The fireworks and fishing will both be booming this holiday weekend. As a note, new sturgeon tags can only be acquired from license vendors and are available as of today. Before heading to your fishing destination, visit www.AAATraffic.com for the latest traffic, construction, weather and road conditions that may affect your route.
Lake Gogebic has a Mayfly hatch taking place and fish are suspended off the bottom. Try using slip bobbers with Rapalas. Perch seem to be active in the weed beds.
As the weather improves so does the fishing in the L’Anse area and anglers can expect good fishing opportunities for the holiday weekend. Crappie and blue gill are just starting to bed and anglers are working hard for salmon. Lake trout activity is good and pan fish is also decent. Worms and wax worms are working well on the majority of inland lakes.
Escanaba fishing has been quiet this week, however by the weekend the action will start booming as better weather moves in. Pike activity is on the rise, particularly in the weeds and when anglers use spinner and crank baits.
Rain and wind has plagued the area all week so anglers are really looking forward to nice weather over the weekend. A few bass and walleye are hitting in the Manistique River on stick baits and crawler harnesses. Lake Michigan is giving up a few salmon and activity is on the rise, most salmon have been caught closer to Fairport. Indian Lake has been slow overall.
Fishing activity has improved around the Sault Ste. Marie area. Whitefish and Atlantic salmon can be caught behind the Power House and near the ferry docks. Spoons, flies and Rapalas seem to work well. Walleye is rated fair and often times hit or miss, the fish seem to be going deeper. Try crawler harnesses and crawlers.
Near the Munuscong Bay area Raber Bay and the St. Mary’s River is giving up walleye and pike on hard baits and crawler harnesses. Bass are biting on everything. Off of Cedarville herring activity is good when using tear drops and wax worms. Pike are also biting in good numbers. Lake trout, Atlantic salmon and a few King salmon are hitting off of Detour.
Drummond Island anglers dealt with rain and cool temperatures this week and overall slow fishing. The weekend forecast is expected to bring warmer temperatures and much better angling activity.
St. Ignace anglers fishing Brevort Lake are finding a few walleye and the pan fish are moving on to their beds.
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; Indian Country Sports-L’Anse and Gogebic Grocery-Bergland.
Near the Alanson area Burt and Crooked lakes are producing some fish after dark and in the early morning hours with pike hitting in good numbers. Minnows seem to be working on pike for anglers fishing on Douglas Lake.
Long Lake in the Traverse City area continues to be a good source for walleye.
Anglers fishing in Frankfort are doing well with the river bustling. Crystal, Duck and Loon lakes are giving up plenty of pan fish and bass. Drake and Hex hatch is taking place. Salmon seemed to have moved in from 20 miles out to about five miles. The Alewives have also moved in.
Skegemog Lake near Kalkaska is giving up good numbers of small mouth bass and trout activity is decent. Blue gill are starting to move on to their beds. Popular baits include flies, flatfish for trout and small mouth bass.
Fishing continues to be very good around the Gaylord area. The Black, Manistee and Sturgeon rivers are giving up nice numbers of Brook trout as well as the upper Pigeon near the impoundment area. The Hex hatch is moving north. During the day anglers will find Sulfur, Drake and Caddis hatches while the evening Hexogenia hatches.
In the Cadillac area anglers are doing well despite rain and cooler temperatures this week. Pike and bass are consistent on both Mitchell and Cadillac lakes. On the west side of Lake Mitchell the walleye are hitting in good numbers on leeches and crawlers. Also crappie action is good on the south side in 12-15 feet of water using little minnows and beetle spinners. On both lakes sunfish and blue gill are starting to bed.
Information providers: Backcast Fly Shop-Frankfort; Alphorn-Gaylord; Jack’s Sports-Kalkaska; Pilgrim’s Village-Cadillac and Young’s Bait Shop-Alanson.
In Ludington anglers are finding good perch fishing off of the north break wall using wigglers and minnows. Hamlin Lake is giving up a little of everything including bass, northern pike and pan fish. Salmon anglers are finding action is 100-120 feet of water and when fishing between 50 and 60 feet down. Spoons continue to work well with the most popular the Blue Dolphin and Wonder Bread. Not much activity in the river this week.
Around Baldwin anglers are finding excellent bass fishing on Wolf Lake. Small mouth bass are ranging 5-7 pounds. Big Bass Lake and Howe’s Lake are both giving up nice catches of blue gill on wax worms and wigglers. The Little Manistee and the Pere Marquette rivers have some very good trout fishing taking place in the non-fly zone and anglers are using wigglers and leaf worms. In the fly only zone tiny stone flies, Hex and nymph patterns are working well. Fishing for the holiday weekend is anticipated to be very good thanks to high pressure.
In the Muskegon area anglers are starting to get back out on Lake Michigan after a few days of windy conditions. The mid-day seems to be the best time to fish and in waters 200-240 feet with the best action in the top 40. Steelhead and small size salmon are hitting in schools on dark green and glow in the dark spoons. Pike action can be found along the weed edges on crank baits. Muskegon Lake is giving up nice numbers of blue gill as well as most inland lakes. On the smaller lakes blue gill are starting to get off their beds. White Lake blue gill are just getting on the beds. Night crawlers and crawlers seem to be popular.
Blue gill activity is great on Chippewa Lake using night crawlers, plenty of hot spots. Pike action is decent with most fish caught on minnows.
Around the Grand Rapids area the majority of inland lakes are giving up plentiful blue gill catches. Bass are also hitting in good numbers. Rapalas are very popular.
Information providers: Wolf Lake Resort & ATV Rental-Baldwin; King Sports-Baldwin; East Bay General Store-Chippewa Lake; Shoreline Bait & Tackle-Muskegon; P.M. Sports-Ludington and Gander Mountain-Grand Rapids.
Windy conditions in the New Buffalo area slowed angling activity a bit in the past few days, but anglers can still find some nice perch fishing around the Pumping Station and near Red Roof in 16-30 feet of water and using minnows.
Kalamazoo and South Haven anglers are finding good fishing conditions. A few blue gill remain on beds on a few select inland lakes, Portage being one of the, but overall it seems fish are moving out towards deeper water. Try trolling with Blue Gill Busters on Saddle, Little Fish, and Scott lakes. Off the pier in South Haven anglers are pulling in nice numbers of steelhead when casting spoons. Perch are also active around South Haven in 40-60 feet of water when using perch rigs with minnows.
Good action for blue gill and perch around the Three Rivers area. Long Lake, Kaiser Lake and Bear Lake are all producing when anglers use Red wigglers.
Information providers: Captain Cook’s-New Buffalo; D.& R. Sports-Kalamazoo and Fisherman’s Luck-Three Rivers.
Angling activity has been busy in the Oscoda area, thanks to good weather and an influx of out-of-state visitors. Steelhead and sucker runs are pretty much done for the season, with some catfish and walleyes to appear in the Au Sable River. Cooke and Foote Dam ponds continue to see blue gills on their beds this week. Minnows, crawlers, leeches and wax worms are the baits of choice. Van Etten Lake once again has some decent pike and perch fishing. Local waterways overall have produced a small salmon run but better numbers of lake trout.
The Hex Flies are in full swing in Grayling, and that’s great news along the Manistee and Au Sable rivers. Brook and brown trout fishing is rated good to great this week. Walleye activity has picked up on Lake Margrethe, while the crappie run is holding its own on Manistee Lake. Anglers in the market for bass are finding varying numbers on Brighton, Glory, Section 1 and Bear lakes. Scattered trout fishing is reported in Bear Lake while the shallow ends of all inland waters are giving up good numbers of blue gills.
Spawning is behind schedule on Higgins Lake where male perch are more abundant in 10 feet of water. A variety of bass have a taste for crawlers and leeches at North and South Sunken islands. Rock bass and small mouth bass are popular there as we head into the weekend.
On Higgins Lake the lake trout are active in 90 to 130 feet of water. Anglers are getting good results using jigs and Swedish Pimples.
Fishing activity has been slow the last few days in Au Gres due to cloudy, cool and windy conditions, but better weather is in the forecast for the weekend. Heading out along the Rifle River and into Saginaw Bay, decent amounts of walleye are being reeled in. Anglers are using crawler harnesses, inline sinkers, weighted lures, as well as bottom bouncers with body baits.
Information providers: Skips-Grayling; Sports Barn-Higgins Lake; Wright’s Sport Shop-Au Gres; The Dam Store-Oscoda and Lyman’s-Houghton Lake.
Saginaw Bay near the Standish area continues to be a good location for walleye. Anglers fishing in 15-16 feet and deeper in 25-27 feet are doing well with crawlers, harnesses with spoons. Purple, Chartreuse and bright colors seem to be best. Plenty of rain and windy conditions for anglers around Bay City but the weather is improving and the walleye continue to bite around Finn Road. Linwood to Quanicassee is producing fish in 8-10 feet of water. Most anglers trolling are running quarter to half ounce in-line weights on crawler harnesses trolled 10-20 feet behind planer boards. Gold blades with Chartreuse beads continue to work well. A few anglers are starting to pick up fish casting crank baits around the weeds. Pan fish are good all over.
Bay Port anglers continue to do well for walleye around North Island with crawlers. Bass activity is very good and the fish are good size as well several five pound fish have been caught right off the docks. Pike action is decent.
Perch are in the harbor and are overall small in size at Harbor Beach. There is a few bigger fish in the mix and the best bait is worms.
Information providers: Frank’s Place-Harbor Beach; 1st & Main-Bay Port; Michigan Sportsman-Bay City; Gander Mountain-Saginaw and Eagle Bay Marina-Standish.
In the Mount Pleasant area despite some cooler temperatures, anglers are doing well on small mouth bass using crawlers.
Good fishing for anglers all around the Lansing area. A variety of species are being caught from the Little Maple River. The water is high and murky but small mouth bass, crappie and bass are biting. Below the Lansing Dam fish are abundant close to the wall drifting with worms under a bobber. Expect to lose a lot of rigs though. Nice Rock bass at the dam below Moores Park, nice size too. Morrison Lake is giving up crappie on minnows and night crawlers. Blue gill are nice size in the deeper waters and crickets, Red worms and wax worms are working well. The Grand River between Moores and Dimondale the catfish and walleye fishing is good. Big Flathead catfish can be had north of Lansing. Lake Ovid is producing keeper size catfish on live bait and chicken livers. Park Lake is providing a smorgasbord of fish giving up a bass, crappie, catfish and pike.
Wamplers Lake in Brooklyn and Sand Lake in Irish Hills both are providing nice numbers of walleye on leeches. Blue gill are off the beds and in approximately 15-feet of water with crickets working well at this point. Bass action is good on the majority of inland lakes in the area during the evening hours and using top water baits.
Information providers: Jake’s outdoors-Mt. Pleasant; Knutson’s Live Bait-Brooklyn and Grand River Bait and Tackle-Lansing.
Off of the Fair Haven area the bass are just about everywhere and anglers are finding good results using golden shiners and spinners. Walleye activity is good around Decker’s Landing and around Marine City. Grass Island is producing nice numbers of perch near the Baltimore cut. Walleye action is good off of Algonac in the Middle and South Channels and a lot of bass are being caught in Lake St. Clair.
Anglers fishing around the Harrison and Metro Beach area are doing well for perch out at the St. Clair Light and near Buoy 27. Walleye are in the same line. Crappie action is good behind Metro beach and walleye great behind Gino’s. Small mouth bass are hitting in Lake St. Clair. Musky action is good using trolling baits, jointed body baits or Buck Tail Spinners.
Windy weather slowed up fishing in the past few days, but conditions are improving off of the Ecorse, River Rouge and Melvindale areas where walleye fishing is decent on the Detroit River. Shore fishing is good off Delray and Belanger parks. Bottom bouncers and harnesses are working well. Hand lining is working but drifting seems to be better.
In the downriver area, thunderstorm threats and high winds kept many anglers off the waters the last few days in the Trenton, Riverview, Wyandotte and Grosse Ile areas. Anglers getting out are getting some fish in various locations. Try the Livingston Channel starting near Turtle Bay and work your way up the shoreline towards the Hole-in-the-wall and lots of fish can be had, including walleye in 25-30 feet. Night crawler harnesses and bottom bouncers are working well. Perch fishing is good all over and perch rigs, minnows and Emerald Shiners are doing the job. South of Celeron has good perch fishing as well as near the shipping channels and Rat Island. Small mouth bass are biting on tubes drifting bobbers and leeches. The Silver bass are gone in the Detroit River but now anglers are dealing with plenty of weeds that have moved in. Walleye activity is decent hand lining from the lower Trenton Channel to the mouth of Lake Erie but the white perch fishing is actually better at this point. The Amherstburg Channel is also good for jigging walleye. The Huron River near Rock Wood is giving up lots of small and large mouth bass catches.
Off of the Monroe area just north of the Fermi Plant plenty of fish are active in 20-22 feet of water particularly near the Bell Buoy. Weeds, murky waters and plenty of Mayflies are making trolling difficult. Off of the River Raisin fish are active just outside of the muddy water in 18-23 feet. Crawler harnesses are working well and trolling less than 1.5 mph. Anglers are getting results using one ounce in-line weights about 25-35 feet behind planer boards. Purple is a popular color. Stoney Point and Brest Bay producing an abundance of fish on crank baits and spoons in 18-20 feet of water. Anglers are getting results fishing half way down the water column. Walleye activity is also good off the Banana Dyke in 15-feet of water. The average size fish is ranging from 16 to 22 inches long, many undersized. Luna Pier is giving up nice numbers of perch. Worms and minnows are working well on perch and trolling is working better than drifting.
Out on Lake Erie walleye fishing is good in the shipping channels, near the Detroit Light, Sputnik and E-Buoys. Perch action is good off the E-Buoy, C-Can, Toledo Beach, in 21-feet of water around Holiday Beach, near Colchester and off all of the Islands. Ohio waters continue to produce fish three to five miles northwest of West sister Island and just east of Buoy 1 in the Toledo Shipping channel. Spoons and crawler harnesses are both working well.
Again this week anglers are doing very well on both Belleville and Ford lakes for good numbers of walleye using Fathead minnows, wax worms and night crawlers. Blue gill action is also good on both lakes and the Huron River particularly near Le Forge Road and Huron River Drive where the old Crown Vantage Paper Mill use to stand in Ypsilanti.
Information providers: Bluewater Bait-Fairhaven; WalleyeKid.com; Lance Valentine’s Walleye 101; Mackie’s Bait & Tackle-Algonac; Pro-Fishing & Archery-Harrison Township; South Street Tackle-Belleville; Bottom Line Bait & Tackle-Rock Wood; Erie Party Shop-Monroe; Andy’s Tackle Box-Melvindale; Gander Mountain-Taylor and The Bait & Tackle Box-Trenton.