fishing
Upper Peninsula
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers in the last week found plenty of lake trout while trolling and jigging. Lake trout were by far the most caught species with only a few coho salmon caught during the week. Most fish were caught while trolling in medium depth water with the fish dispersed throughout the water column.
Big Traverse Bay/South Portage Entry Canal: Anglers were incredibly successful fishing for lake trout this last week. Most anglers found trolling to bring the most fish into the boat, however jigging trips were also productive. While trolling, silver and red seemed to be the most successful colors. Jigging anglers had luck with Swedish Pimples and jigging spoons with or without cut bait.
St. Ignace: Boat anglers caught good numbers of pink salmon and lake trout between the Wawatam Lighthouse and the Coast Guard Pier Boat Launch. Within 30 to 50 feet of water, anglers were trolling spoons and Spin-n-Glos. Good colors to use were blue/white, greens, oranges, and chartreuse. Salmon were jumping at the Carp River, and anglers were successful with casting glow-in-the-dark spoons that were green or orange. At Nunns Creek, anglers used spawn bags and spinner baits. At both locations, they were the most successful an hour before sunrise or an hour after sunset. Good sized perch were caught underneath the Pine River Bridge when using night crawlers on slip bobbers.
Little Bay de Noc: Walleye anglers reported fair to good fishing. Anglers had success fishing “black bottom”, Minneapolis shoals, and near the mouth of the Escanaba River. Drifting or trolling crawler harnesses caught fish at slow speeds. Some anglers caught fish casting retrieving style lures close to the bottom. A few anglers reported having a few fish eat jigs paired with live bait. Smallmouth bass anglers also reported good fishing.
Manistique: Anglers salmon fishing in the lake reported having success in numbers of steelhead and small Chinook salmon. Anglers reported that adult Chinook bites were few and far between, although most had at least one or two adult-sized fish bites per trip. Among those launching out of Manistique, fishing activity was most prevalent by the “red can” and Barques Pointe. Boats trolling for Chinook salmon near the river mouth had only limited success. Anglers fishing in the river reported a few pink salmon with limited Chinook sightings. Walleye anglers reported fair to slow fishing.
Marquette: Lake trout were caught consistently with the most successful boats making their way out towards the Clay Banks west of Granite Rock. The upper harbor seemed to be the harbor that most anglers were leaving from on days that the weather cooperated. Excellent numbers of lake trout were still being caught jigging or trolling around the northeast side of White Rocks and out towards Granite Island this week. A few anglers also reported catching a few salmon out by Granite Rock. Watermelon was very good along with green and orange Spin-n-Glos or green/silver flasher fly presentations for lake trout. Chartreuse and silver jigs worked well around the northeast side of White Rocks especially with a little cut bait. Trolling between White Rocks towards Granite Rock or Clay Banks in around 130 to 160 feet of water was a popular depth range.
Au Train: Lake trout were still being caught from anglers jigging in approximately 160 feet of water north to northeast of Au Train Island, especially with cut bait. Anglers reported lake trout being caught while trolling in waters around 130 to 180 feet north to northwest of the Au Train Island in the flats or out towards the Laughing White Fish Clay Banks. Wonder Bread, multicolored glow spoons, or green/silver flasher flies were good color combinations. A little bit of cut bait jigging or trolling with Wonder Bread or chartreuse cowbells did well at deeper depths of 160 to 180 feet of water.
Ontonagon River: Over the past week fishing efforts on the river were reported as healthy, with anglers bringing in good numbers of walleye. Occasional catches of rock bass were also reported. Anglers had luck throughout the day, with early morning trips yielding the best results.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: These ports saw healthy fishing efforts over the past week. Anglers reported catches consisting of lake trout in good numbers along with some occasional Chinook salmon. Anglers had the most success in finding these fish when trolling deeper waters.
Black River Harbor: Over the past week, inclement weather limited lake access on occasion. Fishing efforts from the harbor were healthy, with anglers reporting catches of lake trout in good numbers. Anglers had the most success when trolling in deeper waters.
Les Cheneaux Islands: Anglers were still catching perch off the Hessel Marina, however the bite slowed down a good amount. There were good numbers of pike caught while using chubs, but the majority of the fish being caught were undersized.
DeTour: The fishing in DeTour produced plenty of pink salmon when trolling in the 45 feet of water range with spoons. Anglers also did well with lake trout in the flats and were picking up an Atlantic and Chinook salmon here and there as well.
Fishing tip: Glow lures are popular with Great Lakes salmon
Salmon fishing on the Great Lakes is really hitting its stride, as many species are getting ready to begin their upstream migration. At the moment, Lake Michigan is particularly popular for Chinook salmon, with anglers trying various techniques to land this prized sportfish.
One tactic that can be particularly useful when targeting Chinook salmon is fishing with glow lures. This species can often be caught near the surface in low-light conditions, and glow lures make that opportunity even more appealing.
In particular, glow lures work well in the early morning hours before the sun comes up or at night. Many believe this type of lure attracts salmon because it can be seen in the dark from longer distances and encourages them to strike.
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