is the word in Grand Rapids and with all that rain flooding is the rule for just about every river in the area idling fishing at this point. Inland lakes all have high water levels as well but are fishable.
Information providers: King Sports-Baldwin; East Bay Store-Chippewa Lake; Shoreline Bait & Tackle-Muskegon; Gander Mountain-Grand Rapids and Wolf Lake Motel & Resort-Baldwin.
Southwest:
Lake Michigan off of the Benton Harbor area is giving up good catches of Coho and Kings on Rapalas and orange spoons in 50-feet of water. Just about anything orange is doing the trick.
Wind and rain today has halted angling activity in the New Buffalo area.
High water from rain is causing for poor fishing conditions in the Kalamazoo area. Overall the angling action is slow and has been rough due to heavy winds. Pine Lake and Maple Lake are producing some blue gill. The St. Joe harbor is giving up a few brown trout.
Inland lakes throughout the Three Rivers area are providing nice numbers of perch and blue gill on wax worms and minnows.
Information providers: Tackle Haven-Benton Harbor; D.& R. Sports-Kalamazoo; Captain Cook’s-New Buffalo and Fisherman’s Luck-Three Rivers.
Northeast:
Alpena anglers continue to hit on good numbers of walleye near the shoreline of Lake Huron. Fishing in the evening hours with Rapalas seems to be getting good results. Fish are ranging from three to seven pounds. Steelhead and sucker activity is good near the Ninth Street Dam when anglers use spawn and flies.
Fishing is good in Oscoda for steelhead, suckers and walleye. Below the Foote Dam Pond steelhead and sucker activity is really starting to pick up. Walleye are hitting near the mouth of the Au Sable River.
Grayling anglers are doing fair for trout on the Au Sable and Manistee rivers. Best fishing seems to be mid-day. Lake Margrethe is slow to fair for pan fish. Anglers are getting best results in shallow water since fish are starting to bed up a bit. The walleye bite is slow so far. Crappie and blue gill are showing up in the canals. Live baits are working well on pan fish, wax worms on blue gill and jig heads with leeches while drifting for walleye.
Fishing is on the rise for Houghton Lake anglers. Today the weather finally broke and the walleye and pike are biting when trolling and using stick baits or Rapalas. The canals are producing decent counts of blue gill and crappie.
The sun finally popped out today on Higgins Lake after days of rain and wind. Walleye, trout and pike season are open, but so far no activity is taking place.
In the Au Gres area steelhead activity is still good on the east branch of the Au Gres. Sucker opportunities have dwindled. Good action for walleye at the mouth of the River.
Standish anglers are finding a slow and tough go for fishing due to northeast winds and rain causing dirty water and rough conditions. Some walleye are being caught near the mouth of the river and perch fishing seems to be over.
Information providers: Clem’s-Alpena; Skips-Grayling; Lyman’s-Houghton Lake; Sports Barn-Higgins Lake; Wright’s Sport Shop-Au Gres; The Dam Store-Oscoda and Eagle Bay Marina-Standish.
East:
Heavy winds have really curtailed the fishing for anglers around Bay City, Bay Port and Saginaw. Water is high, dirty and white caps were common on several days. Bay Port had a few small perch catches and a few anglers were catching and releasing some bass. Saginaw Bay gave up a few walleye on golden shiners, husky jerks, body baits and minnows during the evening hours, but overall the fishing opportunities have been limited. The Saginaw River has high water levels and is churned up like a chocolate milkshake.
Port Sanilac and Lexington anglers are trolling in 10-20 feet of water using some spoons but mostly body baits. Gold and orange are the best colors. Lexington Harbor has perch action picking up but you will need patience and put your time in. Anglers are finding that one day the fish are small in size the next day they are large, very inconsistent. The Port Huron Boardwalk has some nice numbers of Coho, Kings, walleye and steelhead for the taking. Red Eye spoons are hot on set lines. The mouth of the Black River the perch are starting to pick up with best results using Emerald Shiners and small perch bait. A few whitefish can be spotted at the mouth of the river and anglers are vertical jigging for walleye. Mill Creek the sucker run is slowing down.
Information providers: Anderson’s Pro Bait-Port Huron; 1st & Main-Bay Port; Michigan Sportsman-Bay City and Gander Mountain-Saginaw.
Central:
Water is high around Lansing and the fishing conditions are not good. The Grand River is muddy and the steelhead run has slowed. Pretty much all the fishing is slow on area lakes. Anglers are anxious for the weather to settle.
Anglers fishing throughout and around the Brooklyn area are finding slow activity due to wind. A few inland lakes are giving up good gill action and only a few walleye.
Information providers: Knutson’s Live Bait-Brooklyn and Grand River Bait and Tackle-Lansing.
Southeast:
East winds around the Harrison Township area has angling activity slowed today. A few anglers have been out catching and releasing small mouth bass in 6-8 feet of water on Lake St. Clair but overall rough conditions.
If the wind would just stop the walleye fishing would be phenomenal between Gibraltar and the Ambassador Bridge on the Detroit River. Over the past weekend, hundreds of walleye anglers were out despite very windy conditions and white caps. Anglers have been plagued with high winds since Saturday causing rough waters and tough fishing conditions. Today the winds are high again keeping anglers off the water. Shore fishing is decent from Delray Park for perch and silver bass, but walleye is only rated fair thanks to dirty water. Hand-liners are doing well at night. Baits of choice include Finesse minnows, Wyandotte Worms and a variety of gulp baits. Also try two-eyed jigs, chartreuse baits, Pumpkin Seeds and Melon Belly on the walleye. When the wind dies down, expect anglers to be back out at the hot spots that include off the wall near BASF, and near Great Lakes Steel Boat Club and the steel mill area where anglers were getting limits easily.
Off of Monroe, high winds kept anglers off of Lake Erie earlier this week but today some attempted are back at it fishing around Bolles Harbor, Brest Bay and near River Raisin seeking walleye. Most anglers are trolling with crawler harnesses, Rapala Shad Wraps popular in silver and black and Wyandotte worms. One ounce jig heads also seem to get results. Silver bass are very active and it is hard to keep them off the line when walleye fishing. Walleye activity is very good around Luna Pier, near the shipping channels, Turtle Island and the Toledo Light. Purple Hair jigs, minnows and worms are working well. The Huron River in Flat Rock still has some steelhead activity near Metro Park, by the Dam and near Edison.
Good fishing around Belleville where anglers are getting decent catches of walleye and pike on both Ford and Belleville lakes using suckers and Red Devil spoons. Pike are hitting on gold walleye shiners. A good location for some crappie action is around the flats on Ford Lake using minnows and walleye minnows. Blue gill are biting on the Huron River and both lakes on wax worms. A few anglers are catching and releasing bass. Popular baits include night crawlers and baby crawlers and wax worms for blue gill is starting to pick up.
Information providers: Gander Mountain-Taylor; Lakeside Fishing Shop-St. Clair Shores; Pro-Fishing & Archery-Harrison Township; South Street Tackle-Belleville; Bottom Line Bait & Tackle-Rock Wood; Erie Party Shop-Monroe and Andy’s Tackle Box-Melvindale.