DNR weekly fishing report – Upper Peninsula | News, Sports, Jobs

Keweenaw Bay/Huron Bay: Anglers saw consistent lake trout catches through the last week. Most fish were found in colder water which were depths of over 60 feet of water. A few trolling trips led to coho salmon catches. Water temperatures were slowly beginning to fall, and with those falling temperatures more salmon and trout should be moving into the bays to begin their fall spawning runs.

Big Traverse Bay/South Portage Entry Canal: Anglers were consistently reporting lake trout catches during both trolling and jigging events. Most fish were caught during trolling events and were found in depths at or around 100 feet of water. Some anglers reported catching salmon, however, they were few in number. Those who did report salmon found them early in the mornings and in deeper water than expected.

St. Ignace: Shore anglers at the Carp River cement footing pier were occasionally catching a Chinook salmon or pink salmon when casting spoons. Most anglers who traveled upstream between the rapids and the bridge reported better numbers. At Nunns Creek, anglers were wading out between 50 to 70 yards from the mouth of the creek. Those using natural baits, such as spawn, had greater success in catching Chinook and pink salmon. Spoons were reported to be another good option to try.

Little Bay de Noc: Walleye anglers reported a relatively slow bite. Some were using sonar to locate fish and then casting at them with jigs or snap jigging-style lures while others were trolling crank baits. A few anglers found success south of the Ford River. Yellow perch anglers reported slow fishing, although some had sufficient success to make the trip out worthwhile. Anglers were using minnows and worms on perch rigs.

Manistique: Anglers fishing the river reported catching pink and Chinook salmon. Anglers were either drifting natural baits like spawn or beads. Some anglers were casting lures including crank baits for the pink salmon. Anglers fishing for northern pike trolled the river with success.

Marquette: Lake trout were caught consistently with the most successful boats making their way out toward the clay banks west of Granite Rock. Upper harbor still seemed to be the harbor that most anglers left from on days that the weather cooperated. Excellent numbers of lake trout were caught jigging or trolling around the northeast side of White Rocks and out towards Granite Island. Anglers reported catching a few salmon out by Granite Rock and creeping up into the rivers around Marquette. Coho salmon were also reported to have been caught by anglers. Increasing numbers of steelhead were caught out by White Rocks. Watermelon and fire tiger were still very good, along with green and orange Spin-n-Glos or green/silver flasher fly presentations for lake trout. Chartreuse and silver jigs worked well around the northeast side of White Rocks, especially with a little cut bait. Trolling between White Rocks towards Granite Rock or the clay banks in around 130 to 160 feet of water was a popular depth range for lake trout, but throwing out a high line caught some steelhead.

Au Train: Lake trout were caught by anglers jigging in approximately 160 feet of water north to northeast of Au Train Island, especially with cut bait. Most anglers trolling reported lake trout being caught when in around 130 to 180 feet of water north to northwest of the Au Train Island in the flats or out towards the Laughing White Fish Clay Banks. Wonder Bread, multi-colored glow spoons or green/silver flasher flies were good color combinations. A little bit of cut bait jigging or trolling with Wonder Bread or chartreuse cowbells produced very well at deeper depths of 130 to 180 feet of water.

Ontonagon River: Fishing on the river was extremely slow, as angling efforts remained low over the past week. Reports show that very few fish were being caught.

Ontonagon/Silver City/Union Bay: Over the past week, these ports yielded great numbers of fish being caught, and angling efforts remained strong. Common catches consisted of limits of lake trout along with an occasional coho salmon. Anglers reportedly found the most success when trolling in deeper waters.

Black River Harbor: Over the past week, the harbor saw low fishing efforts. Reports show that recent common catches consisted of lake trout in fair numbers. These fish were caught by those trolling in deeper waters.

DeTour: Anglers in DeTour were starting to target and catch a few perch as well as some smallmouth bass and northern pike to the north around the island. Lake trout were still being caught in the flats, but the season officially came to a close for the year as of October 1st.

Les Cheneaux: Splake were very tough to come by with only few seen in the Hessel Marina as a result of warmer water. Anglers reported catching a few northern pike and smallmouth bass within the Hessel area.