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Little Bay de Noc: Anglers reported fair to good walleye fishing over the past week. Anglers used sonar to locate fish and cast minnow-profile baits. Presentations varied from erratic reaction-style lures to slow-moving live bait, including nightcrawlers on crawler harnesses or jigs. Anglers also caught coho salmon near the mouth of the Escanaba River while trolling or casting spoons and small crankbaits.
Ontonagon River: Angling effort on the river was low. Anglers reported fair numbers of walleye caught while jigging, while trolling remained a less effective method. Early morning hours produced the most successful trips.
Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Angling effort out of Ontonagon was low over the past week, with even lower effort observed from the Silver City and Union Bay access sites. Angler reports indicated fair catches of lake trout. Anglers reported trolling across depths ranging from 50 to 150 feet of water to find fish.
Black River Harbor: The harbor continued to see low angling effort. Boat anglers reported fair to low catches of lake trout. Reports indicated fish were caught while trolling in depths of 50 to 150 feet of water. A few anglers fishing within the harbor boundaries reported low numbers of white suckers.
St. Ignace: Low numbers of Chinook salmon were reported at the mouths of the Carp River and Nunns Creek. Anglers caught up to one salmon per boat while casting spoons or drifting spawn at both locations.
Manistique: Anglers fishing near the river mouth reported slow chinook salmon fishing. Despite marking fish on sonar, bites were rare. Anglers heading away from the mouth of the river and targeting staging salmon reported good fishing while trolling spoons. Few adult Chinook salmon were caught near the Garden Peninsula, though overall catch rates remained good.
Marquette: Most anglers continued to troll north of White Rocks out toward Granite Rock and the Clay Banks in 80 to 160 feet of water for lake trout. Anglers reported catching fish throughout the water column. A few anglers reported catching salmon and brown trout near Little Presque Isle and the Clay Banks around Granite Point and the Little Garlic River in 60 to 100 feet of water. Few anglers ventured out to the Sand River and Shot Point, resulting in low numbers of lake trout, though fish were caught in deeper water near the sand hole in around 180 feet of water. Coho salmon were caught between the Lower Harbor Lighthouse and the Chocolay River in 60 feet of water, with lines set 25 to 30 feet down. The South Shore Fishing Tournament yielded few salmon.
Au Train: A few anglers fished out of Au Train. Commercial net presence decreased in the area, which saw low fishing pressure overall throughout the summer. Anglers targeted the flats northeast of Au Train Island in 120 to 160 feet of water. Lake trout were caught near the bottom using chartreuse Spin-N-Glo lures.
Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers reported catching primarily lake trout, with the occasional coho salmon trolling spoons and flasher-fly combinations. Anglers jigging for lake trout reported a poor to fair bite, with success on both natural and artificial presentations. Fish were caught in 100 to 140 feet of water, with some anglers catching smaller fish in water deeper than 200 feet.
Lake Independence, Big Bay: Fishing activity remained slow with most anglers targeting walleye and yellow perch. Anglers did best jigging in 10 to 15 feet of water using natural bait.
Traverse Bay/Portage Entry: Anglers reported fair to good fishing for lake trout while trolling spoons and flasher-fly combinations near the bottom in 60 to 100 feet of water and around structure. Coho salmon and a few brown trout were also caught in low numbers while trolling. Anglers jigging for lake trout reported a fair bite when using natural presentations, with most fish caught between 100 and 140 feet of water with a few caught in water deeper than 200 feet.
Les Cheneaux/DeTour: Anglers in Hessel caught yellow perch off the pier at the marina. Perch of various sizes were present in good numbers throughout the area, with minnows proving to be the most productive bait. Anglers also caught smallmouth bass around the marina using jigs and soft plastics as the fish schooled up and grew more aggressive. Lake trout were caught while trolling and jigging in the middle and west entrances. In DeTour, conditions were extremely windy. However, when anglers made it out, they did well catching lake trout and picked up a few pink salmon.
Chippewa County: Atlantic salmon and lake whitefish fishing was extremely slow in Sault Ste. Marie over the summer, leading to minimal angling effort in the area. Anglers targeting walleye throughout the St. Marys River reported improved success near the shipping channel and around the north side of Drummond Island.
-- By the Michigan Department of Natural Resources