(Photo courtesy of Metro Creative)

Little Bay de Noc: Smallmouth anglers reported good fishing. Anglers reported large fish near river mouths, points, and in shallow bays. Anglers reported fish around last year’s dead reeds and cattails. The new growth had not yet emerged above the water, so last year’s growth created visual casting points. Shore anglers at the Ford River reported good bass fishing; pier anglers at the Escanaba River caught some smallmouth bass and yellow perch.

Munising: Boating anglers trolling the bay and around Grand Island did well catching coho salmon with a few splake mixed in. Boat anglers targeting lake trout had success around Grand Island by jigging. Anglers fishing off the Anna River mouth reported catching some good-sized splake, with spawn working best.

Keweenaw Bay: Anglers reported fair numbers of coho salmon, with an occasional steelhead and lake trout caught while trolling stickbaits and spoons in the upper portion of the water column. Anglers jigging for lake trout reported good numbers caught within the last week. Shore anglers reported fair catches of coho salmon and splake using both natural bait and artificial presentations.

Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: Anglers reported fair fishing while trolling spoons and body baits for both lake trout and coho salmon nearshore. Anglers also reported the occasional brown trout or steelhead being caught. Shore anglers reported slow fishing, with only a few coho being caught over the last week.

Ontonagon River: All docks were in the water at the Ontonagon Marina boat launch. The fish cleaning station has yet to be opened for the season. Fishing efforts on the river were very low over the past week.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: The dock remained out of the water at the Silver City boat launch. Both the Ontonagon and Union Bay boat launches were open with docks in the water. The fish cleaning station located at the Ontonagon Marina had yet to be opened for the season. Fishing efforts from these ports were fair over the past week, with Union Bay drawing the most anglers. Recent reports showed catches primarily consisting of coho salmon and brown trout, with occasional steelhead and Chinook salmon also being caught. Anglers found the most success trolling in shallow waters. Shore anglers fishing in Union Bay also had some luck catching a mix of coho salmon, brown trout, and an occasional steelhead.

Black River Harbor: Amenities at the harbor remained closed for the winter offseason. Over the past week, fishing efforts remained steady from the harbor. Angler reports were good, with catches consisting of coho salmon, brown trout, and steelhead. A mix of these species was also caught in low numbers from the harbor breakwalls.

St. Ignace: Steelhead fishing pressure was limited at the Carp River. All of the major access sites to the Carp River were clear of snow. The Pine River DNR boat launch was available for boats to launch from. There was one boat launch available at the City of St. Ignace launch area, but the cleaning station was closed.

Grand Marais: Anglers fishing off the breakwall reported a good coho salmon bite, along with the lake whitefish bite starting to pick up. Spawn was the preferred bait. Boat anglers trolling did well catching coho salmon east and west of the breakwall at shallow depths.

Les Cheneaux Islands/DeTour: Anglers in the Les Cheneaux area started to see and catch some perch in the Hessel Marina from the docks using worms and minnows. Anglers also caught a few northern pike off the wall; however, pike season remains closed until May 15. A few smallmouth bass were also caught. Splake were very hard to find and had been nonexistent off the Hessel pier, with one boat angler having some luck catching a variety of species away from the harbor.

Manistique: Anglers targeting steelhead drifted beads, and some cast spinners or brightly colored crankbaits. Suckers were a common bycatch for those drifting beads. Overall, fishing was fair to good this week.

— By the Michigan Department of Natural Resources