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Thursday, April 8, 2004 Recreational Fishing Report
Good steelhead fishing continues around the state for those fishing the rivers or trolling in the Great Lakes. There were no reports of any smelt runs around the state. It will take some warm spring days along with rain in the evenings to trigger the fish. Smelt usually run from mid-April to early-May. Prolonged cold temperatures will delay the runs as ideal stream temperatures are normally 42 – 45 degrees. Anglers should review the Netting Regulations on page 10 in the 2004 Michigan Fishing Guide before heading out.
Southeastern Lower Peninsula Strong winds have kept most anglers off Lake Erie. No reports of any perch caught, but anglers are catching bluegills and crappie in the cuts and canals. Anglers are also doing well near the marinas. Steelhead can be found in the Huron River near Flat Rock. Good numbers of suckers are starting to show up in the river as well. On the Detroit River, anglers are catching walleye in the Trenton Channel. Limits have been caught near the Detroit Edison Stacks when jigging with a 5/8 ounce jig. The key is to stay vertical. Boat anglers are launching from the Wyandotte access site and fishing up to Mud Island. Jigging has worked best with an artificial brown worm or a white Mr. Twister. Some perch have been caught on minnows in waters 12 to 20 feet deep. On the north end of the river, anglers are hand-lining off the channels. Blue and white crankbaits have worked well in 10 to 14 ft of water. Strong winds have made the waters of Lake St. Clair very turbid. A few perch have been caught off the docks at Metro Beach. Boat anglers are still-fishing or drifting. No reports of any northern pike or walleye caught. The better fishing has been in the North Channel of the St. Clair River. Boat anglers are trolling or jigging right off the bottom for walleye in 30 to 45 feet of water. Salmon can be found 30 to 50 feet down in waters 40 to 60 feet deep. Northern pike have been caught in 4 to 5 feet of water. Light numbers of steelhead were caught when trolling bodybaits. Water temperatures are around 36 degrees. Coho salmon have been caught when trolling near the mouth of the river at Port Huron. In Saginaw Bay, fishing has been spotty. Perch and crappie have been caught in Hoyle’s Marina. Perch are in the Lower Saginaw River near the Independence Bridge. Shore anglers caught perch in the Thomas Cut near Unionville as well as in the Quanicassee and Sebewaing Rivers. At Sebewaing, most perch have been caught on worms or pieces of nightcrawler instead of minnows. Suckers are running in the Shiawassee, Cass and Flint Rivers. Anglers fishing the Pinnebog River at Port Crescent State Park reported fair sucker fishing. At Port Austin and Harbor Beach, strong winds have kept anglers off the lake. At Lexington, trout and salmon fishing is just getting started. Waters close to shore are muddy, but anglers are trolling for steelhead, chinook and coho in 8 to 25 feet of water on long lines and planer boards with bodybaits. Pier anglers inside the Lexington Harbor are catching steelhead and small coho salmon on spawn, minnows or Little Cleo’s. Southwestern Lower Peninsula Strong winds have hampered fishing for boat anglers at the port of St. Joe. A few brown trout have been caught close to shore. Anglers are surfcasting and catching brown trout. Pier anglers are casting spoons or spawn bags for steelhead and brown trout. In the St. Joe River, steelhead fishing is starting to pick up between Niles and Buchanan. Anglers are drifting spawn bags or Wobble-Glow’s. Steelhead fishing was good from Buchanan to Berrien Springs for boat anglers using crankbaits. Those fly fishing are doing well in the Dowagiac River for steelhead. Anglers fishing near the dam are catching fish on spawn. Inland, boat anglers are catching crappie on minnows in Magician Lake, Van Buren County. Near Holland, anglers are catching whitefish off the north pier near the Holland State Park on spawn or wax worms. At Saugatuck, anglers are catching coho and brown trout on bodybaits or thundersticks when trolling close to shore. In the Kalamazoo River, the steelhead fishing did pick up at the Allegan Dam, and the suckers have started to run. At Grand Rapids, anglers are catching steelhead when drifting spawn bags or flies near the Sixth Street Dam. A good number of suckers have been caught off the wall and near the Fulton Street Bridge. Closer to Lansing, anglers are catching catfish on frozen minnows below the dams. Bluegill fishing was slow, but some large fish have been caught. Crappie can be found in both the Grand River and the Maple River. Good numbers of steelhead were reported at the Webber Dam. Most fish were in the gravel sections of the river. Anglers reported good catches below the Lyons Dam using flies, spawn or spinners. Fishing has been slow on the Rogue River. Light numbers of steelhead and brown trout have been caught near the Childsdale Bridge on brown or black stone flies, wax worms or yarn. Good numbers of steelhead were reported in the upper section of the Muskegon River. Most fish have been caught between the Croton Dam and the Thornapple access site on flies, spawn, or crankbaits. The fish are scattered, which means they can be found on gravel or in deep holes. Northeastern Lower Peninsula Strong winds have hampered fishing conditions from Cheboygan to Rogers City. The ice is out at Rockport, but none of the docks are in. Some early steelhead have made their way up the Sturgeon River and the Pigeon River in Cheboygan County. There is no safe ice to report in this area of the state. At Alpena, steelhead fishing has started to pick up in the Thunder Bay River. Fresh silver fish have been caught near the Ninth Street Dam and Rotary Island when drifting spawn or flies in egg patterns. Boat anglers are trolling for steelhead and brown trout. Pier anglers reported fair fishing. The sucker run is just getting started in the river and should only improve with warmer weather. Near Oscoda, good steelhead fishing was reported in the AuSable River below Foote Dam. A nice run of fish can be seen in the clear waters where anglers are floating spawn bags or wax worms. Fly fishing with egg patterns has worked well. Anglers fishing off the pier in waters of Lake Huron have caught a few walleye on Rapalas, blue and silver Cleo’s, or silver Mepps spinners. At Tawas, boat anglers are trolling in Tawas Bay for steelhead and brown trout. Some walleye have been caught in 10 to 30 feet of water at Tawas Point near the drop-off. Pier anglers have caught brown trout and walleye when casting Rapalas or still-fishing with minnows in the waters of Lake Huron. Near AuGres, boat anglers are trolling for brown trout and walleye off the mouth of the AuGres River. On the East Branch of the AuGres River, anglers are catching steelhead when surfcasting near the mouth. Those fishing near Whitney Drain have caught fish on spawn sacks. In the Rifle River, the sucker runs are underway. Near Omer, anglers reported a great deal of fishing pressure with fair numbers of fish caught so far. Northwestern Lower Peninsula Near Petoskey, anglers are starting to catch some steelhead near the mouth of the Bear River. At Boyne City, anglers are catching steelhead from the dam downstream to the Lake Charlevoix. Anglers are catching smelt along with a few perch in Walloon Lake. At Traverse City, both the East and the West Bay now have open water. While strong winds have kept many anglers on shore, a few are trolling near the mouth of the Boardman River and catching steelhead. No reports of any whitefish caught. Those fishing the river are catching steelhead on wax worms and wigglers. In the East Bay near Elk Rapids, anglers are catching some steelhead when floating wax worms under a bobber. Most inland lakes in the region now have open water. Near Frankfort, strong winds and cold temperatures have made fishing difficult. Pier anglers are catching light numbers of steelhead and brown trout on spawn. When boat anglers can get out, they are trolling between the piers and catching brown trout on spoons or plugs. Fair to good steelhead fishing was reported in the Betsie River. At Manistee, pier anglers are catching light numbers of steelhead and brown trout. The Big Manistee River is providing good catches of steelhead near Tippy Dam. Fishing slowed a bit on the Little Manistee River. Water temperatures are still cold so fish movement is limited. The DNR has not started the egg-take operation yet as more ripe fish are needed. The grates at the weir will not be removed until a specified number of eggs have been taken. Perch and crappie have been caught in Manistee Lake. Near Ludington, anglers continue to catch steelhead in the Pere Marquette River when floating spawn bags or wax worms under a bobber. Anglers fishing in the artificial flies only section from M-37 downstream to Gleason’s Landing reported good catches when using egg patterns. Boat anglers trolling near the mouth of the rivers have caught some brown trout on bodybaits or spoons. Perch have been caught near the Ludington State Park on minnows and wigglers. The ice is out on Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell. Upper Peninsula In the Keweenaw Peninsula, anglers were fishing off the pier in Traverse Bay, but the catch rate was very slow. Near L’Anse, anglers have caught a light number of steelhead in the Falls River. The Menominee River was reported as high and fast. Four gates have been opened at the First Dam and the current is quite strong. Most of the ice is now out of the river. Suckers are starting to show up in the river, and the walleye should be in sometime in the next week or two. A few walleye have been caught between the Train Bridge and the First Dam. Boat anglers will need to watch for floating ice near the mouth of the river. The Mystery Ship Launch site at Menominee is ice free and the ramps are in place. In Little Bay De Noc, good catches of perch were reported by ice anglers fishing near Kipling. Anglers are reminded to use caution when traveling on the ice. While some anglers have started fishing the open waters near Escanaba for whitefish, most are waiting for the rest of the waters to open up so they can launch their boats and start fishing for brown trout and splake. There has been light fishing pressure in the harbors near Marquette. Anglers fishing from shore in the lower harbor have caught an occasional whitefish, menominee or coho. Near Munising, deteriorating ice conditions and cold winds have limited fishing. A few anglers have caught light numbers of whitefish, splake and coho on the east side of Munising Bay from the Anna River to Sand Point. Closer to Newberry, fishing is at a standstill. Ice conditions on most waters are generally too poor to allow anglers access. Warmer weather is needed to open up the lakes for boat anglers. High water levels on the Manistique River have slowed steelhead fishing. Poor ice conditions with areas of open water were reported near Munuscong. Anglers are fishing with minnows and catching 7 to 9 inch perch. Many small perch have been caught, so anglers will need to sort and release until they find the bigger fish. The ice around Cedarville and Hessel is deteriorating fast and anglers will need to use caution. Good numbers of 10 to 12 inch perch have been caught in Musky Bay on minnows in 5 to 12 feet of water. |
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