Ontonagon: Fishing has been good and lake trout were making up most of the catch for those trolling spin-glows and orange flashers in 75 to 105 feet of water.
Keweenaw Bay: Catch rates slowed but anglers were still able to catch a mix of chinook, coho, steelhead and lake trout when trolling between Sand Point and just north of the Keweenaw Roadside Park. Try 40 to 80 feet down in 60 to 100 feet of water with bright colors if it is sunny or dark colors on overcast days. Trolling speeds were between 2.3 and 2.9 mph. Perch were caught in the marina. Near the South Portage Entry, coho and lake trout were caught near the Lighthouse, Farmers Reef.
Marquette: A few anglers managed to limit catches of lake trout. The fish are showing signs of staging as they prepare to spawn. Silver and copper spoons were the ticket. The better fishing remains east of the White Rocks and east towards Granite Island and Little Presque Isle. A couple coho were caught by those fishing off the Lower Harbor breakwall.
Carp River: A few chinook salmon were spotted upstream. Try orange spinners.
Menominee: The majority of anglers have switched their gear from salmon to walleye fishing, but those heading out for salmon have caught a few fish in deeper water off Wisconsin. Walleye fishing is fair to good in 20 to 30 feet of water when trolling north and south of the Cedar River, 60 to 75 feet near Green Island and 30 feet of water off Red Arrow Park. Some are using crawler harnesses while others are using artificial baits such as the blue/chartreuse reef runner. Late afternoon or evenings were best. There are a lot of weeds so trolling can be difficult. Bluegills, perch and crappie were caught near the launch at the lighthouse.
Menominee River: Water levels start to get very low upstream of Stephenson Island. Those trolling did catch some nice smallmouth bass and a few walleye when using crawler harnesses, rapalas or reef runners.
Little Bay De Noc: Produced fair walleye catches in 25 to 35 feet of water out from the Terrace Bay Inn, south of the Black Bottom and out to the coal docks in 18 to 30 feet of water when trolling crawler harnesses. Those off Breezy Point were marking good numbers of fish however catch rates were slow. Kipling had fair to good perch fishing for those still-fishing in 12 to 25 feet of water between the Second and Third Reefs. Several families with children had fun catching perch in the Escanaba Yacht Harbor even though the fish were small. The DNR has started work on the Rapid River launch site. They will be dredging out the old launch area and installing a new launch pad. The parking lot will be used to hold the fill dirt however parking is still available and the site is still open.
Big Bay De Noc: Still has fair to good smallmouth bass fishing in the southern bay. Some are fishing Ogontz and Poplar Point however Garden Bluff and south to Snake Island were better. Anglers are drifting or casting minnows, crank baits, or plastics along the break in 15 to 30 feet of water. Northern pike action was fair off Ansell’s Point when trolling large crank baits or spoons in 10 to 16 feet of water. A good number of small perch were caught in Garden Bay when using crawlers in eight to 12 feet of water. Few anglers were seen off Fairport as the salmon season peaked early this year. Those going out were fishing 65 to 80 feet down in 95 to 110 feet of water in the “Gap” or heading out deeper and fishing 65 to 130 feet down in 110 to 180 feet of water.
Au Train: Those targeting lake trout are fishing the flats of Shelter Bay and east of Au Train Island. Most are using a combination of spoons and flies. Fish were caught 20 feet from the bottom in 120 to 150 feet of water. No salmon to report in this area or the Rock River. Surface water temperatures were in the mid 60’s.
Munising: Boat anglers are targeting lake trout are fishing the west side of Grand Island, Trout Bay, the reefs near Wood Island and “Grumps Hump”. Some have also started to fish for salmon. Smaller chinook along with coho and splake were caught around Grand Island and near Miners Castle. Anglers are now fishing in 100 to 180 feet of water as the fish begin to stage for spawning. Pier fishing for splake was slow and most of the fish were sub-legal.
Grand Marais: Had fair to good lake trout action five to eight miles north of the bay in 120 to 180 feet of water. Some are looking for salmon but no catches were reported. Those fishing in the bay have caught a couple pike. Pier fishing was slow.
St. Mary’s River: Anglers near Sault Ste. Marie reported chinook salmon near the Garden River which is north of Lake George. The fish were hitting on J-plugs. Good numbers of walleye have been caught off Nine Mile Road and in Lake Nicolet. In the lake, anglers are trolling south to the yellow buoy on the north end of Nebbish Island and using crawler harnesses and bottom bouncers in the shipping channel. In Raber Bay, walleye were caught at Carlton Creek in eight to 12 feet of water. Use crawler harnesses and bottom bouncers just off the weed beds. Good numbers of smallmouth bass have been caught off the north end of Lime Island when jigging tube baits off the rock piles in six to eight feet of water.
Cedarville and Hessel: Salmon fishing is good in 60 to 80 feet of water off Hessel. Anglers caught some nice perch and smallmouth bass along the east end of Hessel Bay and off the marina pier. Northern pike action has picked up for those trolling, casting or still-fishing with minnows or chubs all through out the islands.
St. Ignace: Continues to produce chinook and pink salmon between the Coast Guard and the old fuel tanks as well as the east and west sides of Mackinac Island. Most are fishing 60 to 90 feet down.