An angler on a boat shows a walleye he caught. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

• Ontonagon River: Angling efforts on the river remained fairly low over the past week. Reports of walleye being caught in low numbers. Recent rain showers and runoff had left the river waters dirty.

• Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Ontonagon saw a fair amount of fishing effort over the past week. Effort from Union Bay and Silver City was high. Anglers reported catches consisting primarily of lake trout, with brown trout, coho salmon, and Chinook salmon caught less frequently. Reports suggested that anglers had the best luck when trolling in water depths of approximately 60 to 80 feet.

• Black River Harbor: The harbor saw low angling effort over the past week. Reported catches consisted primarily of lake trout in fair numbers. Catches of coho salmon and brown trout were reported less frequently. Anglers reportedly had the best luck when trolling in water depths of 80 to 100 feet.

• Little Bay de Noc: Anglers reported slow perch fishing. They fished areas with weeds, as well as deeper spots. Anglers reported scattered schools, noting that finding and staying on the school was the hardest part of catching perch. They used perch minnows, either jigging or dragging the rig near the bottom. Walleye anglers also reported slow fishing, with most catching only a few fish per boat.

• Big Bay de Noc: Angler presence was limited, with only a few anglers out this week. Those fishing for northern pike reported slow to fair success while casting or trolling crankbaits. Smallmouth anglers had success in shallow areas near deep water access.

• Keweenaw Bay/ Huron Bay: Anglers reported fair to good numbers of salmon being caught. Coho salmon and the occasional Chinook salmon were caught while trolling spoons and flasher/fly combos in the upper portion of the water column. Anglers also reported fair lake trout fishing while trolling and jigging.

• Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: Anglers reported fair to good lake trout fishing, along with a few Coho salmon being caught. Lake trout were caught by trolling near the bottom in 80 to 120 feet of water, with spoons and flasher/flies being the most productive. Anglers targeting depths of 25 to 50 feet around river mouths had the most success when fishing for salmon.

• Grand Marais: Boat anglers did well targeting lake trout, trolling and jigging for them. The salmon bite was slow, but a few Coho salmon were caught by boating anglers trolling shallow east of the break wall. Shore anglers also reported catching a few salmon fishing off the break wall and at the mouth of the Sucker River. Anglers casting spoons and using spawn had the best success.

• St. Ignace: Over the past week, salmon anglers had the best luck in the morning. At Nunns Creek, those floating spawn about 100 yards from the mouth reported the highest catch rates. However, stick baits and spoons were also successful. There were not many fish in the creek yet. Cooler nighttime temperatures were expected to start pushing more fish closer to shore. Anglers fishing the Carp River cement footing pier near the mouth of the river reported low numbers of salmon.

• Les Cheneaux/DeTour: Anglers in Hessel started to see a few splake show up, but the bite was tough. Water temperatures were still too warm for them to come in and feed. A few pike were caught off the marina’s outside wall using spoons, along with a few smallmouth bass. The perch had left the marina, but some were still caught within Cedarville Bay. In DeTour, anglers limited out on lake trout in the flats while trolling spoons close to the bottom. The perch bite was still on to the north around the islands, but the fish were constantly moving around.

Fishing tip: Fall fishing

As the weeds begin to die off in the fall, baitfish and game fish like walleye, smallmouth bass, and northern pike move toward deeper structure such as drop-offs, rock piles, and points. Focus your efforts on these transition areas using jigs tipped with minnows, blade baits, or deep-diving crankbaits. Slow your retrieve — cooler water means sluggish fish, and a slower presentation often triggers more bites.