It’s hot outside and the bite is hot in several locations. Before heading to your fishing destination, visit www.AAATraffic.com for the latest traffic, construction, weather and road conditions that may affect your route.
Anglers fishing L’Anse and Keweenaw Bay’s are finding good numbers of walleye using jigs and crawler harnesses in 5-15 feet of water. Pan fish are on beds and the numbers are nice, while the salmon activity is rated fair. Lake Superior is producing good quantities of lake trout.
Anglers fishing in Escanaba are finding best results jigging outside of the weeds for some fair walleye action. Overall walleye seems to be spotty. Salmon is very slow at this point.
In the Manistique area it seems as if once the warm weather rolled in the fishing slowed down on Indian Lake where only a few perch and walleye are biting. Lake Michigan is rated fair to good for salmon action and the bass fishing is very good.
Sault Ste. Marie anglers are catching a few fish, but overall no great action taking place. Higher water levels are allowing anglers to fish in some areas that were too shallow in previous years however.
Very good walleye fishing is taking place once again this week for anglers on Gogomain River and Munuscong Lake. Crawler harnesses and bottom bouncers are working well.
A mayfly hatch around Drummond Island has slowed the walleye fishing. Fair angling action for bass and pike on Scott and Maxton Bay’s while fair to good fishing for Atlantic salmon can be found near the lighthouse southwest of the Island.
Fair walleye fishing is taking place for St. Ignace anglers on Brevort Lake and the same story for anglers fishing St. Martin’s Bay, only fair counts of salmon biting.
Information Providers: Johnson’s Sports-Drummond Island; Bay View Bait & Tackle-Escanaba; Top O’ Lake Sport-Manistique; Hank’s Sporting-Sault Ste. Marie; Wilderness Treasurers-Munuscong Bay; ACE Hardware-St. Ignace and Indian Country Sports-L’Anse.
Douglas Lake around the Alanson area is producing great numbers of pike and bass. Anglers are using crawlers with good success.
Traverse City anglers are finding good walleye fishing on Long Lake for walleye but sorting is necessary. Fair to good action is taking place for perch and blue gill are on their beds and the fishing is good. On Little Traverse Bay and Grand Traverse Bay the whitefish and trout action is rated fair.
Off of Frankfort charter boats are reeling in some very large fish from Lake Michigan. Crystal Lake is producing good numbers of bass, rock bass and pan fish. Platte Lake is giving up good counts of walleye, bass and pan fish. Most area streams and rivers are producing good quantities of Rainbow trout as well as Brown trout.
Good blue gill and bass fishing on the majority of inland lakes around Kalkaska. Trout activity seems to be scattered.
Great fishing in Gaylord with the Manistee, Sturgeon and Au Sable rivers producing nice trout fishing especially around 7 a.m. and 2 a.m. Brown Drake hatch taking place now. Otsego Lake anglers are doing well for walleye, bass and pan fish trolling, bobber fishing and when using Rapalas.
Good activity in Cadillac where blue gill and sunfish are on their beds in the shallows of Mitchell Lake. Cadillac Lake is producing good crappie counts in 4-10 feet of water. Overall, both lakes are providing very good fishing for large size Rock Bass, pike, bass, crappie, blue gill and sunfish. Walleye action is only rated fair.
Information providers: Gander Mountain-Traverse City; Backcast Fly Shop-Frankfort; Alphorn-Gaylord; Jack’s Sports-Kalkaska; Pilgrim’s Village-Cadillac and Young’s Bait Shop-Alanson.
Lake Michigan off of the Ludington area is producing good salmon fishing in 100-120 feet of water. Blue Dolphin and Wonder Bread spoons are hot. All area inland lakes are producing good fishing with good bites on blue gill, bass, pike and crappie.
Good angling taking place all around the Baldwin area. Howes and Big Bass lakes are producing good blue gill numbers on wax worms, wigglers, crickets and Hula Poppers. Big Bass Lake is also giving up good counts of perch on minnows. Anglers are pulling in good numbers of small mouth bass in the 5-6 pound range consistently and Jitterbugs and Hula Poppers are popular. The Pere Marquette, Manistee and Muskegon rivers are providing nice trout action for fly fishing in the early morning and late evening hours.
On Muskegon Lake the blue gill are bedding and the bass are in the channels. Lake Michigan is producing plentiful perch in 30-feet of water. Salmon are biting all over and in all depths and the activity is rated fair.
Good fishing is taking place out on Chippewa Lake where Yellow Spiders are working well on good numbers of pike and blue gill. Blue gill are bedding.
Information providers: Wolf Lake Resort & ATV Rental-Baldwin; King Sports-Baldwin; East Bay General Store-Chippewa Lake; Shoreline Bait & Tackle-Muskegon and P.M. Sports-Ludington.
Very good fishing is available around the Benton Harbor area where perch are hitting on minnows in 25-30 feet of water. Lake trout activity is very good but the salmon action has slowed. Off of the pier a few steelhead are still hitting and decent numbers of catfish and small mouth bass are biting.
Great perch fishing continues around the New Buffalo area in 16-20 feet of water particularly near the Pumping Station with anglers using minnows. The fish are a variety of sizes ranging from small to large. In the river the catfish and Rock bass are hitting on night crawlers in good numbers.
In Three Rivers, the fishing is very good on all inland lakes surrounding the area for blue gill, bass and crappie. Crickets are the hot bait but Red Wigglers and wax worms are working too.
Information providers: Tackle Haven-Benton Harbor and Captain Cook’s-New Buffalo.
Alpena anglers are finding good luck out on Hubbard and Long Lake for fair to good catches of walleye and bass. Crawler harnesses and leeches are working well. Thunder Bay River is giving up fair amounts of walleye on crawler harnesses and Rapalas.
Near Grayling Big Bear Lake is great for lake trout and thanks to the Hex hatch should be good for the next week or so. The Au Sable and Manistee rivers are both producing nice numbers of trout and the Hex hatch is helping anglers there as well. Frog, Section 1, Bradford and Blue gill lakes are all producing fair amounts of blue gill within the shallow waters. Manistee Lake has some nice crappie fishing taking place and Bear Lake is fair for bass and trout. Anglers on Lake Margrethe are pulling in some nice numbers of blue gill while the walleye activity has slowed because of the Hex hatch.
Overall great fishing is taking place around the Oscoda area. Cooke and Foote Dam ponds are producing good numbers of pike, perch, blue gill and bass. Anglers fishing in 150-feet of water and about two miles out on Lake Huron are getting good results with salmon. Perch, walleye, steelhead and sucker fishing is good on the Au Sable River. Van Etten Lake has some nice numbers for perch and pike.
Anglers fishing Houghton Lake are pulling in good numbers of walleye and bass, fair counts of pike and blue gill action is good with fish on their beds.
Nice fishing on Higgins Lake for small mouth bass, Rock bass using crawlers. Minnows are working well in 50-feet of water for perch and big Swedish Pimples are doing the trick on nice numbers of lake trout.
Average summer fishing overall is taking place throughout the Au Gres area. However, very good walleye action can be found in the Bay area.
Information providers: Clem’s-Alpena; Skips-Grayling; Lyman’s-Houghton Lake; Sports Barn-Higgins Lake; Wright’s Sport Shop-Au Gres and The Dam Store-Oscoda.
Off of Standish walleye action is good in 25-27 feet of water and best results are found using crawlers, harnesses and spoons.
Saginaw Bay, the fish are hitting off of Linwood in deeper waters around 20-24 feet on crawler harnesses and Hot-N-Tots. Take part in the Scottish Rite 1st Annual Walleye Tournament at Linwood Beach Marina. Anglers need to be registered prior to 6:30 a.m., call 989-832-3360 for details.
Near Bay City the walleye fishing is phenomenal everywhere from Oakhurst to Au Gres. Water depths range from 3-20 feet. Crawler harnesses are popular as well as Hot-N-Tots for deeper waters. Catfish and Gar pike are hitting on crawlers, dough balls or dried shrimp around Finn Road.
Callahan Reef is a hot spot for limits of fish on Saginaw Bay. Try using quarter or half ounce in-line weights and crawler harnesses trolled 10 to 20 feet behind planer boards. Anglers are doing best in 7-9 feet of water using gold blades with chartreuse beads. Mid-day seems to be most productive and trolling at low speeds less than 1.3 mph.
A few larger fish are hitting in 5-6 feet of water. Hot weather has heated up the walleye fishing and Bay Port anglers are heading straight out to fish around North Island and using crawlers with very good results.
Anglers fishing in Port Austin are finding that the walleye are moving in and some good fishing is taking place for King and Coho salmon.
Kings, Coho and lake trout are abundant near Harbor Beach. Anglers are doing well on Lake Huron fishing in waters 80-110 feet with a variety of spoons. Bass are active in 12-feet of water on leeches, while walleye are found in 45-feet. Perch action is good fishing 18-25 feet and using minnows.
Perch are starting to move in to Port Sanilac and around Lexington in good numbers.
An overload of walleye has anglers limiting out quickly in Port Huron. Anglers drifting the river are finding walleye three deep with crawler harnesses working well. Out on Lake Huron anglers are whipping and hand lining with good results. Shore fishing is very good for walleye and even an occasional Brown trout, Coho and steelhead. Thanks to the silver bass, they brought a lot of fish to the area.
The mouth of the Black River is loaded with silver bass and minnows on crappie rigs on the bottom are working well. The Black River has small mouth bass and pike everywhere and hitting just about everything.
Mill Creek is good for small mouth bass. All of the ponds in the area are giving up plenty of bass on spinners and even a few pike. Anglers will have to deal with plenty of weeds though.
Information providers: Frank’s Place-Harbor Beach; 1st & Main-Bay Port; Michigan Sportsman-Bay City; Eagle Bay Marina-Standish; Anderson’s Pro Bait-Port Huron and Frank’s Great Outdoors-Linwood.
Mount Pleasant anglers are doing well for pan fish and walleye near the Hubsher Gravel Pit when using crawler harnesses and leeches. Overall, most ponds feeding from the Chippewa River are producing great numbers of Blue gill.
Lansing anglers are doing well on a variety of fish. Catfish are hitting near Sleepy Hollow State Park and near Moores Park during the mid-day. Carp and catfish action is hit or miss on the Grand River. Try casting close to shore so that you stay out of the heavy current. Chicken liver, small blue gill, stink baits and corn all work fairly well. As the water levels recede the pan fish are returning and the weekend should be terrific. Near the Lansing Dam red worms under a bobber are working well on Rock bass. Walleye, pike and crappie are hitting at the south end of the river near Waverly Road.
Near the Brooklyn area, Sand and Clark lakes are producing a few walleye off the bottom with leeches. Good blue gill action as fish move towards waters 14 feet deep. Anglers are doing well fishing 7-8 feet down with crickets.
Information providers: Jake’s outdoors-Mt. Pleasant; Knutson’s Live Bait-Brooklyn and Grand River Bait and Tackle-Lansing.
Fairhaven anglers are doing well out near the shipping channel near Buoy 28 for perch on minnows. Perch action also good northeast of Grass Island around the cut, 10-feet out in front of Selfridge and in the reeds on Goose Bay. Walleye are hanging in the river and good action is taking place from Marine City to Algonac using crawler harnesses and bottom bouncers.
Off of the Harrison area bass and blue gill are being caught around Gino’s Surf and the 400 Club in 8-12 feet of water. Bass are active near Masonic Boulevard in eight feet of water. Out in the shipping channels near Buoy 26 and around the St. Clair Light the perch and walleye are hitting in 18-feet of water.
The Detroit River between Melvindale and the Ambassador Bridge seems to be turning back on for walleye. Could be that since the silver bass have slowed tremendously the walleye are just easier to catch. Near the Ambassador Bridge on the Canadian side hand liners are doing well at night typically getting limits. Anglers fishing around Fighting Island are pulling in decent size walleye on crawler harnesses generally getting limits.
Perch fishing on the Detroit River is decent north of Grassy Island and on the north side of Grosse Ile, the south side of Sugar Island, around the Cross-Dyke and south of Celeron. Shiner minnows on perch rigs work well. Lots of yellow perch caught at the mouth of the Detroit River and ranging 12-15 inches. The Trenton Channel is slow for walleye but the fish are moving back in and up the river and anglers are trolling with spoons, hand lining and averaging 6-10 fish per boat. Walleye that are in the river are larger this time around. A Mayfly hatch seems to have triggered the fish to eat. The Detroit River is slow for bass and the fish are small.
Anglers fishing Lake Erie and out by the Detroit Light and Buoy 10 are pulling in a few good size walleye on minnows and some perch are biting on shiner minnows on perch rigs.
Off of Rock Wood shore fishing is good for catfish on shrimp and crawlers, while bass are hitting in good numbers on spinner bait. The Huron River is producing a few bass and some catfish near the mouth of the river.
Near Monroe Lake Erie is producing nice numbers of perch near Toledo Beach, Sputnik and E-Buoys, off the Banana Dyke, near the Dumping Grounds and around Luna Pier. Walleye activity is good at Stoney Point, Estral Beach and out in front and north of Fermi in 13-20 feet of water using crawler harnesses and bottom bouncers with purple and pink the best producers. Anglers also are using whites and blades with some gold in them and Erie Deeries. Weeds are a problem pretty much all along the shoreline. Mayfly hatch is heavy in several areas.
Out deeper anglers are getting walleye in 24-30 feet of water near the shipping channels, near the Michigan and Ohio line. Walleye are on fire near Middle Sister Island, northwest of West Sister Island, east of Buoy 1 in the Toledo shipping channel and near Holiday Beach and Colchester. Crawler harnesses, spoons and Hot-N-Tots are all working well.
Belleville and Ford lakes are producing nice numbers on a variety of fish including walleye, bass, crappie and blue gill. The bass bite is particularly good. Four Mile Lake near Chelsea has great fishing. The Huron River near the paper mill is great for bass and walleye fishing. Several baits are working well including Golden Shiners 2 ½ inches long, pan fish worms, night crawlers, wax worms and leeches.
Information providers: Bluewater Bait-Fairhaven; 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; Andy’s Tackle Box-Melvindale;WalleyeKid.com-Canton; Gander Mountain-Taylor; The Bait & Tackle Box-Trenton and Lance Valentine’s Walleye 101.